• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

BOOK REVIEWS 309 Felix B. Regalado and Quintin B. Franco, History of Panay. Iloilo City, Philippines: Central Philippine University, 1973, 593 pp., illustrations, oral authorities, appendices, bibliography, index. For the student of Philippine history there is no dearth of written source materials. On the contrary, there are substantial collections in libraries and archives in places such as Manila, Seville, Madrid, Valladolid, Mexico City, Rome, Chicago and Washington. Some materials have remained largely untouched. However, the authors of this book under review have only made use of what is left in the Filipiniana collec- tions in the Philippine Islands after insects, war ravage and negligence have done their job of destruction. The writing of a survey text is a difficult art, especially the composition of a college textbook of regional history. It requires not only a sure grip of local details-to be set against the backdrop of more general, national developments-but needs also to place local events in a relevant, well-integrated, historical framework-a formidable task indeed. The title, History of Panay, suggests a comprehensive treatment of the historical evolution of prehistoric Panay, in the Western Visayan island group, up to its formation as a modern part of the Philippine Republic, but the book falls far short of expectation. For one thing, it is too loosely organized for smooth digestion, with an imbalance in material giving too much pre-eminence to recent war action. Furthermore, the book is interspersed with a number of careless, trifling assertions. Unfortunately, the authors also display a deplorable lack of command of the English language, which accounts for the rather numerous slips and errors in style, grammar and sentence patterns. Stunted sentences, an inelegant style and faulty grammar mar the story they tell, and only make for laborious reading. Typography and layout of the book also leave much to be desired. Yet, despite these flaws of a technical nature, the book is rewarding for the diligent student who perseveres in this study and is willing to overlook the rather random and incomplete presentation of historical data, relating to Panay's history before the martial law of 1972. Now to the meat of the book. It contains serious analytical shortcomings as well. The different parts of this volume-on the material and social culture of the early set- tlers, the Spanish period and the American regime-are badly compiled. It exhibits the writers' insufficient grasp of material, demonstrated by the addition of an Epilogue, prepared by Demy P. Sonza, on the origin of the Visayans, which is by far the most perceptive section of the book. The work is divided into three segments. Part one surveys the people, the land and the resources of the island of Panay. It contains much touristic information, and is larded with digressions on the island's racial make-up which would satisfy few, critical anthropologists. Part two makes generalizations about the early settlers, romanticizes the coming of the Malay people, and narrates the Spanish conquest and the regimes that follow one upon the other: Spanish, American, Japanese and Filipino. Thereto are added chapters of uneven quality on religion, literature and the role of the press. It is not very evident why these subjects are singled out for separate treatment. The chapter on literature is of more permanent interest, while that on religion treats Roman Catholicism sympathetically, but gets bogged down in sectarian detail concerning Protestant missions. 310 Finally, part three comprises 33 vignettes of prominent Panayanos in the island's history, which do not materially affect the basic outline of the story. In general, the divisions within the book constitute a problem in chronology. For example, in the far too brief treatment (two small chapters) of the Spanish period, late nineteenth-century "developments" are hitched on to those of much earlier periods with a sudden jump in time. This leaves not only an untidy impression-it is contrary to the underlying assumption that the history of a given population, to a large degree, is subject to slow, imperceptable changes in the social order, though punctuated by peak experiences. What the authors perform here is an intellectual jolt in reverse. They sample these highlights, appropriate them as historical facts, and paste them together without any clarification of their temporal and spatial context. Thus, the introduction of the ayuntamiento in Iloilo Province in 1890 follows immediately upon a most un- satisfactory "discussion" of the establishment of government by alcaldes mayores at the end of the seventeenth century, which replaced the abusive encomienda system (pp. 150-51). The authors make matters unintelligible in places. For example, the Augustinian curate system is confused with the organization of Spanish civil government (pp. 148-49). Furthermore, many questions are left unanswered. Why, for instance, was the post of alcalde mayor not abolished in 1886, as in Luzon and Mindoro? The reader is left entirely in the dark when considering the administration of justice or the workings of the bureaucracy, especially with regard to the role of the principalia class and its con- nivance with the friars. The various religious orders were assigned the task of bringing the gospel to the "Indios". It was to the Dominicians and Jesuits that the Visayan Islands were allocated, and yet Panay became an Augustinian stronghold-how did this come about? And what effect did the expulsion of the Jesuits have on Panayan society between 1768 and 1859? Regalado and Franco also fail to discuss the growth of cacique rule. Caciquismo, or local boss rule, struck deep roots in seventeenth-century Mexico, and subsequently also in the Philippines, especially in the rural districts where the Spanish magistrates got rich from forced assessments in the form of salt, seeds or rice. They peddled favours and helped suppress unrest, and there was a marked dichotomy between Spanish written law and its practice, the latter which was governed by the caciques operating as a conspiracy against the law. As to other Spanish institutions, social scien- tists have also been extremely interested in the workings of the compadrazgo system of ritual coparenthood, the plaza complex whereby all essential activities converge upon one central location, and the fiesta complex with its concomittant features. At least some reference to their historical development and the impact of hispanization on them might help to clarify any bearing these institutions have on present-day elite formation in the country's adjustment to a capitalist world economy. Visayans, according to popular opinion, are peaceful and more pliable than other Filipinos, yet three major uprisings occurred in Panay, notably the Igbaong revolt of 1586 in Antique, and two other undated (sic) rebellions, one in San Jose, the other in Capiz, which underscore the essentially violent nature of Spanish "pacification" of the Philippine Islands. In the case of the Igbaong movement, the insurrection was directed against the abuses of the friars (p. 122), no further comments being given. However, it is primarily in the field of social and economic history that the available historical facts are not rendered in a credible presentation; in effect, they are incomplete. In the field of labour recruiting, nothing is said about the Panayan polistas forced to work on the shipyards of Arevalo and Cavite during the Ibero-Dutch .

Load more

  2

Copy Link