History That You Can Touch: 1811 Mexican Reales Coin used in the Philippines during the Spanish Period

I wonder if this coin is the oldest one in town.

In my blog about my 1821 Mexican reales coin (read blog here), I referenced to the history of Mexico where the 1821 coin was the last of its kind as Mexico started to mint its own coin in 1822 when it gained independence from Spain.

But this 1811 Mexican reales coin also made me wonder how many families had settled at the mouth of the Malihaw River in what is now called Daan Banwa in Victorias City, where did they come from and what was their way of life.

This coin, called the reales, was used in the Philippines during the Spanish period and was denominated in 8-reales. These were brought to Las Islas Filipinas via the Galleon Trade that started from 1565 to 1815. It stopped in 1815 because Mexico already started to revolt against Spain to gain independence.

But to reference this coin to Philippine history, the first Philippine newspaper, Del Superior Govierno, was established in 1811 with the Spanish Governor General himself as the editor and its intended readers were the Spaniards living in the Philippines, and its content was mostly about news from Spain, according to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

Also in 1811, Señor Ventura de los Reyes of Ilocos travelled to Spain to represent the colony at Cortes de Cadiz, the Spanish parliament where representatives from the colonies in the Americas and the Philippines were asked to join and be represented. This parliament drafted the 1812 Spanish Constitution.

This 1811 Mexican reales coin was minted when the Viceroyalty of New Spain, as Mexico was then called, supervised the administration over the Philippines.

This coin's obverse (front side) features the view from the right side of King Ferdinand VII's face and head with the words "FERDIN VII" for King Ferdinand VII of Spain, and "DEI GRATIA", meaning, 'by the grace of God'. The '1811' the year it was minted, is written below it. King Ferdinand VII reigned twice: in 1808, and 1813 until he died in 1833.

The reverse shows the words "HISPAN ET IND REX", meaning 'Spain and the King of Indies'. It also shows a crown over symbols of crowned lions and castles that are sandwiched by two columns of Hercules that are wrapped by ribbons. The dollar symbol ($) which has two vertical lines wrapped by ribbons is said to have originated from this symbol.

This coin has some silver content and weighs 27 grams. As the Mexican reales coin was widely circulated in Mexico, the Philippines, and other Spanish colonies, this coin must have had changed hands thousands of times since 1811. From Hispanic merchants to Chinese traders and to peninsulares, insulares, indios, and even pirates, this particular coin's history is more interesting than its design and commercial value.

                                  * * * * *

(PHOTOS of this 1811 Mexican reales coin were taken at Daan Banwa and at the Victoria Public Plaza.)

#oldcoins #oldcoinscollection #mexico #mexicanreales #Spanishcoin #Spain #philippines 

#numismatics #history #historians #philippinehistory

#coincollecting #VictoriasCity #victoriaslgu #negros

Our 50-Year Old Uway Baskets

Back in the 1970s, my father, who worked at the local branch of PNB, was gifted by his client with this uway basket with an attached cover. His client, a man from the northern part of the Negros Island, told him that he made and sold uway baskets. So, my father ordered one.

Uway, the local name for rattan, is a popular material for baskets because they are durable, pliant and versatile. When my father's order came, his officemates at PNB saw it and also ordered baskets from the maker, and because the man got more orders because of my father, he gifted my father with a bigger uway basket!

For years, my mother would bring the basket to picnics at the nearby beach. She used it to carry plates, cups, utensils, and food.

When I saw these baskets in the storeroom the other day, I took them out, inspected them, and found that they are still usable! After all these decades!

But what fascinated me was the artistry and creativity! Since I hated Geometry and Drafting in high school, I am amazed at how the fibers were woven, twisted, knotted, and tied to give the basket an oblong shape that looked, well, sosyal! I don't know if that maker had a diagram of the basket written down on paper, but, I guess, it was a combination of his skill and artistry that created these baskets!

I am no expert but there must be a thin bamboo strip that serves as a frame but it is still strong and looks durable that it can carry my santol!

These baskets are now at least 50 years old with expected loose uway at the handle. They have outlived appliances and other electronics, and probably me someday.

My hands may touch them as baskets but my eyes see them as works of art.😎

#uway #uwaybasket #rattan #rattanbasket #artistry #artisan #nature #baskets #santol

Philippine Elections 2025: A Letter to a Mayor-Elect

Days before he is sworn in as our City's new mayor, I wrote a letter to the mayor-elect to teach him a few lessons on how to be one.

                                  * * * * *

June 24, 2025 

Vice Mayor Abelardo Bantug III                                            City Government of Victorias

Dear Vice Mayor Bantug:

This is with regard to your May 7, 2025 letter to me which served as your "consolidated response" to my complaint letters to Councilors Dino Acuna and Eric Alcobilla dated April 16, 2025 and April 25, 2025, respectively, as chairpersons of the Committee on Natural Resources, Environmental Protection and Ecology, and the Committee on Public Safety and Order, respectively. My letters to them were about my concerns and complaints regarding City Ordinance No. 2023-59, the Car-free day Ordinance that closes certain city streets every first Monday of the month.

Your letter, which was obviously written by a lawyer for you, was disappointing and insulting. Disappointing because, even in two wordy pages, you never addressed any of my concerns; you simply deflected them. Insulting because, instead of listening, you simply threw legalese towards my direction that was meant to humiliate any reader. If I wanted a lecture about the Local Government Code, I would just have gone online.

That is not the way public servants respond to the issues, concerns, and complaints that are brought to their attention. You must have forgotten that it is the people of Victorias City that have been paying for your salaries, benefits, and bonuses all these years, and of course, for your delicious meals, travels, hotels, and everything else that you think you deserve we should pay for.

On Monday, June 30, 2025, six days from now, you will be sworn in as the new mayor of our City, but it seems to me you badly need the following lessons on how to be one:

1. Always listen to the voices of the Victoriahanon

When a citizen goes to the City Hall or to any barangay hall to complain, that means he or she is serious about that complaint. The tone from the top should be that of a government that listens to its people, and not one that dismisses them. You and your local government do not have the monopoly of ideas. Neither do you have a complete understanding of everyone's perspectives and experiences. These I learned from my direct engagement with your government. Once your government accepts those facts, it will be easier for you to work for us and with us.

If you do this, we may no longer need to involve the Anti-Red Tape Authority, the Civil Service Commission, of the Ombudsman just to force you to listen.

2. Ordinances and executive decisions should always be for the common good

Based on the information I have gathered, this is what happened and what is happening in regard to the 'Car-free day Ordinance': (1) The Sangguniang Panlungsod approved the ordinance without any public hearing, consultation or discussion with the residents, private vehicle owners, tricycle drivers, business owners, and the administration, faculty, and the students of Victorias Elementary School and their parents; (2) the local government did not conduct any information campaign about it as required by the Ordinance; (3) the local government did not review its effects as required by the Ordinance; (4) everyone suffers during 'Car-free days; (5) city officials still bring their vehicles to work during 'Car-free' days. I discovered that the local government violated its own ordinance by not complying with Sections 8 and 9 of the said Ordinance.

As the presiding offer, you should have made sure that ordinances, especially those that impact the local economy, public safety, and the welfare of the people, are thoroughly studied, have public hearings conducted about it, and discussed with all the stakeholders before its approval. The councilors should have gone out of their offices, gone house-to-house, and spoken to all stakeholders and people who would be impacted. None of those was done for the 'Car-free day' Ordinance.

You should always understand that most people, like tricycle drivers, do not have the time to attend public hearings at the City Hall because they have to make a living during the day. Worse, I learned that the Sangguniang Panlungsod does not exactly like the idea of a lot of people attending public hearings because, when I asked the staff of the Victorias City Information Office (VCIO) in the morning of January 24, 2025, a Friday, as to why the notice of the January 27, 2025 public hearing regarding the P1.086 billion loan disappeared from the VCIO Facebook page, I was told that the Secretary of the Sangguniang Panlungsod told her to delete the said notice.

Fortunately, there were concerned citizens out there who saved the post and sent me a copy. Otherwise, I would not have known about the hearing and I would not have been able to ask the questions which none of the city officials, you included, and members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod present was able to answer. The citizens who attended that hearing went home very disappointed. You should know; you were there.

Every year, the Department of the Interior and Local Government holds the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) recognition program, and if you really understood the issues I raised in my letters to the two aforementioned councilors, at least four of the criteria were violated by the 'Car-free day' Ordinance, namely: (1) Social Protection and Sensitivity; (2) Business Friendliness and Competitiveness; (3) Safety, Peace, and Order; and (4) Environmental Management.

When you get to be mayor, can you please ask yourself whether ordinances or executive decisions are all for the common good, or it will violate any of the SGLG criteria?

3. Listen to your conscience, and not to those who whisper in your ears

Be your own person. This is the time when you have to grow up for our sake. You probably will take orders from so-called advisers who have their own agenda and who already have concrete plans for bleeding the City dry. For the sake of the Victoriahanon, make sure you surround yourself with the people who are honest, sincere, and who will work for the real 'asenso'. Do not let yourself be some people's puppet.

You now have the opportunity to create your own legacy, a legacy that you can be proud of someday; a legacy that is corruption-free and one that really works for the people.

4. Be a leader, not a dictator

I understand that your May 7, 2025 letter tells me to just shut up and not complain. Victorias needs a leader, not a dictator. A leader listens; a dictator does not.

So, which one will you be?

5. Genuine public service above online praises and awards

As I told the City Administrator in my March 5, 2025 letter to him, the local government should perform and provide genuine public service for us, the people of Victorias, and not just for its press released and for awards given by outsiders as they are not the ones who wade through the floods during heavy rains, fall into open excavation holes that cannot be seen after dark, endure secondhand smoke in public areas, and endure inconvenience during the 'Car-free' day.

If the local government only works for awards and for 'judges' who come to visit only for a day, then, those awards do not really translate to real public service. The 'real judges' are us, the people of Victorias.

6. Make real 'asenso' your legacy

When you ran for vice mayor in 2022, you and your allies used 'asenso' as your byline. Victorias was a 4th class city then. When you become mayor next week, it will still be a 4th class city but with a debt of more than a billion pesos.

We hope that your administration will focus on the goal of lifting everyone up, especially the marginalized Victoriahanon, even in the midst of the burden on our financial resources caused by the P1.5 billion borrowing which I found out was hastily approved.

7. Comply with Section 8(b)(1)(m) of Republic Act No. 8488

Republic Act No. 8488 is the law that created our City, and a specific Section of that law requires the mayor to "visit component barangays of the City at least once every three (3) months to deepen his understanding of problems and conditions, listen and give appropriate counsel to local officials and inhabitants of general laws and ordinances which especially concern them, and otherwise conduct visits and inspections to ensure that the governance of the City will improve the quality of life of the inhabitants."

We urge you to visit us in the barangays and not waste taxpayers' money on frivolous trips to Italy and other countries to attend food festivals that bring no obvious economic benefits to our local farmers and local restaurants.

During the April 10, 2025 hearing held at the Victorias City Public Library for my complaint that I filed at the Anti-Red Tape Authority against the Sangguniang Panlungsod, I told the City's department heads who were convened as the local Committee on Anti-Red Tape that they "cannot see the problems of Victorias from inside their air-conditioned offices". I strongly urge you to visit all barangays, neighborhoods, markets, farmers, fisherfolks, and tricycle drivers' associations because you, too, cannot solve the problems of Victorias while just sitting comfortable in your air-conditioned office.

had you been roaming around, you would have noticed that the satellite fruit and vegetable market at Bangga Daan has been unused since the late 2022. Until now, it is unusable even though the targeted completion date was March 4, 2025.

One important reason for Section 8(b)(1)(m) is for you to not just deliver a monologue but to engage us in a dialogue. In the next three years, you will deliver speeches almost every Monday at the public plaza. A speech is just a monologue; a one-way communication. But when you visit us in the barangays, that monologue becomes a dialogue, which then becomes a conversation.

I encourage you to visit the barangays, not just to cut ribbons or serve arroz caldo. You have the chance to really see, listen, and find out what needs to be done. You will then learn how to serve.

By the way, during the public hearing at the City Hall on January 27, 2025, I raised the issue of the waiting sheds for the commuters in the City. I also wrote the city administrator about it. It has been five months; nobody listened. Very sad.

8. Make transparency your legacy

I went to the City Accountant's office on January 30, 2025, to ask for the 2024 financial statements of the City. At first, the City Accountant, whose office is at the ground floor of the City Hall, wanted me to write another letter to the mayor for the same purpose. I told her that she was giving me, an ordinary citizen, a hard time as I had to write another and go up the stairs to the mayor's office for the same purpose: a request for financial statements that should have been available to everyone.

The kind of reluctance on the part of the local government to be transparent about the people's money and where it is spent should have no place in your government. If you really want good governance as part of your legacy, post the monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements of the City's income and expenses online so everyone can read it and be aware where our money is spent. 

The https://victoriascity.gov.ph/ website is also not updated. The ordinances and resolutions for 2023 are only up to the third quarter, while the 2024 ordinances and resolutions posted are only up to the second quarter.

While the Facebook page of the VCIO is full of praises and photographs of the public officials, and occasional, irrelevant birthday greetings of people not from Victorias, we will appreciate if the said Facebook page and the City's official website become the media of transparency by posting periodically the City's financial statements that show how much we earn and how much we spend each month, quarter, and year, as well as notices of public hearings and proposed ordinances.

The VCIO can start by creating an album where the City's annual financial statements audited by the Commission on Audit, as well as its findings and recommendations, will be posted. 

I hope that during your term, we will finally feel that the local government really values transparency. 

9. Remind yourself every day that the government is not about your but about us, the people of Victorias.

We know that some, if not all, of the elected officials feel that the world revolves around them. It seems that the people have mistakenly elected egos (and maybe some crooks!) into office, and not public servants. We hope that once you become our mayor, you will always remind all officials that they are public servants, and therefore should always put themselves in our shoes in all your legislation and government decisions.

The people should not be just a footnote in your speeches nor an afterthought in your legislation adn decision-making.

We are and should be the center of government.

                                * * * * *

On July 7, 2025, the first Monday of July, the 'Car-free day' Ordinance will be imposed again. On that day, I suggest you do the following: (1) stand at the corner of Montinola and Yap Quiña Streets at 7AM to observe the chaos the VES students and their parents will endure; (2) take a tricycle from the Victorias National High School to the Victorias Commercial Center (VCC) that will be forced to detour around Brgy. 4 doubling the fuel usage and reducing the earnings of the tricycle drivers; (3) observe the vehicle congestion along Miraflores, Jover and Arnaez Sts. in Barangay 3 that will again endanger public safety; (4) stand at the corners of Jover and Ardosa Sts., and Jover and Jalandoni Sts. at 4PM to observe traffic congestion; (5) stand at the corner of Osmeña Avenue and Jover St. to observe how the delivery men struggle to bring goods on their trolleys across the highway under the scorching sun or rain to get to the VCC because delivery vans will not be allowed; and (6) talk to the rice dealers and business owners at VCC and ask about the impact on their sales when consumers like the senior citizens will refrain from buying goods that day as it will be heavy for them to carry because they will have no access to the tricycles at the market's north entrance.

Tani, maluoy ka man sa mga tricycle drivers. Nagasaka pa guid ang presyo sang gasolina. If you empathize and feel pity, then you may just be the mayor we need.

The Victorias we create today is as important to the future Victoriahanon as it is to us now. We pray that your term will be successful because your success is our success.

Madamo nga salamat. 

#victoriaslgu #victoriascity #negrosoccidental #philippines #mayor #governance #publicservice #serviciopublico

Throwback Blog: THE 2002 CLORETS URBAN HUNT

One workday morning in early April 2002, Remy, my classmate at Alliance Francaise de Manille, the cultural arm of the French Embassy where we attended French classes twice a week, and I waited to be interviewed by a staff of an advertising company at their offices along Ayala Avenue in Makati City. We were one of the two-person teams to apply to join the first-ever Clorets Urban Hunt in Manila.

Clorets, the mint candy brand, was holding a race in the streets of Metro Manila that they named Clorets Urban Hunt, just like the reality TV show, The Amazing Race. While The Amazing Race was filmed across different countries over several weeks and had big budget and audience, the Clorets Urban Hunt was probably held so that Clorets consumers would have fun; the Hunt simply consisted of one elimination day and one finals day.

There would be 90 teams during the elimination round that would be held over three Saturdays. From the 30  teams that would compete for each Saturday, only the top ten finishers would move on to the finals.  There must have been at least a hundred teams who applied, and we were lucky to have been one of the 90 that were selected.

Before the interview, we were asked to come up with a name. We decided to call ourselves 'Deux-Plex', meaning two-folds, a simple derivative of translating into French the word 'two' and suffixing it with 'plex'. 

The lady who interviewed us must have found us unique because we told her we were classmates at Alliance Francaise and could speak French, not that it was a required skill, but I think she found us, well, different from other teams. Or maybe she was a francophone and loved anything French like croissant or french fries. Or, we just charmed her. Ha-ha-ha!

(This first clue made us run to Makati Avenue 

and look for a bar next to Wendy's)

We were assigned to compete on the first day, April 27, 2002, a Saturday, and we all assembled at the tennis courts of the Rockwell in Makati City before the 9AM start of the race.

We were given the Clorets shirt as uniform and were assigned as Team No. 19. During the briefing, we were told that each team would be trailed a videographer who would document the tasks required of us to execute. In short, the videographer would be there to make sure we wouldn't cheat like taking a cab instead of a jeepney, or asking for help from outsiders. Our videographer was a man who looked 50-ish. He told us that he was hired because he had a videotape recorder; phone cameras weren't available then.

The race would test the team's skills in solving clues and executing the tasks required.

The first clue above, if you read it, would require you to run to Makati Avenue and look for a bar next to Wendy's. For this, we didn't really have to look for it because everyone ran towards that direction, and Remy and I simply had to follow them!

This was the first 'hurdle', or a task we need to accomplish. Only one of us had to go inside a dark room, must have been bar, to look for an item. I told Remy that I would be the one to go in, and voila! It took me less than a minute to find an item that was hidden behind a picture frame.

Inside the dark room, everyone was bending down and looking under the tables and chairs, while I immediately thought that if there was anything hidden, it would be at a place no one thought it would be: behind a picture frame hanging on the wall! And I was right!

After I found the item, which must have been a Clorets, I immediately surrendered it to the marshall and he gave me the next clue. Remy was surprised to see me out immediately! 

This clue gave us a choice: whether to rush to Cash and Carry near the South Superhighway, or to the Santa Ana Race Tracks. We chose the Cash and Carry because it was familiar to us.

From Makati Avenue, we ran to Buendia Avenue to take a jeep going to the grounds of the Cash and Carry. There we simply had to buy Clorets mint from a vendor and showed it to the marshall. It didn't take long.

At this point, I felt we were ahead of most of the teams because we completed the first hurdle in seconds.

We then ran back to Buendia Avenue and took a jeepney that would bring us to Manila.

And this was where I made a mistake. Overthinking made us lose about half an hour.

The clues above made me first think it was Malate but then, the words "blood history" and "independence's victory" made me think it was the monument of Jose Rizal at Luneta Park.

So, instead of getting off at Malate, we went to Luneta Park, where we saw no one. I thought this was the end of our race.

We decided to go back to Malate from Luneta Park, and voila! Everyone was there at Malate Church!

We decided to go back to Malate from Luneta Park, and voila! Everyone was there at Malate Church!

After reading the clue above, I thought Reverend Cuadrado was the current parish priest. But when we realized it was about history, we went looking for the marker installed by the National Historical Institute and found our answer!

We moved on to the next hurdle!

When I read the clues above, I immediately knew it was the CCP Complex! The Cultural Center of the Philippines area. Why? Because this was where I played tennis every weekend!

So, it was a jeepney ride back to the Pasay area. And at the junction of Vito Cruz and the Bangko Sentral, we alighted and took the red-yellow shuttle to the CCP grounds. This was where I thought this was getting really fun!

But I was wrong!

I remember we found the marshall in the parking lot of the CCP grounds, just across PICC, where there was a Clorets marker. The task we were required to do was to rent a pedicab and use it to travel to another part of the CCP grounds, the Film Center of the Philippines.

This was where things got scary!

Since I was the one who pedalled the cab, Remy and our videographer were my passengers. The pedicab had no roof and they both seated right in front with an open front!

Although I knew how to ride a bike, maneuvering a pedicab was altogether a different kind of driving for me!

As we were rushing to get to the Film Center fast, I pedalled fast and our pedicab careened through the streets of the CCP grounds. But as we were almost at a junction, the weight of the passenger car somehow messed up with my sense of balance and I lost control of the pedicab! 

Luckily, the streets in the grounds had island where bushes were planted, and I remember not being able to put a stop to the pedicab because there was no brake (!) and both my passengers probably realized that, too! How? Because I heard Remy scream the name I used at our French classes, "ALPHONSE!" Ha-ha-ha!

Our pedicab headed straight into the bushes of the island and bumped into the concrete encasing, and since Remy and our videographer had nothing to cling on to, they both flew out of the pedicab and embraced the bushes! Sadly, I did not know the scientific names of the plants! Ha-ha-ha!

I thought it was over for us! I thought I broke the pedicab or killed our videographer! The poor man immediately checked his videotape recorder as he dropped it during the mishap. It was still working!

I think I scraped my knees or something, but it was nothing, I thought because I could still stand, walk, and pedal! Remy and our videographer also picked themselves up, and we continued on with the race!

When we got to the Film Center area, we were told we  missed the cut-off time, so there was no 'carrot' or a free pass for us. Instead, we got the next clue below.

I can't remember what the answer was about this 'Kartilya ng Katipunan'. But I think Remy was able to answer it and so, we got our next clue.

And upon reading it, we realized we were heading to...Binondo!

At the Binondo plaza, we looked for a Clorets guy wearing ordinary clothes, and not the Clorets uniform. We found him and he gave us the next clue below.

This clue was perfect for Remy! She could read Chinese! 

I can't remember where we headed after seeing that we needed to eat something weird. But we did anyway. Maybe we were both starving that, even if it was some frog or lizard we had to eat, we ate it anyway. Ha-ha-ha! 

If it were ma-chang, it would have been a delight for because it's my favorite and in those days, I even ventured into Binondo from Paranaque just to get my ma-chang fix!

This was the final clue we received and it was a relief to see it! Finally, we were off to the finish line!

We had to go back to Rockwell in Makati City and be counted as a finisher. From Binondo, I remember we rushed to the LRT - Carriedo Station, then switched to MRT at Edsa Station, then got off at Guadalupe Station. From there, we ran down from the station and took a JP Rizal jeep and alighted at the Rockwell entrance.

We then hurried to the tennis courts of Rockwell and were announced as the 15th team to finish. We didn't make the cut. Only the first ten would qualify for the finals.

But as we were walking into the court, there was an announcement of our arrival! And it was nice of the other teams to clap for us! Remy and moi felt like we achieved something that day! All those running, stressful tasks, and of course, their flying off the pedicab seemed worth all the trouble after all!

Had I not overthought that Malate Church clue, we could have easily landed in the top ten, but then, Remy said that she would not want to compete even if we made it to the final round because, that night, she was sore all over like I was! I could not get out of bed once I got home at about 5PM after eating an early dinner and hit the bed even if there was still some daylight! My legs, my whole body actually, gave in! It was like we trained for the Olympics all day long!

So, thanks to Clorets and the organizers of the 2002 Urban Hunt. This experience inspired me to create my own 'amazing race' in Baguio City in 2003 for my groupmates at ABAS-C at Isla Lipana & Co.

It was a race and a competition that was actually a teambuilding exercise. Using my creativity and my knowledge of Baguio City (we all stayed at the villas of the Baguio Country Club), I made eight group run around Baguio City doing tasks and answering questions in getting their clues.

I included a bowling game, shopping at the Baguio public market, a run up the Baguio Cathedral, a purchase at the shop of Good Shepherd, a visit to the Burnham Park, and a quiz about the office's ethical standards. All those tasks would win points for the team and the team that had the highest score won! It was IPV's team with a purple flag, I think. Yes, the teams carried flags of different colors around Baguio as they raced!

It was a lot of fun for everyone!😎

Our final photo at the tennis courts of Rockwell after our 15th place finish.We started racing at 9AM and finished at 3PM, forgetting to eat merienda or lunch because of adrenalin. We were just so tired! Thanks to our videographer for this photo which I asked him to take.

Of course, thanks to Clorets!😊

#clorets #urbanhunt #amazingrace #makaticity #rockwell #alliancefrancaise #competition #race #binondo #malate #ccp #folkartstheater #manila

My Mother's La Familia Sagrada Carved in Wood

I noticed a small wooden sculpture of the Holy Family that was gathering dust at my mother's altar in her old room. I took it out, cleaned it, and put it on another altar outside.

As I was cleaning it, I found the Caucasian features of the figures were really prominent, and their garments were very European. Mary had a cape, Joseph had a cloak and staff, while the young Jesus wore a skirt and boots. From the back, the hair of Mary and Joseph glowed in pale yellow hue when lighted on at night.

There was something missing from Mary's right hand. It could not have been a staff like Joseph's because his staff, a long stick, was clasped by his left hand and its length appropriately touched the ground. Whatever Mary was holding could have fitted in her right hand as well. Was it a goblet? A flower? A crucifix? I can only guess.

The statue looked like it was carved out from a single chunk of wood because the base and the feet of the figures were connected; there was no sign of separation nor was there any mark that the base and the figures were plastered or glued together. 

But even with its seemingly ordinary appearance compared to my mother's other statues, this one draws one's attention once it stands alone and not beside any other statue. 

Now, this was where it got interesting.

I asked my mom how she came to own this La Familia Sagrada statue. She said she bought it from a lady in the 1970s, about 50 years ago. That lady, my mom added, also sold wooden statues that were taller, but this one, the Holy Family statue that stands at seven inches measured to the tip of the head of Saint Joseph (slightly taller than the Virgin Mary), was the only one she could afford -- at 50 pesos!

The lady told her that a horde of icons and other religious items were found in a cave in a mountain that was part of the territory of the municipality of Talisay (which became a city in 1998) in Negros Occidental.

This information kept me thinking and asking: why would these statues be kept at a cave in a mountain? Of course, I knew that this wasn't like the story of the Our Lady of Monserrat that was found in a cave in the serrated mountains of Spain (read blog here).

The only reason why people would hide religious icons and other possessions in a cave was during their evacuation in the early months of World War II. The Japanese Imperial Army arrived in Negros Occidental in May 1942 (read blog here), but families in Negros island, knowing of the impending arrival of the Japanese, had planned, prepared and left their homes in the towns and villages in the lowlands and fled to the mountains bringing with them their prized possessions before the arrival of the invaders. 

If my mother's statue was part of a Negrense family's packed possessions, it must have been brought either to the highlands using carriages dragged by carabaos or horses and was kept inside the cave in a wooden chest or ba-ul for protection and preservation from the elements. Other families who had no carriage or vehicles had to walk for days just to find a shelter outside the town or city just to avoid the cruelty and oppression of the Japanese invaders (read blog here of such tragedy).

Just like family heirlooms, religious icons and statues are always venerated and taken care of because religious Filipinos, especially during difficult times like a war, seek protection from the Almighty, the Virgin, and the saints. (Read the World War II story of the Gaston Mansion in Manapla here).

We will never know the reason why the family abandoned the statues in the cave if the story was true.

Because if it was, I can think of many reasons: the family decided to leave their possessions behind after the war, or they decided to give it away because there was a lot to carry back down to the town, or worse, the owners did not make it through the war and the possessions hidden in the caves were forgotten.

Going back to the statue.

As the features of the figures are definitely european including their garments, was the statue made in Europe, or was it just a copy that was made in Mexico but was brought to the Philippines via the galleon trade? 

The galleon trade between Acapulco (in Mexico) and Manila happened from 1565 to 1815. If this was brought to Las Filipinas via the galleon trade, the statue is at least 210 years old. I got 210 years by deducting 1815 from 2025 if the statue was made in 1815, at the latest. Considering the strong Catholic heritage and history of the Filipinos, keeping statues and santos at home has been a tradition for centuries. And some very precious statues are even made from ivory!

All my thoughts about the statue's origins are just conjectures: a statue of La Familia Sagrada that was discovered in a cave, was hidden in the mountains during the evacuation in 1942 when the Japanese Imperial Army arrived in Negros island during World War II, and was found by treasure hunters or scavengers in the later part of the 20th century, and sold to my mother in the 1970s.

How I wish I had access to a carbon-dating machine or to an antique expert to shed light on the mystery of my mother's La Familia Sagrada statue. 

I supposed there are stories that do not want to be retold.

Almost ten years ago, I sat inside the Basilica de Familia Sagrada in the Eixample district of Barcelona in Spain, after having walked for more than a kilometer finding it (read blog here). Though the Basilica was full of hundreds of tourists, I sat on a pew at the nave and became a pilgrim. I took out my holy rosary and prayed five mysteries.

I believe we do not need a basilica or a structure as grandiose as Antoni Gaudi's masterpiece in Barcelona to express our devotion the Holy Family, nor do we need to build a glittering altar dedicated to La Familia Sagrada. 

Here, on my mother's altar, sat a statue of the Holy Family, simply carved out of wood with some of its old brown paint chipped away by time but with their features clearly intact and firm, and all warmly clothed as if they were in Nazareth during the Roman times when Jesus was a boy.

Seemingly ordinary, the statue, chiseled and shaped by an artisan's hands whose name I will never know in an epoch I can only imagine, stares back at you with their eyes still expressing the solemnity of the symbolism what they represent to the Catholics, and to us as a family. 

I will never know how many homes had welcomed this La Familia Sagrada statue over the years (or centuries perhaps!) nor will I know how many altars have received it to be venerated. 

But it doesn't matter.

All we need to know is, as Catholics, we can always have our own family consecrated to the Holy Family for guidance, protection and intercession in our times of need. 🙏

#familiasagrada #holyfamily #statues #antiquestatues #Catholic #history #heirloom 

Shedding a Tear for a Shed

On January 27, 2025, I told the Sangguniang Panlungsod to prioritize building and improving the waiting sheds in Victorias. The waiting shed (left of the photo) next to the Mormon Church is in their direct line of sight when they stand on the stage at the public plaza during every Monday's flag ceremony.

During a downpour or when the sun is scorching the land, the workers, students, and other commuters who are travelling south try to squeeze into the shed for protection. This has been the situation at the waiting sheds located: (1) in front of the public plaza, (2) next to the City Health Department, (3)(4) at the opposite sides of 'Crossing Central'. I also suggested that waiting sheds be built at the Coliseum area.

Today, March 19, 2025, as the city officials of Victorias sit at their own waiting shed that was lavishly decorated with white, red and blue colors and that only took a day to build while awaiting a parade, a group of commuters huddle inside the waiting shed across them.

The picture showing the small waiting shed that has been neglected for the years and the shed built for the city officials where they comfortably sit and be shielded from the sun and rain will make you shake your head and question the city's priorities.😭

#waitingshed #publicservice #commuters #workers #publicservants

Pope Francis and My Letters to City Hall

 

As Pope Francis said, "A good Catholic meddles in politics offering the best of himself so that who govern can govern well."

So today, Ash Wednesday, I delivered an 11-page letter to the City Administrator of Victorias City to follow up on the things that I enumerated on my February 3, 2025 letter, and then to also raise some.😞

Sometimes, you need to remind the city officials to stay focused and not lose sight of what's important and what's being asked by the public they serve.😭

At times, I ask myself, "Why should I care?" I could have just gone along with my day where my biggest problem usually is: "What do I feel like having for merienda today? Or, should I have for lunch my lettuce-cucumber-tomato salad which I bathe with roasted sesame dressing and sprinkled with cheese and James Ham, then paired with Coke on ice?" (Yes, the latter is a question-slash-challenge because it takes me about ten minutes to prepare! And about 30 minutes to finish! Not to mention that by 3PM, I'd be starving again!)

But I do this because somebody has to speak up for the voiceless and for those who are afraid to speak up. (We are all aware that the word 'retaliation' is in most politicians' vocabulary).

And of course, I just love to write! Of the 11 pages, the five pages were just photographs, while the six were text that took me an afternoon to finish while sipping wintermelon milk tea with pearls.

Over the years, I must have written the various offices at City Hall a lot of letters, which should now be masterpieces in communication.

I have written letters to the Office of the Mayor, the Office of the Vice Mayor, the Sangguniang Panlungsod and a few councilors, the City Treasurer, the City Accountant, and the Committee on Anti-Red Tape! And those who are just local offices! I have to enumerate the national offices!

But here's the thing. We have to ask ourselves: where were you and what have you done when your fellow citizens needed you?

Well, I do not need to brag that I have joined volunteer groups in distributing relief goods way back in 2020 (read blog here) and during the floods of 2021. And for crying out loud, I have even organized my own community pantry in 2021 with the help of anonymous donors (read blog here) and a clean-up drive of the Malihaw River in 2022 (read blog here)! And I'm not even running for office!

I just hope that someday, when the future Victoriahanon judge us, the Victoriahanon of the present, they will be kind to us because we spoke up.

And when we finally stand in front of the Creator, we would have something to tell Him as to what we did with our time and what we did to help our brothers and sisters.

#popefrancis #goodgovernance #victoriascity #victoriaslgu #negrosoccidental #Philippines #DILG #publicservice #publicservants #concernedcitizens #civilsociety