by Nunilo M. de Leon
We were enrolled at the Immaculata Academy of Malolos, where I started my kindergarten. It was and still is run by the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) order of nuns, though it has now been relocated to Sta. Isabel. I had to start Grade 5 from scratch. The months I had already spent in Grade 5 were not recognized because I could not present written proof that I was in the middle of 5th grade in Daet when the war started. It was next to impossible to go to Daet at that time. I was to be two years behind my former classmates in Malolos who were about to begin their first year, high school. They were allowed to skip the 5th grade and had completed 6th grade the previous year, while we were on our extended vacation. Tancio went to Grade 3, Nestor to kindergarten.
We were enrolled at the Immaculata Academy of Malolos, where I started my kindergarten. It was and still is run by the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) order of nuns, though it has now been relocated to Sta. Isabel. I had to start Grade 5 from scratch. The months I had already spent in Grade 5 were not recognized because I could not present written proof that I was in the middle of 5th grade in Daet when the war started. It was next to impossible to go to Daet at that time. I was to be two years behind my former classmates in Malolos who were about to begin their first year, high school. They were allowed to skip the 5th grade and had completed 6th grade the previous year, while we were on our extended vacation. Tancio went to Grade 3, Nestor to kindergarten.
The Immaculata was a two-minute meander from Tampoy, past the side of the town hall or municipio, across Calle Pariancillo, up the street one block to Cine Estrella, across the street to the church patio, stroll across the patio to the rear gate of the school, the gate which was commonly used. The school’s main and service gates were at the other side of the compound, the street side, but they were seldom used. They were built for vehicles, which no one had at that time. Mother Dolorata, the dungeon keeper of my kindergarten class had become the school’s principal. My class teacher in Grade 5 was Mother Henrietta (or Agatha or Agnes), a tall German lady. There were about 40 pupils in the co-ed class, with only one section. The first one I recognized among my classmates was Fernando Lim, my classmate in Grades 3 and 4 in the Malolos Elementary School. Like me, he had lost two years of school. Also there were some of my neighbors and playmates; Lucio Tan, Manuel Crisostomo, Victorino Hizon, Francisco Gatchalian and Antonio Fernando. Others I recall were Laurentino Tengco, Narciso Crisostomo, Renato Reyes, Fabian Tiongson, Domingo Chong, Jr., Bayani Tiongson, Manuel Jacinto and Santiago Co. Some girl classmates were Emma de Ocampo, Gliceria Queri, Aida Fernando, Consuelo Aniag, Araceli Buenaseda, Amelita Magsaysay, Cecilia Ejercito, Patria Garcia, Concepcion Tantoco, Purificacion Santos, Virginia Manio and Myrna Reyes.
Because of the hard times, the pupils were not required to wear uniforms but everyone came in neat, clean and presentable clothes. Textbooks were provided by the school and handed down from year to year so there were enough for all of us. We could not take the books home and had to study and prepare our assignments during the study periods. Classes were four hours in the morning and another four in the afternoon, Monday to Friday. We did the routine cleaning of our classrooms after classes on a rotation basis. The heavier work of cleaning the corridors and hallways was assigned to those who had misbehaved in class. With the other mischievous boys in my class, I became familiar with every square inch of those corridors and hallways.
The 8:00 o’clock Sunday Masses in the adjacent parish church were attended by all Immaculatans. We had to be in white whenever we attended Mass. The nuns wore their white habits, not the blue ones they usually wore. I know that I was already receiving Holy Communion that year but I cannot recall when and where I had my First. The priests delivered their sermons (they were not yet called homilies) from a pulpit. The pulpit was like an ornately decorated watchtower or guardhouse, elevated two meters or so from the floor, located on one side and in the middle of the church. The pulpit was located there so the sermons could be heard by the congregation. There was no sound amplification system and priests had to have clear and loud voices to be heard and understood. These vocal abilities were not too common and sermons could not be heard, much less understood, by those far from the pulpit. The men folk always made sure they sat nearest the church doors and farthest away from the pulpit, which gave them a ready excuse for walking out of the church and having a smoke during the sermon. Anyway, from where they sat, they could not hear the priest, they claimed. Sitting closer to the pulpit surely never occurred to them.
The afternoon before every first Friday of the month, we would all be brought to the church for a priestly inquisition or confession. These were perfunctory affairs and did not last very long. We had to attend First Friday Masses at 6 o’clock the following morning, after which we were served breakfast, a piece of rice flour “pan de sal” sans “palaman” and a cup of “kalamansi” juice provided by the school, and then attend classes. First Friday Masses were events we anticipated, probably because of the bread and juice.
Soon after we arrived in Tampoy, Lolo Ramon dictated the following “Last Wishes”, this time to Tia Monang and Tatang, the only ones of his children there. He probably knew that the end was fast approaching and he did not want his death to be much of a burden to the family. He wanted to scrimp on everything; on his tomb, on the ringing of church bells, on the funeral carriage, on the funeral services, on his coffin, even on his burial clothes.
Malolos, Febrero 12, 1943
Monang at Oqueng:
Sakaling ako’y madesgracia na bawian na ng Panginoong Dios ng buhay, ay papaganito ang gagawin ninyong mag-kakapatid sa kaunting kabuhayan na aking maiiwan.
Una muna, ang bangkay ko’y doon na lamang sa isang butas ng nicho sa Cementerio Catolico ninyo ilibing, at huwag na ninyong baguhin o galawin ang libingan ng Inang Juli o ng Impong Biang; dahil sa cacascasan kayong mabuti ng mga trabajador, na walang pakundangan, at dahil na wala ng cemento ngayon kayong mabibili, at wiwikain ay mahal na lahat. Kaya doon na nga lamang sa nichong ordinario, at pagkaraan na ng limang taon saka na ninyo isama ang buto sa Inang Juli o Impong Biang.
Huwag na magpatugtog ng maraming plegaria, “Agonias” lamang at isang plegaria kasunod ng “Agonias”, at huwag na horas-horas habang nakaburol; at saka sa paglilibing na lamang ang plegaria.
Huwag na rin ninyong embalsamahin ang bangkay ko, huwag na rin kayong aalkila pa ng carro sa Funeraria sa Maynila, at kung mayroon diyan kay Sermo o sa Barasoain ay mayroong ding de lujo, at kung wala ay doon sa Hagunoy doon sa binilhan ng sa Tatang noong mamatay, yaon mang ginamit sa Tatang na ataul ay de lujo na, at maganda naman; doon sa dalawang Funeraria doon ay mayroong tinda, na naghahalaga ng magbuhat sa P25 hanggang P40 ang isa.
Sgd. RAMON DE LEON
HABOL:
Isuot ninyo sa bangkay ko ay yaon na lamang drill na de hilo ko, at huwag na yaong crocodile skin at sayang lamang, ito ay magagamit din ni Oqueng, Toniong, o Canchu.
Isuot ninyo sa bangkay ko ay yaon na lamang drill na de hilo ko, at huwag na yaong crocodile skin at sayang lamang, ito ay magagamit din ni Oqueng, Toniong, o Canchu.
Then he turned his attention to the disposition of the funds and properties which were in his name, making sure that his main “care-givers”, Nina and Turina, would not be forgotten.
Malolos, Marso 31, 1943
Monang:
Yaong mga kuwalta na nasa Banco Nacional, na nasa pangalan ninyo ng tia Ninay, at saka yaong nasa pangalan ninyo ni Nina ay kunin mo, at kumuha ka diyan ng Isang Daang Piso (P100.00) at ibigay mo sa magkapatid na Catalina at Victorina Cano, at yaon ay ibinibigay ko sa kanila alang-alang sa pagkaservicio nila sa akin habang ako’y may sakit. Ang iba naman ay para sa iyo na.
Ang pension ko naman sa Gobierno ay Tatlong Libo Limang Daan Pitumpu at Walong Piso at Apatnapu’t Walong sentimos pa ay hindi nababayaran ng Gobierno sa akin. Kaya humanap kayo ng paraang masingil yaon, at inyo yaon.
Yaong solar sa Maynila, ay ilipat mo sa pangalan ng diche at sanko; hati sila; sakaling buhay ang sanko, kung hindi naman, ay kayo na ang bahalang magkakapatid na anim.
Yaon namang apat na deposit books sa Banco Nacional sa pangalan ng mga apo ko sa apat kong anak ay ipagbibigay mo sa mga kani-kanilang magulang upang magawa ang nababagay sa kanila.
Sgd. RAMON DE LEON
This was followed by another, dictated on the same day.
Malolos, Marso 31, 1943
Monang at Oqueng:
Sakaling ako’y bawian na ng buhay ng Dios, yaon kualta ko sa Banco Nacional na Deposit Book No. 782, at saka ang mga niugan ko sa mga Municipio ng Basud at Labo sa Camarines Norte, pati na noong Gratificacion ko sa Gobierno na hindi ko pa nasisingil, ay siya ninyong paghati-hatian sampung magkakapatid; anim na magkakapatid sa unang asawa, at apat naman sa ikalawang asawa.
Ako’y walang utang na ano man kangino man.
Sgd. RAMON DE LEON
The visits on Lolo Ramon of Drs. Cornelio Tantoco and Cenon Domingo, both relatives, became more frequent but briefer. Lolo could no longer get out of bed and I very rarely saw him, although one could hear him wheezing laboriously through the tube which pierced his throat. All the adults who would walk into his room would come out with faces much sadder than when they went it. The families of Tia Pacita, Tio Carlos and Tia Epang began to trickle back from Manila and assemble in Malolos.
We were again going to be an independent nation, and this was going to happen on 14 October 1943. In the Japanese’s view, we had been a US colony and they had come to our shores to liberate us and give us the freedom we had first earned on 12 June 1898. For several days, we were busy in school, rehearsing for that day. We practiced the national anthem, to be sung for the first time in Tagalog, with the same tune but with slightly different lyrics from the current one. We Immaculatans paraded two kilometers or so to the Bulacan provincial capitol grounds to attend the independence ceremony. With us were delegations from the other schools of Malolos. On the way, I noticed that the Malolos church, the new and old municipios (the casa real), the Barasoain church, the post office and the provincial capitol were all spruced up for the occasion. The rites were held in front of the capitol building flagpole, between the pair of 19th century muzzle-loader cannons which were fixtures there.
A police detachment was there, armed with revolvers and night sticks. There was also a unit from the General Service Corps (the counterpart of the pre-war Philippine Constabulary). The GSC were mostly veterans of the Philippine Army from the Western Visayan 71st “Ilonggo” Division and the Eastern Visayan 91st “Waray” Division, who had to stay in Luzon after their release from concentration camp. Sea travel home was still a chancy proposition. They were armed with US 1903 Springfield rifles, the same issued to them in the Philippine Army. The Japanese had allowed the organization and arming of local peacekeeping units. No Japanese were there, military or civilian. They remained in their garrison, the former Constabulary barracks, behind the provincial capitol and beside the provincial hospital.
The independence ceremony was inspiring. The brass bands, including the Republica Filipina and the Banda 1896, which were also present in the actual independence celebrations of 1898, played stirring martial (including US military Souza marches) and traditional Filipino music. Then there were speeches and poems. The speakers spoke in eloquent Francisco Balagtas Tagalog and were very effective in expressing their main theme; that this independence had a direct link to the past, to the initial resistance exemplified by the 21 Women of Malolos, to the revolution waged by the “Balangay Apuy” of Malolos and the Katipuneros of the entire province of Bulacan, to Bonifacio’s Katipunan, to the independence declared by Emilio Aguinaldo in 1898, to the enactment of the Malolos Constitution, to the continual struggle of Bulakeños for freedom, to Francisco Balagtas, to Marcelo del Pilar, to Isidoro Torres, to Gregorio del Pilar. They stressed that our nascent independence, stifled by the Americans, was being restored with the help of the Japanese, who had come to free all East Asian nations and band them into a free Great East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere. Many of the speakers and guests on the stage had been part of the fight against the Spaniards and Americans and probably believed, or wanted to believe, that what was being expressed in those rites were going to come true. The Philippine Sun and Stars was then hoisted up the flagpole and was greeted with a 21-gun salute from the GSC unit. A brief parade and review, pre-war style, ended the ceremony. That was very emotional and moving. Similar rites were being held all over the country.
After the awesome Independence Day experience at the Provincial Capitol, I was taken aback by what I saw in Tampoy after the ceremony. The Philippine flag was flying from our front porch. Another flag was draped over a coffin in the middle of the “sala” where two uniformed policemen were standing guard. Joining the people who were standing beside the coffin, I peeked inside and saw that it was Lolo Ramon’s body in the coffin. Over-whelmed by what I saw, I failed to ask my usual questions, until later, after the funeral.
Against Lolo Ramon’s self-effacing last wishes, the funeral procession from Tampoy to the Malolos Catholic Cemetery was not an ordinary one. From the church, we made the one kilometer-long trek to the cemetery on foot. The flag-draped coffin was on a horse-drawn funeral carriage, accompanied by a detail of GSC troops, a brass band playing muted music and a large crowd of black-clad relatives, neighbors, friends, acquaintances, government officials and other mourners. The elder relatives like Lolo Celino, Dada Merced and Dada Ninay could not go to the cemetery. Lolo’s children and grandchildren were all there but Tio Toniong and family were not. Tio Toniong had finally sent word that they were alive and well in Iloilo but could not as yet go home. There was still no transportation to Manila.
There were brief ceremonies in the cemetery. The mayor, Ignacio Tapang made a few remarks, taps (the US military version) was sounded, and the coffin placed, again against Lolo’s frugal wish, inside a separate “nicho” in the De Leon plot. Lolo was buried beside his mother, Impong Biyang, and his wife, Lola Juli.
[Boying narrates that they traveled by train from Pasig, where they then lived, to be at Lolo’s wake and funeral. Josie remembers that Tia Carmen fainted and Lola Lolita wailed during the burial.]
Lolo’s funeral was followed by the traditional 40-day period of mourning. I recall nightly prayers for the dead complete with the rosary prayer, a rather lengthy affair, led by one of the neighborhood “manangs”. It was always well attended, filling the spacious library where the rite was held, and spilling over to the sala, comedor and balcon. More often than not, the length of the rite and the sing-song way the “manang” led the prayers put most of us kids to sleep. It was a good thing that the prayers came after supper, although some “inumin” and “kakanin” were served after the prayers.
Some days later, I asked Inang what was behind all the ceremony attending Lolo’s wake and funeral. She brought me to the municipio and showed me young Lolo Ramon’s portrait hanging from the back wall of the municipio’s lobby. The plaque under the portrait introduced Lolo as “Ramon Gonzalez de Leon, naging unang Presidente Municipal ng magkakalakip na bayang Malolos, Barasoain at Santa Ysabel noong 1903 hanggang 1905”.
Back in the house, Tia Monang handed me a sheet of paper which had some more data about Lolo. A true son of the Philippine Revolution, Lolo Ramon began where his father, Inkong Tasio, left off. Born in 1872, he studied law in Manila under the Dominicans. During the period of unrest before and after the execution of Jose Rizal, the newly married Lolo Ramon, following in the footsteps of his father, organized and led the “contra-fraile” groups called “Balangay Apuy” and “Sangguniang Apuy”, both of which later became Malolos-based affiliates of Andres Bonifacio’s and Emilio Jacinto’s Katipunan, the Tondo-based group which began and led the general revolt against Spanish rule.
[Cousin Mercia recalls that her mother, Tia Pacita, had this story to tell. When Lolo Ramon and Lola Juli were newly married, they stayed with Impong Doring (Lola Juli’s widowed mother) in a house in the “Kamistisuhan”, probably at the old Santos-Uitangcoy house between Calle Electricidad and the Santiago creek. Their two oldest children (Paz and Carlos) were born in that house and had the brothers Gonzalo and Luis Uitangcoy-Santos as playmates.
When the Spaniards learned about the organization of the Balangay Apuy and the Sangguniang Apuy, they were intent on nipping the revolt in the bud and swiftly cracked down on them. They wanted to avoid a repeat of the unrest which caused the exile of the leaders of the “Caballeros de Malolos”, including Inkong Tasio, only two years past. The “Guardia Civil” arrested Lolo Ramon and others suspected of being “Apuy” members. They were thrown into the “Cuartel”, a small fortress-looking building along Calle Pariancillo, near the small bridge spanning Santiago creek. The angry authorities threatened to execute one of them every morning and announced this far and wide. Imagine the effect this threat had on the relatives of the captured dissidents. Impong Biyang (Inkong Tasio’s wife and Lolo Ramon’s mother), reputed to be a very persuasive lady, together with the group’s families, badgered the Spanish authorities and finally got them to just exile the “Apuys”, not execute them. They were all eventually sent into exile to various places in Mindanao, in exchange for what and how much, Tia Pacita did not know. Lolo Ramon was exiled to Dapitan, in Mindanao. It was not only resisting, revolting and getting jailed which took up Lolo Ramon’s time during this time. He and Lola Juli were also starting a new family; Tia Pacita and Tio Carlos were born in those years of ferment. ]
Lolo Ramon stayed in Dapitan until the Katipunan’s propaganda and organizing campaigns ripened and turned into an armed revolt. Lolo Ramon then returned to Malolos, rejoined the armed struggle and was appointed a “Kapitan ng Revolucion” under Gen. Isidoro Torres from 1898 to 1899. Inkong Tasio also came back to Malolos from his Palawan exile.
[Tia Pacita’s story continued. When the “revolucion contra Espana” and the subsequent War against the Americans ended, Lolo Ramon decided to go back to school. He moved to Manila with his young family; Lola Juli, Tia Pacita and Tio Carlos. They stayed in a house in Intramuros while Lolo Ramon was studying law, under the Dominicans of the “Colegio de San Juan de Letran”. One of the students there was a Spanish mestizo named Manuel Luis Quezon, another “revolucionero” from Baler in Tayabas. Tia Pacita recalls that their house had a wide courtyard with a fountain and that Tio Carlos and she had great fun playing there. Lola Juli took in student-boarders, most if not all of them relatives from Malolos, the future Drs. Gonzalo and Luis U. Santos, among them. Tia Epang was born in that Intramuros home.]
The Americans did not waste any time before forming a government. Upon his return from his law studies in 1903, Lolo was appointed the president municipal or mayor of the newly integrated municipality of Malolos. Malolos used to be divided into three distinct parishes; those of Malolos, Barasoain and Santa Isabel. Each had its own government administration under an alcalde, who was distinct from the parish priests or “curas parrocos”. Under the Americans, the three districts were united into a single municipality. When Lolo’s term as Presidente Municipal ended in 1905, he was named a member of the “Konsehal Municipal” for two years.
[Tia Pacita continues her story. Widowed Impong Doring, probably with time on her hands, sometimes had “pang-guing-gue” sessions with her group of “kamaganak” and “amiga”, many of them most surely families of the “Women of Malolos”. When she lost during some of these sessions and she did not have enough ready cash, Impong Doring would pawn one of her many real estate “titulos” to pay the winner. She depended on her son-in-law, Ramon, to handle the process of redeeming the pawned “titulo”. He found little difficulty in retrieving most of them; after all they were relatives and friends. However, some proved more obstinate; refusing to part with the “titulos” they had won. Sadly, while Lolo was in the middle of his term as “Konsehal”, Impong Doring passed away. Lolo Ramon and his family moved to Tampoy soon after. They had only one addition to their family during the four years Lolo Ramon was serving in the “municipio”, Tio Toniong.]
After his term as konsehal, Lolo was appointed “Juez de Paz” of Malolos and served in that post until 1924. During his tenure, Tia Monang and Tatang were born, both of them in Tampoy. A few months after Tatang’s birth, Lola Juli died.
A few years after becoming a widower, Lolo married his second wife, Lolita Seoane and had four children with her. He then served as provincial fiscal for Camarines Norte until his retirement in 1937. He lived a very colorful life but I did not hear about any of it until after he died.
Some months before his death, Lolo had written two other “Last Wishes. They touched on some of his remaining properties.
Malolos, Abril 6, 1943
Monang at Oqueng:
Kung ibig ninyong malaman ang ayos, paraan, at dahilan ng pagbibigay ng palay sa kanila Pedro, anak ng tio Felipe; Ambrosio, anak ng tia Vicenta; at Flora at Luz, anak ng tia Julia, ganire basahin ninyo ang sumusunod:
Ang ani ng lupang isang cavan ang binhi sa Sukol ay ibibigay sa mga anak ng tio Felipe Gonzalez; gayon din ani ng isang cavan binhi sa mga anak ng tia Vicenta Gonzalez; at gayon din isang cavan binhi sa mga anak ng tia Julia. Papag-ganire ngayon ang ani ng Sukol ay mayroong 339 cavan, ang binhi naman ay 16 cavan; ang 339 ay dividihin mo sa 16 na cavan, lumalabas na ang ani ng isang cavan binhi ay 21 cavan at ilang salop; samakatuwid 21 cavan ang ibibigay kay Pedro Gonzalez, 21 kay Ambrosio at kapatid at 21 kay Flora at kapatid. (Felipe, Vicenta and Julia were Impong Biyang’s nephews and niece while Pedro, Ambrosio and Flora were her grandchildren.)
Ganyan ang bilin sa akin ng Impong Biang noong hindi pa naglulubha, na ibigay ko sa kanilang mga pamangkin niya, doon sa mga ani sa Sukol ng Hagunoy. At iyan ay ipinabibigay niya sa mga anak noong mga pamangkin niya, alang-alang sa siya ang nagpakasal sa mga pamangkin niyang yaon. At ibibigay ko hangga man lamang ako ay nabubuhay.
Sa makatuwid, ang karapatang iyan ng pagtanggap nila ng palay ay hindi nila maipagbibili sa iba, ni hindi rin naman nila maipamamana sa mga anak nila o asawa; na sakali baga sila ay mamatay na, ay wala nang tatanggapin ang mga anak nila. Gayon din naman kung ako ay mamatay, ang mga anak ko ay hindi mapipilit na bigyan sila; ngunit maaari pa ang mga tia Merced o tia Ninay, kung gusto nila.
Sgd. RAMON DE LEON
Malolos, Abril 29, 1943
Para sa anim kong anak na sila Paz, Carlos, Josefa, Antonio, Ramona at Roque de Leon at Pantangco:Ang mga pinanggalingan ng mga lupa at bukid na ngayon ay inyong inaari na, sa mga lugar at barrio ng Iba, Palapat, barrio ng San Juan; at Sapang Munti sa Barrio ng San Miguel , Hagunoy; ay inyong minana at tinanggap sa inyong Ina na Juliana Pantangco, ng ito’y mamatay na, noong Diciembre ng 1910; at ang ina naman ninyo ay minana niya ang mga lupain at bukid ding iyan, sa kanya namang Ina na si Isidora Capistrano Santos, ng ito’y mamatay noong 1906; at ang nuno o Impo ninyong Isidora Capistrano Santos ay minana ang mga lupain at bukid ding ito sa kanya namang ama na si Capitang Melchor Capistrano Santos ng ito’y mamatay.
Ang mga papeles at documentos ng mga pagkamana-manahan ng ganito, ay nandoon at kalakip sa isang Documento de Particion ng mga pagaari ng magasawang Melchor Capistrano Santos at Librada Reyes, ng ginawa ng mga anak nila na sila: Maria Capistrano Santos, Isidora Capistrano Santos, Barbara Capistrano Santos, at Paulino Capistrano Santos, na ang mga Documento de Particiong ito, ay nasa poder at itinatago ng G. Andres Jacinto, asawa ng Maria Capistrano Santos.
Ganito ang mga sinasabi sa akin ng inyong Nuno o Impo na Isidora Capistrano Santos, ng siya ay buhay pa, at ganito rin naman ang sinabi sa akin ng inyong ina na Juliana Pantangco ng siya ay nabubuhay pa; ngunit walang ano mang documentong iniwan sa akin.
Kaya naman sa mga araw na ito, ay maaaring makaalam ng mga documento de Particiong sinasabi ay ang mga anak ng Andres Jacinto na sina Clara Jacinto o Andres Jacinto (hijo).
Sgd. RAMON DE LEON
