BATANGBALER

Showbiz uli tayo. Ito ang latest chikka tungkol sa pelikulang Baler. Mula dito sa pinoyshowbiztalk.com:

Thorough research daw ang ginawa nila, mula sa mga sunud-sunod na events na nangyari noong Spanish-American war, kung saan nagsagupa ang mga Spanish soldiers at ang puwersa ng mga Filipino, hanggang sa pagpapatayo nila ng set sa Tanay, Rizal kung saan gagayahin nila ang look ng Baler, now Aurora, in Quezon Province.

Samakatuwid ay hindi pala sa Baler gagawin ang sine. Dahil siguro sa malayo tayo sa kabihasnan at mahirap ang logistics pag dito ginawa. Pero ayon din sa balita ay pupunta din naman sila sa Baler. Siguro para sa flash-forward kung saan ipapakita ang kasalukuyang simbahan ng Baler. Kaya sa mga nag-aabang kay Anne Curtis at Jericho Rosales, manood na lang muna kayo ng TV.

Mas nainip ako dun sa nakalagay na “Baler, Now Aurora, in Quezon Province”. Parang sablay de baga?

Apatnapung taon na ang nakakaraan nang mangyari ang lindol sa Casiguran noong August 2, 1968. Bago sumapit ang 1991 Luzon Earthquake, ito ang pinakamasalantang lindol sa Pilipinas. 268 ang namatay at 261 naman ang nasugatan sanhi nito. Ito rin ang naging dahilan ng pagguho ng Ruby Tower sa Binondo Maynila.

Mula sa wikipedia:

1968 Casiguran earthquake occurred on August 2, 1968 with a 7.3 Richter scale magnitude. More than 270 people died and 261 were injured. The epicenter was located in Casiguran, Quezon (now part of Aurora province). This was the most destructive earthquake in the Philippines during the 20 years before the 1990 Luzon earthquake. In addition, the earthquake generated a tsunami that reached as far as Japan.

The hardest hit was the densely populated city of Manila killing 268 people and 261 more were injured. Majority of the buildings that suffered severe damages lies near at the mouth of Pasig River with huge alluvial deposits. Some of them were damaged beyond repair and others only suffered cosmetic damages. 260 people died when a 6-storey building Ruby Tower collapsed in the district of Binondo. Majority of the building collapsed except for a portion of the first and second floors at the northern end of the building. There was an allegation that the building was poorly built and used low-grade materials.[1] In District of Santa Ana, one person was injured from a damaged apartment building.

Two more people were killed from Aurora sub province and Pampanga. Around the town of Casiguran, there were several reports of landslides and the worst one happened near at Casiguran Bay.

Ito naman ang detalye ng lindol mula sa Phivolcs

At ito naman ang ilang mga larawan mula sa Phivolcs:

Tulay ng Casiguran

Daang Casiguran papunta sa Barrio Tabas

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Ang artikulong ito ay lumabas sa Philippine Star noong July 13, 2008. Sulat ito ni Wilson Lee Flores:

Love in the time of war: Manuel Quezon’s dad, Anne Curtis, Jericho Rosales & Ed Angara in Baler

History cannot give us a program for the future, but it can give us a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we can better face the future. — Robert Penn Warren

What is it about sun-kissed small towns wedged between mountains and the ocean that creates an aura of timeless romance, mysteries and epic — even quixotic — dreams?

Despite having only 30,000 inhabitants, this third-class coastal municipality of Baler nestled between the Philippines’ longest mountain range of the Sierra Madre and the Pacific Ocean is the hometown of Commonwealth President Manuel Luis Quezon, his maternal cousin First Lady Doña Aurora Aragon Quezon and Senator Edgardo Angara. It also became the last bastion of Spanish colonial rule in this archipelago, due to the “Siege of Baler” from June 30, 1898 and ending only 11 arduous months later.

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I-click ang slideshow sa ibaba para sa ilang piling larawan mula sa ika-109 na taong anibersryo ng “Siege of Baler” at ika-6 na taong pagdiriwang ng Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day. Naganap noong ika-30 ng hunyo at pinangunahan ni pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.

At para sa pagbabalik-tanaw sa okasyong ito, ang mga link sa nakaraang pagdiriwang: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2003.

Magandang basahin ang artikulong ito na sinulat ni Jose Maria A. Cariño. Kasama ito sa mga istorya at salaysay sa librong Baler, Aurora. Tinatalakay dito ang ilan sa mga katanungan ko tungkol sa istorya ng Pagsalakay sa Baler (Siege of Baler). Una ay kung bakit isang bersyon lang ng istorya ang lagi nating naririnig, ang ikalawa ay kung bakit walang bersyon ng istorya mula sa panig ng mga Pilipino o mga-tiga Baler. Nililinaw ng pag-susuring ito ang ilan sa mga kontrdiksyon tungkol sa improtanteng bahaging ito ng ating kasaysayan.

The truth about what really transpired inside the walls of the church in Baler may never be known. It should be noted that there appeared to be a code of silence among all the Spaniards who suffered the Siege of Baler. According to writer Manuel Leguineche: “The military kept their silence because they are the military, the priests for being priests, the best words are those that have not been uttered. There was a pact of silence, nobody uttered a word.”

On the other hand, from the side of the Filipinos, there was no local chronicler or writer who meticulously wrote a detailed account on all the events from a Philippine perspective. Thus, most of what is known today is secondary information passed on and handed down from generation to generation of Baler inhabitants and descendants of the Filipinos involved in the saga.

The two primary sources in Spain are firsthand written accounts on the Siege of Baler: Saturnino Martin Cerezo’s EI Sitio de Baler; Notas y Recuerdos, Guadalajara, 1904, and the diaries of Father Felix Minaya y Rojo, O.F.M, which used to be kept in the Archivo de Pastrana, Guadalajara, but are now at the Franciscan archives in Madrid. Father Minaya’s diaries were never published, although journals based on the diaries of Father Minaya, written by Father Lorenzo Perez and published by the Franciscans in Spain, came out much later. The fact that Father Minaya’s diaries were not published in toto pointed to the possibility that there were passages that would have put the church in a bad light, thus Father Lopez’s “sanitized” version. Cerezo’s book went on to become a best-seller, with several editions and reprints including the latest in October 2005. Martin Cerezo’s book translated into English by F.L. Dodds as notes and recollections of the Siege of Baler, with the title in red and gold. It became a vade mecum, a handbook or guideline, for American military academies on survival in a siege.

Among the first noticeable differences between the stories of the military man and the priest was that Father Minaya’s diary was written during and immediately after the siege, just as a personal record of what transpired in Baler. On the other hand, Lieutenant Cerezo’s account was published in 1904 for a general public in mind. It also appears that Lieutenant Cerezo’s account has the triple objectives of glorifying the military, of serving as a venue for his own promotion within the military, and as his own public relations campaign for the consumption of the public.

Basahin ang kumpletong artikulo mula sa aurora.ph

Basahin ang istorya ng Siege of Baler sa Olagstories

Panuurin ang ilang video tungkol sa Siege of Baler at sa Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day. Ito ay gawa ng Office of Senator Edgardo J. Angara ilang taon na ang nakalipas. Ilang mga picture na ginamit ay galing sa Batang Baler na ipinag-paalam naman sa akin.

Ang ikalawang video: Shared History, Uncommon Valor
Ang ikatlo: Friendship and Memories

Maria Dolores Molina was the mother of Manuel L. Quezon. She was known to be a true-blue Balerian. Her gravestone was located inside the Baler Church. According to this website, she was a Bulakeña:

Ang Maestrang Mestisa (Ina ni Pangulong Manuel L. Quezon). Si Maria Doloeres Molina, isang guro, ay isang marilag na mestisang Espanyol na isinilang sa san Jose, Bulacan. Ang pag-aasawa sa murang gulang pa lamang at ang maagang pagka balo ang nagging daan upang siy’y manirahan sa Baler, Tayabas. Doon niya ipinagpatuloy ang kanyang pagtuturo sa isang paaralang para lamang sa mga babae. Sa Baler siya nakatagpo ng isang mangingibig na isang mestiso rin at isang guro sa paaralang publiko. Si Lucio Quezon na hindi taal na tagaroon; ipinanganak siya sa Penafrancia, Paco, Maynila. Kapwa sila may amang mestiso at iang Filipina. Ang una nilang supling ay si Manuel na itinakdang magin pangulo ng bansa at nakilalang Ama Ng Wikang Pambasa. Si Doña Maria ay binawian ng buhay dahil sa sakit na tuberculosis.

Maybe Poppo Olag could shed light to this.

Mr. Bryan Alvarez pointed me to this Inquirer article about Los Ultimos de Filipinas, an old Spanish film about the Siege of Baler from the Spanish pesrpective. The film was screened yesterday at Greenbelt 3. The article is also a review of the 1945 movie.

Recently resurrected from the archives, the 1945 Spanish film, “Los Ultimos de Filipinas” (“The Last Ones in the Philippines”; showing tonight at 7, Cinema 2 of Greenbelt 3), has attracted much interest in film and history circles since it depicts the siege of Baler, an incident in the Philippine-Spanish war that seems to have been lost in the annals of Philippine history probably because of the shortsightedness of Philippine historiography and the notorious inaccuracy and myopia of our history textbooks. The lapse is surprising, considering the battle was won by the Filipinos.

The film can be viewed at Google video if you’re interested. See my previous post about it.

These Youtube videos might also be of interest: Friendship and Memories, Shared Victory Uncommon Valor, and Baler.

Personally, I would like an account of this historic event from the Filipino point of view. The history from the Spanish side is very detailed including the names and accounts of all the Spanish soldiers involved in the standoff. However, few Filipino names are credited and accounted for in this event.

Update: Belinda Olivares-Cunanan from the Inquirer wrote a few paragraphs about the film, read here.

The hearty applause from the predominantly Filipino audience showed that people revel in the nobility of action and purpose regardless of race. Congratulations to Instituto Cervantes director Pepe Rodriguez, who has been aggressive in promoting Spanish culture here. I suggest that the Spanish government try to market this plot to Hollywood for a remake, in the tradition of celebrated historic last stands, such as that of Texans and famed frontiersmen against attacking Mexicans at the Alamo in Texas or the tiny band of British troops defending a hospital against thousands of Zulu tribesmen in Rourke’s Drift, South Africa, or the Israelites’ last stand at Masada.

We should celebrate this historic event:

On the evening of 4 October 1897, Novicio and his men camped five kilometers outside the town to make a final and detailed preparation for the assault. He divided his men into three groups. First group was under his command camouflaged in a uniform of the Spanish infantrymen to exterminate the lone sentry guarding the patio. The second group under Captain Norberto Valenzuela was assigned to take the Commandancia. Third group commanded by Captain Ricardo Novicio was charged of the schoolhouse. Novicio’s last words before the attack;

“If anyone of you fail me, I will shoot him without pity.”

Around 11:30 PM the groups proceeded their separate way and went to their specific assigned mission. As planned, Novicio’s group entered the main entrance without being challenged. They disarmed the lone sentry and clubbed him to death. But before the sentry was knockout unconsciously, he was able to fire a shot, and yelled: “Alas armas cazadores” (Take arms infantrymen). Novicio launched the attack. The noise and the shouts of wounded woke up those who were sleeping and those who could grab their guns fight desperately to the bitter end.

Read the “Putok sa Dikaloyungan” story written by Olag Selaznog.

Ka Ending (Loreto V. Bihasa) is the only Balerian I know whose life story was turned into a movie. He was a soldier of the Philippine Batallion Combat Team that was sent to Korea in the 1950’s. He became a famous local hero because of his exploits in Hill 191, a battleground in Chorwon, Korea. When the place was attacked by the invading Chinese forces, Ka Ending was the only soldier who survived. After the war, a movie titled “Hill 191″ starring Vic Vargas as Sgt. Loreto Bihasa was made.

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Circa 1940s before the area was turned into a park.

Late 1940’s. The park was developed during the construction of the hospital. The residents of the area were moved to the north of the park, left side of the park in this picture.

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from the Inquirer’s ‘Looking Back’ column by Ambeth Ocampo, May 2, 2005:

One of my regular Sunday morning phone pals was the late National Artist Honorata “Atang” de la Rama, widow of National Artist Amado V. Hernandez. I first met “Ka Atang” at the launching of a compilation of her husband’s poetry. She autographed my book and we did not get to know each other well until I interviewed her for an essay I was writing on Nicanor Abelardo. Our interview went beyond the topic and she had so many anecdotes on other people that I decided to mine her memory for oral history. My one regret was that I did not record the conversations nor did I follow a set plan for interviews.

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