Samahang Pangkasaysayan ng Bulacan

PABLO O. TECSON
Mula sa pananaliksik ni G. Luis Z. Tecson | Nobyembre 2014, Baliwag, Bulacan

Isinilang si Pablo Ocampo Tecson sa bayan ng San Miguel de Mayumo noong 4 Hulyo 1859. Ang kaniyang mga magulang ay sina Tiburcio Tecson na isang mestisong intsik, at Paula Ocampo na isang Kapampangan na tubong Candaba, Pampanga. Si Pablo ang pinakamatanda sa apat na magkakapatid (Simon, na ipinanganak noong 1861; Mariano na ipinanganak noong 1863; at ang tanging kapatid na babae at bunso na si Julia Tecson-David).

Nagsimulang mag-aral si Pablo sa ilalim ng Maestrong si Don Jose Flores, kilalang g**o ng San Miguel de Mayumo. Ipinagpatuloy niya ang pag-aaral sa San Juan de Letran at nagpatuloy sa Unibersidad ng Santo Tomas. Dahil sa maagang pagkaulila sa ama, natigil sa pag-aaral si Pablo, at bilang panganay, inaruga niya ang naiwang katungkulan ng pumanaw na ama ayon na rin sa kaugaliang Tsino (El Coronel Pablo Tecson Ocampo, Silueta Biografica Documentos Historico, Manila, 1929). Namasukan siya sa isang botika sa Escolta, Maynila at itinaguyod ang kaniyang mga kapatid.

Bumalik si Pablo sa San Miguel de Mayumo at itinalaga siyang Cabeza de Barangay sa loob ng 11 taon. Nahirang din siya na hepe ng pulisya sa rangong Tenyente at nanungkulan ng dalawa at kalahating taon. Itinatag ni Tecson ang "Cuadrillos" sa San Miguel de Mayumo. Siya ang nahirang na Kapitan ng 320 Cuadrilleros na pawang mga taga-San Miguel sa ilalim ng isang opisyal na Kastila. ("Pablo Tecson and the Siege of Dagupan”, thesis of Rosabella Fernandez submitted to Prof. Jaime B. Veneracion)

Sa pagsiklab ng Himagsikan, nilusob ng mga taga-Nueva Ecija ang San Miguel de Mayumo sa pamumuno ni Hen. Llanera, ngunit hindi sila nagtagumpay dahil sa pagtatangol ni Pablo Tecson at mga kababayang Cuadrilleros na taga-San Miguel de Mayumo. (“A Shalf of Life”, Rafaelita H. Soriano)

Bago sumiklab ang Himagsikan, si Pablo Tecson ay nanatiling tapat sa Espanya at inatasang magbuo ng isang batalyong lalaban sa mga Amerikano. Hindi ito naisakatupan dahil sa pagbabalik ni Hen. Emilio Aguinaldo mula sa Hongkong. Ipinag-utos ni Aguinaldo ang pagpapatuloy ng digmaan laban sa mga Kastila. Noong Mayo 1898 (araw ng kapistahan ng San Miguel de Mayumo), ang mga Cuadrilleros na taga-San Miguel ay pumanig sa mga Pilipino at tinangkang dakipin ang mga Kastila. Si Tenyente Telesforo Carrasco, pinuno ng 19 na sundalong Kastila na nakatalaga sa San Miguel de Mayumo ay nagtago sa loob ng simbahan. Sumuko ang mga Kastila makaraan ang isang linggo dahil sa panghihikayat ng kaniyang kapatid na si Simon Tecson at ang kababayan na pumanig sa mga Pilipino. (“Remembering My Lolo: Simon Tecson”, Luis Z. Tecson)

Sa pagpanig ni Kapitan Pablo Tecson at 320 Cuadrilleros, hinirang siyang Medyor (Major). Inatasan siya sa pagkubkob ng mga Kastila sa Dagupan, Pangasinan noong 21 Hulyo 1898. Makaraan ang dalawang lingo, sumuko si Comandante Francisco Ceballos at 800 sundalong Kastila. Isinuko rin ang 1,000 Ma**er at mga bala. Dahil dito, muling tinaasan ng rango si Tecson sa pagiging Tenyente Koronel. Samantala, ang kapatid niyang si Kol. Simon Tecson ang inatasan sa Baler (ngayo'y sakop ng Lalawigan ng Aurora). (“Pablo Tecson and the Siege of Dagupan’, Rosabella Fernandez)

Sa simula ng Digmaang Pilipino-Amerikano noong 4 Pebrero 1899, si Ten. Kol. Pablo O. Tecson at ang kaniyang pangkat ay nakipaglaban sa Caloocan sa ilalim ni Hen. Gregorio del Pilar. Napilitan silang umurong, ipinagtanggol ang Quingua upang huwag makatawid ng ilog Angat ang mga Amerikano at malusob sa likod ang mga nagtatanggol sa Calumpit. Noong 23 Abril 1899, ang pangkat ni Kol. Pablo Tecson ay napalaban sa 4th U.S. Cavalry na pinamunuan ni Maj. J. F. Bell at napaslang si Col. John Stotsenburg sa labanan sa Quingua. (“The Battle of Quingua”, artikulong nalathala noong 22 Hunyo 1969 sa Sunday Times Magazine at isinulat ni Francisco V. Buencamino)

Dahil sa patuloy na pagkagapi ng mga Pilipino laban sa mga Amerikano, ipinag-utos ang gerilyang pamamaraan ng pagkikipaglaban at hinati ang Bulacan sa 6 na Sona. Ang San Miguel de Mayumo, San Ildefonso at San Rafael ay sakop ng ika-apat na sona. Si Koronel Pablo Ocampo Tecson ay nagkuta sa bundok Corona at pinangalan ang brigada sa punong himpilan nasa bundok Corona. (“Remembering My Lolo: Simon Ocampo Tecson”, Luis Z. Tecson)

Noong umaga ng 29 Mayo 1900, si Captain Charles Duval Roberts at anim na sundalo ay nagtungo sa nayon ng Sta Lucia, San Miguel de Mayumo at nakasagupa ang Columna Volante ni Kol. Simon Tecson na pinamumunuan ni Maj. Nemencio Bartolome. Sa labanang ito, tatlong Amerikano ang napatay at isa ang nasugatan. Si Capt. Roberts at dalawang sundalo ay kapwa nabihag. Ang mga bihag ay dinala sa bundok Corona at ibinigay ang pangangalaga kay Kol. Pablo Tecson. Tumagal ng mahigit na dalawang buwan ang pagkakabihag sa mga Amerikano. Sa pagpupulong sa Provost Marshal ng Amerikano at Kor. Pablo Tecson sa Sibul noong 13 Hunyo 1900, si Capt. Charles Roberts at kaniyang mga sundalo ay pinalaya. Sa pulong na ito, si Capt. Roberts at 2 bihag ng digmaan (Prisoner of War) ay papalayain kapalit ng pangako ni Roberts na hindi makikipaglaban kay Kol. Pablo Tecson. (skirmishes report of Capt. Roberts, U. S. National Archives, Washington, D.C., courtesy of Dr. Miguel P. Tecson)

Noong 6 Abril 1901, isang linggo makaraang mahuli at manumpa ng katapatan sa Amerika si Hen. Emilio Aguinaldo, sumuko si Kol. Pablo Tecson kasama ang 19 opisyal at 173 sundalo sa Sibul, San Miguel. Isinuko rin nila ang mga armas at bala. Si Kol. Pablo Tecson ay nanumpa ng katapatan sa watawat ng Amerika ayon sa kasunduan ng kanilang paglaya. Ang kapatid niyang si Simon ay hindi nanumpa at ipinatapon sa Guam.

Sa tulong ng dating bihag at naging matalik na kaibigan na si Capt. Charles Roberts, si Pablo Tecson ang naging unang halal na Gobernador ng Bulacan at inanyayahan sa St. Louis Exposition sa Estados Unidos noong 1904 (“Remembering My Lolo: Simon Ocampo Tecson”, Luis Z. Tecson). Bilang Punong Lalawigan ng Bulacan, isinaayos ni Pablo Tecson ang paninigil ng buwis, nagtatag ng mga paaralan, nagpagawa ng mga daan at nagkabit ng telepono sa lahat ng bayan. Itinaguyod niya ang industriya sa paggawa ng telang seda (silk industry) at ipinadala ang tanging anak na si Vicente Tecson sa bansang Hapon upang mag-aral ng telang seda. Si Pablo ang tanging Pilipino na kabilang sa lupong pumili sa kinatatayuan ng Central Luzon State University sa Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.

Makaraan ang kaniyang panunungkulan bilang Gobernador ng Bulacan, si Pablo Tecson ay nahirang na direktor ng Kagawaran ng Agrikultura, kasapi ng “Junta de Iqualacion” (Board of Iqualization/Adjustment), at Superintendent ng Agricultural Promotion ng Bureau of Agriculture (ngayon ay Bureau of Agriculture Extension). (“Pablo Tecson and the Siege of Dagupan’, Rosabella Fernandez). Siya ang nagtaguyod sa pagpapagawa ng Peñaranda Irrigation System na pinatutubigan ang mga bayan ng Nueva Ecija. Ang lupang kinatatayuan ng Camp Tecson sa Sibul, San Miguel ay ipinagkaloob ng kaniyang angkan.

Si Pablo Ocampo Tecson ay nanirahan sa Tikiw, San Antonio, Nueva Ecija kasama si Isidoro D. Torres at noong idineklarang “homestead” ang lalawigan ng Nueva Ecija, ang dati nilang mga sundalo ang pinaghawan ng lupa sa tulong ni Manuel Tinio na direktor ng Bureau of Land Registration na tituluhan ang bukirin ng mga lupa sa San Antonio, Nueva Ecija (“Remembering My Lolo: Simon Ocampo Tecson”, Luis Z. Tecson).

Binawian ng buhay si Pablo noong 1940 sa San Antonio, Nueva Ecija. Bilang pagtalima sa kaniyang huling habilin, ang kaniyang mga labi ay inilagak sa Libingan ng mga Bayani sa San Miguel de Mayumo, kasama ng mga sundalong nagpakasakit, nakipaglaban at nag-ambag ng buhay para sa bayan at para sa ating kalayaan.

*****
Nakikiisa ang BULACAN History and Heritage sa paggunita ngayong araw, 30 Abril 2024, sa ika-84 Anibersaryo ng kamatayan ni Gob. Pablo O. Tecson - Rebolusyonaryo at dating Punong Lalawigan ng Bulacan.

Likhang larawan ni G. Billy Joe B. Marciano

San Miguel de Mayumo Notes

BRING BALER TO SAN MIGUEL

Now that the annual commemoration of the Fil Hispano Friendship Day is forthcoming this June 28, 2026, the template of the Baler commemoration should b e brought to San Miguel. Beyond the flower offering at the marker in front of the Simon Tecson residence, the local heritage and historical community should seriously plan for bigger celebration. With the help of the local government, a conference may be sponsored by the Pamana sa Mayumo in cooperation as co convenor, of the Samahang Pangkasaysayan ng Bulacan and the PHACTO. Based on our experience, any grand moves start with consciousness building among the people, an effort which entails research and hence, knowledge.

THE BIG MAN: LEADERSHIP IN MIDLAND AND FRONTIER AREAS OF BULACAN, 1869 TO 1939

I have here what may be considered the best general history of the Philippines in the last 30 years... Roots of the Nation by O D Corpuz.

In volume 2, chapter 15 is entitled
An Age of Filibusterismo, 1860 to 1890..

which covers our period in today's panel discussion. Explaining the meaning of an Age, Corpuz says

An age is not an event. It is the condition reflecting the quality of life beneath the surface of events. (Roots, p. 128).

This is much like an active volcano where the molten lava is always boiling at its infrastructure, it's the underlying condition while it's actual eruptions constitute the event.

However to describe the Age of Filibusterismo, Corpuz had to rely almost entirely on Rizal's two novels Noli and Fili. Interesting was an event in the novel when the caretela ibarra was riding in stopped by the sides due to a procession. Ibarra heard the cochero muttering.. that it would have been better had the fourth King were in the Tableau...and if it truly happens.that he comes, . he would lead us towards liberty... . That if the king unchained himself in the Pamitinan Cave where he is now he could lead us so the the alferez and his Guardia civil and the friars would be expelled. Ibarra was stunned and naively asked, what king, which king? And the cochero said King Bernardo.

1.Corpuz had to rely on Rizal to describe the condition of an urbanized pueblo. He had no idea on how the Revolution had been organized at the rural base of the colonial order. He did not know a Bernardo or a real big man.

2.In 2025, while doing a research on Santa Maria a Midland town of Bulacan which used to be an Estancia or ranch populated by vagamundos hired as cow herders, I discovered this picture of Juan Jose Serapio. I initially thought he was a grandee of the sort that Mariquina produced...in a Tuazon... Mariano Tuazon who paid for his award of nobility. But no. The man Juan Jose Serapio did not pay... he was awarded the Medalla de Merito Civil for successfully stamping out the malhechres or tulisanes roaming the countryside.
3.Commanding men called Cuadrlleros, he became known as a big man. He was king to the barrio people, whose exploits included siring children from among the beautiful maidens in his jurisdiction.

4.But when the revolution erupted he became one big officer and commander of the 5a zone in the first Philippine Republic. He drove out the Americans taking shelter in the train station of nearby town, had a successful ambush in the bridge separating his town from the lowland town of Bigaa.
5.After Aguinaldo's surrender and with the American Regime in place, he transitioned as the first Civil Governor of Bulacan having been chosen and then appointed by US General Grant. This was in spite of some opposition from other leaders consulted by the Americans.
6.Looking at the other Midland town in the north, in San Miguel de Mayumo, I discovered the pattern... what may be called the Serapio templste. There in San Miguel de Mayumo, Pablo Ocampo Tecson, just like Serapio was a big man, who like the former bwcame a leader of the rural guards called Cuadrilleros Tecson and his brothers and cousins followed the same path trodden by Serapio becoming famous as Revolutionists. Pablo's brother Simon got the surrender of the last Spanish forces in Baler, in what had famously been dubbed the Siege of Baler in 1898 to 1899
7. Pablo for his part, got the surrender of the last Spanish forces in Pangasinan when his special forces helped out Francisco Macabulos in West Central Luzon. His cousin Alipio became a one time governor of Tarlac. During the war with the Americans, Pablo's most famous achievement was his victory at Quingua in1899. He led the force that fought at the Battle of Quingua where Col Stontsenburg was killed.
8.Just like Serapio, he transitioned as a coopted leader by the Americans, having assumed the position of governor after winning in the first provincial election. He became the successor of Serapio.
9.What makes the study of his exploits even more interesting was how he treated his men from his Cuadrillero days. Receiving 200 hectares of homestead from the Americans in the newly opened frontier of San Antonio, Nueva Ecija, he brought along his fellow Katipuneros to clear the land. They became his kasama whom he dearly took care of. In San Miguel de Mayumo, he built a cemetery for himself and his men which he dubbed as Libingan ng mga Bayani.
10.The third case study I am presenting is that of the big man of San Rafael de Buenavista, the 27,400 hectare Midland hacienda of northern Bulacan that like Santa Maria was populated by vagamundos in that sparsely populated cattle ranch called Buenavista. The enforcer of that area, Ambrosio Valero, was made infamous for his brutal treatment of tenants of the Arsobispado de Manila who owned the hacienda since 1840. He famously had a buntot pagi which he used to whip tenants for no other reason than possessing an ugly face
11.Ambrosio Valero, a big man in the mold of Serapio and Tecson was not as well known or famous before 1896 as the other two. but only because his life had not been as well researched as the other 2. He appeared in the historical record, the PIR, Philippine Insurgent Records, where documents showed that he got appointed by Revolutionary Politico Military Governor of Bulacan, Gen. Isidoro Dayao Torres, as Presidente Local of San Rafael in a concurrent capacity as administrator of Buenavista. He had a band of armed collectors of rentals from tenants,... well armed, as he was fully aware of the fact thar the previous administrator Marciano de Leon, had been killed while doing his job as administrator of the Buenavista.
12. In 1901, when the American regime still remained undecided on the status of Buenavista as a Friar land, the tenants refused to pay rentals to the Arsobispado. Since the Buenavista was allegedly church and not Friar land, it was not included in the sale of Friar lands in 1901. The tenants refused to pay rentals for at least ten years.
13.What the Arsobispado did was to appoint the former enforcer of the Revolutionary army and former Presidente lokal, Ambrosio Valero, as administrator of the Estate. This was in 1910.

14. The Bureau of Lands meanwhile filed a case against the Arsobispado in behalf of the tenants who invoked their rights under the new law called Torrens Titling Act. Under the law, prolonged occupation was the ground for claiming ownership.
15.But through backchanneling with American officials, the Arsobispado got a favorable ruling. In 1916, the courts decided with finality the ownership in favor of the Arsobispado. Valero's career rose and became even more secure as the Buenavista big man, known for having disciplined the tenants. He was even called "obispo" by the tenants. He played the role by being the enforcer not only of the Arsobispado but of political players as well. During elections, he chose who would go to the Poblacion to vote, He commanded votes for Quezon who became his close friend.
16.But with the social movements flourishing...in Buenavista... Sakdalista, PKP, Oras NA, Cabesang Tales, Handa Na, Palihan ng Bayan, etc, Quezon by the 1930s had chosen to separate himself from Valero who was given the door when Buenavista transferred it's administration in 1939, the Commonwealth government having leased to own the Estate from the Arsobispado.
17.His influence however remained up to the post World War II years when a Valero cousin 0was elected a mayor of San Rafael. This Valero was however a victim of political murder in the 1950s.

Conclusion
12.This presentation filled the gap which general history could not explain as in the case of Corpuz Roots. How did the Revolution get organized militarily?

13.While the ilustrados provided the political agenda, the realization of military victory was facilitated by well trained forces led by some big men.
14.Only local history and cultural mapping can provide solid evidences about this phenomenon.
Through local history and local cultural mapping, I am certain that the template of Serapio, Tecson and Valero can be found elsewhere if we look closely at the granular, rural level, at the level of towns and villages. Think of Licerio Geronimo of Montalban or Tinio of Nueva Ecija, of Macabulos and the Aquinos in Tarlac or Prado in Pangasinan. In this, I left out Pampanga as it's case is special and followed a different pattern which only the Kapampangans like Ian could fully understand.

Thank you

Selected Buibliography

Connolly, Michael J. SJ, CHURCH LANDS AND PEASANT UNREST IN THE PHILIPPINES. Agrarian Conflict in 20th Century Luzon. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1992.

O. D. Corpuz, THE ROOTS OF THE FILIPINO NATION. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 2010, 4th printing.

Berriz, Miguel (printer) DICCIONARIO DE LA ADMINISTRACION DE FILIPINAS. ANUARIO DE 1890. Binondo: Miguel Berriz, 1890.

Felix Laureano, RECUERDOS DE FILIPINAS. ALBUM-LIBRO, 18—

PHILIPPINE INSURGENT RECORDS, 1899-1900. Compiledc by John R M Taylor. Microfilm set University of the Philippines Filipinianba Section

Historiograpiya 101 (20)
Foundation of pueblos: 16th /17th vs 18th / 19th centuries
The 16th/ 17th century initiatives came from missionaries, as this still was within the age of faith of Hapsburg rulers. The gathering of clans or barangays to create pueblos was in the concept of a common project between the natives and the missionaries. Intent was to develop civics.
In a barangay, the head or Datu only thought of his clan interest. Gathered with other such heads by the missionaries, he had to think of a larger entity, the Pueblo. Hence, the foundational concept of "common good. "
Conversion to Catholicism was the main objective among already populated communities. The encomienda where people were still unorganized got attached to the parroquia pueblo
In the 18th and 19th centuries...town formation projects were initiated mostly by civil officials and military commanders
The colony now under the Bourbon dynasty, the intent of promoting reason and enlightenment, involved the recovery of regal authority... Hence, as reflected in the Ordenanzas del Buen Gobierno in 1738. .. elections should be in tribunals and public places never within the convento as in the past. As the people got used to stay freely in their mountain dwellings. a new rule was imposed .. Habitation should not be more than a league from the Poblacion... which in popular interpretation.. a league meant as the distance one could travel by foot in one hour in a relaxed pace. Furthermore, every barrio head should maintain a residence within the plaza complex or Poblacion .
In many cases, the civil pueblo got organized first followed by the parroquia a few years later ( as in. Montalban).

Ang ikalawa ng Abril ay idineklarang Araw ni Balagtas sa bisa ng Proklamasyon Blg. 964 na nilagdaan taong 1997 bilang pagkilala sa buhay at mga akda ni Francisco Baltazar, na kilala sa sagisag-panulat na "Francisco Balagtas".

Kinikilalang “Prinsipe ng Panulaang Tagalog,” si Balagtas ay pinagpupugayan din sa pagdiriwang Buwan ng Panitikan bilang isa sa mga kinikilalang manunulat at makata ng kaniyang panahon.

Ngayong taon, iba't ibang pagdiriwang sa iba't ibang Lugar at petsa ang isinasagawa sa pangunguna ng Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino bilang pag-alala sa nag-iisang Francisco Balagtas.