Dr. Nestor T. Castro

Totoo bang ang mga ninuno ng nobelistang si Gregorio Coching ay nagmula sa North Borneo?

Si Gregorio Coching (1892-1961) ay isang mang-uukit, manunulat, at nobelista sa wikang Tagalog na mula sa Pasig. Ilan sa kilala niyang mga akda ay ang Sanggumay (1925), Ang Naglahong Paraiso (1935), Hara-Siri (1950), at Nanay Ko (1950)

Ipinanganak siya noong ika-13 ng Mayo, 1892 sa Barrio Buting sa Pasig, Rizal (ngayon ay parte na ng Metro Manila). Ang kanyang mga magulang ay sina Juan Coching at Andrea Cabral, na parehong taga-Aklan. Ayon sa kanyang amang si Juan, ang kanilang ninuno ay nagmula sa Sarawak sa North Borneo (na ngayon ay isang estado na ng Malaysia). Narito ang pagbanggit nina E. Arsenio Manuel at Magdalena Avenir Manuel sa kanilang Dictionary of Philippine Biography Volume Three (1986):

"J. Coching was in turn the son of another adventurous seaman who came from Sarawak and bore an unremembered name; he plied the seas, reaching the Aklan region of Panay island among other places in his voyages to the Visayan islands in the middle of the 19th century. In Aklan, the adventurer married or took a woman for wife named Pascuala Castillo. It was narrated that when the boy Gregorio was but thirteen years old, he and his father were visited by his paternal ancestor and brought to North Borneo where they were introduced to relatives in Kuching, feasted for several days because this ancestor was one of the native chieftains or datus. That is how the family name came to be in Aklan since his father came from Kuching, the people came to identify him as the son of the man who came from Kuching (p. 121)."

Batay sa kwentong ito, ang apelyidong Coching ay nagmula sa lugar ng Kuching (na ngayon ay kabisera ng Sarawak). May katotohanan kaya ang kwentong ito o isa lamang alamat sa kanilang pamilya? Alam kasi nating ang Sarawak ay bahagi ng Sultanato ng Brunei mula 1641 hanggang 1841. Ibinigay ni Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II ng Brunei ang pamumuno sa Sarawak kay James Brooke noong 1841 dahil sa tulong nito na sugpuin ang rebelyon laban sa Sultan. Kaya't noong 1841, naitayo ang Raj (kaharian) ng Sarawak at si James Brooke ang naging unang puting rajah ng Sarawak. Nagtagal ang Raj ng Sarawak hanggang 1946 nang naging Crown Colony ang Sarawak sa ilalim ng British Empire. Ang kabisera ng Raj na ito ay ang Kuching. Wala ang mga impormasyong ito sa kwento ng pinagmulan ng pamilya Coching. Hindi malinaw kung sino ang tinutukoy na datu diumano ng Kuching at kung ano ang relasyon nito sa Sultanato ng Brunei o Raj ng Sarawak.

Totoo man o hindi ang mga pangyayari, mahalagang bahagi ito ng identidad ng mga Coching ng Aklan at ng Pasig.

I hope that my friends in the Flores Island are safe from the devastating earthquake. Please pray for Flores.

Aside from giving the Keynote Address during the 2026 Asian Youth Learners Dialogue, I was also one of the three judges in the youth competion about Preserving Living Heritage. The organizers received hundreds of entries from dozens of Asian countries and from among them, six finalists were chosen to share their outputs at the Sarawak Science Centre in Kuching, Malaysia. These six entries were:

1. The Subtle Moon: Bridging the Lyrical Souls of Asian Heritage (from Zhejiang Yuexiu University, China);
2. Artacaraki: Traditional Herbal Heritage (from Universitas Ciputra, Indonesia);
3. Beyond the Blackboard: The Enduring Legacy of the Gabaldon Schools (from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines);
4. Wooden Movable Type Printing (from Zhejiang Industry and Trade Vocational College, China);
5. Wayang.Me (from Universitas Ciputra, Indonesia); and
6. Diabolo: Chinese Traditional Folk Art (from SMKI Kuching High School and SMKI Green Road, Malaysia).

All of these six entries won special awards but the Gold Award winner was Mr. Elfrado Dee Vernandacello with his Wayang.Me which is an AI tool complementing the wayang kulit, the traditional Javanese puppet theater.

Congratulations to all of the winners!!

Yesterday, August 13th, we visited the Kuching Bazaar Gallery in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The gallery showcased the history of the Chinese community in Kuching. One particular panel in the display explains the reasons for Chinese migrations into Southeast Asia. The text says:

"The late Qing Dynasty and early Republican era marked the peak of Chinese migration to Southeast Asia (Nanyang). The main reasons were the turmoil in South China, overpopulation, and famine caused by insufficient arable land, all of which made life oncreasingly difficult. At the same time, the Nanyang region was experiencing rapid development and in great demand of labour and trade activity. Many migrants set sail on sailing ships, braving the seas to seek livelihoods in places such as Thailand, the Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, and Borneo. The historical wave of migration became known as Xia Nanyang ("Going to the South Seas") or Guo Fan ("Going Overseas")."

This information helped me in understanding my great ancestor Tan Chei-co's coming to the Philippines in the late 1700s. Based on stories passed down to us by our older relatives, our great grandfather came from Fujian Province in Southern China and migrated to the Philippines because of famine and internal strife in his home region. Although technically the Late Qing Dynasty referred to the period of 1839 to 1912, the roots of these problems started much earlier. After the death of the Qianlong Emperor (Emperor Gaozong of Qing) in 1796, the Qing Dynasty faced internal revolts, economic disruption, official corruption, foreign intrusion, and the reluctance of Confucian elites to change their mindset. It was during this time when Tan Chei-co left China and settled in the Philippines.

When he arrived Manila, he was described as wearing a pigtail which was a symbol of loyalty to the Manchu rulers. He was baptized in the Catholic Church and given the Christian name Josept Tanchico. Later documents would refer to him as José Tanchico.

The earliest recorded date that I have is Josep's marriage to Clemencia de los Reyes in Cabuyao, Laguna on September 6, 1806. Josept Tanchico is mentioned in the document as Sangley Christiano (Christian Chinese) while Clemecia de los Reyes is categorized as India (native Filipino). If Josept got married at the age of 18, he was probably born in China in 1788 and arrived the Philippines during the late 1790s.

Since then, the children and other descendants of Tan Chei-co, including my mother, carried the surname Tanchico.

Congratulations to the Polytechnic University (PUP) for winning the Best Digital Presentation at the 2026 Asian Young Learners Dialogue in Kuching, State of Sarawak, Malaysia. The PUP competition entry is titled Beyond the Blackboard: The Enduring Legacy of the Gabaldon.Schools.

Selamat pagi! I'm in Kuching now in the State of Sarawak, Malaysia to deliver the Keynote Address at the 2026 Asia Young Leaders Dialogue. I will upload pictures of the event later. Terima kasih.

Yesterday, August 10, was the 128th birthday of one of the Philippines' greatest leaders - Senator Lorenzo M. Tañada. He was born on August 10, 1898 in Gumaca, Tayabas (now Quezon Province). I visited him at his residence in Makati on April 23, 1985 together with my Kabataang Makabayan (KM) comrades Malaya Bonifacio, Antonio Guevara, and Mar del Fuego. We were there to honor him as KM's Honorary Chairman. He was designated as KM Honorary Chairman during the founding congress on November 30, 1964. In November 26-30, 1984, we held an underground KM National Congress somewhere in Southern Luzon where I was elected as KM Secretary General. In our 1985 meeting with Sen. Tañada, the good Senator gave us a signed copy of his book titled Nationalism: A Summons to Greatness, which was originally published in 1965.

In the book's dedication to us, Sen. Tañada erroneously wrote the year "'83" instead of 1985 as the date of our meet-up. I know that it wasn't in April 1983 because I was still imprisoned at Camp Bado Dangwa in La Trinidad, Benguet during that time. Also, the first KM National Congress since the declaration of martial law was in 1984.

A happy birthday in Heaven to Senator Lorenzo M. Tañada. I hope that our political leaders follow your patriotic path.

Take note: My official KM name was Joven Peleador and this is one of the names written in the dedication page.

Bukod sa pagkakaroon ng Sewing Class, isa pa sa aktibidad ng Catholic Women's League (CWL) sa Pasig noong 1960s ay ang pagsasagawa ng Rummage Sale tuwing Linggo sa patio ng simbahan. Makikita sa walang petsang larawang ito ang ilang istudyante ng St. Theresa's College na nagdala ng mga damit sa Pasig para maitinda ng CWL. Ang kita para sa rummage sale ay ginagamit ng CWL bilang pondo sa charitable activities nito.Makikita rin sa larawan si Fr. Carlos van Ooteghem, ang spiritual adviser ng CWL. Nasa larawan din ang aking ina (Rosalina T. Castro) na nasa ikatlo mula sa kaliwa at ang aking ama (Manuel B. Castro) na nasa dulong kanan, at ang aking kapatid na si Olivia T. Castro na nasa ikaapat mula sa kaliwa.

Last Thursday ininterview ako ng ilang propesor ng Benguet State University tungkol sa aking karanasan noong naging liaison ako sa pagitan ni President Cory Aquino at ng Cordillera People's Liberation Army (CPLA) noong Mayo hanggang Agosto 1986. Naghalukay ako ng mga lumang litrato ko at ito ang ilang nakita ko. Sana makatulong ito sa kanilang dokumentasyon.

Narito ang larawan ng mga manlalaro ng University of the Philippines Basketball Team noong 1935-36. Ang mga nasa larawan sa kaliwa ay sina: Herminio Gonzaga (Team Captain), Francisco Bautista, Leonardo Guinto, Raymundo Torres, Carlos Lopez, Arthur Skiles, Carlos Lacson, William Ray, F. Triviño, Carlos Ongkiko, T. Santillan, at G. Javellana. Wala sa litrato sina Ambrosio Padilla, Enrique Novales, at Faustino Barazon. Founding member ang UP ng National Collegiate Association (NCAA) na itinatag noong 1924. Ngunit noong 1936, tumiwalag sa NCAA ang UP kasama ang University of Santo Tomas (UST) at National University (NU). Nagkaroon ng sariling paligsahan ang tatlong pamantasang ito na binansagang "Big Three". Noong 1938, itinatag ng UP, UST, NU, Far Eastern University (FEU) ang University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).

Makikita naman sa larawan sa kanan ang itinanghal ng UP bilang Outstanding Athletes of the Season para sa taóng 1935-36. Kasama rito sina Herminio Gonzaga at Ambrosio Padilla (1910-1996) ng Basketball Team. Naging Senador ng Republika ng Pilipinas si Padilla noong 1957 hanggang 1972.

Ang iba pang tinanghal na Outstanding Athlete noong 1935-36 ay sina Joseph Hotchkiss (para sa Tennis), Ramirez (Boxing), Joaquin Castillo (Wrestling), Arasad (Swimming), Planta at Featherstone (Javelin throw), William Ray (Discus throw, Shot put, at Pentathlon), Malasig (400-meter low hurdles), Nemesio de Guzman (Sprints at Relays), at V. de la Paz (Pole vault).

UP Fight!!