History of Cebu Interesting Story

[Engineering]

SPANISH PERIOD - BANTAYAN ISLANDS

The Parish of Bantayan was then under the direct control and supervision of the Archdiocese of Manila. Fr. de Ocampos then, built a church made of nipa and bamboo. This church was put on torch by the Moro raiders in 1600, when according to Blair and Robertson , some 800 Bantayanons were taken as captive and sold as slaves to rich Mindanao Muslims. A second church was again erected and was again put on fire by the marauding Moros.
The stone church as we now see is the third church erected. Construction of this church began on 1839 and completed on year 1863. It was Fr. Doroteo Andrada del Rosario who built this church with a tall belfry and tall walls that surround the plaza.
Fr. Del Rosario being aware of the Moro attack built several lookout towers. The towers were located at Balwarte (Suba, Bantayan), Do-ong Island, Bantigue, Kabac, Daan Patio (Madridejos), Kaongkod (Madridejos), Tamiao, Ocoy (Sta. Fe), Cota (Sta. Fe) and Sulangan. Of these towers, only Bantigue and Sulangan have no ruins. To serve as signal of the incoming attack each tower is equipped with virso (a canon like cylinder wherein explosives were set to make a very loud noise). If one tower sees the incoming invaders, they would make a signal. The next tower upon hearing the signal would in turn fire their virso and so with the next towers, a chain explosion is achieved until the signal would reach the town proper. The church bells would then ring the bells to warn the populace about the incoming attack and prepare for the said attack while the olds, woman and children are cloistered to the confines of the tall walls surrounding the church.



The next story from Lavilles de Paula's Cebu: Legends & History another vivid historical account on the use of strategy and Martial Arts against marauding Moro pirates.

Solferino "Kapitan Perong Pak-an" Borinaga

In search for a better place to live in, a family from Cabalian Leyte crossed the Visayan sea to a nearby island and they became the nucleus of a settlement in Cebu which grew into a town. Solferino Borinaga aka "KAPITAN PERONG PAK-AN" was attracted by the fertile soil and the rich fishing grounds of a place called Palawan. It was so named as there was a spring (Palawan in the dialect) in the area. He brought his wife Alejandra and son Martin. Since life seemed much better in their new home, Solferino went back to his native town and encouraged his relatives and friends to immigrate to Palawan. A group - about ten families - went with him. Together, they organized into a barrio.

The inhabitants - prosperous as they were - were objects of forays by Moro pirates. Discovering the new colony, the Muslims would raid and seize properties, food, and even people. But Solferino Borinaga was an exceptional leader, not only good in organizing, but an expert in the art of battle. Together with only a few men, they did not only defend their village successfully , but they also mounted offensive attacks on the veteran sea warriors, fighting them face to face. Surprisingly defeated, the Moros fled and never disturbed the village again.

News of unprecedented victory over the Moros spread and soon many went to Palawan to settle there permanently. It grew into a town and quite naturally, it was Solferino Borinaga who was its first capitan.

Now in my readings Solferino "Kapitan Perong Pak-an" Borinaga came from Cabalian, Southern Leyte who migrated to Pilar a tiny islet that is a part of Camotes group of islands northwest of Cebu province.

He kept watch of marauding Moro pirates from the mouth of a cave overhanging on a cliff about eight stories high from the shore. This natural formation offered a panoramic view of the horizon and was very well suited as a balwarte (watchtower) because of its strategic location. From the cliff, Kapitan Perong designed an ingenious catapult made of five live bamboo poles carefully selected from among several plants growing in the vicinity of the cliff. The five robust poles were bent to about 45 degrees and tied securely with abaca ropes to sturdy pegs just a few meters from the tip.

Kapitan Perong brandishing his lampirong (Visayan version of Moro barong blade) would "horse" mount at the tip of the bundled bamboo poles and upon his signal to cut loose the harness would be propelled several feet above the air flying like superman with the trajectory precisely aimed at the incoming paraos (Moro sailboats). Landing accurately on the harsha (parao sails) for a soft impact, the element of surprise and seeing a man flying from the air would leave the Moros shocked with very little time to react. Then single-handedly he would finish off all the Moro raiders in the parao with his blinding speed and superior eskrima skills.

This daring display of aerial acrobatics earned him the moniker Kapitan Perong Pak-an (Winged Captain Perong or the Flying Captain Perong). And those who didn’t see the ingenuity of his natural catapult actually believed he had supernatural powers. A flying swordsman leaping out of nowhere scared the daylights out of the Moro raiders and they never came back to pillage the islands of Camotes again.



Moro warriors geared up for raid

Borinaga’s son Martin took over the leadership of the tiny islet of Camotes, which used to be called Isla sa Putting Baybayon (White Beach Island) and renamed it after his wife Pilar. The only living master of Kapitan Perong’s system called Repikada Pegada Eskrima is Yuly Romo who teaches the style as supplementary lessons to Ka’li Ilustrisimo. He inherited the system from his uncle Tatay Anas Romo who acquired it from Emong Urias of Guindulman, Bohol. Emong Urias and his paisano (compatriot) Pedro Cortez once taught close quarters techniques to the late GM Antonio Ilustrisimo.

Next is the THE SABANAL SAGA:

[Engineering]

LAURENTE "LAGUNO" SABANAL, HIS SON AMBOY KIDLAT AND DESCENDANTS

The story of Laurente Sabanal probably took place at about the same time as the Borinaga story. Laurente "Laguno" Sabanal was imprisoned for killing a Spanish guardia civil in Bohol sometime in the mid nineteenth century. He later escaped and fled to Moalboal on a rowboat. Finding the place rich in fish, the fugitive went back to Bohol to bring his family to their new home.

The town of Moalboal used to be called Laguno to honor the man who has successfully repulsed Moro pirates on the shores of this rustic southern Cebu town. A batang or huge driftwood lay on the mangrove shores of Moalboal that is widely believed to be the final burial ground of Laurente Sabanal. It was also here that his magic cane that once struck fear among the encroaching Moro pirates was buried. Today, the batang that Moalboalnons call Laguno is still visible during low tide on the shores where a fish market now stands nearby. It is ironic indeed that in the municipal hall of present day Moalboal stands a monument of Dr. Jose Rizal, but none for the man who once pioneered and defended the town’s women, children, their religion and culture. And to add salt to injury, the credit for the origin of the martial art that Sabanal practiced and probably helped develop and innovate went to his former nemesis.

Part of the eskrima apprenticeship passed on by Laguno to his son Pablo "Amboy Kidlat" Sabanal involved a ritual of casting spells on lana (coconut oil) that gave them protection from evil forces. The ritual took place at a cemetery on the night of Good Friday. The traditional method of footwork exercise also made use of three coconut shells during moonlit nights. Amboy Kidlat would challenge anyone to hit him in any part of his body without losing his footing on the coconut shells and at the same time successfully foiling all attacks. As a prerequisite, the apprentice would have to undergo full contact sparring also known as juego todo with the use of rolled upak, the outer dead skin of a coconut palm.

Pablo "Amboy Kidlat" Sabanal was a drifter on horseback who roamed the towns of southwest Cebu to teach eskrima. One of the inheritors of the system we interviewed was the late Julian Goc-ong a decorated World War II veteran who acquired it from his uncle Felix "Titi" Goc-ong

A contemporary of Moro-moro stylist and fellow townmate Telesforo Subing-subing, "Titi" joined a labor strike in the Hilo plantation where he once worked. An American officer on horseback tried to break the picket line, but "Titi" did not budge an inch and instead hit the horse with a powerful punch on the face knocking it down and its American rider. The incident earned him the respect of the American plantation official who later became a matchmaker of juego todo (no holds barred) fights. Titi beat the Hilo Eskrima Champion and later killed an African American in a fair duel.

Titi was reputed to be very fast with his hands that he could catch a live fish in the shallows barehanded. When Manoy Julian was interviewed for this article he was very explicit in telling us that they do not have a name for the eskrima style of Amboy Kidlat. It was simply called eskrima, however for purposes of making a distinction of their system from the others and it being the dominant technique of their methodology, he called it Abanico de Vertical which is just one of the styles they practiced along with the florete, fraille, juego literada techniques.

The other techniques that comprise Abanico de Vertical are:

--- Fraile- basically kulob / hayang (pronation-supination) and ginunting, espada corta, punta y daga techniques
--- Florete- basically double stick.
--- Juego Literida- akin to Lastico technique to counter aggressive opponents
--- Cadena de Pasa- a fluid motion of continuous double stick strikes starting from the lower extremities to the head or vice versa.

Jose Sabanal a prodigious fighter who was known to have defeated seven armed attackers while on the ground. He made good use of his hands and feet to block and strike at the attackers. Another extraordinary member of the clan was the younger sister of Amboy Kidlat, Silvina " Insi Benang" Sabanal. Manoy Totong narrated that Insi Benang was a practitioner of tagolilong the art of invisibility, camouflage and deception akin to Japanese ninjitsu. Another skilled eskrimador belonging to the clan was Filomeno "Ingko Menong" Sabanal a man of superhuman strength who can lift a heavy metal grinder with his teeth.

Amboy Kidlat bore children from an illicit affair, one of them was Brigido who also inherited his eskrima and extraordinary strength. Wrongly imprisoned for stealing bananas and coconuts from a neighbor, Brigido bolted out of jail by bending the iron grills with his bare hands.

The only living daughter of Amboy Kidlat at this writing is Facunda "Aling Cunda" Sabanal Berro. Aling Cunda was born in Tunga, Moalboal on November 25, 1924. One of Aling Cunda's fondest memories of her late father was during World War II, when she saw how her father intimidated a Japanese soldier who barged into their home, by bending a crowbar right before the eyes of the frightened intruder and slammed it on his chest. From then on, no Japanese soldiers knocked on their doors again.

Aling Cunda learned eskrima by simply observing her father teach his brothers Brigido, Serapion, Alfonso, Ubaldo and elder sisters Magdalena and Segundina. Aside from her father one of her biggest influences was her aunt Insi Benang Sabanal, a ferocious fighter who she remembered foiled an attempted rape by nearly suffocating the attacker to death with a tight submission lock.

Aling Cunda has a collection of mystical panyo (handkerchief) inscribed with Latin incantations that they used as headband for protection. When Luzvisminda Aling Cunda’s daughter showed us an old picture of her grandmother Demetria, Aling Cunda fondly recounted that her mother was also an eskrimador even before she met her father Amboy Kidlat. When we asked why there were so many women eskrimadors in her era, Aling Cunda confirmed what we had been expecting all along. She was the first and probably the last living eskrimador we interviewed to corroborate that the primary purpose in learning the art was to defend their villages against Moro pirates.

Women being the favorite prey of Moro raiders for their harem, it is not surprising that some of them were equally deadly fighters. Even during the early 20th century Moro pirates continue to sow terror on the coastlines of Cebu, her elder brother Serapion took on the job of their grandfather Laurente in defending Moalboal against Moro raids. This firsthand account on the use of eskrima against Moro pirates is the final seal to prove that our theory on the origins of the Filipino Martial Arts is historically correct!

Aling Cunda is a testament of her generation's courage, strength, tenacity and profound spirituality. Truly a remarkable woman and eskrimador, the last living child of the legendary Pablo "Amboy Kidlat" Sabanal and granddaughter of Laurente "Laguno" Sabanal, the true hero of the south and probably the first to introduce the art of eskrima to the island of Cebu.

[gaevwa]

Hi..I dunno if you're familiar with this person... Friar Antolin Frias, Augustinian... He was the priest of several parishes including Carcar, Minglanilla, Talisay...etc. He was also one of the priests targeted by the katipuneros during the Tres de Abril revolution led by Leon Kilat... According to some limited and fragmented info, he was known during the spanish period for his one-act Spanish play, La Conquista de Cebu...

I'm interested on him since he's my great-great grandfather...

During the American period, he married someone named Aleja delos Santos (not my great-great grandmother). And became a lawyer..

If you know someone who might be of help, kindly inform me....Thanks...

[Engineering]

Hi..I dunno if you're familiar with this person... Friar Antolin Frias, Augustinian... He was the priest of several parishes including Carcar, Minglanilla, Talisay...etc. He was also one of the priests targeted by the katipuneros during the Tres de Abril revolution led by Leon Kilat... According to some limited and fragmented info, he was known during the spanish period for his one-act Spanish play, La Conquista de Cebu...

I'm interested on him since he's my great-great grandfather...

During the American period, he married someone named Aleja delos Santos (not my great-great grandmother). And became a lawyer..

If you know someone who might be of help, kindly inform me....Thanks...

The Conquest of Cebu 1890 hmm..

whoa! you are direct descendant of Friar Antolin Frias? hmmm well-known for his literary and historical works who married (presumed) Felix Suarez; pDn: Felix de los Santos daughter Aleja and their family settled in Naga. Where as Felix the father of Aleja is the Kapitan of Naga at that time..

Well he was nowhere to be found during that time... Here's the story:



3 days after katipuneros drove the Spaniards to Fort San Pedro, the former still wanted to storm it. The Spanish occupation of a portion of Cebu made them uneasy. But the problem was how to get inside. And there was no way to get there except by scaling the walls, which meant they had to have ladders.

Moreover, they had to face the bullets of the fort's defenders, which did not look too inviting to the revolutionaries. They knew a lot of lives would be wasted. No one, except Leon Kilat, appeared willing to risk his life this way.

In the meantime, unknown to revolutionaries, the arrival of steamer Venus brought some good news to the beleaguered Gen. Montero. The Spaniards in Iloilo had sent a message to Manila asking for reinforcements for Cebu, offering some bright hope for their salvation.

But by Wednesday, April 6, their supplies inside the fort were dwindling rapidly. Montero tried to remedy the situation by sending some soldiers to Lutao to secure food. But they were seen by katipuneros who were only too eager to gun them down. So they beat a hasty retreat to the fort.

In other places, the success of the revolt in the city and San Nicolas prodded on residents in other towns to take up arms also. In Carcar that Tuesday, April 5, shouts of "Viva Katipunan!" and "Viva Filipinas!" were heard in Valladolid.

The Carcar uprising was led by the Enriquez brothers (Severino, Nicanor and Jaime) and the Regis brothers (Magno and Eliseo). One of their trusted man was Apolinario Alcuitas who was later to go down in history as a traitor to the revolutionary cause.

The Carcar group swelled as it marched up to the tribunal and the Catholic convent. There they looked for the priests and were able to capture three Agustianians, while two others escaped. A few guardia civil defending the tribunal in were killed and their rifles seized.

A group subsequently went to Sibonga where they captured the parish priest Fray Emiliano Diez who had escaped from Carcar. The group was led by Jaime Enriquez and Antonio Miñoza.

Miñoza went farther to Argao 18 kilometrs away with another group. The parish priest Fr. Antolin Frias was nowhere to be found. Some of the guardia civil surrendered, while others joined the katipunan.

In Barili, the most important town in the western coast of Cebu, the pro-Spanish officials fled to Cebu city by sailboat. One of the prisoners there, Aguedo Batobalonos, broke out of his cell and freed other prisoners. Then they burned documents of the court and the treasury. The guardia civil also surrendered. By Wednesday, Batobalonos had a few hundred followers. By Thursday, they were joined by the KKK from Dumanjug led by Nicolas Godines and Saturnino Echavez.

In Opon and Cordova, katipuneros led by Pascual Tuada and Pio Lopez also took up arms against the Spaniards. The guardia civiles detailed in Opon could not be found, while the priest also fled to the fort.

But the priest of Cordoba, Fray Jose Baztan, could not escape the angry residents there. Earlier, he had aroused their anger by requiring them to carry massive rocks for building and lashed them if they did not follow his orders. He was captured by the revolutionaries and executed at the town plaza on April 4, 1898.

In Mabolo, Mandaue and Consolacion, residents also took up arms after the learned of the successful April 3 uprising. They were led by Francisco Llamas, Luis Abellar and Mariano Hernandez. In Mandaue, the guardia civil and priest also fled. The same was true in Consolacion. The priest Fray Agustin Martel had beaten them to the draw.

Sorry for not so much info about Friar Antolin Frias even in books and internet gamay ra gyud kaau sources..

[sakagawasan]

1995JHA....26....1O Page 17 --- 2nd paragraph

Sa panahon sa mga Amerikano, naay space observatory sa Sogod, Cebu. Ang remains na lang na makita nato sa pagkakaron, kay ang cemented blocks that holds the telescope. Naa ni sulod sa campus sa Sogod Central School(Bagatayam, Sogod). Wala lang ko picture pero apil ni sa mga lugar na agian sa "Suroy2x Sugbo".

During WW2, si Lucio Tan, iya mga ginikanan ug mga igsoun, namakwit sa Cebu. Ang nagsagop nila kay ang mga Rojo(Asyang & Kikong) sa Ibabao, Sogod, Cebu. Dili lang sad ko sigurado kung unsay impact ani history pero para nako kung dili tungod nila, walay, PAL, Fortune Tobacco, Eton ug uban pa na negusyo ni Lucio Tan.

[gaevwa]

The Conquest of Cebu 1890 hmm..

whoa! you are direct descendant of Friar Antolin Frias? hmmm well-known for his literary and historical works who married (presumed) Felix Suarez; pDn: Felix de los Santos daughter Aleja and their family settled in Naga. Where as Felix the father of Aleja is the Kapitan of Naga at that time..

Well he was nowhere to be found during that time... Here's the story:



3 days after katipuneros drove the Spaniards to Fort San Pedro, the former still wanted to storm it. The Spanish occupation of a portion of Cebu made them uneasy. But the problem was how to get inside. And there was no way to get there except by scaling the walls, which meant they had to have ladders.

Moreover, they had to face the bullets of the fort's defenders, which did not look too inviting to the revolutionaries. They knew a lot of lives would be wasted. No one, except Leon Kilat, appeared willing to risk his life this way.

In the meantime, unknown to revolutionaries, the arrival of steamer Venus brought some good news to the beleaguered Gen. Montero. The Spaniards in Iloilo had sent a message to Manila asking for reinforcements for Cebu, offering some bright hope for their salvation.

But by Wednesday, April 6, their supplies inside the fort were dwindling rapidly. Montero tried to remedy the situation by sending some soldiers to Lutao to secure food. But they were seen by katipuneros who were only too eager to gun them down. So they beat a hasty retreat to the fort.

In other places, the success of the revolt in the city and San Nicolas prodded on residents in other towns to take up arms also. In Carcar that Tuesday, April 5, shouts of "Viva Katipunan!" and "Viva Filipinas!" were heard in Valladolid.

The Carcar uprising was led by the Enriquez brothers (Severino, Nicanor and Jaime) and the Regis brothers (Magno and Eliseo). One of their trusted man was Apolinario Alcuitas who was later to go down in history as a traitor to the revolutionary cause.

The Carcar group swelled as it marched up to the tribunal and the Catholic convent. There they looked for the priests and were able to capture three Agustianians, while two others escaped. A few guardia civil defending the tribunal in were killed and their rifles seized.

A group subsequently went to Sibonga where they captured the parish priest Fray Emiliano Diez who had escaped from Carcar. The group was led by Jaime Enriquez and Antonio Miñoza.

Miñoza went farther to Argao 18 kilometrs away with another group. The parish priest Fr. Antolin Frias was nowhere to be found. Some of the guardia civil surrendered, while others joined the katipunan.

In Barili, the most important town in the western coast of Cebu, the pro-Spanish officials fled to Cebu city by sailboat. One of the prisoners there, Aguedo Batobalonos, broke out of his cell and freed other prisoners. Then they burned documents of the court and the treasury. The guardia civil also surrendered. By Wednesday, Batobalonos had a few hundred followers. By Thursday, they were joined by the KKK from Dumanjug led by Nicolas Godines and Saturnino Echavez.

In Opon and Cordova, katipuneros led by Pascual Tuada and Pio Lopez also took up arms against the Spaniards. The guardia civiles detailed in Opon could not be found, while the priest also fled to the fort.

But the priest of Cordoba, Fray Jose Baztan, could not escape the angry residents there. Earlier, he had aroused their anger by requiring them to carry massive rocks for building and lashed them if they did not follow his orders. He was captured by the revolutionaries and executed at the town plaza on April 4, 1898.

In Mabolo, Mandaue and Consolacion, residents also took up arms after the learned of the successful April 3 uprising. They were led by Francisco Llamas, Luis Abellar and Mariano Hernandez. In Mandaue, the guardia civil and priest also fled. The same was true in Consolacion. The priest Fray Agustin Martel had beaten them to the draw.

Sorry for not so much info about Friar Antolin Frias even in books and internet gamay ra gyud kaau sources..

Thanks for this one.. actually I've already read this article... I was kind of hoping to find any copy of his literary work..to share to my family...or maybe "discover" where he was buried...some sources say that after he died, his body was taken by the Augustinian priests and his family was barred from attending the wake... I would also love to meet my cousins from the other women that he had... Thanks...

[chicchic]

Hi. Antolin Frias is my great great grandfather too. I don't know any Aleja de los Santos but I do know that on top of his son's (Alfonso) grave in Naga cemetery is Aleja Suarez. The one buried beside Antolin's son, Alfonso is my grandpa, Fernando Frias.

[gaevwa]

Hi. Antolin Frias is my great great grandfather too. I don't know any Aleja de los Santos but I do know that on top of his son's (Alfonso) grave in Naga cemetery is Aleja Suarez. The one buried beside Antolin's son, Alfonso is my grandpa, Fernando Frias.

ows? kabalo ka asa iyaha lubnganan?

by the way, isa ra ni si Aleja de los Santos and Aleja Suarez which is your great great grandmother...wife of Antolin Frias...check this link -> Family Search: A Cebu City Family Tree crosses to Carcar « CARCAR FAMILIES: A Genealogy Blog for Carcar

thanks...

[Benzh]

Engineering...pwede parequest sa San Remegio

[Benzh]

Hi. Antolin Frias is my great great grandfather too. I don't know any Aleja de los Santos but I do know that on top of his son's (Alfonso) grave in Naga cemetery is Aleja Suarez. The one buried beside Antolin's son, Alfonso is my grandpa, Fernando Frias.

Exciting lagi ni doh! Kitakits kaha mo ni gaevwa karon kalagkalag....timing!