Commentaries on the History of the Founding Of Pasig

An official report dated 30 April 1575 of the 2nd Capitulo or provincial chapter held by the Augustinians (The first --May 3, 1572) From Archivo de los Padres Agustinos de Filipinas (APAF) in Valladolid. This was the first time "conventus de Passin" (the convent of Pasig) was mentioned. The signatures belonged to Fray Martin de Rada, Francisco Ortega, Alonso de Alvarado, Diego Mujeca, "definitores" of the province. Assigned as Prior of the convetn was Fray Juan de Alba and assisted by Juan de Penalosa. The patron was the Virgin of the Visitation.(Courtesy of Prof. Danilo Gerona)

 FRAY MARTIN DE RADA

I embarked on my own 'studium' to delve into an issue that has been a matter of dispute in Pasig for some time—the date of its foundation. I scoured the available materials in my personal library for information. In my research, I stumbled upon a book I acquired in the late 1980s. While I may have perused it or even read certain chapters, the specifics had faded from my memory. All I could recall before revisiting parts of it was that it concerned Martin de Rada, one of the early pillars of the Augustinian order in their mission to evangelize the Philippines.

The book was authored by Father Pedro G. Galende, who had summoned me on a few occasions to perform in Augustinian events at the San Agustin Church. On a couple of those instances, I had contemplated inquiring about his authored work, perhaps even requesting a signed copy, but the priest always appeared to be in a rush.

'Apologia Pro Filipino' can be seen as a quasi-biography of Padre Martin de Rada, with a pronounced focus on his missionary endeavors that were characterized by his pro-native stance—a stance reminiscent of Bartolome de las Casas. One noteworthy aspect is Galende's extensive reliance on Gaspar de San Agustin's 'Conquista de las Islas Filipinas' (Published 1698), as a primary reference.

Curiously, a date intertwined with the founding of Pasig, which has gained attention from certain quarters, is May 3, 1572-- A document from Archivo de los Padres Agustinos de Filipinas (APAF) in Valladolid, reports the first " Capitulo" of the same date and mentions Pasig and the existence of the "convento" . With signatures belonging to Fray Martin de Rada, Francisco Ortega, Alonso de Alvarado, Diego Mujeca, "definitores" of the province. Assigned as Prior of the convent was Fray Juan de Alba and assisted by Juan de Penalosa. Naming the first patron, the Virgin of the Visitation.

Coincidentally, this date also marks the occasion when Martin de Rada was elected as the 'Provincial of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus in the Philippine Islands'—a regional leader within the Augustinian order. The appointment of Martin de Rada was accompanied by a pronouncement:

'In Nomine Domini nostri Iesus Christi Amen. Anno Domini orbem redemptum, millesimo quingentesimo septuagesimo secundo, tertia die maii, celebratum fuit Capitulum Provinciale huius Provinciae Ordinis Heremitarium S.P.N. Agustini Sacratissimi Nominis Iesus in Conventu nostro Manila, et in eo fuit canonice electus in Provincialis eiusdem Provinciae Admodum Reverendus Pater Martinus de Herrada (de Rada)."

A chapter of Gaspar de San Agustin's 'Conquista de las Islas Filipinas'--Naming the twelve original "visistas" of Pasig

THE WATER THAT LEADS TO THE CONVENT

In the lower section of the bell tower of the Pasig Church, one can see a historical marker that commemorates the first missionary of Pasig—Fray Alonso de Alvarado. The marker also highlights that the friar was a participant in the Villalobos expedition to the Moluccas. Upon studying the account of this expedition, with its trials and hardships endured by the Spanish, striving to establish a robust presence in the renowned Spice Islands, one might perceive Alonso de Alvarado as a fortuitous friar. This contrast could lead one to contemplate that the challenges encountered in "Las Islas Filipinas" were comparably less arduous than the toils experienced in the Southern Seas and the Moluccas.

The appellation of Alonso de Alvarado often emerges in Augustinian chronicles, such as Gaspar de San Agustin's "Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas," where he is depicted as leading the Christian mission in areas like Cainta and Taytay. Nearly four decades after his endeavors in the Moluccas, he found himself once again grappling with an element of Islamic faith, this time contending with the indigenous populations of both Taytay and Cainta. The year 1571 seemed to echo the challenges of the 1540s. Ultimately, the Spanish conquistadors established their presence in Pasig, founding both a township and a convent.

In a historical account penned by Fray Juan de Medina, within his work "Historia de Los Sucesos de la Orden de San Agustin," a certain type of potable water found within the Pasig convent is mentioned. This passage may even unveil the precise location of the convent itself. This water source was noted to be clear and drinkable—Malinaw daw o Malinao? Could this have been the legendary subterranean river, intertwined with mystique, leading to the beaterio adjoining the convent?

The significance of Fray Juan de Medina's contribution lies in its chronological precedence over San Agustin's "Conquistas," thereby substantiating the existence of potential sources regarding the foundation history of Pasig beyond the renowned and frequently cited 'Conquistas.'

From Fray Juan de Medina's "Historia de Los Sucesos de la Orden de San Agustin (1630)". The highlighted portion translates: "It is called Pasig River from the chief village. But in order to drink of the good water , one must ascend to the very convent of Pasig where the water is found clear." Definitely its speak about "Malinao" , an old barangay where the convento and the church of Pasig now stand,

AUGUSTINIAN TOWN

Walking one afternoon around Plaza Rizal in Pasig, adjacent to the church it occurred to me the immenseness of the church tower. Immense not in the sense of its heights or structure but of the shadow it imposed for centuries in the historical communities of Pasig. What heroic, or even sordid stories it held? What panoramic views it had all through the years? -- One moving picture in my mind is that of the squire and the watchman of Simon de Anda in that turbulent years of the 100 Years War, when Manila as a consequence of the complicated relations of states in Europe was occupied by the British-- Once I also pictured Colonel Manuel Sityar of the colonial civil guards observing the attack of Pasiguenos in the church tower on that Saturday, the last days of August 1896. We can picture more actually.

One must admit that Pasig before is not Pasig of the present --Where is now the fabled Padre Felix Trillo Bridge with the familiar stone shade we can only behold now in illustrations and paintings of European travelers.? Where are the houses adorned with thousands of lights every evening of the town fiesta? Where is the much heralded waterway that traverse through the heart of Pasig and connects her not only to Manila and neighboring towns, communities but practically the outside world?-- This waterway which is now known in many names the last is that of the innards of a chicken.

From Sinibaldo de Mas "Informe sobre el estado de las islas Filipinas" (1842)

Connected in the church itself is the fabled "convento" (kumbento), with its thousand tales ( even more ) from those who had once been there-- Priests, missionaries, altar boys, hermana mayores, cosineros, hardineros, etc. The stories in which Rizal's Noli and Fili would find real affiliation.

Where is the mystified under water river, where tales of a dark tunnel made many "Marites" of the past salivate in the juicy stories of priests walking in that subterranean pathway from the convento going to the other end that leads to the Beaterio where nuns had lived?

I blamed myself for reading Umberto Eco -- Now that I kept on imagining a Gothic Pasig. But no, not really, Pasig was founded in the 1570s (strikingly "ungothic"). And it came to being through the labors of the Augustinians.

In 1842 a bored Spanish traveler said to be in the service of the crown, sent to las Islas Filipinas to investigate the situation of the colony, wandered around Pasig -- One thing he mentioned in his report was the Beateario founded by the Augustinian. Perhaps ever asking what secrets it held, what comparison it holds to those poor souls appointed as vestal virgins in Ancient Rome.

Sinibaldo de Mas (1809-1866) was the Spanish traveler and the entries he wrote about the "Beaterio de Pasig" is found in his opus "Informe sobre el estado de las islas Filipinas,"

PASIG 1572 - TRES DE MAYO - DOS DE JULIO?

The evangelization of Luzon was not really a story of acceptance and submission , if it lacks narratives of organized resistance or protest on the side the natives, the controversy and the bitter stories would come from the missionary fathers themselves who after years of evangelical works would then protest the exploitation and abused of the natives by the "economenderos". Fray Martin de Rada, appointed in 1572 as principal of the Augustinian order in the country would highlight his career in the newly conquered island by tirelessly fighting for the rights and welfare of the native population, even raising his concerns to the royal crown.

Fray Martin de Rada aimed to ensure that the natives were treated with compassion and fairness, guided by the true spirit of Christian brotherhood. In the Americas, the efforts of Bartolome de las Casas to champion the rights of the indigenous people against the abuses of the Iberians were widely remembered. However, in the context of Las Islas Filipinas, the story of Fray Martin de Rada remains largely untold, despite his significant contributions.

In the year 1572, the Augustinian order recognized and declared the establishment of numerous pueblos. These were communities where Augustinian missionaries labored for months and even years to bring converts into a 'reduccion,' establishing a comunidad cristiana under the guidance of faith. The church tower, with its elevated bell that signals the hour of the day and reminds of the Almighty's omnipotent power, played a physical, symbolic, and acoustic role in these communities—'Bajo la Campana'. In Pasig, Our Lady of Visitation was installed as the pueblo's first patron saint, with July 2 as the feast day.

Augustinian chronicles state that on May 3, 1572, not only was a convento established in Pasig, but also the pueblo itself. Some sectors in Pasig believe that this date should be considered the true foundation day of the city.

Meanwhile, no document exists to ascertain that Pasig was founded on July 2, 1572. The date was 'recommended' by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) as a 'symbolic reckoning of its founding' based on the first patron, Our Lady of Visitation.

Pasig Day - 2nd July 1573. The second day of July was the ancient feast day of the Virgin of the Visitation or the so-called Visitación de la Virgen María, which commemorates the visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth (Mother of John the Baptist).The Virgin of the Visitation was also the patron of the first Christian community in Pasig before it was changed and appointed Nuestra Señora de la Immaculata