58. SAN PABLO y CABAGAN

SAN PABLO y CABAGAN
Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano
23 January 2018

The twin old pueblos of San Pablo and Cabagan had a very colorful past and both are very much interrelated. I was able to attend their town fiestas and was given the opportunity to deliver a message where I narrated in a capsule their rich history and culture. The Dominican priest, Pedro V. Salgado’s “Cagayan Valley and Eastern Cordillera” gave me the sufficient data in recounting the historical development of San Pablo y Cabagan. 

San Pablo and Cabagan were originally incorporated in the territory known as La Irraya. Irraya (Addaya and Yrraya in other manuscripts) region comprised the vast area from Tuguegarao in Cagayan province up to the present Gamu town in Isabela province. Irraya was also the term used for the native’s name and their dialect. Irraya is an Ibanag word which means “upriver”. In the Gaddang dialect, the term “dirraya” also means “upriver”. In 1607, the provincial chapter of the Holy Rosary Province (or Dominicans) ordered Frays Luis Flores and Francisco Minaio to the Irraya speaking Pilitan (now a barangay of Tumauini town) and its adjoining communities, to exert all efforts that the natives must learn to speak Ibanag and to minister to them in the said language. In short, Ibanag (Ybanag) was made the official language in the valley. Ultimately, the distinct Irraya area, its people and the dialect became extinct with the whole area, its residents and tongue now known in the modern world as Ibanag. Only a handful from barangays Tallag and San Bernardo in Cabagan town can still remember some Irraya phrases.

As a result of the historic Irraya Revolt on November 8, 1621, a new town was organized by Dominican missionary, Fray Pedro de Santo Tomas, gathering the Irrayas from the former missions of Pilitan, Abbuatan, Bolo and Batavag and named it “Maquila” which was situated at the junction of the Cagayan and Pinacanauan Rivers of Tuguegarao. The name “Maquila” was derived from the Ibanag word “quilat” which means “clear” referring to the clear water of the Pinacanauan River. On November 30, 1646, due to its proximity to Tuguegarao, the residents of Maquila were transferred to a new site upstream southwards at the mouth of the Cagayan and Pinacanauan Rivers of Cabagan and is now the poblasyon (town center) of San Pablo. The new site was called “Cabagan”. The name “Cabagan” came from the native word “bag” or “bajaque” which referred to the stores selling g-strings. Another version stated that the name came from the word “cabbagang” which means “pilgrim” or “stranger” because the settlement was in constant contact with the other tribes in the region. On May 15, 1647, the Dominican Order in Manila recorded “San Pablo Apostol de Cabagan” as an ecclesiastical mission under the patronage of Saint Paul the Apostle. The church of Cabagan was constructed with a lofty bell tower of six layers including the circular apex made of adobe which was the tallest in Cagayan Valley. 

In 1683, Mengal Baladdon and his men, alarmed at the success of Fray Pedro Jimenez in forming Christian villages in the Irraya, wrecked havoc in Cabagan by killing twelve of its Christian inhabitants prompting the natives to flee to the mountains. The settlement in the verge of collapsing was rescued by the alcalde-mayor of Cagayan killing some accomplices and captured seventy. Their properties were confiscated and were given to the troops.

In 1709, a great fire demolished the Cabagan Church and the big convent. In 1718, a rebellion in Cabagan was crushed by Don Pablo Orduna and many natives of Cabagan and Tuguegarao fled to the mountains for security. In 1738, the military fort of Cabagan (situated in what is now San Pablo), a triangular two-bulwarked stone fortress, was destroyed (also by earthquakes) and transferred to Cabicungan (now Claveria town in Cagayan province) for the reason that the fort was no longer needed. On March 20, 1758, Dominican missionary of Cabagan, Fray Jose Marin, reported of a cholera epidemic which broke out killing approximately 500 in Cabagan and 800 in Tuguegarao. He also informed them of the construction of a wine and sugar factory that was very beneficial to the townfolks. In 1841, Dominican Fray Antonio Garcia built the casa real in Cabagan. The casa served as an important government center during the Spanish rule in the alcaldia (province). It was a 20x30 square meter two-storey building made of stone. On one of its walls was the inscription: “Esta Casa Tribunal se con Cluio en año de 1846, Siendo Governad d’ Juan de Guzman.” However, in 1857, the Casa Real was burned and eventually repaired. 

In 1703, the western part territory of Cabagan was created into a separate pueblo and christened “Santa Maria de Luzon” after the name of Doña Maria, daughter of Don Pablo Marasigan, a Spaniard and Doña Masigad, a native who later changed her surname to “Masigan” due to difficulty in pronouncing the syllable “ra”. However, it was only on December 4, 1879, when Santa Maria was officially separated from Cabagan.

In 1761, a growing settlement across the Pinacanauan river was formally separated from the mother-town of Cabagan (now San Pablo town) by virtue of a royal decree and was also referred to with the same name. It was only in 1861 when a royal decree was issued separating the new village of Cabagan (now Cabagan town) from the mother-town of Cabagan (now San Pablo). On January 25, 1877, the old town of Cabagan (now San Pablo) was transferred by Dominican Fray Pedro Ricart to a new site (the present territory of Cabagan town) because of unhealthiness of the old site and seemed that progress was bypassing the town in favor of the villages of the south. The new site was only about three kilometers away from the old and was situated between the present barangays of Ugad and Luquilu. 

In 1888, the Spaniards resurrected the abandoned site of Cabagan (now San Pablo) into a new town and called it “Cabagan Viejo” with Fray Segundo Rodriguez as cura parroco. He renovated partly the church and convent and gave for the patroness of the town the Virgin of the Rosary. Later, the patron was changed to Saint Paul the Apostle. The other Cabagan was named “Cabagan Nuevo” to avoid confusion on the two Cabagans. The word “Viejo” means “old” while “Nuevo” means “new” in the Spanish language. When the Americans arrived they re-christened Cabagan Nuevo as simply “Cabagan” and the Cabagan Viejo as “San Pablo”. In 1944, by Japanese instigation, the seat of government of San Pablo town was transferred to Barrio Auitan then to Barrio Minanga. From then on, the poblasyon seesawed from the two barrios due to local politics. In 1959, however, Mayor Calixtro B. Cauan restored the government center to its original site, now the present site. 

During the early part of the American Occupation, a public hearing was conducted by the Philippine Commission headed by Governor-General William Howard Taft (who would later become President of the United States and Chief Justice) on the re-organization of provinces. The three towns of Cabagan Nuevo, Cabagan Viejo and Santa Maria attended the hearing in Tuguegarao, Cagayan and requested that the aforementioned towns be incorporated in the re-organized province of Cagayan. However, in the public hearing conducted in Ilagan, Isabela on August 23, 1901, Municipal President Rafael Maramag of Ilagan commented that the exclusion of the three towns would greatly reduce the size of the province. “The population of Isabela was about 54,000 and these three towns contained about 20,000. The proposed change would therefore take away over a third of the province.” The Commission ruled the following day that they were not amenable for the change “as it would too greatly reduce the population and tax-paying power of the province of Isabela.”

On July 1, 1948, the Barrio of Santo Tomas was separated from the western part of the mother-town of Cabagan and was created into a regular municipality by virtue of Executive Order No. 199 signed by His Excellency President Elpidio Quirino. Santo Tomas was named after the pioneers of the town, Don Tomas Gatan and Don Tomas Bautista who both served as gobernadorcillo of Cabagan. In early records of the American Occupation, Santo Tomas was already a town and was later reverted as a barrio of Cabagan because of financial constraints.

Cabagan is famous for its pansit or noodles. In 1897, Sia Liana, popularly known as Dianga, a Chinese trader from Amoy (formerly Xiamen), China arrived in Cabagan. He introduced the original pansi (pancit) Cabagan and established the first panciteria. He married a native of the place named Agustia Deray Laddanan. Today, the Local Government Unit (LGU), incorporated the Pansi Festival in their annual fiesta celebrations every January. Aside from the Pansi Festival, the LGU also launched the KKK (Kalesa, Kabayo, Kalaseru) Festival to revive the dying kalesa (horse-drawn carriage) industry and give honor to the “king of the road” during the Spanish period. This morning, I delivered a message as guest speaker in the 7th KKK Festival and Pansi Festival at the Cabagan Square Park in the presence of the municipal officials headed by Mayor Christopher A. Mamauag followed by the judging of various cooked Pansi Cabagan and longganisa Cabagan. Last night, I was also invited as one of the board of judges in the Inter-High School Pop Dance Competition. Other activities of the festivities were the 1st Mayor Topi Invitational Chess Challenge, Invitational Singing Sensation, Balikbayan-OFW, Senior Citizens, LMB & Inter-Agency Night, Inter-Elementary Drum & Lyre Competition and the annual Mutya ng Cabagan 2018 Grand Coronation.

In San Pablo, the Baka (Cow) Festival is observed annually every month of January during the patronal town fiesta to promote the cow industry and its by products. Last January 11, I delivered a message during the opening of the Agro Trade Fair & Exhibit in the presence of the municipal officials headed by Mayor Antonio N. Miro, Jr. followed by the judging of the booths. Other activities of the festivities were the Mrs. IGLO, San Pablo Got Talent, Barangay Night, Calisthenics, Search for Rodeo King and Queen, Battle of the Bands, Search for Miss Queen of the North (Miss Gay), Pretty Preggy (Buntis Pageant) and Street Parade Competition. 

San Pablo y Cabagan enjoys a loaded interesting history which should be taught in schools in both LGUs for the young generation to know how the localities started as a mere relocation site for scattered Irrayas to a flourishing Ibanag community in northern Isabela.