Philippine History: Chapter 8 - Where can we find the 'parcel of land' donated in 1906?

Chapter 8. Where can we find today the "parcel of land" that Señor Alejandro Acuña donated in 1906?

Using the description of the location written in the Jalandoni memoirs which I quoted in Chapter 7, I studied the topography of the possible sites in Victorias City that are adjacent to Magnanud River; I visited the neighborhood Embarcadero in Barangay 1 (embarcadero is a Spanish word that means a pier or wharf); and I also visited the low-lying areas around Brgy. 1 and Brgy. 3 where an old swamp was located.

I then discovered that the land where the Yap-Quina Subdivision (in Brgy. 3) currently stands used to be a wetland and was a humáyan or rice plantation. This must have been the sapâ (swamp) described in the Jalandoni memoirs. There was no other possible area for a swamp in the city that sits next to the northern banks of the Magnanud River, or near Embarcadero, and not too far from Daan Banwa.

I then mapped out my discoveries and located on Google Earth the location of the donated land. 

(Using a Google Earth screenshot and the 

description of the location as per the Jalandoni memoirs, I marked in blue shade the area 

where the 'parcel of land' donated by 

Señor Yap-Quiña in 1906 was located. The area is now occupied by private homes and businesses. 

I indicated the city's important landmarks in the screenshot for reference.)  

There was never a swamp near the present-day city hall and public plaza area because this place 

has the highest elevation in the city center. Swamps are only located in low-lying areas where water could settle. This spot could never be the location of the donated land.

To prove it, you can stand on the national highway of Victorias, with the the public plaza in front of you and the Petron gasoline station at your back, and look towards the directions of Bacolod (south) and Manapla (north). You'll notice that the roads from where you're standing descend. That means your spot is highly elevated. That's why it never floods in this area. 

So, based on the words of Señor Esteban Jalandoni and on the topography or the land features of Victorias, the land where the current city hall and the public plaza stand is not the land donated by Señor Yap-Quiña.

So what about the two-hour conversation between Sr. Cipriano Jimenez and Sr. Yap-Quiña? Could it be that they discussed the details of the donation, which actually consisted of a parcel of land next to Magnanud River and letting those uprooted houses from Leon Montinola's land transfer to Hda. Guinpanaan? And did Sr. Yap-Quiña really transfer the ownership of those 20 hectares in Guinpanaan and that parcel of the land next to Magnanud River?

As of this writing, no signed deed of sale or deed of donation has ever been presented to the public to confirm the donation's exact location and land size. I would have been very much interested to see it as concrete evidence supporting the putting up of a monument in the Victorias public plaza in honor of Señor Yap-Quiña because this was done with taxpayers' money.

I would also be interested, for true history's sake, to read the authentic original certificate of title (OCT) or even the transfer certificate of title (TCT) of the said 'parcel of land'. Because if there was, we can study the documents and trace the location indicated thereon. No one even knows the exact size of the donated land, too. 

Interestingly enough, when I asked the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) about Alejandro Acuña Yap-Quiña and his monument at the Victorias public plaza, they told me that "NHCP does not have the specific records about him and/or his monument in Victorias City, Negros Occidental."

                                                  

               (NHCP chairman's October 1, 2019 
                         reply to my inquiry)

The NHCP also sent me their guidelines on putting up monuments in the Philippines. Guideline No. 12-b looks interesting. 

(The NHCP's Guideline No. 12-b prohibits 
monuments endorsed by the honoree's 

relatives without public acceptance and 
should be sanctioned by a national 
government agency.😱 

Read this online article and decide. Further, the NHCP guidelines require me to ask: was this monument donated by private individuals and not paid for by taxpayers' money? And what national government agency sanctioned the putting up of such monument?

As of this writing, the controversial monument of Alejandro Acuña Yap-Quiña standing at the Victorias public plaza is well lighted at night, has manicured lawns surrounding it, and is bigger than those of Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio. But this monument, allegedly put up by a city ordinance in 2014 (I haven't read it), has been controversial.

(Señor Yap-Quina's monument in 

Victorias public plaza)

(Andres Bonifacio's monument)

        (Jose Rizal's monument)

And as I am writing about the history regarding donation, more questions and arguments came to mind:

1. If Señor Yap-Quiña, with all due respect to him, in 1906 really meant to donate land without expecting recognition and praises, why put up an expensive monument for him?😕

2. If you noticed in the description of the location of the donated land, it was sandwiched by two of Señor Yap-Quiña's properties. Again, with all due respect to him, I wonder if he had a business agenda when he donated his land? Was this part of his two-hour conversation with Sr. Jimenez on October 2, 1906?

Did he donate 'a parcel of land' just so it would become a town center and his adjacent properties would rise in value? He was a Chinese businessman after all. Or perhaps, he eventually put up stores on both adjacent vacant lots as he later had a captive market right in front because the casa-municipal was always where people gathered everyday. Was this 'philantrophic deed' a mere business strategy to transfer the muncípio in the middle of his property? 😕

If you're asking why were those uprooted homes not relocated here next to the Magnanud River? Simple. The land surrounding the new casa-municipal would eventually be prime lots. Why would you give those away?

Or was Señor Yap-Quiña used by the town council to spite Señor Leon Montinola by asking the former, not only for the land where the houses would be relocated, but also for a 'parcel of land' where the município could be transferred to?😕

As I said, there are more stories hidden beneath those written words.😀

3. The Jalandoni memoirs mentioned of "veinte hectareas". If at that time, "veinte hectareas" were equivalent to today's measurement of 20 hectares, that means they represented 200,000 square meters as one hectare is equivalent to 10,000 square meters. the City of Victorias has a land area of 133,900,000 square meters. Those "veinte hectareas" represented only 00.149% of the City's total land area, and not even 1%. If you'd argue that it's the thought that counts, well I'd say computation counts as well because I heard other landed Victoriahanons also donated land in the past at even bigger sizes, and yet no monument was made to their names. Just like genuine, sincere philanthropists, they probably just wanted to remain quiet. 😏 

But the more important questions are: Were the homes from Leon Montinola's land really relocated to Hda. Guinpanaan? And if so, were the townspeople given the land or simply the right to use it? If Sr. Yap-Quiña donated those 20 hectares to the town, where in Hda. Guinpanaan can we see those 20 hectares and does the City of Victorias own it now?😕

4. The 1953 compilation describes the donation as "a parcel of land" because in 1906, the town only needed a size that was good enough to fit an equivalent of a present-day barangay hall. They did not plan to build a huge palatial município because the town had no money, had a small populace, and their plan was just to 'stretch' the town to the other side of Magnanud River in a new location 700 meters east of Daan Banwa because their original plan of building it on the area, now known as Toreno Heights Subdivision, was contested by Señor Leon Montinola and the heirs of Don Teodoro Benedicto. 

Plus, if the donation was indeed a huge tract of land, the 1953 compilation would have described it as 'hacienda', and not just "a parcel of land".

5. Although the Jalandoni memoirs never mentioned what Señor Yap-Quiña wanted in return for his donation, it's the unwritten things that raise questions. 

The past alcáldes of Victorias like Miraflores, Gonzaga, Ascalon, De Leon, Ardosa, Casañares, Arnaez, Jover, Jalandoni, Tongoy, and Montinola have streets named after them. There's also a Yap-Quiña St. named after Señor Yap-Quiña. So, why can't the proponents of this monument be satisfied with a street name, alongside other alcáldes? 

If the donation was such a big deal, why didn't the past mayors put up this monument as early as the 1950s? 1960s? 1970s? 1980s? 1990s? Or even in the early 2000s?

Is the late Señor Yap-Quiña being exploited now by the living for their own political propaganda, one that is not even sanctioned by any national government agency?😕

6. The NHCP's Guideline No. 12-b prohibits putting up monuments by the relatives of the honoree. If you read this online article, you may have an idea about the relative who put up this monument. 

As the citizens and taxpayers of Victorias paid for this expensive monument, the cost of which was not even consulted and justified, is that a direct violation of the NHCP guideline?😕 

7. Though donating the land was an admirable deed, for me, Señor Yap-Quiña's place in the history of Victorias is trumped by the deeds of Señor Esteban Jalandoni and the legendary character of Capitana Tutang. Where's the tribute to the more deserving  Señor Esteban Jalandoni?

8. Now that we know Señor Yap-Quiña's donated parcel of land disappeared and no longer city property, why were a local public elementary school and a gym (which was built during the mayorship of Jesus Fermin in the 1970s) named after him?

9. For the past three years, I have seen these pamphlet and poster about the declared Don Alejandro Acuña Yap-Quiña Day in Victorias City. Being a writer, I immediately noticed the change in the slogan: from "where Victorias stands today" (2017) to "from which Victorias City has sprouted to what is it today"(2019).

I can prove both slogans wrong.😃

One, the "land where Victorias stands today"  donated in 1906 was actually just a "parcel of land" in the Embarcadero area and is nowhere to be found. And "land where Victorias stands today" means the WHOLE city. Do you think he really donated 133.9 million square meters?

A reason I can think of is that the donated land was sold when the town officials decided to look for higher grounds where the município could transfer to after the 1922 flood (story in Chapter 12 - read here) that must have inundated the old município. If it was eventually sold, the proceeds must have been used to help build the new município. 

(2017 poster)

Two, "from which Victorias City has sprouted..." should not refer to the current city center because Victorias City sprouted from Daan Banwa and nowhere else. That's where everything began even before the 1880s.

(current 2019 poster)

10. Another NHCP guideline was violated. Since there are now three (3) monuments in the public plaza, according to NHCP, the 'local hero' should be placed in the lobby of the building around the site, in this case, our city hall, while the more important heroes, Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio, should remain next to the flag pole.

Plus, the local hero should only be represented by a bust and not by a life-size monument.

And while we're at it, I have a theory about the land where the current city hall and public plaza now stand. 

Using the same logic about donating one's land for purposes of increasing the value of one's adjacent property, or for the convenience and prestige of living at the town center, I think the old landed families who owned land around the current city center donated a part of their property to become the national highway, public plaza, and município. Again, that's just a theory as I don't have the resources to excavate the past deeper. 😂 

Two landed owners with properties in front of the public plaza were Don Porfirio V. Ascalon (1901-1971), who, I was told, donated the early school buildings of Victorias North Elementary School, and used to own almost the whole block where the Mormon church now stands, and Don Felix L. Montinola owned the block to Don Porfirio's right. We can probably figure this out if somebody manages to find out the other original owners of those properties around the area.😮

Again, it was an admirable act for Señor Yap-Quiña to donate "a parcel of land" (that eventually disappeared) but putting up a monument on the public plaza using the public funds without proper documentation, research, and moral justification was just an expensive mistake. 😭

Let's take this one step further. 

Could it be that the 1906 "parcel of land" still exists and is intact as one property in or near the Embarcadero area?  

I have asked around and inspected the area, and I think I know what stands on it now. But then again, it's just a theory.😕

Chapter 9: Leon Montinola changes his mind and runs for election (March 1907)

Complete history blog: "Ang Kasaysayan sang Victorias"