VP Sara has NO Jewish Bloodline!

The online blog Politiko, in a recent post, once more displayed the laziness that many journalists and pseudo-journalists in the Philippines today are wont to be. They rehashed an already debunked claim that the former wife of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Elizabeth Abellana Zimmerman, was the child of a Jewish refugee in World War II. Using this "Jewish connection", Politiko and several other columnists have criticized Vice-President Sara Z. Duterte for opposing the request of the American government to temporarily provide shelter to 50,000 Afghans who are former employees of the US government during their occupation of Afghanistan while they fix their papers. The media has reminded VP Sara that her maternal family, the Zimmermans, benefitted from the benevolence of the Philippine government when her Jewish ancestor was one of German Jewish refugees who found refuge in the country during the Holocaust, so why is she opposing giving safe haven to the Afghans? But the question is, were the Zimmermans REALLY Jewish refugees during World War II, to begin with? 

When Vice-President Sara Duterte's father was elected President in 2016, one of the first state visits he made was to Israel. Our relationship with the State of Israel has always been quite special due to the refuge we gave to more than a thousand Jews escaping the Holocaust in Europe. It must be remembered that President Manuel L. Quezon opened our country’s doors to Jewish refugees from Europe during World War II and in so doing saved the lives of more than one thousand and three hundred Jews fleeing the Holocaust. Because of President Quezon’s bold move, known as the Philippines’s Open Door policy, his memory would forever be remembered and known to the Jewish people. He also guaranteed that the world will forever remember that Filipinos have always represented the spirit of compassion, solidarity, and humanity for a very long time, long before the Philippines had official immigration laws or became a State party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, being among the first to voluntarily provide asylum to successive waves of refugees fleeing persecution.

President Manuel L. Quezon with some Jewish refugees in Manila (from The Times of Israel)

So, naturally, their reception for President Duterte and then Mayor Inday Sara was more than just perfunctory; in fact, the Israelis were more than welcoming due to a claim made by PRRD that his former wife, and the mother of his three children, was the daughter of one of the Jewish refugees aaved by President Manuel L. Quezon's Operation Open Doors. The Israelis embraced Duterte and his daughter like one of their own, especially since the Israeli media made such a big deal of the so-called Jewish connection with a Philippine President. 

President Duterte and daughter Sara visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in 2018 (from The Times of Israel).

But all the hoopla about the Zimmermans being Jewish was nothing but the usual unverified oral history in a Filipino family plus the Philippine media's laziness to conduct a simple fact check of PRRD's claims of his former wife's Jewishness. While President Duterte cannot be blamed for believing in the Zimmerman family's oral history, we can put the blame of the media's refusal or inability to verify facts. Here are the facts: Elizabeth A. Zimmerman, the ex-wife of PRRD, was the daughter of two Filipinos: Godofredo Baldazo Zimmerman and Purisima Abellana. Elizabeth Zimmerman's father was born on November 18, 1916 in Hilongos, Leyte, Philippines, baptized on November 25, and died on June 26, 1993 in Davao City, Davao del Sur, Philippines. He was the son of George John Zimmerman and Cristeta Baldazo. Although he used Zimmerman as a last name all his life, both his birth and baptismal records list him under his mother's last name - Baldazo. His birth register in Hilongos, Leyte, while identifying him as illegitimate, does provide the name of his father: Geo. J. Zimmerman.

George John Zimmerman, the grandfather of Elizabeth, was born on January 17, 1890 in Peoria County, Illinois, USA to German immigrants, Michael August Zimmerman and Maria Augusta Wenzel.  Michael August Zimmermann, son of Andreas Zimmermann and Marie, was born on July 4, 1857 in Bayern, Germany and died on July 27, 1925 in Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois, USA. He married Maria Augusta Wenzel on July 12, 1883 in Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois, USA. Michael Zimmermann arrived in the United States in 1882. Michael Zimmermann was a tavern owner and true to his surname, also a carpenter. 

Michael A. Zimmerman

For most of his life, George John Zimmerman worked for Gordon & Ferguson Co. He prepared in Peoria H. S. and earned his AB in Business in Concordia College at the University of Illinois. He was a Phi Beta Kappa and Delta Kappa Chi. He worked with Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co. in Chicago; as a Supervising Teacher in Hilongos, Leyte; and was already with Gordon & Fergusan, in St. Paul in 1918. After the birth of his illegitimate child Godofredo in Leyte in 1916, he returned to the United States at the outbreak of World War I. His military registration card describes him as "tall", "slender", with brown hair and brown eyes. By World War II, he was already employed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue in Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa and was already married to Josephine Johnson. He is further described as standing 5'11" in height and weighing 155 lbs. 

Sometime after returning to the United States, George Zimmerman married Josephine Mathilde Johnson and they had 3 daughters: Helen May Zimmerman (married name Allyn), Georgiana Zimmerman (married name Ginn), and Josephine Zimmerman (married name Moseley). Descendants of George's daughters are scattered in Washington, Minnesota, and South Carolina.

The Zimmerman lineage of VP Sara comes from Unterlangau, Bavaria, Germany, and German and Jewish genealogists have written that "Zimmermann" (and its variant Zimmerman) is the German equivalent of the English surname carpenter, as it is derived from the profession. The fact that there ARE German Jews with the name Zimmermann does not make it Jewish in origin. Also, census data from the district of Oberviechtach between 1900 and 1939, of which Unterlangau was a part, shows that the district's population was overwhelmingly Catholic back then, with just a single-digit number of Jews. Furthermore, US census and other records list Michael Zimmerman and his family as congregants of the Lutheran Church.

The Zimmermans as Lutherans

And of course, DNA testing in both the Philippine Zimmermans and their half-relatives in the US have further disproven the Jewish claim. Results from their ancestral breakdown clearly do not show any Jewish heritage. A German-Jewish grandfather (as claimed by Filipino journalists) would have shown up as 25% Ashkenazi Jew, great-grandfather as roughly 12%. But the family's DNA result shows 0%, which means a non-Jewish ethnicity. 

The politics of welcoming the Afghan employees of the US government is not the subject of this article. But journalists and columnists must always make sure that before they use genealogical tidbit to make a political point, they must first do a fact check of the information they simply rehash, otherwise they'd end up looking lazy and stupid. The funny and sad thing is that the "Jewish connection" of the Dutertes came from PRRD's unverified oral history, which the Israeli media simply accepted, and then which became the source of Philippine media, as well. So much for journalistic integrity. 

BOOK REVIEW: Beyond Will & Power: A Biography of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte

As an addendum to my short review of Earl G. Parreño's "Beyond Will & Power: A Biography of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte", I am writing this commentary solely focusing on the genealogical aspects of Parreño's work. As I said in my review, this book is quite unique as it is the first writeup on President Duterte that neither adulates nor criticizes the President. In the author's own words during his interview, he wants the readers to reach their own conclusion. 

Due to the hype in traditional and social media, especially focusing on the alleged "Maranao lineage" of the president, and the revelation that the President's maternal grandfather, Eleno Roa, was actually originallly Eleno Fernandez, I was excited to read the book. And while the book as a whole did not disappoint me, the several genealogical inaccuracies did.

On Eleno Roa

In the first part of the book, the author narrates that Eleno Roa was an illegitimate son of a Eugenio Fernandez and an unknown Roa. Based on the birth record of Soledad Roa (President Duterte's mother), it can be calculated that Eleno was born in 1883. The birth register further states that his birthplace was Cebu City. This contradicts the book's narrative stating that Eugenio was from Talisay, which was separate from Cebu then as now. It is also almost improbable for an illegitimate child in the 1880s to bear his father's last name unless a legal declaration is made by the father in court acknowledging the child as his hijo natural. This was called as the reconocimiento de hijos naturales and the Jakosalem family did it to one of its members while Don Pedro Gotiaoco also did this for his daughter Modesta Singson Gaisano. Unfortunately, I could not find any record from the 1880s that would support this. Further research into Eleno's ancestry is needed, and more documentation should be made before believing the Fernandez connection.

On the Debunked Portuguese Claims of the Velosos

As I have already written several times, President Duterte's male line is actually Veloso, not Duterte. The author has a short discussion on the Velosos but the unfortunate thing is, he focused more on the claim of the Velosos to be of Portuguese extraction. Again, this was already debunked by renowned American historian Michael Cullinane in his 2015 journal article "The Myth of the Portuguese Ancestor: The Veloso Family of Nineteenth-Century Cebu". Through archival documentation, he established that as far as records show, the Velosos were not of Portuguese but rather Chinese mestizo stock. While Parreño briefly states in the end notes of Cullinane's research, the perpetuation of the Portuguese myth is a bit sloppy genealogically speaking. Like any serious historical research, one should not continue to claim something, no matter how famous or widespread, if no documentation or proof exists to support it.

Parreño also missed the opportunity to compare and contrast Duterte's Veloso connections to other presidents clan connections. It is undeniable that the Velosos have spread out all over the Philippines. In fact, many of Duterte's political opponents in the early part of his presidency, like Garin, Petilla, and others who were associated with President Aquino were in fact his cousins. The author could have expounded on the wide network of relatives that Duterte had that did not necessarily contribute to his victory, but also some who did help him out like the Ayalas of Davao, who are also Velosos, who supported Duterte throughout his mayoral years.

On the Almendras Family

I am glad that this book is the first to go into details just how much the Almendras family, originally from Danao as well, assisted in the transfer and success of the Dutertes in Davao. Although they had a falling out much later, it is a historical fact that Senator Alejandro Almendras was instrumental to the Duterte's move and later entry to politics in Davao. These were clearly discussed in Parreño's book.

However, the author once again made a genealogical mistake when he wrote on page 40 that "the Dutertes and the Almendrases were not directly related to each other, neither by blood nor by marriage". This is incorrect. The Almendras family has long known that they are related to the Dutertes through the Gonzales line. Paulo Almendras, who married Elisea Durano and who was the father of Senator Alejandro Almendras, was the son of Juan Almendras and Cecilia Gonzales. Cecilia's first cousin, Zoila, married Facundo Duterte. They were Vicente Duterte's parents, making Vicente and Alejandro second cousins once removed or, in Cebuano, pag-umangkon sa pag-agawan. It is also interesting that while Parreño concluded that there was no blood relation between the Dutertes and Almendrases, he cites a Davao newspaper article in page 102 of the book which clearly stated that Almendras and Duterte were cousins.

Because of this error, he was also unable to connect Prospero "Boy" Nograles to Duterte. For most Dabawenyos, the rivalry between Nograles and Duterte is legendary. Although later becoming allies, the book's discussions on the Nograles-Duterte political fights would have been richer had the author realized that Nograles's wife Rhodora was another pag-umangkon sa pag-agawan of President Duterte. That is also why the children of former Speaker Nograles and President Duterte call each other gaw (cousin).

The Carpio Connection

The author mentioned briefly that Sara Duterte, daughter of President Duterte, married Atty. Manases "Mans" Carpio. It would have been good to remind the readers that two of President Duterte's most vocal critics, former Ombudsman Conchita Claudio Carpio-Morales is in fact Sara's aunt-in-law while Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio is a cousin.

The Jewish / Holocaust Connection

I have saved this genealogical boo-boo for last. In page 107, Parreño wrote that Elizabeth Zimmerman's father was "one of the Israeli refugees granted asylum by the Philippine government during the Second World War to escape Nazi Germany's bloody campaign against the Jews".

The Zimmerman surname is in fact a Germanic surname that most definitely has Jewish roots. However, Elizabeth's father was Godofredo B. Zimmerman, born on November 18, 1916 in Hilongos, Leyte. If the author had bothered to check on the birth record of Godofredo, he would have seen his error. Godofredo could not have been a Jewish refugee as he was born in the Philippines!

And although he used Zimmerman as a last name all his life, both Godofredo's birth and baptismal records list him under his mother's last name - Baldazo. His birth register in Hilongos, Leyte, while identifying him as illegitimate, does provide the name of his father: Geo. J. Zimmerman. This clue led us to his American father, George John Zimmerman, a Superintendent of Schools in Leyte who came to the Philippines in the early 1900s. It was George John Zimmerman's father, Michael August Zimmermann, who came to the United States from Bavaria, Germany. Also, while it is possible that the Zimmermann's in Germany had Jewish roots, the grandfather of Elizabeth and the rest of his family in America were all congregants of the Lutheran Church.

These observations are necessary to point out. The author did an amazing job in his research for the rest of the book. Sad that the genealogy he utilized for this book was most likely lifted from online sources that also continue to perpetuate these genealogical falsehoods due to sheer laziness. I hope future revisions to this book would seriously overhaul these genealogical errors.

P.S. I will not address the Maranao issue, which seems to be the focus of so many reporters. It is true that President Duterte has on many instances claimed to have Maranao blood. For those who have known President Duterte for a long time, he has the tendency to exaggerate or be hyperbolic in his statements. While the Marano lineage claim does appear to be false, Duterte comes from a generation that likes to claim to be descendants of great people. For instance, older generations of Bol-anons would always claim to be "descendants of Dagohoy" or kadugo ni Sikatuna. Cebuanos like to claim descent from Lapulapu. While majority of these claims are probably symbolic at best, Duterte, speaking for all Mindanaonons, could probably simply be talking in symbolism. Or if not, who knows why. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "Rodrigo Duterte is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma". 

And if the reporters only bother to read, they would also come to this conclusion.

Philippine Family Tree Series: The Genealogy of Pre-Hispanic Visayan Royalty

As an improvement to the genealogies of Humabon and Lapulapu discussed in previous posts, this new tree explores the connection between Rajah Humabon and Sri Lapulapu. That Humabon was Lapulapu's brother-in-law is actually backed by both archival documents and oral history.

It is true that documentation on the Visayan pre-Hispanic royalty is fewer than that of the Lakans of Luzon. Because of this, we know very little of the royal families of the Visayas. We also do not have proof of where their descendants are today. This is where oral tradition comes in to fill in the void, and where clues left by what little archival document we have complete the story.

One interesting factoid in the family tree of pre-colonial Visayan Royals is that the Abellana family of Cebu claims to be descendants of Tupas, Humabon's nephew and son-in-law and eventual successor. President Duterte's ex-wife's, Elizabeth Zimmerman, mother was Purisima Abellana, born in Tuburan, Cebu. While we have no way yet of proving her Abellana line to be related to those of San Nicolas, Cebu City's, further research just might shed light on the possibility of Duterte's children being descendants of pre-Hispanic royalty. It would be tantalizing to also compare this with PGMA: her father's family was from pre-Hispanic native royalty, and she later became president herself. If Sara Duterte were descended from Tupas, well, then, you make the conclusion.

Naturally, this does not make any claim of authenticity. There was a need to delineate between archival documentation and purely oral history to make sure people understand that the chart simply is an amalgamation of various sources on Humabon and Lapulapu. 

Welcome to the World, Rodrigo Duterte III!

The Duterte family recently extended one generation further with the birth of Rodrigo Duterte III, President Duterte's first great-grandchild. The name is clearly an homage to the child's popular great-grandfather. Interestingly, Rodrigo, though a name common in Spain, Portugal, and Italy, is more popular in Portugal. What;s more interesting is that the Veloso family, from where President Duterte is descended on the paternal line, has always claimed to be descendants of a Portuguese. But that is another story to be told at a later date.

Welcome to the world, baby Rodrigo III!

The Duterte - Osmeña Connection

Despite the recent dressing down of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the Duterte and Osmeña families have always been allies and connected.

Mayor Tom's grandfather, President Sergio Osmeña Sr., appointed Vicente Gonzales Duterte, the father of President Duterte, as acting Mayor of Danao, Cebu on January 4, 1946. 

Meanwhile, Sergio "Serging" Chiong Veloso Osmeña Jr., son of President Osmeña, who first became Cebu City mayor from 1956 to 1957, was followed by Ramon Gonzales Duterte, brother of Vicente Duterte, who served from 1957 to 1959. Later, the first cousin of President Duterte, Ronald Regis Duterte, served as Cebu mayor from 1983 to 1986. He was then followed as mayor by John Henry Osmeña, another grandson of President Osmeña, who served from 1986 to 1987.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña and President Duterte also served as city mayors of their respective cities from1988 to 1995, then from 2001 to 2010.

But the most interesting tidbit is this: President Duterte's fourth cousin, Melanie Borromeo, married Mayor Osmeña's second cousin, Raul del Mar. Which means that not only are Duterte and Osmeña cousins-in-law, their children are blood cousins of the children of Raul del Mar and Melanie Borromeo.

Philippine politics truly is a tangled web of family affairs.

Dr. Janette Garin, Dengvaxia, and President Digong Duterte

As her Department of Health profile states, former Health Secretary Janette P. Loreto-Garin is a physician and a state legislator for 9 years, shepherding the Magna Carta for Women, Cheaper Medicines Law, and the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law among many others. She was trained as a medical technologist and after medical school had a background on Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her passion for public health, specifically that of women and children, led her to Masters Degree in Business Administration focused on healthcare systems.

In tracing her genealogy, one could find certain ironies. For one, her married name, Garin, is a Spanish last name that is derived from the Basque GARÍN, a variant of the Germanic name Garindo or Garino, which both have been used as a surname and a first name throughout history. Furthermore, Garindo or Garino comes from Guarino, itself derived from Warino, Waran, and Warin, which means “protect” or “defend”. Secondly, she is further admired for her understanding the plight of women, children, the elderly, and the less privileged as well as being a front liner in advancing the advocacy on maternal health and child mortality.

For somebody who has been accused of endangering the lives of Filipino children due to the Dengvaxia vaccine, one could definitely not miss the irony in her genealogical information and the Dengvaxia issue.

But one thing that is being left out here is that there is another interesting connection to Janette Garin: in another ironic twist, President Duterte, who heads the current administration which has been investigating her for her involvement in the purchase of the controversial vaccine under the previous administration, just happens to be her cousin. Or, to be precise, President Duterte and Garin's father, Jose Loreto, are half third cousins, which means Dr. Garin is President Duterte's half third cousin once removed. In the simplistic generational count in Cebuano, Garin is Duterte's pag-umangkon sa pag-agawan.

The Garin-Duterte family connection

A brief discussion of President Duterte's descent from the Veloso clan has already been discussed in a previous article. The Velosos were an old family from Cebu that in the words of its family historian, Cirilo Veloso, "and was one of the political families that have grown so big and extensive that they have established family associations to organize reunions and keep in touch with each other; in their case, the Veloso Association of the Philippines whose members count many important politicians."

Indeed, the Velosos truly are a marvel when it comes to branching out to become another political dynasty. In Garin's case, she belongs to the Leyte branch of the Velosos who married into the Loreto, Petilla, Cari, families. Garin's father, Jose, was a mayor of Baybay, Leyte. Her brother, Carlo, served as Vice-Governor of Leyte. Uncles, aunts, and cousins also served (or serve) as house representatives, governor, vice-governor, mayor, and other positions in and around Baybay and Palo, Cebu. And in the grand tradition of the Velosos marrying into other political families, Janette Loreto also allied herself with another established political dynasty, the Garins of Iloilo.

Janette's husband, Iloilo 1st district representative Oscar "Richard" S. Garin, Jr., belongs to the Garin dynasty of Iloilo headed by Oscar Sr. In the last election alone, Iloilo's 1st District remained the bailiwick of the Garins. Oscar Sr. was elected mayor of the town of Guimmal  while the matriarch, Ninfa, became mayor of the municipality of San Joaquin. Janette's sister-in-law, Christine, was elected vice governor of Iloilo while his another in-law, Sharon, won as a representative of the Aambis-owa Party-list.

President Duterte and the Genealogy of Power

There is a theory in America called the Most Royal Candidate theory. This is a term given to the fact that every presidential election, except one, in the United States has been won by a candidate descended from King John Lackland Plantagenet. The theory further suggests that the presidential candidate with the most number of traceable royal ancestors wins the election.

Of course this theory has met a lot of criticisms. But regardless if this theory actually makes sense or not, one thing is for certain: proximity and access to the base of power - in this case to "royalty" - is almost always a sure win for the candidate.

In a previous article, which took me about 5 years to complete and revise many times, I illustrated the interconnectedness of Philippine politics: from Aguinaldo to the BS Aquino several lines of relationships, whether by marriage or blood or both, connected most of those who are in power. Now, many years after that article was first conceived, I have yet again found more interesting connections between and among all 16 of our presidents.

The Presidential Connections

The Genealogy of Power matrix

It is admittedly an accepted fact that everyone is connected one way or another, whether by Six Degrees of Separation of through genealogy. But I am still amazed at the connections I saw once I put together the family trees of all 16 of our presidents. In this article, I propose the Genealogy of Power principle where we will see which of our presidents and other prominent figures have the strongest connections with the bases of power. This is different from the Six Degrees of Separation principle, which states that in most instances two people can be connected to each other by six degrees or less. For instance, the friend of Baste Duterte, the son of PDU30, is connected to former dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos by just 4 degrees since Digong's father, Vicente, knew President Marcos personally and even worked under him. My Genealogy of Power principle depends only on the genealogical connections of people which often means more in this country than anywhere else.

So, using the genealogies of all 16 presidents and other families with influence, we can assign corresponding points of relationships between 2 people (see Genealogy of Power table above). For instance:

• Presidents Diosdado Macapagal and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo are connected just by 1 relationship as seen in the matrix above because Diosdado was GMA's father. 

• FVR and Duterte are separated by 23 connections. And since FVR and Ferdinand Marcos were cousins, we can also connect PRRD with Marcos, both of whom are connected by 18 steps.

Among the 16 presidents, the 2 with the farthest genealogical connection are Presidents Quirino and Garcia. The two presidents are connected distantly through 38 relationships (in genealogy speak, President Elpidio Quirino is the brother of the father of the father of the husband of the daughter of the brother of the father of the wife of the son of the sister of the mother of the husband of the sister of the husband of the sister of the wife of the son of the brother of the father of the husband of the daughter of the wife of the son of the brother of the husband of the daughter of the daughter of the daughter of the brother of the wife of the brother of the father of the wife of the brother of the mother of the husband of the sister of the wife of President Carlos P. Garcia). You get my drift, then. Because all presidents have full genealogical data available on them, we can assign the relationships of all the presidents from Aguinaldo to Duterte. See the illustration below to see just how interconnected all our presidents are.

PHILIPPINE FAMILY TREE: Family Trees of all Presidents Connected

As seen in the genealogy of power matrix, colors have also been assigned to the closeness of relationships aside from number. For example, Marcos and Ramos are connected through just 5 relationships, being 2nd cousins, thus making their relationship extremely high and thus shaded red. Same with Aguinaldo and Aquino, who have very close relationships.

If we were to assign this "genealogy of power" relationships to all 16 presidents, we get some very interesting insights. The top 2 most "powerful" families using our genealogy of power matrix are Marcos and Roxas. The Marcos family, on average, is separated from all presidents by just 12 connections, while the Roxases just by 16. Tied on third "most powerful" spot are the Quezon, Laurel, Cojuangcos, Aquinos, Ramoses, and Estradas. Simply put, most, if not all, of these families are what we can consider strongly related to the bastions of power in imperial Manila. 

On the opposite side, we can see that Quirino, Duterte, and Garcia are the last 3 families with close proximity to power. Thus, it is clear that our current president, Rodrigo Duterte, is truly far removed from the cluster of powerful families, separated on average by 25 relationships to any of the presidential families.

Connection with PDI, ABS-CBN, and MINING

If we are to check the connection of President Digong, PNoy, and Mar Roxas with Maria Alexandra Prieto, CEO of broadsheet Philippine Daily Inquirer, we can see that the connections are 21, 11, and 6, respectively. When connecting with Gabby Lopez of ABS-CBN, the connections are 22, 9, and 11, respectively. And, if we want to see their relationship with Benjamin Philip G. Romualdez, who has deep connections to mining, the connections are 20, 10, and 7. 

Clearly, no matter how you look at it, President Duterte is a true outsider of imperial Manila. He is also so far removed from the oligarchs, as seen in his 20 or more connections that separate him from the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), ABS-CBN, and the mining industry. PNoy and Mar, on the other hand, are very close to these symbols of Philippine oligarchy. 

Connections to Pedro Paterno and Jamby Madrigal

I wanted to further connect PDU30, PNoy, and MAR with other figures in history to test my theory further. First, with Pedro Paterno, known to Philippine history as the original turncoat or, in Filipino, balimbing. Historian Ambeth Ocampo wrote:

"Remember, Paterno was one of the greatest "balimbing" (turncoat) in history (perhaps he was the original "balimbing" in Philippine political history). He was first on the Spanish side, then when the declaration of independence was made in 1898, he "wormed his way to power" and became president of the Malolos Congress in 1899, then sensing the change in political winds after the establishment of the American colonial government, he became a member of the First Philippine Assembly."

And since Pedro Paterno is related by blood to former Senator Jamby Madrigal who recently made news when she was accused of trying to bribe the inmates who accused Senator Leila de Lima of protecting the drug trade in Bilibid prisons, she will also be connected in the charts. 

Roxas - Paterno - Madrigal Connection

Aquino - Paterno - Madrigal Connection

Duterte - Paterno - Madrigal Connection

Obviously, once again, President Duterte is quite distantly related to the Paternos and Madrigal, two of the richest families in the Philippines even since the Spanish period. No wonder, then, that various nefarious groups and individuals have been seeking for PDU30's ouster left and right. For the first time in our history since another outsider, Carlos P. Garcia, was president, an ordinary man has been given the mantle of power by the Filipino people. This is why they want Duterte out. These people, whose genealogies situate them near the power bases, believe that they have the monopoly of ruling the country. As the genealogy of power matrix shows, those who are closely related have ruled this nation for most of our history. Duterte, who is too far removed from these powerful clans and oligarchic institutions, is a real threat to these people. 

But what they do not know is that not only does Duterte have the support of the ordinary citizens, he too has the historical mandate based on his connections to our heroes. I was also playing around with another theory when I wrote this article. I surmised that a "good" president is nearer genealogically to Philippine heroes. So, I chose Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, and Lapu-Lapu and connected them with PDU30, PNoy, and MAR. And the results were truly amazing!

The Heroes "Connection"

Bonifacio Connection

When connected to Andres Bonifacio, arguably the favorite hero of our leftist brethren and considered by some historians as the rightful first president of the Philippines, we see that hands down, President Duterte is the closest. He is 8 steps away from Andres Bonifacio, whose wife's great-great-aunt, Leonarda Alvarez, was married to Facundo Duterte,President Digong's grandfather. PNoy is a distant 21 steps away while MAR is 18 steps from Bonifacio.

Rizal Connection

And when connected to Jose Rizal, we still get the same result. President Duterte is still the one with the nearest connection, with 15 steps away but double the connection this time; meanwhile, both Aquino and Roxas are 20 steps away from the Philippine national hero.

Lapu-Lapu Connection

While Lapu-Lapu is known as the first hero of the Filipinos, very little of his genealogy is actually known. What we do know today is that some old families in Mactan are serious about their claim of being descended from them. One of these is the Dimataga family. So this family will be our basis in our connections.

It does seem fantastical and far-fetched, but the genealogical charts do not lie. Digong is the president with the nearest connection with our heroes with just 8 steps away from Andres Bonifacio, 15 from Jose Rizal through double connections, and just 8 connections apart from the Dimataga family of Mactan, one of the families believed to be descended from Lapu-Lapu. PNoy, on the other hand, is 21, 20, and 31 connections apart from the 3 aforementioned heroes, while MAR is 18, 20, and 31 steps away!

Rodrigo Roa Duterte may not be to the manor born and may be too far removed from the country's ruling elite, but among all presidents, he is the one with the closest connections to Lapu-Lapu, Rizal, and Bonifacio. Men who fought not just for the ruling class, but for every single Filipino. In the end, it is clear that history has chosen Duterte to be the inheritor of the greats of our past.

©2017 TODD LUCERO SALES

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Sources:

1. RP Politics: Still a Family Affair

2. Geni

3. American Presidential Bloodlines

4. Used Family Tree Builder and Geni as the main tool for connecting family trees

5. Dozens of online family trees

The Pastor and the President

Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy (Photo from the official FB
page of Pastor Quiboloy)

For many Dabawenyos, his smiling and open countenance and crisp, white outfit are common fixtures on cable TV. After all, he has one of the largest Christian churches in the Philippines which has its base in Davao City. His is a homegrown religious institution, a church that may not be as old as the Iglesia ni Cristo but is one that has become a global religious movement in the last 2 decades.

With the election of Mayor Rody Duterte as the next president of the Philippines, the country saw more and more of this man. His home was the first to be visited by the man destined to be the country's next leader as soon as partial and unofficial count of the votes showed the indisputable lead and inevitable victory of Duterte. He was one of the first people whom the mayor shared a meal with as more and more of the votes were counted. Indeed, throughout the campaign period, he was behind the good mayor up to the very end and supported him in every way possible.

The Appointed Son of God

He is Pastor Apollo Carreon Quibuloy, known to the rest of the world as the founder and leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, Inc. To his faithful flock, he is the Appointed Son of God, the "man who was chosen when the Father’s hand of appointment came upon his life, and he did not fail Him." His church's official website further states that "(God) gave Pastor Apollo the opportunity to become the Appointed Son of God by calling him. He heard the Father’s voice and he completed the course of enlightenment by revelations that the Father had supplied. Revelation 21:7 is now fulfilled in his life. He chose Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy and he did not disappoint the Father through his freedom of choice. He was able to overcome the serpent seed until his will is solidified in only obeying the Will of the Father. That is why Pastor Apollo’s message is coherent from the beginning to the end."

Family and Roots

(This is not a definitive genealogy of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy. In fact, this is still in the works. I just wanted to make an introductory genealogical sketch of Pastor Quiboloy).

Partor Quiboloy is a shining example of what makes Davao City a melting pot of great people. Born to immigrant parents from Pampanga, he was the ninth and youngest child of the family and was the only one born in Davao City.

The family name of the good pastor was spelled as QUIBULUY and QUIBULOY back in Pampanga, although some already started using the current spelling -  QUIBOLOY - as early as the 1900s. The family originated from the barrios of Santa Catalina and Santa Teresa in Lubao, Pampanga. The earliest records (for now) on the Quiboloys of Pampanga are of Cayetano Quiboloy and wife Cecilia Manalili who had 9 children: Luis, Ines, Lazaro, Dionisio, Alfonso, Petra, Gaudencio, Tiburcio, and Romana, all of whom were married.

Dionisio Quiboloy, grandfather of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, was described as a man with "sound perception of purpose, lucid reasoning ability, and a strong, indomitable will". He married Anastasia Turla, a woman described as having "a sense of genuine love for others, self-possession, and a courage to defend the right." 

The baptismal record of Maria Carreon, the Pastor's mother
(photo from the LDS microfilm collection)

These amazing traits passed on to their children, all of whom were successful and renowned in their fields. One of their children, Jose, married Maria Carreon, also from Lubao, Pampanga whose family came from barrio San Antonio, daughter of Lucas Carreon and Adriana Quinto.

Pastor Quiboloy's father (first on top, first from left) and aunts and uncles
(from the Quiboloy FB page)

According to Marlen V. Ronquillo, Jose Quiboloy and Maria Carreon, the parents of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, were not unlettered peasant agitators like many others who were forcibly shipped to Mindanao. If Lubao had something close to a functioning intelligentsia then, the Quiboloys were part of it. They were educated. They were teachers and poets. And unlike most of Catholic Lubao, they were mainline Protestants, one of the few Methodist families in town, in fact. Jose Quiboloy felt disgusted that most of the land in Lubao was owned by a few families and he and his family left Lubao, Pampanga after deciding they had enough of the injustices of Pampanga. And so, they settled in Mindanao, which was always advertised by the government as the "Land of Promise".

Quiboloy Family Tree (click to englarge)

The Quibuloy family, like many migrant families before them, adopted Davao as their new home. Indeed, the Quiboloy family of Lubao, Pampanga has been blessed in Davao City. Pastor Apollo's father and his siblings were born in the same decade as President Diosdado Macapagal, another son of Lubao; now, less than a century since settling in Davao City, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, a son of Lubao whose family adopted Davao as their new home, has not only proven to all that anyone can rise from poverty to become someone important; he has become one of the closest men to President-elect Duterte and will hopefully be able to counsel the President from time to time.

The Pastor and The President (from Pastor Quiboloy's FB page)

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Sources:

Lubao Baptismal Records

Ronquillo, Marlen V. "Pastor Quiboloy: A Migrant’s Story." Average JOM. 21 Feb. 2010. Web. 16 May 2016. <https://averagejom.wordpress.com/2010/02/21/pastor-quiboloy-a-migrant’s-story/>.

Cabalen. "The Life of Alejandro Turla Quiboloy of Lubao, Pampanga." FAMOUS LUBENIAN - ALEJANDRO T. QUIBOLOY. 18 Mar. 2007. Web. 17 May 2016. <http://aboutpampanga.blogspot.com/2007/03/life-of-alejandro-turla-quiboloy-of.html>.

"Quiboloy Family Tree." Acu Canita. 2010. Web. 17 May 2016. <https://acucanita.wordpress.com/quiboloy-family-tree/>.