KAGIKAN: Tips and Tales in Tracing Your Filipino Family Tree

Coming very soon! Kagikan: Tips and Tales in Tracing Your Filipino Family Tree. 

Principalia Ancestors: Who They Were and What They Did

As a companion article to a previous post on the usage of the title of Don, this article explores who were the principalia in each pueblo as well as what the functions of these people were.

A group of Luzon principalia men

Although the so-called principalia in each town were light years away from the privileges that the Super-principalia families of  Lakandula, Matanda, Soliman, and Mojica received from the Spanish authorities, these municipal functionaries were still better off compared to the rest of their town-mates. In fact, it was the distinction between the principalia and non-principalia in several archival documents that made me more determined in helping ordinary families trace their ancestries. Consider this: in census and tribute-related records during the Spanish period, the Spaniards usually would say something like this, and the inhabitants of the town of (town's name) are Gobernadorcillo Don so and so and his wife Doña so and so and first-born son Don so and so, Cabezas de barangay Dons so and so, their wives Doñas so and so and their eldest sons Dons so and so...and the rest of them. The REST OF THEM (los de mas). While the principalia members are clearly enumerated one by one with their wife and heir, the remaining members of society, the ordinary indios who toiled the fields day and night who had no voice in local governance, were collectively mentioned as the nameless "rest of them".

A former cabeza de barangay and his wife

For some reason, many people become interested in tracing their family trees because of some passed down tales of prominence in their hometown. I wasn't immune to this thirst for principalia forebears. In fact, my late maternal grandfather told me amazing stories of his relatives and how prominent they were in the town of Argao that I had no choice but to search for these famous relatives, which after more than 20 years of tracing my maternal line has revealed a wide array of amazing information, and I discovered that almost all my traceable ancestors on my mother's (and some on my father's) side of the family held the titles of gobernadorcillo, cabeza de barangay, fiscal, among many other titles. Of course, I have not really focused too much attention on this aspect of my family history, but in the course of my research I have become more or less almost an expert on the principalia.

To the average beginner, one might ask who or what is a principalia (also principal or principales). A simplistic definition of the term is that they were the privileged class in each town during the Spanish period. And their privilege was derived from the simple fact that their forebears were the ruling elite when the Spaniards conquered the archipelago. As a compensation to the native rulers the Spaniards created the principalia class to create a ready and direct link between the people and the colonial administration. Throughout the 333 years of Spanish colonization of the Philippines there were several times when the functions of the principalia were redefined. However, for the most part of the history of the principalia the group was composed of more or less the same people. 

A principalia family from Argao, Cebu, c. 1890s.

According to Padre Juan Ferrando, O.P., a former Rector and Chancellor of the Royal University of Santo Tomas in Manila, in his work Historia de los PP Dominicos en las Islas Filipinas y en sus Misiones del Japon, China, Tung-kin y Formosa, the institution (principalia) . . . was much more ancient than the conquest of the Islands by the Spanish Crown. They were the true aristocracy, and the heirs of hereditary leadership that constituted the true nobility.  The authoritative Blair and Robertson compendium defines the principalia as "being composed of the actual cabezas de barangay, ex-cabezas de barangay, current and past gobernadorcillos (the latter called capitan pasado)."

Dr. Norman G. Owen in an article exploring the Bikolano principalia, and perhaps also the only comprehensive discussion on the principalia to date, wrote that "in most cases the term "principal" was essentially political (or sociopolitical) in content. The term and usage was considered absolute, not relative, unlike our term "upper class" today.  There might have been variation in application from scribe to scribe, but each of them seemed to have had a clear idea of who was, and who was not, entitled to be called a Don; rare is the document in which either everyone or no one receives this title. It is clear that the principalia did have a strong economic base, as we shall see; there is a sense in which a poor principal is almost a contradiction in terms. Yet before a wealthy man could obtain recognition as a principal he had to transmute this wealth, by a process difficult to document but not to imagine, into political and social currency.

Former President Jose P. Laurel in his book about the history of local government in the Philippines, further elaborated on the composition of the principalia as being composed of: the gobernadorcillo; the chief of police; the lieutenants of police, field, and large cattle; the former gobernadorcillos; the cabezas de barangay in office and those who had been such for a period of ten years without any bad record. Although these additional individuals were not necessarily principalia, they were elected together with the gobernadorcillo and were most likely from the principalia families. Naturally, this included all the wives and first born sons. The reason why the eldest son was also given preferential treatment, aside from the common practice of primogeniture, was because he was also deputized to assist his father in tax collection.

In some other sources there were also tenientes and awardees of the Medal of Civil Merit that were included in the composition of the town's principalia. Also assisting the principalia were the Directorcillo (sometimes called an Escribano), the Vacunadorcillo, the two Testigos Acompañados, and the Alguaciles. And while all but the alguaciles held the title of "Don" it is unclear if they were actually members of the principalia or simply auxiliary to the body.

And here is where I want to caution researchers who are captivated by the idea of tracing principalia ancestors because of the promise of being descendants of native nobility. While the earliest gobernadorcillos, cabezas de barangay, and other members of the principalia were without question descendants of datus, rajahs, and lakans, the so called principalia later in the end of the 18th century and beyond were no longer from the same breed. According to Horacio de la Costa, the first Filipino Provincial Superior of the Society of Jesus in the Philippines and a recognized authority in Philippine and Asian culture and history in his book Asia and the Philippines, "the barangay had almost disappeared as a kinship group by the end of the 18th century; what continued to be called by that name was merely a territorial or even an arbitrary grouping of tribute-paying families, and the cabeza de barangay merely a member of the municipal council charged with collecting their tribute. Thus, cabezas de barangay and even capitanes del pueblo no longer had in many towns the social ascendancy they used to have in earlier times."  Historian Michael Cullinane also hints of this in his article in the book Population and History: he wrote that the municipal magistrates, who were collectively called the principalia, initially descended from indigenous barangay headmen, called a datu.

The exclusivity of the principalia being reserved only for descendants of native nobility clearly started to change due to several reforms: on December 20, 1863 an educational reform stipulated that "proficiency in the Castilian language, written and spoken, was necessary for those considered to be raised to the rank of cabeza de barangay, which formed the base of the principalia. Dr. Owen further discovered in his research that "the spread of new settlements throughout 19th century Kabikolan might have diluted principalia power, but in some cases there is evidence that principales sponsored, protected, and even led these settlements".

On May 19, 1893, another reform was made. Called the Maura Law after its principal author, Don Antonio Maura y Montañer, then Spanish Minister of Colonies, this law was meant to liberalize municipal institutions in the Philippines. The reform further eroded the structure of the principalia; because of the reform, the principalia was now defined to compose of: 

1. Someone who has been a gobernadorcillo prior to the Maura Law;
2. To have been a lieutenant of justice;
3. To be currently a cabeza de barangay or to have held the title of cabeza for ten years without bad record;
4. To have been a former capitan;
5. To have been a municipal lieutenant during the legal time without any unfavorable standing; and,
6. Someone paying $50 land tax.

Says Dr. Owen: "outside the narrowly economic sphere, the principalia also exercised the kind of predominance that tends to reinforce the theory that they descended from datus. Within the municipality they were largely free to do as they wished, so long as they turned over the requisite taxes and manpower to the government. . .Collectively, the principalia would not hesitate to defy either the priest or the alcalde (though usually not both) if they felt they had a good case to argue higher up; so long as they made no outright declarations of rebellion, Manila would not send in troop, and provincial authorities were weak on coercive power".

Collectively, the principalia had numerous duties imposed upon them by the Ordenanzas de Buen Gobierno. Sections 54 and 92 required them to be in charge of the construction of casas reales (municipal buildings), churches, jails, and other public works, like repairs of roads and bridges. They also had other functions, such as the extermination of locusts (according to Article 58), the persecution of gamblers (Article 29), and other police duties like patrolling and placing of guards (Article 27). And of course, the true raison d'être of the principalia: they had to supervise the collection of taxes, making of the census of the poblacion (again, to know who must pay taxes), and the preparation of the lists of polos y servicios.

According to University of the Philippines professor Jose N. Enriga, "the cabeza de barangay's main responsibility was to look after the peace-and-order situation of his barangay, to see the enforcement of the polos y servicios (forced labor), and to collect the tributes of the inhabitants of his jurisdiction.  In this capacity as tribute collector, he was then an agent of the Royal Hacienda which required him to post a bond, in the form of goods and property, which were confiscated in case he failed to remit his collections within the allotted time.  As compensation for his responsibility, the cabeza was entitled to one and a half per cent (1.5%) of his tribute collection.  He, his wife, and eldest son were also exempted from paying tribute and from rendering the polo y servicio.  His family was also entitled to use Don/Doña and given preferential treatment during ceremonies.  The Gobernadorcillo, or petty chief, on the other hand, was the head of the pueblo.  He was both chief executive and judicial officer.  In cases involving small sums of money and in petty criminal cases, the Gobernadorcillo’s judicial authority was final.  In cases of bigger importance, he was supposed to make preliminary investigation and forward his findings to the alcalde mayor or the provincial governor.  The Gobernadorcillo was in charge of the collection of all manner of taxes and saw to it that the townspeople were productive.  Just like the cabeza, he received one and a half per cent of his collections, was addressed as Don, given special treatment, and received a salary of two pesos per month."

2 documents showing some of the positions of the principalia

The other major positions in the Spanish-era principalia structure were the Teniente Primero or the Teniente Mayor and the various Juezes who were elected together with the Gobernadorcillo.  The Teniente Primero was, as the title suggests, the First Lieutenant of the Gobernadorcillo.  This position has the modern-day equivalent of a Vice-Mayor, except, according to the job description of the Teniente Primero, he was also the head of the Alguaciles or local police, although this function was later taken over by the Juez de Policia.  While there have been varying numbers of Juezes elected in various elections in the town’s history, it is generally accepted that there were three primary Juezes who were always present in almost every election:  the Juezes de Policia, Sementera, and Ganados.  The Juez de Sementera was the Superintendent of Fields and was in charge with the general conduct of planting and harvesting.  The Juez de Ganados, on the other hand, was the Superintendent of Livestock.  A third addition was made sometime in the mid-1800s in the office of the Juez de Policia, who functioned as the Chief of Police and supervised the local police, or the Alguaciles.  The Alguaciles were, loosely speaking, still members of the Principalia, as they were elected together with the other town officials prior to 1863.  After 1863, however, the Alguaciles were probably elected separately, and were drawn from the non-principalia families already.  Other positions were related to specific products of the town, for example the Juez de Algodon and the Juez de Cacao; these were abolished once the town’s cotton (algodon) and cacao productions dwindled.

Other offices were probably appointed, such as the Directorcillo, whose function was to handle all municipal business transacted in Spanish including official reports and generally acted as the secretary and clerk of the gobernadorcillo.  The title was later changed to Escribano.  Then there was the Vacunadorcillo, who was the general Health Officer of the town, and was also exempt from the polo y servicios and the tributo. Finally, the two Testigos Acompañados, which was later changed to Suplentes, were always part of the town officials, and acted as official witnesses to all municipal transactions and documents.

As always, I would like to end this discussion with the advice that genealogy is far better and more enriching if the focus is not simply on the superficial aspects of life, such as focusing simply on tracing principalia ancestors in the hope of finding noble ancestry. What if one discovers that his family's membership with the principalia happened only much later in the Spanish period, thus indicating non-descent from the native nobility? The researcher would seriously be disappointed. That is why, when tracing family trees, one should look at the general picture, of the journey of one's ancestors, and the family's ability to survive and adjust in every passing generation.

____________________________________

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Report of the Philippine commission to the President, January 31, 1900-December 20, 1900.
2. Jose P. Laurel, Local government in the Philippine Islands. Manila: La Pilarica press, 1936.
3. Emma Helen Blair and James A. Robertson, The Philippine Islands: 1493-1898, Cleveland, Ohio: The A. H. Clark company, 1903-09.
4. Dr. Norman G. Owen, "The Principalia in Philippine History: Kabikolan, 1790-1898", Philippine Studies Vol. 22, No. 3-4. Manila: Ateneo de Manila, 1974. 
5. Michael Cullinane, "Accounting for Souls: Ecclesiastical Sources for the Study of Philippine Demographic History", Population and History: The Demographic Origins of the Modern Philippines. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1998.
6. Fr. Juan Ferrando, O.P., Historia de los PP Dominicos en las Islas Filipinas y en sus Misiones del Japon, China, Tung-kin y Formosa, Madrid: 1870.
7. Jose N. Enriga, “Stability and Change: The Civil Service in the Philippines.” An Introduction to Public Administration in the Philippines: A Reader. Quezon City: UP College of Public Administration. 1993. 
8. Horacio de la Costa. "The Formative Century, 1760-1860," Asia and the Philippines, Manila: 1967.
9. Photos courtesy of the Philippine National Archives, the Albarracin-Alcazaren family collection, and the Saniel family collection

Ten Facts About the Catalogo

I never get tired from poring over my copy of the Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos. Maybe because every time I flip open this amazing compilation I find new ways to inform those who are interested in genealogy about things in the Catalogo. So here are some of the basic things one needs to know with regard to the Catalogo:

1. The Catalogo has 141 pages total.
2. There is approximately a total of 60,288 surnames in the  Catalogo.
3. Each page of the Catalogo is divided into 6 columns.
4. On a full page, there are 72 surnames per column, which means one full page has 432 surnames per page.
5. There are only 23 letters represented in the Catalogo; there is no I, K, W, and X. There are entries for the Spanish letter Ll.
6. The most numerous surnames begin with the letters C and B; C has 5,560 surnames while B has 5,362 surnames.
7. The letter with the least surnames are the letters Z and LL; Ll has 114 surnames while Z has 213.
8. In order, these are the number of surnames for each letter:

9. The first surname in the Catalogo is AACAIN, while the last surname is ZURRAR.
10. To get an idea of what type of surnames were included in the Catalogo, see below for the first surname that appeared for each letter. Note that first surname for letters T and V are not clear.

 

The Davides: A Model Cebuano Family

In an article in a local daily, Cebu Daily News, a day after all government officials took their oath of office:

There were many empty seats in the round “presidential table” in Sunday's oath-taking at the Capitol. Only the Governor-elect, his wife, and the Vice Gov.-elect sat up front. Where were their family members? Who else belonged to the VIP table?
 
Their children and siblings kept their distance, choosing to stay at the sides of the hall. It was only when the newly elected officials were called to the stage along with their families for the oath-taking, that the attention of the audience fell on them. “So typical of them,” said a colleague. “They are low key and don't want to be treated like VIPs.” Even the Vice-Governor's brother, who is a cabinet secretary, blended in the background until he, too, was called on stage.

The inauguration of Governor-Elect Hilario Perez Davide III was an affair that deserved 21 gun salutes, glittering jewels, and fancy clothes.  But there were no 21 gun salutes, no ostentatious jewelry worn, and no over-the-top outfits fit for a coronation.  After all, his election into and assumption of the governor's office of the province of Cebu was the first time in almost 2 decades that someone with a different surname with no blood relation to the previous governor got to serve the Cebuanos. True to his promise of true service and honest governance, Davide guaranteed that the event would be every bit dignified but not over the top as the previous administration was wont to do.

Truly, being the son of a low-profile but brilliant former Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice and grandson of a former educator whose life served as a shining example for his family and community, Governor Hilario P. Davide III not only carries the name of two brilliant men but also the amazing reputation of a family that has proven to be an inspiration to many people from Cebu.

* * * * * * * *

The Davide family rose from being a poor farming family from one of the mountainous barangays of Argao, Cebu to become one of the most prominent families in the Philippines when one of its members, Hilario G. Davide, Jr., was sworn in as the 14th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines in 1998. Hilario G. Davide, Jr. later became the permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations. His son, Hilario “Jun-Jun” Perez Davide III, a former first councilor of the City of Cebu, was the Liberal Party’s candidate for governor of the province of Cebu in the 2010 and 2013 elections, winning the seat in 2013 and wrenching the governor's office from the Garcia dynasty after almost 20 years of being in power.

The Davides of Argao

Like most Filipino family histories, the scarcity of resources on genealogical interest hinders modern researchers from digging deep into the recesses of time in order to discover a clearer picture of a family’s history. But the family is lucky in terms of safe-keeping their family heritage for two reasons: one, the town from which they hail, Argao, is one of the few towns in the Philippines that has meticulously preserved its church records that go as far as 1842, and two, the patriarch of this particular Davide branch of the family, the late Hilario Panerio Davide, Sr., compiled in the early 80s a family history book of his immediate relatives. His reason for making the “Family Record of Hilario Panerio Davide and Josefa Gelbolingo Davide and their Children” was, in his own words, to memorialize the roots of their family and to have something that the future Davides will cherish for all eternity.

The Hilario P. Davide family of Argao traces its roots to Esteban Davide and Nepomucena Ortega, both Argawanon natives who married during the middle of the nineteenth century, in the mountain barangay of Colawin. Esteban, as the records of the elder Davide show, was the son of Miguel Davide and Hilaria Carillo.

After going through the various baptismal, marriage, and death records of the town of Argao, we can further reveal that the Davide family could trace their line to as far as the beginning of the 18th century back to the couple Pablo Alverto and Maria Landayanan. Because the eldest grandson of this couple, Agustin Benito Davide, was born in 1777 it can be estimated that Pablo Alverto and his wife were born sometime in the early 1700s. They only had one traceable child, Ignacio Modesto, born sometime in the 1730s or 1740s. He married Norverta Susana and had seven children, all of which grew to adulthood and have left descendants today.

The aforementioned eldest of this brood, Agustin Benito, married Maria Norverta sometime in 1800. Their marriage produced 3 children: Leon Benito, Miguel, and Feliz. In 1849/1850 in accordance with the Claveria surname decree Agustin Benito chose the surname Davide from the list of surnames distributed in Argao. True to the present family's fighting spirit and ability to overcome any obstacles in life Agustin Benito must have chosen this surname to remind him and his family that no matter how small one feels he is he can always win the day with determination and hardwork, just as David won over the giant Goliath as told in the bible. Davide is a Hispanization of the same Italian last name, in turn derived from the name David, most possibly derived from Hebrew dod, which means “beloved”, perhaps the word dawid, which means “loved”, or “darling or beloved of God”, in turn derived from Dodavehu. Truly, coincidence or not, there must have been something prophetic with him choosing the surname for his family.

Agustin Benito thus became Benito Davide, with his wife's family choosing Cambare as a last name. Norverta Cambare died before Benito, and based on records Benito remarried to Candelaria Neri and they had one child, Donato Davide. Benito himself was blessed with his family's longevity, and he died only in 1864 at the ripe age of 87.

Miguel Davide, son of Benito, was born sometime in the 1820s and he married Hilaria Carillo probably in the 1840s. They had seven children and one of these was Esteban Davide, born in the 1850s. He married Nepomucena Ortega and one of their children was Pablo O. Davide, born on June 26, 1875. This man is considered by the family of Jun-Jun Davide as the founder of the present Davide line in Colawin. He was said to have been a humble but industrious farmer who was well known in their barrio. His humility and good nature earned him the respect of his neighbors, which ultimately led to his being elected as a cabeza de barangay of Colawin in 1877, a position that is roughly equal to that of barangay captain today. He served in this capacity until 1884. In the same year that Pablo Davide served as cabeza, Julian Lopez, another direct ancestor of Jun-Jun Davide who came from Cebu City but later settled in Argao when he married an Argawanon, was also elected to the same position.

Pablo Davide later married another Argwanon by the name of Teodora Panerio. The couple, known as “Tatay Amboy” and “Nanang Doray” by their grandchildren, lived a simple life with strict working codes. Pablo Davide worked on the farm helped by his sons, while his wife and daughters assisted in the preparations for planting and harvesting. Pablo, who many grandchildren remember fondly as being somewhat of a comedian, later on served briefly as municipal councilor of the town of Argao from 1924 to 1928. He died in 1946 in Argao, Cebu.

Pablo Davide and his wife had ten children. One of these is Hilario, the father of the former chief justice. It was Hilario’s sacrifice and exemplary life which prodded his children to succeed in their chosen endeavors. Raised also in the mountain barangay of Colawin, Hilario saw the hardship that one goes through when living in an area as far flung as their hometown. He made a resolve to make his children’s lives better, so early on in life he did well in school in order to chart a better future for himself and his future family. It was also while in school where he strengthened his resolve to improve his family’s lot. During a graduation ball, he was repeatedly turned down by girls when he asked them to dance with him. He overheard one lady telling her friend that the only reason why she didn’t agree to dance with him was because Hilario was “taga-bukid” (from the mountains). This haughty attitude by the “taga-lungsod” (city folks) towards Hilario and his barriomates made him even more determined to succeed.

After graduating from high school he was assigned as a teacher in another barrio in Argao. It was in the barrio of Talaga where Hilario met his future wife Josefa Gelbolingo, who was also a teacher. Both were ambitious and driven to succeed, and soon, in December of 1925, they decided to tie the knot. Their eldest son, Jose, was born in 1926. When their second child, Jorge, was born in 1928, Hilario decided that his wife better stop from teaching so she could take care of the kids. Pretty soon, five more children followed. The former Chief Justice, the sixth in the family, is the youngest son.

Like his father before him, Hilario Davide raised his family strictly. They had a saying that “each member of the family has a job”. And so, early on, the Davide children helped their parents in tending their farm. The sons helped in weeding the fields, in planting, in rearing the chickens and the other livestock, while the daughters helped in housekeeping chores. The sons also helped in gathering tubo (sugarcane), and Jose Davide, the eldest child, fondly recalls that his younger brother Dodong Jun loved to ride on the sledge with the carabao pulling it whenever they gathered tubo. No one was allowed to play until all schoolwork and housework were completed. If one made a mistake, both Hilario and his wife spanked their kids to discipline them.

Hilario Davide was later appointed as District School Supervisor, and one of his first contributions to Colawin was the building of an elementary school in the area. Indeed, before this, his own children had to walk several miles everyday just to get to their school. He never forgot his resolve to improve his children’s future, and so all his kids were able to finish their college education, a very big feat considering that the family was not well off and they came from a very far flung area. Indeed, sending all kids to school is perhaps the greatest legacy that Hilario Davide Sr. has given his family. Hilario Davide, Sr. was also a prominent figure during World War II. He was considered the civilian head of the guerillas in Argao while the Japanese occupied the entire country.

It is interesting to point out here that all the Davide children were able to finish school, and become the best in their chosen field. Thus, many of them worked for the government or government institutions, where their skills were honed and their name established. Aside from Hilario Jr., his older brother, Jose, was a councilor of the municipality of Argao while another brother, Dr. Romulo, initiated the Farmer Scientist Training Program, which allows farmers to make use of science and technology to increase their yields. Since the early part of the twentieth century, the Davide family has not only tried to improve their lot, but also the lives of the people of Colawin. Todate, they have been instrumental in many improvements in the area, including the building of a school, the Colawin Basin Health Service Center, irrigation facilities that other barangays, too, have benefited from, the building ofa chapel and a public library. Through the lands that they donated, the money they solicited from patrons, and their continued support and encouragement to the people of Colawin, the once ridiculed people of Colawin, the “taga-bukids”, can now proudly call their barrio as their own. Because of these, the family was awarded the ABS-CBN Bayaning Pamilyang Pilipino of the Year in 1997, in honor of their exemplary lives and dedication to the community. In that same year, they were also honored by the Province of Cebu as one of the awardees for Outstanding Individuals and Institutions. Argao also named them as one of the Outstanding Argawanon Families in 2009.

The Davide Family Tree

Indeed the Davide family has had a long ride in history. One couldn’t even help but relate the history of the family to the history of their family name. Their namesake, David, came from a poor shepherding family who later on became one of the greatest leaders of the Israelites. The Davides, too, originally from a poor farming family from Colawin, have become one of the prime movers for the advancement and improvement of their town. The family did not just dare to dream; they made sure their dreams came true!

And with Junjun Davide's election as governor, the family continues its service to the people of the Philippines.

*Another Davide descendant, through the female line, is former Cebu Board Member Wilfredo S. Caminero, who now sits as the 2nd District Congressional Representative. His son, Aladin Caminero, sits as the president of the Sangguniang Kabataan Provincial Federation of Cebu.

For their complete family tree click here

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Originally publised in Cebu Daily News and written by this author.