Rediscovering the Past (1571-1807) History of Villasis

by Elnora C. Salinas

 Abstract

The 16^th-19^th centuries of Pangasinan history were significant as a period of change. Building on previous researches of earlier scholars, this paper will re-examine the process of transition whereby the arrival of the Dominican friars in Pangasinan will be proven as the catalyst that changed the Pangasinense culture and society. My focus is the town of Villasis in the Pangasinan region of Northwest Luzon as a geographic and cultural unit. The historical events that indicated the stresses and fractures of a society were analyzed in accordance with the transition under Spanish colonial rule. The Malong and Palaris revolt which affected Villasis was given emphasis. This paper attempts to show the following: (a) the role of the Spanish missionaries (b) the founding of Villasis and(c) an analysis of the Malong and Palaris revolt. The study covers some of the events within the period of study which affected the whole province of Pangasinan. The accompanying consequences of the revolts may not happen in the main town of Villasis but were significant in rediscovering the foundation of the town. The connection of the concurring events in the founding of Villasis in 1807 was used as the main core of the study.

Keywords: Pangasinan, Malong Revolt, Palaris Revolt, Pandoyocan, Villasis, Malasiqui, Dominican Friars

 Contact Information:

Amamperez , Villasis, Pangasinan 2427 Philippines

[Phone:09301233802/09480663460/09169987116/,Email:elvira143@yahoo.com]

 Acknowledgement:

First of all, I would like to thank Almighty God in guiding me to the right path and in keeping me safe while I was gathering the data’s that I used. Likewise, I give my gratitude to Mr. Marc Lorenz B. Rivera for patiently guiding me through my journey in writing this paper. The guidance in acquiring the necessary documents I needed for my paper would never be possible without the help from the magnanimous Dr. Lino L. Dizon as well as the unconditional help from the voracious reader Mr. Angelito David. The school library staffs especially Miss Roma Amor made a great help in providing me the necessary referrals I needed in dealing with the corresponding agencies that I needed to visit. I also owe the tons of books that I used as references from the Villasis Municipal Library headed by the courteous and patient Municipal Librarian, Mrs. Merly Sepnio-Zambrano and Mrs. Normalyn L. Evangelista, Library Staff, in the town of Villasis. I also give my appreciation and foremost gratitude to the UST archives, Philippine National Archives, Philippine National Library, Mr. Roderick Emmanuel R. Mina of the Municipal and Public Development Center (MPDC) in the town of Villasis which give an open hand in the course of the study, Mr. Regalado Trota Jose, the UST Archives - Archivist, who gave his approval for using the books and other amenities in the UST Achives, Miss Joyce Ann San Gabriel the General Clerk- UST Archives which patiently assisted me in looking for the necessary documents  and Mr. Fernando Berras which helped me on my Spanish translations through his excellent teaching in my Spanish subject.  I also give my great gratitude to Mrs. Rosario M. Cortes on her books that served as my primary source and to Mrs. Merlinda N. Tuvera my English teacher in high school which helped in correcting my grammar. Lastly, I wanted to thank Mr. Keith Aaron T. Joven, Dean Dino Fabriccio P. Arenillo, Mr. Romeo L. Ligutan Jr., Mr. Franz Lawrence C. Senapilo and Ma’m Maritess Due for their support.

 INTRODUCTION

Scholars had explained that the earliest decades of the Philippines history were characterized by conquest, evangelization, and integration. The shapers of colonial Philippines were the Spaniard conquistadores, frailes missioneros, and encomenderos while the Spanish officials, friars, and commanders were the authors of the documents that the historians had used in drafting the history of our country. These documents with all the inherent biases about the Philippines still bring forward the collective and individual participants of a society.

The paper is being presented as a sub-unit of Pangasinan as the accounts regarding the history of the town was tied with the events that had happened in Pangasinan. The boundaries and parameters of Villasis history were tied with situations and events within Pangasinan which had national historical magnitude and significance. It will feature the Dominicans role in the founding of the town.  The Spanish chroniclers accounts especially the Dominicans accounts which were the religious orders assigned in Nueva Segovia were used in pursuing the research of study.

The Malong revolt headed by Andres Malong in 1660-61 and the Palaris revolt headed by Juan de la Cruz Palaris in 1762-64 both happened in Binalatongan affected the cultural, socio-economical, and political condition of Villasis.  The revolts give rise to the drastic changes in the social matrix of Pangasinan and hence contributed in the founding of the town. This paper is a study of the town as a part of the Province of Pangasinan that has its own history free from myths and legends.

  SIGNIFICANCE

            Local history is one of the disciplines now seen as the heart of defining the history of a nation. Local history is Important in the sense that before one can really appreciate his national history, he should know first the history of his own barangay, town, and province. Knowledge of the history of one’s locality will deepen the sense of nationalism of a person because he would realize that in a way his own community contributed in the shaping of national history. A more concrete history of a town will give pride to its inhabitants.

                Local history is the background of our roots. It is necessary to enhance our love for our beloved Nation. How can we show love to our country if we knew nothing about them? Telling the history to the future generations would be more credible if the history of the town is based on documents, not on myths and legends.

 It is hoped that the data presented in the study may elucidate some of the important points which have been brought upon. The study hopes to aid the shortages of written history about Villasis. It also hopes to correct the misconceptions on the official history of the town. The study will not just convey historical information but also ideas of the past with moral and civic values. A sense of historical awareness, national identity, and love of country would be implanted in the mind of the youth and old alike if we knew about the history of our nation. Rediscovering the past is an important thing since we are all the stakeholders and participants in the formation of the world.

The literary reviews included in the research were focused on the local histories and books that are tackling the history of the Filipino people. There are many essential parts of the related literature that will give samples and connection to a history that we could call as “the history of the masses”. It was made this way since the focus of the study is the local history and it has limited written sources available. Recent studies about local history are used in order to give emphasis on the lack of official history about the point of interest. The study hopes to augment the lack of official written history about Villasis.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Local history as a looking glass

Historical literature on the Philippines had been conspicuously marked by the absence of serious studies on local history. Filipino and foreign historians have attempted to reconstruct Philippine history by focusing mainly on selected themes or topics, on certain periods, such as the nineteenth century or the Japanese occupation. Salamanca (1974) aforementioned “A more thorough study of local history is essential to a better understanding of our national history “[1].

                It has often been said that there are gaps in the country’s national history. Many of these gaps can be narrowed down by studies in local history. Filipino and foreign historians have attempted to reconstruct Philippine history.  But the downfall of these works is that the Filipino and foreign historians tend to focus mainly on selected themes or topics. An article of Ubaldo(2012) noted that:

              Bilang “una” sa mga kasaysayang pampook na isinulat ng isang Pilipino, may mga angking katangian ang Historia de Ilocos na maaaring pahalagahan at itampok mula sa pagbabalangkas ng panahunan, paggamit ng sanggunian,hanggang sa katwiran sa likod ng pagkakasulat ng akda. Sa pagsasalaysay ni de los Reyes ng histoya ng Ilocos, makikita ang kanyang pagkiling sa mga pagpapanahon at istruktura ng naratibo ng mga batis na kanyang kaharap kaya’t hinati ang Historia sa bahaging Historia sa bahaging prehistoria at historica[2].

Obstacles in Writing History

The neglect of the local history and engaging instead to macro-history is prevalent. In view of these, Philippine history became widely known as Manila-centric. This theory points out to some articles such as from Apilado(1999),”A younger generation of historians have pointed out however that most of what has been written as a general history of the Philippines present a Manila –centric perspective and tend to focus on national political history”.[3]The problems however why this phenomenon happens were mainly because of the lack of interest of historians and also because of the scarcity of materials needed. This agony of historians is well reflected by Larkin(1993);

             One of the major problems in writing of Philippine history stems from inadequate knowledge of historical conditions in the rural Philippine history stems from inadequate knowledge of historical conditions in the rural Philippines. In general, historians have concentrated their attention on the highest levels of national government and politics, on personal relations and commerce, on the biographies of prominent figures, on the colonial administrations, and on the broadest aspects of the Philippine revolution. This singular concern with Manila and its immediate environs tend to distort the history of the archipelago as a whole. Local history has been neglected, even though Philippine society has remained overwhelmingly rural throughout its entire existence”.[4]

Likewise, Cortes (1974) also mentioned that;

               The lack of materials dealing with local and regional histories is one of the difficulties encountered in the study of Philippine history.[5]

Local History as the Future of History

           It has been a long and colorful journey for the historians but the paradox of local and national history would remain. The form of a presentation by writing Local history tends to be different. Some information is comprehensive but some can only be a draft of important events.  For Alvarez(2012);

               Ang kasaysayang lokal ay isa sa tinitingnan ng mga skolar ng kasaysayan bilang puso ng pagbubuo ng kasayasayang kamalayan ng tao sa pampook na antas, mas makikita ang progreso ng kamalayang pambansa. Pinahahalagahang makita ang kasaysayan ng mga pook o bayan nang sa gayo’y mas higit na maunawaan ang pangkalahatang kasaysayan.[6]

                Salamanca(1974) also acknowledged that:

             Until the publication of John A. Larkin’s The Pampangans: Colonial Society in a Philippine Province a couple of years ago, historical literature on the Philippines has been conspicuously marked by the absence of serious studies on local history. Quite apart from the neglect of local history, it has long been assumed that a more thorough study of local history is essential to a better understanding of our national history.[7]

Revolution as a Process

Revolution does not only mean revolts but also means a sudden, extreme or complete change in the way people live or work. Paradigm changes are also manifested by certain phenomena such as migration. Galang (2011) noted:

             Isang mahalagang phenomenon sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas ang panloob na pandarayuhang Ilokano. Katulad ng mga Bol-anon at mga taga Siquijor, ang mga Ilokano ay grupong nakabuo ng tradisyon ng pandarayuhan upang tugunan ang kanilang mithiin sa buhay.[8]

Socio-economic changes contributed in the clearing of forests and making forested land into farm lands. The consequences of acculturation can be well seen in the present. The mixture of cultures is evidently the catalyst of change.

 Rediscovering the Past

The knowledge about each period of history is self fulfilling but it needs a painstaking effort to acquire and examine existing records. Constantino (1975) noticed that :

             A people’s history must rediscover the past in order to make it reusable. History must deal with the past with a view to explaining the present. A history that serves as a guide to the people in perceiving present reality is itself a liberating factor, for when the present is illumined by a comprehension of the past, it is that much easier for the people to grasp the development and identify the forces that impede real progress.[9]

History is not merely chronology of events: it is not the story of heroes and great men. Constantino (1974) noted that “essentially, history consists of the people’s efforts to attain a better life. The common people possess the capacity to make history”.[10] A substantial amount of research will give help in studying the start of a nation.

Framework of the Study

 Methods

The study used documents from the University of Santo Tomas Archives. Some papers from the National Archives are also consulted. The Historical Data Papers are used as additional references.  Related literature such as books, articles, and journals about local history are consulted as well. The researcher will employ literary sources such as:

Documents in the Archivo de la Universidad de Sto. Tomas.

Documents from Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson. The Philippine Islands1493-1898.

Erecciones de Los Pueblos which are available in the Philippine National Archives.

Historical Data Papers or HDP which are deposited at the Philippine National Library.

Pamphlets, Periodicals,  Books, and Articles

Research Question

What were the cultural, socio-economical and political conditions that happened in Pangasinan which were the catalyst in the founding of Villasis from 1571-1807?

The study aims to give deeper knowledge of the place as a community. The focus of the study is the economic, social and political conditions before and during the establishment of the town.

The research aims to:

Trace the role of the Dominican’s in the establishment of the church and the town.

Gather and analyze data regarding the founding of Villasis.

To elaborate the revolution or changes in the course of transition.

Gather and analyze data about the economic, political and social conditions that prevailed from 1571 to 1807.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION:

A Brief Glance of History: The Roots of a Society

Pangasinan is a province located north of the archipelago. As a region, Pangasinan province has distinct features. The term Pangasinan means land of salt “or place where salt is made”. Asin means salt in the native language, and the prefix pang and the suffix an,  meaning place.[11] Before the arrival of the Spaniards, Pangasinan was called Caboloan. In 1572, the waterways were still skirted with thick bamboos called bolo. Hence, the place was called Caboloan and the language by then was also referred to as Caboloan. As the thickets of bolos disappeared, the name of the place was changed to Pangasinan and the language also followed with the change. In the present time, bolos are still abundant but only in mountainous areas like Mangatarem.

The Beginnings of Spanish Sovereignty

The Legazpi-Urdaneta expedition in 1564 brought the Spaniards to the Philippines. They conquered our country and after the Spanish conquest, the Island of Luzon was divided. Domingo Salazar mentioned that among the early political and administrative divisions in Luzon along with the City of Manila were Pampanga, Ilocos, Cagayan, Camarines, Laguna and Bonbon y Balayan. [12] Lynch (2011) however, mentioned that “initially, the northern two-thirds of the archipelago were divided into nine provinces referred to as alcadias mayor: Cagayan, Ilocos, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Laguna, Balayan, and Camarines on Luzon; Cebu and Arevalo in the Visayas.[13] Miguel de Loarca and Antonio de Morga also noted in their writings about the “Province of Pangasinan.”[14]

We could begin with the history of Pangasinan from the arrival of the Spaniards in Manila. Remember that the occupation of the Spaniards with the leadership of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and Martin de Goiti in the year 1571 to 1572 in Manila and the surrounding towns forcefully included all of those towns to the colonial empire.[15] Morga credited Miguel Lopez de Legaspi in the successful conquest and colonization of Luzon. The pacification of Pangasinan is also credited to Miguel Lopez de Legaspi.  However, according to Cortes(1974), another writer mentioned that the pacification of the Province should be credited to Martin de Goiti. The Spanish official view of the first expedition to Pangasinan was made by the Maestro del Campo Martin de Goiti, in the year 1571.[16]

Cortes(1974) remarked that Martin de Goiti did not pacify the whole region but only a part of Pangasinan.[17] It was Captain Juan de Salcedo, the grandson of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi which was the first Spaniard to extensively explore Pangasinan. Salcedo took the route along the Zambales coast until the cape of Bolinao.  He gained the goodwill of the town of Bolinao by saving the people from being sold as slaves in China.[18]He pacified Ilocandia and Cagayan in 1572 and he was the founder of Villa Fernandina de Vigan where he died in 1576 at the age of 27 years old.[19] He named Villa Fernandina after Prince Ferdinand the son of King Phillip II who died at the age of four. He also subdued the region along Laguna de Bay and discovered the gold mines of Paracale in the province of Camarines.

Pangasinan was apparently totally subjected in 1573. In the official view, however, it was not until the time of Don Diego Ronquillo in 1583 that it was totally pacified. He was appointed by a royal decree as ad interim governor from March 10,1583-May 1584.[20] He reported that he had dedicated the fourteen months of his stewardship to “the prosecution of the conquest of some towns of Pangasinan and Leyte. [21]

With the island conquered, Pangasinan was formally established by the year 1580. According to records, it was divided into five encomiendas. The town of Lingayen which was the principal town of Pangasinan belonged to the King. In the Vicinity of Dagupan, the encomienda of Sunguian was assigned to Vexerano; Mangaldan to Captain Christoval de Axequeta; Labaya or most probably San Carlos belonged to the King, Juan Ximenez del Pino, and the younger son of Alonso Hernandez de Sandoval while the last encomienda in Tugui[22] and Bolinao belonged to Alonso de Aguilar.[23]

Hispanization of Pangasinan

Honorific titles were addressed to the ruling classes before the coming of the Spaniards. Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, these ruling classes were subdivided into four social conditions or “estates.

Table1. Social classes in theTagalog and Visayan area.

Early Political system

Upon the pacification of the Provinces, honorific titles were hispanized. The head of a barangay was then called as Cabeza de barangay instead of Datu.  The only positions in the colonial government that native ruling elite can get were the position of a Cabeza de barangay and a gobernadorcillo or little governor. Gobernadorcillo was the head of a pueblo or Municipio. In the present time gobernadorcillo is what we call Mayor. The tenure of a gobernadorcillo was only one year while the Cabeza be barangay as the head of a barangay or sitio has a tenure that lasts for three years. It was worth to notice however that the title gobernadorcillo was changed to capitan municipal in 1894[24].

Table 2. Spanish Regime Gobernadorcillos in Villasis[25]

The Spanish missionaries

The arrival of the Spaniards in the Philippines also entails the arrival of Spanish missionaries. The main goal of the expedition consisted of the three G’s. They were Gospel, Gold, and Glory. Thus, Spanish missionaries were extremely important to attain the goals of the expedition. The Order of Saint Augustine or Augustinians were the first member of Spanish missionaries that took the responsibility to spread the word of God. They evangelized Cebu, Iloilo, and Panay. They were also sent to Pangasinan and succeeded in establishing two missions in Ilocos and in the Southern Tagalog region[29].

Fr. Martin de Rada and Fr. Pedro Holgado serving as military chaplains accompanied the Spanish-Filipino forces going to Pangasinan. The two priests attempted to erect a chapel along the vicinities of the Agno River and Toboang creek near Labrador. Their initial attempt, however, could not be verified further since Fr. Rada was sent to China on a diplomatic mission.

The Franciscans arrived in 1577and were assigned to Southern Tagalog and the Bicol region.[30] The Order of Friar minors (Franciscans) assigned Fr. Juan Bautista Pizarro and Sebastian de Baeza in Pangasinan and they stayed in Agoo.[31] In 1583, the Jesuits followed and were assigned to eastern Visayas, Cebu, Bohol, Samar and Leyte and proceed to Mindanao. In 1587, the Dominicans arrived and were assigned to Bataan, Pangasinan as well as the whole of northern Luzon, including Batanes. The Recollects arrived in 1606 and were subsequently assigned to the parts of northern Mindanao, Zambales, and Palawan areas not yet covered by the prior group of missionaries. The last to arrive in the Philippines in 1895 were the Benedictines.

Table 4.Dominican Provincial Vicars assigned in Pangasinan[32]

Around the middle of the eighteenth century, the Jesuits were expelled from the countries colonized by the Spaniards. In the Philippines, their parishes were given to the Recollects and some Filipino clergy. In addition to the regulars or the Spanish Friars, Filipino clergy or secular clergy were also assigned in various churches in Pangasinan.

Table 5. Secular Clergy In Old Pangasinan[34]         

 The Start of Evangelization in Pandoyocan

The Spanish missionaries were the creators of the towns. They were the architect and manager of the newly created pueblos. [35]The great influence of the Spanish missionaries could not be deduced from their intimate contact with the people. The intimacy originates from the length of time that the Spanish missionaries spend in every area. Compared to the Alcalde Mayor who visited the villages and stayed no longer than 12 days, the Spanish missionaries virtually lived their whole life serving the people. There were times that the friars also assisted in curing the sick. The friars served both the body and the soul of the people. These efforts were actually the reason why local inhabitants finally subjected themselves to the Christian faith.

The huge mission of spreading the gospel was too much to handle for a few missionaries that arrived with the Spanish colonizers. Two months upon arriving on July 1587, the Order of Preachers(or Ordinis Praedicatorum, O.P.) complied by sending six Dominicans to Pangasinan to augment the needs of the people. They were led by Fr. Bernardo Navarro de Santa Catalina. They were accepted in September 1587 in the encomienda of Jimenez del Pino in Binalatongan and were provided with a house made of nipa and bamboo. The first chapel was erected and dedicated to Our Lady of Rosary who was made the patroness of the Province. The visita of Binalatongan handled the spiritual needs of the surrounding places which include the present day Malasiqui, the mother town of Pandoyocan. At the turn of centuries, the surrounding towns were founded one by one after the Dominicans realized that the large settlement of Binalatongan was too large to handle.

The Creation of a Visita

                Missionaries in the early part of the Spanish occupation usually had to care for a couple of smaller missions called “visita”. The sign that a place has obtained social and economic stability is the presence of a permanent resident missionary. The mission is also called a “house” (domus or casa). Cortes (1974) noted that in the 17^th to 18^th century, the establishing of a “house “was simultaneous with the civil foundation of a town.  It was usually the Dominican fathers that pioneered in the formation of new settlements.

The required tribute should be at least five hundred tributes which consisted of parents and children per tribute. The total tributes amount to five thousand souls. These were the condition mandated by the Governor General in order to release a decree in founding a town. The responsibility of the inhabitants within a mission was to build a chapel or ermita and also to build a house for the resident missionary. The visita was raised into a vicaria or vicariate upon the maturity of the “house”. A vicaria was then administered by a vicar which is equivalent to today’s parish priest.

The Church of Binalatongan

The town of Binalatongan was the first area to have a chapel. This town was the largest and most populous in the Province. The spiritual administration of Pandoyocan was administered by the church of Malasiqui. Malasiqui was under the Vicaria of Binalatongan therefore, Pandoyocan was also under the care of Binalatongan.

Table 6 . Misionaries assigned in Binalatongan[36]

 The Church of Malasiqui

The founding of Malasiqui as a visita of Binalatongan was in 1655. In 1660, it was probably moved to its present location wherein the resettlement began in 1665 some years after the end of the Malong revolt. However, the official recognition was not due until 1671 but was then separated to Binalatongan. It was accepted as a visita of Calasiao after the transition. The change could be attributed to the location of Calasiao which was nearer than Binalatongan. The Vicar of Calasiao took care of the spiritual needs of the people until the arrival of Malasiqui’s first vicar. In 1677, it was finally accepted as a house by the Dominican Provincial Chapter (DPC) and in 1678, it was raised to the status of vicaria. The spiritual needs in Pandoyocan were administered by the Parish Priests in Malasiqui by the time Malasiqui became a vicaria.

 Table 7. Missionaries assigned in Malasiqui[38]

 The visita of Pandoyocan

The same year as the election of the gobernadorcillo and other municipal officials in Pandoyocan in 1760, a visita is also assigned to the new found town. Fr. Jose Azcarate O.P. (Order of Preachers) was appointed as the first missionary of the town. The visita de Pandoyocan, however, was only accepted by the Dominican Provincial Chapter (DPC) in 1763. On June 27, 1767, Fiscal Viana petitioned that Pandoyocan together with Barug(Gerona) should be included in the Pangasinan doctrine.[41] Due to the dwindling number of inhabitants in the area, its status as a vicarage was downgraded to a visita status in 1769. The administration of the visita was then entrusted to the vicaria of Sinapog and Pandoyocan became a frontier settlement. For about ten years, the vicarage and the town were suppressed.

Finally, in 1807, the town was revived but was renamed Villasis.[42] In 1838, a resident missionary arrived and in 1841, it was accepted as a house by the Dominican Provincial Chapter (DPC). Villasis became a town-parish in 1841 and the visita of Panaglagbag(now Rosales) was included.[43]

In the 1800s, the church was made of tabique or dindin pampango[44]. This technique, however, will not stand time so they were replaced by using brick or stone for structural strength. The construction of the old church of Villasis in the year 1868-1871 was administered by Fr. Joaquin Palacio Calvo, O.P. while the street planning and making of the plaza/town center in Villasis were planned by Fr. Jose Ma. Ruiz, O.P. in 1874-1886. The designated patron saint was San Antonio Abad and it was under the Diocese of Urdaneta.

Table 8. Missionaries assigned in Pandoyocan and Villasis[45]

From Malasiqui to Villasis: The Founding of a Town

The process of reduccion (resettlement) upon the arrival of the Spanish colonizers was to build a Poblacion then gather families around the vicinity of the church. However, the process of reduccion (resettlement) of bajo el son de la campana (under the sound of the bell) or bajo el toque de la campana (under the peal of the bell) was changed by the middle of the seventeenth century. Instead of building a church first then urging the people to reside along the church, it was changed to resettling of people, secure a license to build a church and a convent for the people then applying for a license to found the town. In the case of Malasiqui, it took until 1671 to finally grant the license for the new found town. It was also this time that Fr. Camacho was elected as the Venerable Prior Provincial of the Order.

The zealous efforts of two native chieftains, Don Domingo Manguisesel and Don Diego Catongal, together with the Dominican Fr. Juan Camacho made possible the creation of the town of Malasiqui in 1671. Don Juan Goa Gonzales, Jacinto Mabanglo, Don Raymundo Cayago, and Don Dionisio Rosario participated from 1671 up to 1691 in setting up the foundations and directing its government. The difficulty of administering the needs of inhabitants lying too far out from the churches of the nearby town occurred to Fr. Camacho. The frequent assignments to Malunguey and Binalatongan made him realized that it is possible to create a new town for those families situated in the wilderness.

A conflicting account of a recent Dominican historian, however, claims that Malasiqui was founded around the year 1655. Fr. Camacho was still the Vicar of Malunguey(Bayambang) at this time. The residents of Malasiqui were then settled near the old site of Malunguey(Bayambang) in the barrio of Cabatling or Malasiquidaan.  And according to Fr. Gonzales, the original site of Malasiqui was about two kilometers to the west of its present location going to the road of Villasis and to a place called Malasiquidaan (ancient Malasiqui). Fr. Gonzales noted that the place was on low ground and easily flooded. It was probably around the end of the Malong Revolt on 1660-1661 that Malasiqui was transferred to its present site.

Fr. Camacho explained further that the town of Malasiqui was only separated from Binalatongan in 1671. These accounts proved that the resettlement process started around 1665 and the official recognition of the town was not until 1671.[46]

Reduccion of Villasis

Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, they found settlements only along water routes and river banks.  The reduccion plan that was presented by Fr. Juan de Plasencia to the Synod of Manila (1532) was unanimously approved by the missionaries.[47]The Franciscans who arrived in 1578 started reorganizing the scattered settlements. The task of the missionaries before the reduccion could be described as chasing souls. The Franciscans then ordered the missionaries to reside in a proposed pueblo and built a convent and a church to have an organized community.  Those newly converted Christians were asked to build a house around the vicinity of the church.  And those unbaptized were also encouraged to do the same.

Etymology of Villasis

Pandoyocan was from the Pangasinense word “oyocan” a colony of bees and “doyoc” which means to covet. It was only a sitio of  Malasiqui before the 19^th century. The town of Villasis is along the jurisdiction of the province of Pangasinan. It is bounded by Asingan, Sta. Maria, Urdaneta, Sto.Tomas, Rosales, Alcala and Malasiqui. It was one of the new towns founded in the 18^th century by the efforts of the Dominican clergies. The new towns founded were San Fabian de Anguio and San Isidro Labrador de Tubuang along the coast; Salasa(now Bugallon)in the northwestern part of the province; Santa Barbara de Tolong in the central part;Bunlalacao in the southwestern part; Pandoyocan in the eastern region; and in the Southwestern part of the province now belonging to Tarlac province, the towns of Paniqui, Camiling, and Baruc (now Gerona).[48]

The place had no fixed boundaries. It was a frontier settlement of a thickly forested region. The thick forest was a nesting ground of bees called “oyocan”. They were the denizens of the forest and probably this thick forest also became a haven for people escaping the law.  The timber from this area was even used to build one vessel of the Spanish navy constructed in Lingayen.[49]It yielded high-grade woods that even the roof of Santa Barbara convent was built with molave wood from Villasis in 1879. In the present time, the roads from Villasis to Asingan that were flanked with thick forest were now clear and it was mostly converted into paddy fields leading to an abundant rice produce and a haven for vegetable growers. No wonder the town is now called “The Vegetable Bowl of Pangasinan”.

The founding name of Villasis

Several sources of how Villasis got its name complicated the already vague history of Villasis. The first version was that Villasis was from the marriage of the successful leaders VILLA and ASIS.[50] The second version according to some residents of Villasis was that; the name was from two sisters named VILLA and ASIS. The third version says the town was from a traditionally accepted belief from a written version of the old town plan dated 1984-1993. It states that Villasis was named after the great Spanish colonizer, Don Antonio De Urbistondo y Eguia.[51] The fourth version from the Villasis.gov.ph website however states that the name Villasis was taken in honor of Governor Rafael Maria de Aguilar y Ponce de Leon son of Fernando Pedro de Aguilar y Ponce de Leon and Josefa de Santillan y Villasis.[52] It was Governor Geeneral Rafael Maria Aguilar y Ponce de Leon who issued the decree mandating the reorganization of Pandoyocan.[53]

Creation and Founding of Villasis

The town of Asingan located in the eastern part of Villasis contributed to the growth of Pangasinan. The formation of Villasis (a revival of Pandoyocan) and San Manuel (a revival of San Bartolome de Agno) could be credited to Asingan. The town of Asingan was first established in 1698.  It served as a midway station to San Bartolome de Agno. It appears that its existence was finally established near the river Sinapog and hence taken the name of the river.

Governor General Fernando Valdes y Tamon granted the license to establish the town of Sinapog in 1733. Sinapog and Asingan must have been interchanged since accounts of Fr. Collantes notes that the Vicariate of Asingan still preserves the name of the mission. It was also listed in the Actas Capitulares as S.Luis de Sinapog from 1733 to 1785 while it was listed as S. Luis de Asingan, Sinapog in 1789. Then in 1802, it was finally called as San Luis Beltran de Asingan. [54]

 Fr. Fernando Sta. Maria vicar of Malasiqui together with the principales of Pandoyocan petitioned for the founding of sitio Pandoyocan into a town. The license to found the town of Pandoyocan was granted on October 18, 1759, by the Bishop of Cebu and ad interim Governor General from June 1759-July 1761 Bishop Miguel Lino de Ezpeleta.[55]

Pandoyocan’s status as a Pueblo was elevated in 1759. Fr. Fr. Fernando Sta. Maria chose Macayo as the town center.[56] Privileges and amnesty from tributes were protracted to attract more settlers. The initial tributes amounted to 300. The election of gobernadorcillo and other municipal officials was finally held for the first time by the Alcalde Mayor of Pangasinan on May 13, 1760. [57]Its first missionaries were also appointed in 1760.

In 1763, Pandoyocan was accepted as a vicarage by the Dominican Provincial Chapter DPC). However, after the three-year exemption for tributes ended, only 92 remained from the initial tribute of 300. This case seems to be the outcome of the inhabitants registering in the new found town to avail of the amnesty and privileges extended to them but did not leave their original place of residence.

In 1769, apparently, its status as a vicarage was downgraded into a visita status and was entrusted to the vicaria of Sinapog (Asingan). The vicaria of Asingan took care of the visita de Pandoyocan from 1769 until the town was accepted as a vicaria again in 1841. The Actas Capitulares records after 1773 did not mention anything more about Pandoyocan. The status of Pandoyocan as a vicarage was downgraded to a visita status. The vicaria of Asingan took care of the visita de Pandoyocan from 1769 until the town was accepted as a vicaria again.[58]

Table 9. Missionaries assigned in Asingan prior to the reestablishment of Villasis[59]

After 10 years of suppression, the people of Pandoyocan again applied for a petition for the restoration of the municipality. [60]A Royal Decree was published on June 22, 1804, mandating the reconstruction of Pandoyocan.[61] According to the Villasis municipal library manuscript, the execution of the decree was delayed so the residents made another petition for the establishment of the town and together with the petition was to change the name of the town to Villasis.[62] A document however states that the change was made by the ad Interim Governor general Mariano Fernandez de Folgueras in respect to his predecessor and of course to honor Governor General Rafael Maria Aguilar y Ponce de Leon. [63]The name of the town was taken from the maternal family name of Josefa de Santillan y Villasis, the mother of Rafael Maria Aguilar y Ponce de Leon.[64] The decree was signed on March 2, 1807 by Mariano Fernandez de Folgueras. [65]

Another discovery however points that Pandoyocan became a sitio of Villasis.[66]. According to a letter written by Mariano Fernandez de Folgueras on April 6, 1808, ”the children in the sitio of Pandoyocan  has not been baptized for  three months and that the nearest town of Bayambang did not want to give the holy benefits[67]  This letter corresponds with the claim that Pandoyocan was relocated to Macayo[68] where in a chapel has been already built. Fr. Fernando Sta. Maria originally intended Macayo to be the site of the town center. In the present time, Villasis is located in a strategic location which contributed to its astounding growth. The Municipal Council (Sangguniang Bayan) of Villasis designated March 2 as the founding day of the town in accordance with the Municipal Ordinance no. 23-200596 .[69]

The Revolts in Pangasinan

The emergence of Poblacion was the evidence of hispanization in the country. People were persuaded to build their homes within the poblacion or town center. The reduccion facilitated the conversion and administration of the people.  The Poblacion became the home to the principalia or principal families. The anacbanuas(class of chiefs) who constituted the principalia was the native ruling elites. They served as the connection between the Spanish ruling class and the native society. They were the political absorbers of the native lower class Indios. The demands of the Spanish regime were transmitted by the native ruling class to their kinsmen- followers. In the course of Philippine history, however, there were accounts that the native ruling class were the leaders of the series of revolts that happened within the more than 300 years of Philippine colonization.

The Spanish Galleon trade which lasted until 1815[70]and other Spanish institutions of taxation, forced labor, indulto de comercio and monopolies were the leading perpetrators of the abusive treatment received by the inhabitants of the Philippines. The aforementioned issues were not yet enough to inflict hardship to the natives. In addition to the forced labor or rendering their services in various forms away from their families, the natives mostly the lower class, have to pay tributes. They were also obliged to observe the vandala(quotas of products to be sold compulsorily to the government).

The unpredictable condition of the Philippine weather did not improve the plight of these poor people. They had to sell their produce at a very low price but had to pay double/triple the price of the commodity if they needed them. The abusive tax collectors also demand that the natives pay the tributes in kind if the commodities were scarce and asked them to pay in cash if the commodities were cheap. In many occasions, the poor natives had to purchase the rice on exorbitant price just to pay the tribute prescribed by law. This, in turn, will make them borrow more money to purchase the required amount of rice to be given to the tax collector. 

Many natives unable to endure the abuses inflicted by the Spanish officials and Spanish friars resorted to rising up against the Spanish government. The revolt that happened in Pampanga was concurrent with the revolt that happened in Pangasinan. Although the revolt in Pampanga lasted for only two months, it was already enough to ignite the rebellious spirits of the people.

The Malong Revolt

Series of events in 1660 has led to a massive uprising in the Northern provinces.[71]The range and severity has not been seen before. Spanish accounts declared that this was the ultimate power struggle between the traditional elite and the Spanish colonial state in the region. In October 1660, around three hundred and thirty natives of Pampanga and Bulacan skipped from their daily routines of timber cutting. They decided to take up arms after being fed up with the ill-treatment from their shipyard commander. The natives of Binalatongan followed suit on the 16^th of December[72]. Andres Malong the Master-of-camp of Binalatongan became the leader of the uprising in Pangasinan. The rebels were mostly consisted of Principalias and Timaguas. The leader of the uprising Andres Malong was from the principalias.

The rebels were angered by the excessive abuses of the secular Spanish military and Spanish civil officials. They were instructed to kill all Spaniards but surprisingly, Andres Malong instructed the rebels not to harm the Spanish Friars and made sure that they won’t forget to attend mass. This instruction was followed in Binalatongan up to Agoo and Bauang but the church and convent in Bolinao were burned and even threatened the Recollect priest assigned there if he would not leave the place.

The remarkable revolt was also called The Great rebellion[73] because of the great number of people who voluntarily joined. The initial success of the uprising was upheld with the proclamation of Andres Malong as king while Pedro Gumapos was declared as Count. Pedro Gumapos was then instructed to reduce Ilocos and Cagayan while Melchor de Vera was instructed to conquer Pampanga.

The Failure of Malong Revolt

The rebellion that Malong wanted to incite in Pampanga, Ilocos, and Cagayan, however, was a failure. Unknown to Andres Malong, Francisco Maniago chief from the village of Mexico in Pampanga which was the main actor of the start of the Pangasinan revolt and Juan Macapagal, the chief of Arayat had already made peace with the Spaniards. The joined efforts of Juan Macapagal, the chief of Arayat ,Francisco Maniago chief from the village of Mexico, the Spanish soldiers, Ilocanos, Tingguianes from Abra, Cagayanes (from northern Cagayan Valley) and foreign mercenaries with the supervision of the Spanish generals namely; Felipe Ugalde, Francisco de Esteybar and Sebastian Rayo Doria with the help from the ground commander Captain Lorenzo Arqueros quelled the rebellion.

Almost all rebel leaders were captured except Pedro Almazan, a very rich chief from the village of San Nicolas ( a visita of Ilauag). He was also declared king of Ilocos by the Calansas[74]. He hated the Spaniards and friars that he kept fetters in his house for every Spaniards and friars in the entire province. [75]The rebels were tried in court and eventually, all of the leaders were sentenced to death. The rebel chiefs included Don Melchor de Vera, Don Francisco de Pacadua, Don Jacinto Macasiag, and fourteen others. They were hanged on the sixteen gallows built for the execution and some were mutilated. One-hundred thirty convicted insurgents that helped in the uprising were also convicted to death by gunfire; gallows; or by beating. The number of those that were sent to the galleys amounted to seventy while ninety-nine were sent to the port of captivity and fifty-nine to the royal hospitals, colleges, and churches to serve hard labor.

                A record also showed that Agustin Pacadua, a timagua who has been a principal engineer of the revolt was also found guilty thus, he was sent to the gallows. Unfortunately, the families of the rebels and even those that helped during the course of the revolt were not exempted to the punishments. They were rounded up and were sold to slavery. The sell to the slavery of Christian Indios was not forbidden by law since it was justified by the forfeit of their right for protection from the King or Pope if they rebelled against the Crown and the Church.[76] Some of the children of the rebels were unlucky to be tortured and executed.

The uprising ended with the capture of Andres Malong on February 6, 1661. Andres Malong as the Master - of the - camp was given an honorable sentence. He was sentenced to die by firing squad and was promptly shot in the back.[77] Another account, however, states that Andres Malong’s head was cut off and hanged his headless body in his house yard and clipped a placard with Spanish inscriptions and Pangasinan dialect that read: “For being a traitor to God and the King, the law has condemned me”.[78]

The Palaris Revolt 1762-1764

The plight of the natives especially the timagua class or the common people did not improve after the Malong revolt. Binalatongan as a land lock community mostly consisted of an agrarian society. The main source of income was farming. The fact that most farmers were sharecroppers, payment of tributes was burdensome to the natives. Abuses and heavy taxation were still practiced and caused hardship to the people. The head of the family and every unmarried person ages 18 to 60 years of age were levied 10 reales. The tribute could also be paid in silver or rice.

The additional burden to the natives was the way the tribute was collected.  Since the tributes can be paid in cash, rice silver or gold, it became the funnel of corruption among the tax collectors. The natives were asked to pay cash, silver or gold if the harvest was good and the prices of the harvested rice were low while they asked the natives to pay the tributes with rice if the harvest were less. The Alcalde mayor was the only trader in the province and the prices were controlled by him. The timagua class was the most affected of these practices. In turn, they had to borrow money to buy the mandated tributes to be spared from the punishment of the law.

The arrival of the British troops in the Philippines on September 23, 1762, was like a heaven-sent for the oppressed. Archbishop Rojo summoned the Alcalde mayor of Binalatongan to lend a hand in fighting the British forces because Binalatongan was the largest and most populous town of Pangasinan. Eventually, Manila was captured by the British forces and the Binalatongan forces still on their way to Manila, were informed and they happily return home.

According to Cortes, Boncan, and Jose (2000), it was Juan de la Cruz Palaris who came home shouting “there is no more King, the Spaniards were conquered; there is no need to pay the tribute!”[79]. The fire in their heart ignited as a result of the Manila occupation. It appeared to them that the Spanish government was not that indispensable after all. The British proclaimed that they will grant the inhabitants of the Philippines preservation of their religion, goods, property, liberty, and commerce.

The Start of the Palaris Revolt

On November 3, 1762, the inhabitants led by Don Jose Magalong presented a list of demands to father Melendez. The list includes:

That the people were not obliged to pay tribute until Manila had been returned to Spanish power.

That the collected tributes should be returned.

That the teacher of the school and the fiscal of the church should be removed.

That the chiefs, or government, and the police of all the barrios should likewise be removed.

That the provincial governor should be expelled from the province.

That the position of the master-of-camp of the province should not be taken away from Binalatongan.

That no foreigner should hold any position in the tribunal of the town.

That the four town residents assigned to serve as guards in the provincial jail should no longer serve as such nor be required to pay the exemption.[80]

The Palaris revolt of 1762-1764 that started on November 3, 1762, greatly affected the neighboring towns. The revolt that stemmed from the discontentment of the people surpassed the scope and duration of all the revolts in Pangasinan.  It was so contagious that the neighboring towns of Malasiqui, Bayambang, and Mangaldan followed suit. Binmaley and Asingan were the only towns which remained loyal to the Spanish government. But by December 6, only Asingan was left to continue displaying the Spanish flag.  Almost all of the towns in Pangasinan had followed the example of Binalatongan.

The End of the Seven Years War

The signing of the Treaty of Paris that ended the Britain-France war or more popularly called “The Seven Years War” signaled the end of the uprising. This development made the uprising useless. Bishop Ustarriz of Nueva Segovia led the curates in renewing the pacification drive. The rebel leaders succumbed to the efforts of the curates and in the middle of September 1763, they signed the documents of amnesty which Governor-general Simon de Anda offered them.

The rebels petitioned for the appointment of a new Alcalde Mayor upon their submission to the amnesty program. The former Alcalde Mayor Don Joaquin Gamboa almost got back the position of governor if not by the protest of Fr. Andres Melendrez. He insisted that it was Don Joaquin Gamboa who triggered the uprising of the people. Gamboa was greedy and inflicted abuses among the poor people of Binalatongan. These are enough reason why he must not be reinstated to his original position.

The Renewal of Conflicts

The newly appointed Alcalde Mayor arrived in Paniqui on October 31, 1763. Don Jose Rafael de Avecedo was well received by the people. The scenario looks like the rebellion had come to an end, but it was not as it seems to be since the harvest season was fast approaching and it was the signal of paying tributes. However, due to the uprisings, the harvest most probably was scarce. This fact could be concluded from the moratorium proclaimed by the tax collectors. A moratorium on March 27,1764 Fiscal Viana declared that:

the natives were compelled to pay the arrears of the unpaid tributes due before and during the English invasion;

that the village chiefs should not be exempted in paying the tribute;

that each tribute was ought to pay two reales extra for the reimbursement of the amount used in putting down the rebellion.

The announcement although well received by the people made them realized that they will be paying the tributes again. Moreover, the newly appointed Alcalde mayor ordered that the pieces of artilleries that the rebels had seized were to be returned. The order was ignored. It somehow appears that the rebels were not sure of the amnesty that the Governor General has offered them. The interception of a proclamation from the Alcalde mayor of Ilocos, Don Manuel Arza made the situation more complicated. The proclamation states that “all treacherous chiefs in Ilocos, Pangasinan, and Cagayan were to be arrested and to be escorted to Vigan for punishment. It was intercepted in Mangaldan and was immediately sent to Binalatongan. Palaris envisaged this as a proof that they were not pardoned. The order hardened the spirits of the rebels to fight or die.

By the middle of December, a report reached the rebel leaders about the arrival of the Spanish forces to the province. The rebel leaders called for all the people to be armed.  The rebels assembled in Malunguey (present day Bayambang). This second phase of the revolt was executed with more cruelty and ruthlessness.

The End of Palaris Revolt

Governor General Simon de Anda was able to send a strong force commanded by Don Pedro de Bonnardel. Around this time, Juan de la Cruz Palaris and his men were camped at Mabolitec, a barrio of Malasiqui, the mother town of Pandoyocan. The Palaris men however were no match for the strong Spanish forces. Some of the native forces were killed and some were hanged. Many towns were reduced to ashes as the Spanish forces rallied behind the escaping native forces.

The rest of the fleeing rebels were caught one by one. Some were killed by the sword and some were hanged upon arrest. The rebels that were sent to the gallows included the master-of-camp Andres Lopez and Juan de Vera Oncantin. Andres Lopez as the master-of-camp was reported to receive the harshest punishment. His body was quartered and was hanged. The punishment for the rebels was so severe that eight were hanged in one day and eleven on the other days. The most intense punishment was the hanging of thirty-six people including nine Cabezas de barangay in a day in the plaza viewed by the town people.  The most horrible punishment was quartering of the bodies of the rebels; hanging them by hooks and displaying them in towns, fields, seashores, and borders of the town.

Palaris however eluded by hiding in Binalatongan. It was the betrayal of his own sister that resulted in his capture. His sister apparently told the gobernadorcillo that she will be meeting her brother and Palaris was expecting her. He was apprehended by the Spanish troops accompanying Don Agustin Matias, the gobernadorcillo of the town. He was arrested on January 16, 1765. He left a letter of disclosure about his involvement in the revolt written in Pangasinese dialect and Spanish.[81] On February 26, 1765, he was hanged on the gallows. And to erase the ugly memory of the disloyalty of the town, the name of the town was ordered to be changed to San Carlos to honor King Carlos III.

Consequences of the Palaris revolt

The revolt which surpassed the scope and duration in Pangasinan was left with thousands of casualties.  The casualties who fought for the King in the recently concluded revolt amounted to seventy Spaniards and two hundred and fifty natives while the casualties in the rebel’s side would amount to thousands. The revolt also took a toll in the lives of local inhabitants. The total number of inhabitants in the province of Pangasinan before the insurrection had 60,383 souls. A computation held on May 13, 1766, computed only 33,456 souls left after the insurrection which makes a total of 26,927 souls lost in the uprising. Many of these souls migrated to the nearby towns while others were killed during the conflict.[82]

Mounds of ashes were left in the town centers, churches, and houses. Several reports written by the Dominican Friars after the bloody revolt points the direct involvement of Pandoyocan to the revolt. In the 9^th item of the result of the investigation prepared by Fray Manuel Gutierrez, it states; That the churches and convent of the towns of Calasiao, Sta. Barbara, San Carlos, alias Binalatongan, Malasiqui, Asingan, Pandoyocan, Paniqui, Telban and San Isidro were burned down because the rebels set fire on them. The better churches that were consumed by the fire were those of the towns of Calasiao, Sta. Barbara, Binalatongan, and Asingan, while the last three were made of wood, whereby the household furnishings of the convents and much of the churches perished in the fire.[83] The revolt persisted for two years and resulted in heavy losses of lives and destruction of properties.

Investigation of the Friars Conduct During the Palaris Revolt[84]

Five years after the Palaris revolt ended, Fray Andres Melendez O.P ordered a province-wide investigation on the conducts of the Dominican friars during the Palaris revolt.  Don Joachin de Bustamante mandated the province-wide investigation on the conducts of the Dominican friars. This was done to clear the doubts on the conducts of the friars during the Palaris revolt. The following points were the result of the investigation prepared by Fray Manuel Gutierrez, O.P. the incumbent Vicar Provincial of Pangasinan:

That as soon as the fatal news of the siege and capture of the City of Manila by the British enemies reached the Province of Pangasinan, the religious ministers of the Dominican Order in this Province employed themselves in maintaining the natives due to fidelity to the Catholic Monarch of Spain.

That as soon as the superior order of the Metropolitan Archbishop and Governor of the islands for succor had reached the province of Pangasinan, the religious ministers of the different towns of the province rationed their respective flocks with rice and other supplies for their trip to the Royal Plaza in Manila.

That as soon as it was learned that Don Simon de Anda y Salazar had declared himself the Governor and Captain General of these islands, the religious ministers likewise attempted to persuade all the natives of the town of this province to render their due obedience to the said Governor.

That as soon as the uprising of this province was declared, the religious ministers tried to stop it by all possible means, especially the Prior Provincial , Fray Andres Melendez who, as the Vicar Provincial and minister of  the capital of  Lingayen, came out of the church convent of this town to receive the rebels from the towns of Binalatongan (presently named San Carlos), Malasiqui, Calasiao, and others, who entered the said town, and kneeling down, he preached to the rebels that they desist from their depraved intent.

That the said religious ministers did not cease in manifesting to the said rebels during the period of the uprising the ugliness of their vile activities and their grave sins, notwithstanding the threats of death, and the furious and depreciating remarks by the rebels against them.

That the said religious ministers had attempted to subdue the rebels under royal obedience through doctrinal and evangelical persuasions and had denied the administration of the sacraments to those who did not show signs of real submission.

That as soon as the Royal Army of the King entered this province, the religious ministers, especially the Vicar Provincial, who did not fall into the hands of the rebels, proceeded to serve, attend, and pay whatever they had for the Royal army, giving to the soldiers that which they requested.

That the rebels took the Prior Provincial, Fray Andres Melendez, who was then Vicar and minister of the town Binalatongan alias San Carlos, and Fray Joseph Subero, Vicar and minister of the town Salasa, and brought them to the forests and mountains, denying them the respect and veneration due their sacred status, threatening them at every step with death, until the Royal army reached the mountains where he was detained by guards and was freed.

That the churches and convent of the towns of Calasiao, Sta. Barbara, San Carlos, alias Binalatongan, Malasiqui, Asingan, Pandoyocan, Paniqui, Telban and San Isidro were burned down because the rebels set fire on them. The better churches that were consumed by the fire were those of the towns of Calasiao, Sta. Barbara, Binalatongan, and Asingan, while the last three were of wood, whereby the household furnishings of the convents and much of the churches perished in the fire.

The Diaspora of the Ilocanos

According to De Los Reyes (1890, Vol.2)[85], the migration of the Ilocanos could be dated from the late 1500s. Out-migration could be the result of region-wide economic depression. The phenomena would have been made worse by a series of droughts and floods in the late 1500s.  A volcano erupted and a locust infestation plus the Moro raids in the region made worst the situation of the Ilocanos.

The Ilocanos that migrated to Pangasinan at the middle of nineteen century were from the Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, and the La Union. The areas in those regions were not all suitable for farming. Although some lands were rich, most were sandy and full of stones which were impossible to be cultivated. Life was so hard in those areas of the Ilocos Region. The population was continuously rising but the source of livelihood was scarce. The amount of land that can be cultivated could not support the increasing population.[86]

In the early nineteenth century, the mostly forested land in Pangasinan was cleared and farmed by the Ilocano migrants.[87] The process of homesteading has been concurrent with the arrival of the Ilocanos in Pangasinan.[88] Homesteading made the pioneer Ilocano immigrants owner of the newly cleared land. Ilocano migration began to accelerate in the early 19^th century. This wave of migration usually consists of a whole community of a leader. [89]The community consisted of helpers and not so well-to-do relatives or vassals that in turn became their helpers in tilling the lands. They help the landowners to earn profits from their lands.[90]

The difficult living conditions and the lack of arable lands in Ilocos and not to mention the aftermath of the Palaris and Silang Revolts forced families to seek refuge in a greener land. Many take refuge down to the coasts of Western Luzon. The settlements in Pangasinan, Zambales, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija were soon filled with Ilocano immigrants. The coming of Ilocano migrants in the late eighteen century and the early nineteen century marked an increase in the population of Pangasinan. In fact, only one town founded in the nineteenth century which has no Ilocano migrants was Urbiztondo. Ilocano migrant from the Ilocos Region helped rebuild Pandoyocan and they contributed to the increase of the population. They were included with those inhabitants that petitioned for the refounding of Pandoyocan under the name of Villasis.

CONCLUSION

Villasis with its former name, Pandoyocan was a sitio located around the jurisdiction of Malasiqui. It is the nearest town created along the towns in Pangasinan. The Visita of Malasiqui was then the administrator of the spreading of the gospel in the suburbs of Pandoyocan. The designation of its visita to the visita of Asingan made it a frontier settlement until its status was reverted to a vicariate.

                The founding name of Villasis has many versions. The documents gathered during the course of the study correspond with the tenure of  Governor-general Rafael Maria Aguilar y Ponce de Leon as the founding name of Villasis. The third version seems obsolete since Governor General Antonio de Urbistondo y Eguia was the governor of the Philippines from July 29,1850-December 20, 1854.[91] Upon the death of Rafael Maria Aguilar y Ponce de Leon on August 8, 1806, he was succeeded by Governor Mariano Fernandez de Folgueras as ad interim governor-general from 1806-1810.

According to official records, the fourth version corresponds to the tenure of Governor General Rafael Maria Aguilar y Ponce de Leon as the Governor General from September 1, 1793-August 7,1806.[92] He was the longest serving governor in the Philippines. In fact, he served as the Governor until his death which is on August 8, 1806. The issuance of the decree also corresponds to the time of his tenure. The manner of the execution of the decree, concludes that Villasis was indeed named after him.

The so-called Great Rebellion in the North and the Palaris Revolt that happened in Binalatongan had great effects on the lives of the people in Pangasinan. Although it was few miles away from the town, the effect is tremendous. It caused people to migrate to the nearby places which took a toll on the number of people residing in the place. The revolts that happened in Binalatongan affected the cultural, socio-economic, and political life of the people residing in Villasis. Although the revolts were narrated by the Spanish chroniclers, officers, and Dominican friars, they are reliable sources since it is the only available sources. Pangasinan revolts still can be deduced as a sub-national unit of the Philippines history. These significant events are still part of the history of Pandoyocan.

The diaspora of the Ilocanos to Pangasinan augmented the few inhabitants living along the town of Pandoyocan. It is their arrival and occupation of the forested land in the vicinity of the town that made the acculturation of cultures. The process of reduccion, also points to Barangay Puelay located at the southern part of Villasis as the starting point of Pandoyocan. It was just one kilometer away from the town proper and it is along the riverbank of Agno River. Hence, it is a strategic site which makes it a progressive site for a settlement.

Bibliography

PRIMARY SOURCES:

Documents from Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson. The Philippine Islands 1493-1898.

Vol.XVII Appendix: Chronological list of governors of the Philippines, 

1565-1899, and the administration of the islands at different periods

Vol.XXXVIII Insurrections by Filipinos (1674-1683) The account of the revolt was taken partly from Diaz’s Conquistas, pp.468-590. These events are also related in Sta. Cruz’s Hist. Santo Rosario, pp. 331-341; Murillo velarde’s Hist. de Philipinas. Fol. 253b-256; Concepcion’s Hist. de Philipinas, vii, pp.256; and Fernando’s Hist. de PP. dominicos,iii,pp.67-74.

Vol.XLVIII Later Augustinian and Dominican Missions 1751-1765 translated from Antonio Mozo’s Noticia Historico Natural ( Madrid, 1763)

Vol.XLIX Letter of Anda to Carlos 1759-1765

Vol. L Events in Filipinas 1764-1800

Vol. LI Events in Filipinas 1801-1840

Vol.LII Agricultural Conditions in 1866 taken from Jagor’s Reisen. pp.303-306

Philippine National Archives

Erecciones de Los Pueblos –Rosales, 1805-1808

Philippine National Library

Historical Data Papers-Villasis 

U.S.T.  Archives

1808. (Sin titulo). Fols. 262-263. Tomo 3. Doc. 29.

A solicitud de los naturals reunidos en el sitio de Pandoyocan, jurisdiction de la provincial de Pangasinan, he proviedo (el gobernador general Folgueras) este dia el decreto siguinte, que traslado a V.R. para su inteligencia y cumplimiento en la parte que le comprenda. Fols. 264-267. Tomo 3. Doc.28.

Carta de Manuel Gonzalez sobre proveer de cura al pueblo de Villasis. 10-I-1812. Fols.255. Tomo 4. Doc. 3.

Carta sobre el mismo asunto, 1812. Fols. 254. Tomo 4. Doc. 4.

Declaracion que hizo Juan de la Cruz Palaris antes de ser a justiciado, 13-111-1766. Fols. 339-340. Tomo 2. Doc.9

Deligencias hechas en Pangasinan sobre el porte de los religiosos de nuestra orden en tiempo de los Guerra. 1769. Fols. 329-419. Seccion de Pangasinan, Varios, tomo 2. Doc. 13.

Document en Pangasinan, de Juan de la Cruz Palaris, 1765, Fols. 117-118. Tomo 2. Doc. 8

Expediente sobre las erreciones de los pueblos o sitios de Pandoyocan y Telban, Provincia de Pangasinan. 1766. Fols. 181-215. Tomo 2. Doc.10

Presentacion de ternas para proveer de ministros de doctrina a varios

pueblos de Pangasinan. Tomo 2. Doc. 15. 1772. Fols. 57-60

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo 12 Estadisticas o estado de alams, 1788-1882

Sobre la errecion de los pueblos de Pandoyocan ( hoy Villasis)y Barug (hoy Gerona) continua la material del document 10). Tomo 2. Doc. 11

Articles:

Alvarez, Kerby C. “El Pueblo de Tambobong: Isang Kasaysayan ng Malabon noong

Dantaon, 17 at 18”.Kasaysayang Pampook: Pananaw, Pananaliksik,Pagtuturo.      

Philippines:LIKAS.(2012): 141-157.

Costa, Horacio de la. Church and State in the Philippines during the Administration

             of  Bishop Salazar, 1581-1594 Hispanic American Historical Review 30:

             314-35. 

Dizon, Lino L. Amlat and the Kapampangan Historical Tradition (The Case for Upper

Pampanga)Towards a Filipino History: Festchirft  for Zeus Salazar. Portia  L.Reyes,  ed.Bahay Saliksikan ng Kasaysayan/Bagong Kasaysayan,   Inc.(BAKAS),2015.pp.53- 87.

Fegan, Brian. “The Social History of a Central Luzon Barrio”, Philippine Social History   

             Global Trade and Local Transformations.Alfred McCoy and Ed de Jesus, eds.,      

             91-129.1982.              

Galang, Jely.” Pandarayuhang Ilokano at Pagtatatag ng Bayan sa Hilagang Tarlac  

              Simula noong Ika-19 na Dantaon”.Kasaysayang Pampook: Pananaw,

              Pananaliksik,Pagtuturo. Philippines:LIKAS.(2012).187-204.

Guerrero, Milagros C. “The Provincial Elites of Luzon During the Revolution, 1898-

              1902”.Philippine Social History Global Trade and LocalTransformations.

              Edited by Alfred McCoy and Ed de Jesus. Manila: 1982.155-190.

Jose, Regalado T. “Light in the Land of Lightning Preaching of Saint Dominic’s Sons in  

            Pangasinan”. Pananisia: Heritage and Legacy. Lingayen: Archdiocese of

            Lingayen- Dagupan.(2014).3-19

McCoy, Alfred W. “Introduction: The Social History of an Archipelago”. Philippine

            Social  History: GlobalTrade and Local Transformations. Edited by

            Alfred McCoy and Ed de Jesus. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University

            Press.(1982). 1-18

McLennan, Marshall. “Changing Human Ecology on the Central Luzon Plain: Nueva

              Ecija, 1705-1939”. Philippine Social History: Global Trade and Local

Transformations. Edited by Alfred McCoy and Ed. de Jesus, eds. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University, 1982. 57-90.

Navarro, Atoy M. & Orillos-Juan, Maria Florina Y. Kasaysayang Pampook: Pananaw,

              Pananaliksik, Pagtuturo. Philippines: Likas,2012.

Serraon, Fr. Melquiades R. “The Dominicans and the End of the Pangasinan Uprising

            (1764).”Pananisia: Heritage and Legacy. Lingayen: Archdiocese of  Lingayen-

            Lingayen- Dagupan. 2014.

Ubaldo, Lars Raymund C. Historia de Ilocos (1890) ni Isabelo De Los Reyes Bilang

            Maagang Halimbawa ng Kasaysayang Pampook .Philippines: LIKAS,2012.

Journals:

Apilado , Digna Balangue. History from the People Volume 7 (National Historical

 Institute,Phil. National Society c.1999),pp.101-107.

Apilado, Digna B. The Agturay of the Ili: The Elite of Ilocos, 1574-1661.The Journal  of 

History Vol. LVI(January – December 2010): The Philippine National Historical

society, Inc.,2010.pp.5-30

Diokno, Maria Serena I. Journal of  Philippine Local  History and  Heritage Vol.1, 

                Manila: National Historical Commission of the Philippines. 2015. 

Wickerberg, Edgar, ”The Chinese Mestizo in Philippine History” Journal of Southeast  

              Asian History 5:62-100.

Zafra, Nicolas. The Colonization of the Philippines and the Beginnings of the

            Spanish City of Manila: National Historical Commission. Bagong edisyon,

           Manila: National Historical Institute, 1993.

Books:

Apalisok, Simplicio M. Bohol Without Tears: Land of the Country’s Most Battered

People. Philippines: Surigao BB Press .1999.

Abella, Domingo. From Indio to Filipino and Some Historical Works. Manila:

Milagros Romualdez-Abella. n.d.(circa 1978).

Agoncillo, Teodoro A.  History of the Filipino People 8^TH Edition. Quezon City:

C&E Publishing.Inc. 2012.

Aragon, J. Gayo. The controversy over Justification of Spanish Rule in the Philippines

Studies in Philippine  Church History. Gerald H. Anderson, ed.  

University,3-21.

________.Ideas Juridico Teologicas de los Religios de Filipinas Sobre la 

                Conquista de las Islas. Manila: University of Santo Tomas. 1950

Bazaco, Fr. Evergisto, O.P.. The Church in the Philippines. Manila: University of  

                Santo Tomas. 1938

Blair, Emma H. and James A. Robertson (eds. And trans.). The Philippine Islands,

             1493-1898 (55 vols.). Cleveland: Arthur H. Clark Co., 1903-1909.

 Brillantes, G., Quiazon, S., Perez, P., and Tan, S. The Philippines: Land and Atang1.   

                Manila: Kalinangan Group.1986.

Calairo,Franco Emmanuel. Cavite el Viejo: Kasaysayan*Lipunan*Kultura.

             Cavite:Cavite   Historical Society.1998.     

Constantino, Renato  & Constantino, Leticia . The Philippines: A Past Revisited.

Quezon City: Renato Constantino.1975.

Corpus, Onofre D. THE Bureaucracy in thePhilippines. Manila: University of the

Philippines Institute of Public Administration.1957.

Cortes, Rosario M. Pangasinan 1572-1800.Quezon City:New Day Publishers. 1974.

______PANGASINAN, 1801-1900:  A Politico-Economic Social History.           

Quezon City: New Day Publishers. 1979.

_______PANGASINAN 1901-1986: A Political, Socioeconomic and Cultural

History .Quezon City: New Day Publishers. 1990.

Cortes, Rosario M., Celestina P. Boncan and Ricardo T.Jose. The Filipino Saga:

             History as Social Change.Quezon City: New Day Publishers.2000.

Cunningham, Charles H. The Audencia in the Spanish Colonies as Illustrated by the 

              Audencia of Manila. New York Guardian Press. 1919.

Cushner, Nicholas P. Spain in the Philippines From Conquest to Revolution.

Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University.1971.

De los Reyes y Florentino, Isabelo. Historia de Ilocos (2 vols.). Manila: Imprenta de la  

Opinion, 1890.

De Viana, Augusto V.The Philippines a Story of a Nation. Manila: Rex Book

                Store Inc., 2011.

Dizon, Lino L.Recoletos, Ingleses y La Joya Gadatina Essays on Colonial Cavite,1616- 

1898:Cavite: De La Salle University-Dasmariñas Cavite Studies Center and 

Cavite Historical  Society.2013.

________Viñetas Caviteñas Culture and Everyday Life in Cavite Province from Colonial

Eyes,1609-1898. Cavite: De La Salle University-Dasmariñas Cavite Studies

Center and Cavite Historical Society.2015.

Duka,  Atty. Cecilio D. Struggle for Freedom: A Text Book in Philippine History.

             Manila:Rex Bookstore Inc.,2008.

 Foreman, John. The Philippine Islands: A Political, Geographical, Ethnographical,

                Social and Commercial History of the Philippine Archipelago and its

                Political Dependences, Embracing the Whole Period of Spanish Rule.

                London: Sampson Low, Martsten(third ed. 1906).

Foronda, Marcelino A. Kasaysayan: Studies onLocal and OralHistory. Manila:

             De La Salle University Press.2015.

Halili, Maria Christina M. Philippine History 2^nd ed. Manila: Rex Bookstore, Inc. 2010.

Ileto, Reynaldo C. Pasyon and Revolution: Popular Movements in the Philippines,

             1840-1910. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila Press. 1979.

Jagor,Feodor.Travel in the  Philippines, Austin Craig ed. Manila: National Book Co.,

             1925.

Jesus, Edilberto C. de. The Tobacco Monopoly in the Philippines Bureaucratic

            Enterprise and Social Change,1766-1880.Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila  

            University Press.1980.

Kamen, Henry. How Spain Became a World Power Empire, 1492-1763. London:   

            Penguin Books, 2003.

Larkin, John A. The Pampangans: Colonial Society in a Philippine Province.

            Quezon City: New Day Publishers.1972.

Llorente, Ana M. A Blending of Culture: The Batanes 1686-1898. Manila:

            Historical Conservation Society.1983.

Lopez-Gonzaga, Violeta B. The Negrense, A Social History of an Elite. Bacolod:

Institute of Social Research and Development University of St. La Salle,1991.

Lynch, Owen J. Colonial Legacies in a Fragile Republic: Philippine Land

             Law and State Formation with Emphasis on the Early U.S. Regime

             (1898-1913)Quezon City: University of the Philippines College of Law.2011.

Muñoz, Honorio. Vitoria and the Conquest of America. Manila: University of Santo

              Tomas,1984

Phelan, John L. The Hispanization of the Philippines:Spanish Aims and Filipino 

             Responses,1565-1700. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.1959.

Robles, Eliodoro G. The Philippines in the Nineteenth Century.Quezon City: Malaya

             Books.1969.

Salamanca, Bonifacio A. Foreword to Pangasinan 1572-1800. Quezon City: New

              Day Publishers. 1974.

Schumacher, John N. The Eighteenth Century Filipino Clergy: A Footnote to de la Costa

             Philippine  Studies 28:157-73.

Scott, William H. GREAT SCOTT: The New Day William Henry Scott Reader. Besalie

            Bautista Uc-Kung ed. Quezon City: New Day Publishers. 2006.

_______Looking for the Prehispanic Filipino and Other Essays in Philippine History.

             Quezon City: New Day  Publishers.1992.

_______Ilocano Responses to American  Agression 1900-1901.Quezon City:

              New Day Publishers.1986.

_______Prehispanic Source Material for the Study of Philippine History

             (Revised Edition). Quezon City: New Day Publishers.1984.

_______Cracks in the Parchment Curtain and Other Essays in Philippine History

             (Emended Edition with Index).1982.      

______The Discovery of the Igorots: Spanish Contacts with the Pagans of Northern

             Luzon. Quezon City: New Day Publishers. 1977(revised edition)

Wickerberg, Edgar. The Chinese in Philippine Life.1850-1898. New Haven: Yale

            University Press.1965.

Worcester, Dean C.ThePhilippines Past and Present. New York: MacMillan.1914.

INTERVIEW:

Mina, .R. MPDC Director of Villasis. Sept. 9, 2016.

Internet:

http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/u/urbiztondo.htm accessed on December 12, 2016.

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=QKgraWbb7yoC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false accessed on December 12, 2016.

http//institucional.us.es/revistas/arte/12/31%20garcia%20leon.pdf accessed on December 12, 2016.

APPENDIX

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo 2. Doc. 8. Documento en Pangasinan , de Juan de la Cruz Palaris, 1765, Fols, 117-118.

Handwritten declaration and signature of Juan de la Cruz Palaris about the Palaris Revolt in his native Pangasinense language

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo 2. Doc. 9. Declaracion que hizo Juan De la Cruz Palaris antes de ser a justiciado, 13-111-1766. Fols. 339-340.

Spanish written declaration of Juan de la Cruz before his execution

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo.2. Doc.10.  Expediente sobre las erreciones de los Pueblos o sitios de Panlaguit y Telban, Provincia de Pangasinan 1766. Fols. 181-215

A record about the erection of the towns and sitios of Panlaguit and Telban, Province of Pangasinan 1766

Seccion Pangasinan, Varios, Tomo 2. Doc. 11. 1767. Fols. 216-220.Sobre la errecion de los  pueblos de Pandoyocan ( hoy Villasis) y Barug ( hoy Gerona) (continua la material de documento 10)

About the erection of the towns of Pandoyocan (today Villasis) and Barug (today Gerona) (continuation of the material of document 10)

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo 2. Doc.13.Diligencias hechas en Pangasinan sobre el porte de los religiosos de nuestra orden en tiempo de la guerra. 1769. Fols. 329-419

Diligences made in Pangasinan about the religious part of our Order in the time of war.

          Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo 3. Doc. 28.A solicitud de los naturales reunidos en el               

          sitio de Pandoyocan, jurisdiccion de la Provincia de Pangasinan, he proviedo ( el   

          governador general Folgueras ) este dia el decreto siguinte, que traslado a V.R.

          para su inteligencia y cumplimiento en la parte que le comprenda. Fols . 264-267.

             At the request of the assembled natives in the sitio of Pandoyocan,

          jurisdiction of Pangasinan Province, Governor general Folgueras has provided  

         this day the following decree that was transferred to V.R. for his intelligence

          and compliance on the part that he understand.

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo.3. Doc.29. 1808. (sin titulo), Fols.262-263

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo 3. Doc. 29. Nota : Carta de Governador general Mariano Fernandez de Folgueras sobre sitio de Pandoyocan estan no ministro y sus hijos y hijas por tres meses no recibe el santo bautismo.

Doc. 29 Note: Letter of Governor general Mariano Fernandez de Folgueras about sitio Pandoyocan and their having no priest and that the children were not baptized for three months.

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo. 4. Doc.3. Carta de Manuel Gonzalez sobre proveer de cura al pueblo de Villasis. 10-I-1812. Fols.255

Letter of Manuel Gonzalez about providing a priest to the town of Villasis.

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo 4. Doc.4. Carta de Manuel Gonzalez sobre asunto de proveer de cura el pueblo de Villasis,1812. Fols.254.

Letter of Fr. Manuel Gonzalez about the issue of providing a priest in the town of Villasis.

        Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo. 12 . Estadisticas o estado de almas, 1788-1882.

        List of tributes in Villasis on February 26, 1816, as reported by Vicar Provincial     

         Fr. Geronimo Hernandez.

               Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo.7 Doc. 15a. P.Ramon Suarez.Apuntes curiosos sobre      

              los pueblos de Pangasinan. 1869. Fols. 183-229

             1879 map of  Pangasinan

 General base map of Villasis circa 1991

History of Villasis: Rediscovering the Past (1571-1807)

by Elnora C. Salinas

Abstract

The 16^th-19^th centuries of Pangasinan history were significant as a period of change. Building on previous researches of earlier scholars, this paper will re-examine the process of transition whereby the arrival of the Dominican friars in Pangasinan will be proven as the catalyst that changed the Pangasinense culture and society. My focus is the town of Villasis in the Pangasinan region of Northwest Luzon as a geographic and cultural unit. The historical events that indicated the stresses and fractures of a society were analyzed in accordance with the transition under Spanish colonial rule. The Malong and Palaris revolt which affected Villasis was given emphasis. This paper attempts to show the following: (a) the role of the Spanish missionaries (b) the founding of Villasis and(c) an analysis of the Malong and Palaris revolt. The study covers some of the events within the period of study which affected the whole province of Pangasinan. The accompanying consequences of the revolts may not happen in the main town of Villasis but were significant in rediscovering the foundation of the town. The connection of the concurring events in the founding of Villasis in 1807 was used as the main core of the study.

Keywords: Pangasinan, Malong Revolt, Palaris Revolt, Pandoyocan, Villasis, Malasiqui, Dominican Friars

Contact Information:

Amamperez , Villasis, Pangasinan 2427 Philippines

[Phone:09301233802/09480663460/09169987116/,Email:elvira143@yahoo.com]

Acknowledgement:

First of all, I would like to thank Almighty God in guiding me to the right path and in keeping me safe while I was gathering the data’s that I used. Likewise, I give my gratitude to Mr. Marc Lorenz B. Rivera for patiently guiding me through my journey in writing this paper. The guidance in acquiring the necessary documents I needed for my paper would never be possible without the help from the magnanimous Dr. Lino L. Dizon as well as the unconditional help from the voracious reader Mr. Angelito David. The school library staffs especially Miss Roma Amor made a great help in providing me the necessary referrals I needed in dealing with the corresponding agencies that I needed to visit. I also owe the tons of books that I used as references from the Villasis Municipal Library headed by the courteous and patient Municipal Librarian, Mrs. Merly Sepnio-Zambrano and Mrs. Normalyn L. Evangelista, Library Staff, in the town of Villasis. I also give my appreciation and foremost gratitude to the UST archives, Philippine National Archives, Philippine National Library, Mr. Roderick Emmanuel R. Mina of the Municipal and Public Development Center (MPDC) in the town of Villasis which give an open hand in the course of the study, Mr. Regalado Trota Jose, the UST Archives - Archivist, who gave his approval for using the books and other amenities in the UST Achives, Miss Joyce Ann San Gabriel the General Clerk- UST Archives which patiently assisted me in looking for the necessary documents  and Mr. Fernando Berras which helped me on my Spanish translations through his excellent teaching in my Spanish subject.  I also give my great gratitude to Mrs. Rosario M. Cortes on her books that served as my primary source and to Mrs. Merlinda N. Tuvera my English teacher in high school which helped in correcting my grammar. Lastly, I wanted to thank Mr. Keith Aaron T. Joven, Dean Dino Fabriccio P. Arenillo, Mr. Romeo L. Ligutan Jr., Mr. Franz Lawrence C. Senapilo and Ma’m Maritess Due for their support.

INTRODUCTION

Scholars had explained that the earliest decades of the Philippines history were characterized by conquest, evangelization, and integration. The shapers of colonial Philippines were the Spaniard conquistadores, frailes missioneros, and encomenderos while the Spanish officials, friars, and commanders were the authors of the documents that the historians had used in drafting the history of our country. These documents with all the inherent biases about the Philippines still bring forward the collective and individual participants of a society.

The paper is being presented as a sub-unit of Pangasinan as the accounts regarding the history of the town was tied with the events that had happened in Pangasinan. The boundaries and parameters of Villasis history were tied with situations and events within Pangasinan which had national historical magnitude and significance. It will feature the Dominicans role in the founding of the town.  The Spanish chroniclers accounts especially the Dominicans accounts which were the religious orders assigned in Nueva Segovia were used in pursuing the research of study.

The Malong revolt headed by Andres Malong in 1660-61 and the Palaris revolt headed by Juan de la Cruz Palaris in 1762-64 both happened in Binalatongan affected the cultural, socio-economical, and political condition of Villasis.  The revolts give rise to the drastic changes in the social matrix of Pangasinan and hence contributed in the founding of the town. This paper is a study of the town as a part of the Province of Pangasinan that has its own history free from myths and legends.

   SIGNIFICANCE

            Local history is one of the disciplines now seen as the heart of defining the history of a nation. Local history is Important in the sense that before one can really appreciate his national history, he should know first the history of his own barangay, town, and province. Knowledge of the history of one’s locality will deepen the sense of nationalism of a person because he would realize that in a way his own community contributed in the shaping of national history. A more concrete history of a town will give pride to its inhabitants.

                Local history is the background of our roots. It is necessary to enhance our love for our beloved Nation. How can we show love to our country if we knew nothing about them? Telling the history to the future generations would be more credible if the history of the town is based on documents, not on myths and legends.

 It is hoped that the data presented in the study may elucidate some of the important points which have been brought upon. The study hopes to aid the shortages of written history about Villasis. It also hopes to correct the misconceptions on the official history of the town. The study will not just convey historical information but also ideas of the past with moral and civic values. A sense of historical awareness, national identity, and love of country would be implanted in the mind of the youth and old alike if we knew about the history of our nation. Rediscovering the past is an important thing since we are all the stakeholders and participants in the formation of the world.

The literary reviews included in the research were focused on the local histories and books that are tackling the history of the Filipino people. There are many essential parts of the related literature that will give samples and connection to a history that we could call as “the history of the masses”. It was made this way since the focus of the study is the local history and it has limited written sources available. Recent studies about local history are used in order to give emphasis on the lack of official history about the point of interest. The study hopes to augment the lack of official written history about Villasis.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Local history as a looking glass

Historical literature on the Philippines had been conspicuously marked by the absence of serious studies on local history. Filipino and foreign historians have attempted to reconstruct Philippine history by focusing mainly on selected themes or topics, on certain periods, such as the nineteenth century or the Japanese occupation. Salamanca (1974) aforementioned “A more thorough study of local history is essential to a better understanding of our national history“[1].

                It has often been said that there are gaps in the country’s national history. Many of these gaps can be narrowed down by studies in local history. Filipino and foreign historians have attempted to reconstruct Philippine history.  But the downfall of these works is that the Filipino and foreign historians tend to focus mainly on selected themes or topics. An article of Ubaldo(2012) noted that:

              Bilang “una” sa mga kasaysayang pampook na isinulat ng isang Pilipino, may mga angking katangian ang Historia de Ilocos na maaaring pahalagahan at itampok mula sa pagbabalangkas ng panahunan, paggamit ng sanggunian,hanggang sa katwiran sa likod ng pagkakasulat ng akda. Sa pagsasalaysay ni de los Reyes ng histoya ng Ilocos, makikita ang kanyang pagkiling sa mga pagpapanahon at istruktura ng naratibo ng mga batis na kanyang kaharap kaya’t hinati ang Historia sa bahaging Historia sa bahaging prehistoria at historica[2].

Obstacles in Writing History

The neglect of the local history and engaging instead to macro-history is prevalent. In view of these, Philippine history became widely known as Manila-centric. This theory points out to some articles such as from Apilado(1999),”A younger generation of historians have pointed out however that most of what has been written as a general history of the Philippines present a Manila –centric perspective and tend to focus on national political history”.[3]The problems however why this phenomenon happens were mainly because of the lack of interest of historians and also because of the scarcity of materials needed. This agony of historians is well reflected by Larkin(1993);

             One of the major problems in writing of Philippine history stems from inadequate knowledge of historical conditions in the rural Philippine history stems from inadequate knowledge of historical conditions in the rural Philippines. In general, historians have concentrated their attention on the highest levels of national government and politics, on personal relations and commerce, on the biographies of prominent figures, on the colonial administrations, and on the broadest aspects of the Philippine revolution. This singular concern with Manila and its immediate environs tend to distort the history of the archipelago as a whole. Local history has been neglected, even though Philippine society has remained overwhelmingly rural throughout its entire existence”.[4]

Likewise, Cortes (1974) also mentioned that;

               The lack of materials dealing with local and regional histories is one of the difficulties encountered in the study of Philippine history.[5]

Local History as the Future of History

           It has been a long and colorful journey for the historians but the paradox of local and national history would remain. The form of a presentation by writing Local history tends to be different. Some information is comprehensive but some can only be a draft ofimportant events.  For Alvarez(2012);

               Ang kasaysayang lokal ay isa sa tinitingnan ng mga skolar ng kasaysayan bilang puso ng pagbubuo ng kasayasayang kamalayan ng tao sa pampook na antas, mas makikita ang progreso ng kamalayang pambansa. Pinahahalagahang makita ang kasaysayan ng mga pook o bayan nang sa gayo’y mas higit na maunawaan ang pangkalahatang kasaysayan.[6]

                Salamanca(1974) also acknowledged that:

             Until the publication of John A. Larkin’s The Pampangans: Colonial Society in a Philippine Province a couple of years ago, historical literature on the Philippines has been conspicuously marked by the absence of serious studies on local history. Quite apart from the neglect of local history, it has long been assumed that a more thorough study of local history is essential to a better understanding of our national history.[7]

Revolution as a Process

Revolution does not only mean revolts but also means a sudden, extreme or complete change in the way people live or work. Paradigm changes are also manifested by certain phenomena such as migration. Galang (2011) noted:

             Isang mahalagang phenomenon sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas ang panloob na pandarayuhang Ilokano. Katulad ng mga Bol-anon at mga taga Siquijor, ang mga Ilokano ay grupong nakabuo ng tradisyon ng pandarayuhan upang tugunan ang kanilang mithiin sa buhay.[8]

Socio-economic changes contributed in the clearing of forests and making forested land into farm lands. The consequences of acculturation can be well seen in the present. The mixture of cultures is evidently the catalyst of change.

Rediscovering the Past

The knowledge about each period of history is self fulfilling but it needs a painstaking effort to acquire and examine existing records. Constantino (1975) noticed that :

             A people’s history must rediscover the past in order to make it reusable. History must deal with the past with a view to explaining the present. A history that serves as a guide to the people in perceiving present reality is itself a liberating factor, for when the present is illumined by a comprehension of the past, it is that much easier for the people to grasp the development and identify the forces that impede real progress.[9]

History is not merely chronology of events: it is not the story of heroes and great men. Constantino (1974) noted that “essentially, history consists of the people’s efforts to attain a better life. The common people possess the capacity to make history”.[10] A substantial amount of research will give help in studying the start of a nation.

Framework of the Study

Methods

The study used documents from the University of Santo Tomas Archives. Some papers from the National Archives are also consulted. The Historical Data Papers are used as additional references.  Related literature such as books, articles, and journals about local history are consulted as well. The researcher will employ literary sources such as:

Documents in the Archivo de la Universidad de Sto. Tomas.

Documents from Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson. The Philippine Islands1493-1898.

Erecciones de Los Pueblos which are available in the Philippine National Archives.

Historical Data Papers or HDP which are deposited at the Philippine National Library.

Pamphlets, Periodicals,  Books, and Articles

Research Question

What were the cultural, socio-economical and political conditions that happened in Pangasinan which were the catalyst in the founding of Villasis from 1571-1807?

The study aims to give deeper knowledge of the place as a community. The focus of the study is the economic, social and political conditions before and during the establishment of the town.

The research aims to:

Trace the role of the Dominican’s in the establishment of the church and the town.

Gather and analyze data regarding the founding of Villasis.

To elaborate the revolution or changes in the course of transition.

Gather and analyze data about the economic, political and social conditions that prevailed from 1571 to 1807.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION:

A Brief Glance of History: The Roots of a Society

Pangasinan is a province located north of the archipelago. As a region, Pangasinan province has distinct features. The term Pangasinan means land of salt “or place where salt is made”. Asin means salt in the native language, and the prefix pang and the suffix an,  meaning place.[11] Before the arrival of the Spaniards, Pangasinan was called Caboloan. In 1572, the waterways were still skirted with thick bamboos called bolo. Hence, the place was called Caboloan and the language by then was also referred to as Caboloan. As the thickets of bolos disappeared, the name of the place was changed to Pangasinan and the language also followed with the change. In the present time, bolos are still abundant but only in mountainous areas like Mangatarem.

The Beginnings of Spanish Sovereignty

The Legazpi-Urdaneta expedition in 1564 brought the Spaniards to the Philippines. They conquered our country and after the Spanish conquest, the Island of Luzon was divided. Domingo Salazar mentioned that among the early political and administrative divisions in Luzon along with the City of Manila were Pampanga, Ilocos, Cagayan, Camarines, Laguna and Bonbon y Balayan. [12] Lynch (2011) however, mentioned that “initially, the northern two-thirds of the archipelago were divided into nine provinces referred to as alcadias mayor: Cagayan, Ilocos, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Laguna, Balayan, and Camarines on Luzon; Cebu and Arevalo in the Visayas.[13] Miguel de Loarca and Antonio de Morga also noted in their writings about the “Province of Pangasinan.”[14]

We could begin with the history of Pangasinan from the arrival of the Spaniards in Manila. Remember that the occupation of the Spaniards with the leadership of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and Martin de Goiti in the year 1571 to 1572 in Manila and the surrounding towns forcefully included all of those towns to the colonial empire.[15] Morga credited Miguel Lopez de Legaspi in the successful conquest and colonization of Luzon. The pacification of Pangasinan is also credited to Miguel Lopez de Legaspi.  However, according to Cortes(1974), another writer mentioned that the pacification of the Province should be credited to Martin de Goiti. The Spanish official view of the first expedition to Pangasinan was made by the Maestro del Campo Martin de Goiti, in the year 1571.[16]

Cortes(1974) remarked that Martin de Goiti did not pacify the whole region but only a part of Pangasinan.[17] It was Captain Juan de Salcedo, the grandson of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi which was the first Spaniard to extensively explore Pangasinan. Salcedo took the route along the Zambales coast until the cape of Bolinao.  He gained the goodwill of the town of Bolinao by saving the people from being sold as slaves in China.[18]He pacified Ilocandia and Cagayan in 1572 and he was the founder of Villa Fernandina de Vigan where he died in 1576 at the age of 27 years old.[19] He named Villa Fernandina after Prince Ferdinand the son of King Phillip II who died at the age of four. He also subdued the region along Laguna de Bay and discovered the gold mines of Paracale in the province of Camarines.

Pangasinan was apparently totally subjected in 1573. In the official view, however, it was not until the time of Don Diego Ronquillo in 1583 that it was totally pacified. He was appointed by a royal decree as ad interim governor from March 10,1583-May 1584.[20] He reported that he had dedicated the fourteen months of his stewardship to “the prosecution of the conquest of some towns of Pangasinan and Leyte. [21]

With the island conquered, Pangasinan was formally established by the year 1580. According to records, it was divided into five encomiendas. The town of Lingayen which was the principal town of Pangasinan belonged to the King. In the Vicinity of Dagupan, the encomienda of Sunguian was assigned to Vexerano; Mangaldan to Captain Christoval de Axequeta; Labaya or most probably San Carlos belonged to the King, Juan Ximenez del Pino, and the younger son of Alonso Hernandez de Sandoval while the last encomienda in Tugui[22] and Bolinao belonged to Alonso de Aguilar.[23]

Hispanization of Pangasinan

Honorific titles were addressed to the ruling classes before the coming of the Spaniards. Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, these ruling classes were subdivided into four social conditions or “estates.

Table1. Social classes in theTagalog and Visayan area.

Early Political system

Upon the pacification of the Provinces, honorific titles were hispanized. The head of a barangay was then called as Cabeza de barangay instead of Datu.  The only positions in the colonial government that native ruling elite can get were the position of a Cabeza de barangay and a gobernadorcillo or little governor. Gobernadorcillo was the head of a pueblo or Municipio. In the present time gobernadorcillo is what we call Mayor. The tenure of a gobernadorcillo was only one year while the Cabeza be barangay as the head of a barangay or sitio has a tenure that lasts for three years. It was worth to notice however that the title gobernadorcillo was changed to capitan municipal in 1894[24].

Table 2. Spanish Regime Gobernadorcillos in Villasis[25]

The Spanish missionaries

The arrival of the Spaniards in the Philippines also entails the arrival of Spanish missionaries. The main goal of the expedition consisted of the three G’s. They were Gospel, Gold, and Glory. Thus, Spanish missionaries were extremely important to attain the goals of the expedition. The Order of Saint Augustine or Augustinians were the first member of Spanish missionaries that took the responsibility to spread the word of God. They evangelized Cebu, Iloilo, and Panay. They were also sent to Pangasinan and succeeded in establishing two missions in Ilocos and in the Southern Tagalog region[29].

Fr. Martin de Rada and Fr. Pedro Holgado serving as military chaplains accompanied the Spanish-Filipino forces going to Pangasinan. The two priests attempted to erect a chapel along the vicinities of the Agno River and Toboang creek near Labrador. Their initial attempt, however, could not be verified further since Fr. Rada was sent to China on a diplomatic mission.

The Franciscans arrived in 1577and were assigned to Southern Tagalog and the Bicol region.[30] The Order of Friar minors (Franciscans) assigned Fr. Juan Bautista Pizarro and Sebastian de Baeza in Pangasinan and they stayed in Agoo.[31] In 1583, the Jesuits followed and were assigned to eastern Visayas, Cebu, Bohol, Samar and Leyte and proceed to Mindanao. In 1587, the Dominicans arrived and were assigned to Bataan, Pangasinan as well as the whole of northern Luzon, including Batanes. The Recollects arrived in 1606 and were subsequently assigned to the parts of northern Mindanao, Zambales, and Palawan areas not yet covered by the prior group of missionaries. The last to arrive in the Philippines in 1895 were the Benedictines.

Table 4.Dominican Provincial Vicars assigned in Pangasinan[32]

Around the middle of the eighteenth century, the Jesuits were expelled from the countries colonized by the Spaniards. In the Philippines, their parishes were given to the Recollects and some Filipino clergy. In addition to the regulars or the Spanish Friars, Filipino clergy or secular clergy were also assigned in various churches in Pangasinan.

Table 5. Secular Clergy In Old Pangasinan[34]         

The Start of Evangelization in Pandoyocan

The Spanish missionaries were the creators of the towns. They were the architect and manager of the newly created pueblos. [35]The great influence of the Spanish missionaries could not be deduced from their intimate contact with the people. The intimacy originates from the length of time that the Spanish missionaries spend in every area. Compared to the Alcalde Mayor who visited the villages and stayed no longer than 12 days, the Spanish missionaries virtually lived their whole life serving the people. There were times that the friars also assisted in curing the sick. The friars served both the body and the soul of the people. These efforts were actually the reason why local inhabitants finally subjected themselves to the Christian faith.

The huge mission of spreading the gospel was too much to handle for a few missionaries that arrived with the Spanish colonizers. Two months upon arriving on July 1587, the Order of Preachers(or Ordinis Praedicatorum, O.P.) complied by sending six Dominicans to Pangasinan to augment the needs of the people. They were led by Fr. Bernardo Navarro de Santa Catalina. They were accepted in September 1587 in the encomienda of Jimenez del Pino in Binalatongan and were provided with a house made of nipa and bamboo. The first chapel was erected and dedicated to Our Lady of Rosary who was made the patroness of the Province. The visita of Binalatongan handled the spiritual needs of the surrounding places which include the present day Malasiqui, the mother town of Pandoyocan. At the turn of centuries, the surrounding towns were founded one by one after the Dominicans realized that the large settlement of Binalatongan was too large to handle.

The Creation of a Visita

                Missionaries in the early part of the Spanish occupation usually had to care for a couple of smaller missions called “visita”. The sign that a place has obtained social and economic stability is the presence of a permanent resident missionary. The mission is also called a “house” (domus or casa). Cortes (1974) noted that in the 17^th to 18^th century, the establishing of a “house “was simultaneous with the civil foundation of a town.  It was usually the Dominican fathers that pioneered in the formation of new settlements.

The required tribute should be at least five hundred tributes which consisted of parents and children per tribute. The total tributes amount to five thousand souls. These were the condition mandated by the Governor General in order to release a decree in founding a town. The responsibility of the inhabitants within a mission was to build a chapel or ermita and also to build a house for the resident missionary. The visita was raised into a vicaria or vicariate upon the maturity of the “house”. A vicaria was then administered by a vicar which is equivalent to today’s parish priest.

The Church of Binalatongan

The town of Binalatongan was the first area to have a chapel. This town was the largest and most populous in the Province. The spiritual administration of Pandoyocan was administered by the church of Malasiqui. Malasiqui was under the Vicaria of Binalatongan therefore, Pandoyocan was also under the care of Binalatongan.

Table 6 . Misionaries assigned in Binalatongan[36]

The Church of Malasiqui

The founding of Malasiqui as a visita of Binalatongan was in 1655. In 1660, it was probably moved to its present location wherein the resettlement began in 1665 some years after the end of the Malong revolt. However, the official recognition was not due until 1671 but was then separated to Binalatongan. It was accepted as a visita of Calasiao after the transition. The change could be attributed to the location of Calasiao which was nearer than Binalatongan. The Vicar of Calasiao took care of the spiritual needs of the people until the arrival of Malasiqui’s first vicar. In 1677, it was finally accepted as a house by the Dominican Provincial Chapter (DPC) and in 1678, it was raised to the status of vicaria. The spiritual needs in Pandoyocan were administered by the Parish Priests in Malasiqui by the time Malasiqui became a vicaria.

Table 7. Missionaries assigned in Malasiqui[38]

The visita of Pandoyocan

The same year as the election of the gobernadorcillo and other municipal officials in Pandoyocan in 1760, a visita is also assigned to the new found town. Fr. Jose Azcarate O.P. (Order of Preachers) was appointed as the first missionary of the town. The visita de Pandoyocan, however, was only accepted by the Dominican Provincial Chapter (DPC) in 1763. On June 27, 1767, Fiscal Viana petitioned that Pandoyocan together with Barug(Gerona) should be included in the Pangasinan doctrine.[41] Due to the dwindling number of inhabitants in the area, its status as a vicarage was downgraded to a visita status in 1769. The administration of the visita was then entrusted to the vicaria of Sinapog and Pandoyocan became a frontier settlement. For about ten years, the vicarage and the town were suppressed.

Finally, in 1807, the town was revived but was renamed Villasis.[42] In 1838, a resident missionary arrived and in 1841, it was accepted as a house by the Dominican Provincial Chapter (DPC). Villasis became a town-parish in 1841 and the visita of Panaglagbag(now Rosales) was included.[43]

In the 1800s, the church was made of tabique or dindin pampango[44]. This technique, however, will not stand time so they were replaced by using brick or stone for structural strength. The construction of the old church of Villasis in the year 1868-1871 was administered by Fr. Joaquin Palacio Calvo, O.P. while the street planning and making of the plaza/town center in Villasis were planned by Fr. Jose Ma. Ruiz, O.P. in 1874-1886. The designated patron saint was San Antonio Abad and it was under the Diocese of Urdaneta.

Table 8. Missionaries assigned in Pandoyocan and Villasis[45]

From Malasiqui to Villasis: The Founding of a Town

The process of reduccion (resettlement) upon the arrival of the Spanish colonizers was to build a Poblacion then gather families around the vicinity of the church. However, the process of reduccion (resettlement) of bajo el son de la campana (under the sound of the bell) or bajo el toque de la campana (under the peal of the bell) was changed by the middle of the seventeenth century. Instead of building a church first then urging the people to reside along the church, it was changed to resettling of people, secure a license to build a church and a convent for the people then applying for a license to found the town. In the case of Malasiqui, it took until 1671 to finally grant the license for the new found town. It was also this time that Fr. Camacho was elected as the Venerable Prior Provincial of the Order.

The zealous efforts of two native chieftains, Don Domingo Manguisesel and Don Diego Catongal, together with the Dominican Fr. Juan Camacho made possible the creation of the town of Malasiqui in 1671. Don Juan Goa Gonzales, Jacinto Mabanglo, Don Raymundo Cayago, and Don Dionisio Rosario participated from 1671 up to 1691 in setting up the foundations and directing its government. The difficulty of administering the needs of inhabitants lying too far out from the churches of the nearby town occurred to Fr. Camacho. The frequent assignments to Malunguey and Binalatongan made him realized that it is possible to create a new town for those families situated in the wilderness.

A conflicting account of a recent Dominican historian, however, claims that Malasiqui was founded around the year 1655. Fr. Camacho was still the Vicar of Malunguey(Bayambang) at this time. The residents of Malasiqui were then settled near the old site of Malunguey(Bayambang) in the barrio of Cabatling or Malasiquidaan.  And according to Fr. Gonzales, the original site of Malasiqui was about two kilometers to the west of its present location going to the road of Villasis and to a place called Malasiquidaan (ancient Malasiqui). Fr. Gonzales noted that the place was on low ground and easily flooded. It was probably around the end of the Malong Revolt on 1660-1661 that Malasiqui was transferred to its present site.

Fr. Camacho explained further that the town of Malasiqui was only separated from Binalatongan in 1671. These accounts proved that the resettlement process started around 1665 and the official recognition of the town was not until 1671.[46]

Reduccion of Villasis

Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, they found settlements only along water routes and river banks.  The reduccion plan that was presented by Fr. Juan de Plasencia to the Synod of Manila (1532) was unanimously approved by the missionaries.[47]The Franciscans who arrived in 1578 started reorganizing the scattered settlements. The task of the missionaries before the reduccion could be described as chasing souls. The Franciscans then ordered the missionaries to reside in a proposed pueblo and built a convent and a church to have an organized community.  Those newly converted Christians were asked to build a house around the vicinity of the church.  And those unbaptized were also encouraged to do the same.

Etymology of Villasis

Pandoyocan was from the Pangasinense word “oyocan” a colony of bees and “doyoc” which means to covet. It was only a sitio of  Malasiqui before the 19^th century. The town of Villasis is along the jurisdiction of the province of Pangasinan. It is bounded by Asingan, Sta. Maria, Urdaneta, Sto.Tomas, Rosales, Alcala and Malasiqui.It was one of the new towns founded in the 18^th century by the efforts of the Dominican clergies. The new towns founded were San Fabian de Anguio and San Isidro Labrador de Tubuang along the coast; Salasa(now Bugallon)in the northwestern part of the province; Santa Barbara de Tolong in the central part;Bunlalacao in the southwestern part; Pandoyocan in the eastern region; and in the Southwestern part of the province now belonging to Tarlac province, the towns of Paniqui, Camiling, and Baruc (now Gerona).[48]

The place had no fixed boundaries. It was a frontier settlement of a thickly forested region. The thick forest was a nesting ground of bees called “oyocan”. They were the denizens of the forest and probably this thick forest also became a haven for people escaping the law.  The timber from this area was even used to build one vessel of the Spanish navy constructed in Lingayen.[49]It yielded high-grade woods that even the roof of Santa Barbara convent was built with molave wood from Villasis in 1879. In the present time, the roads from Villasis to Asingan that were flanked with thick forest were now clear and it was mostly converted into paddy fields leading to an abundant rice produce and a haven for vegetable growers. No wonder the town is now called “The Vegetable Bowl of Pangasinan”.

The founding name of Villasis

Several sources of how Villasis got its name complicated the already vague history of Villasis. The first version was that Villasis was from the marriage of the successful leaders VILLA and ASIS.[50] The second version according to some residents of Villasis was that; the name was from two sisters named VILLA and ASIS. The third version says the town was from a traditionally accepted belief from a written version of the old town plan dated 1984-1993. It states that Villasis was named after the great Spanish colonizer, Don Antonio De Urbistondo y Eguia.[51] The fourth version from the Villasis.gov.ph website however states that the name Villasis was taken in honor of Governor Rafael Maria de Aguilar y Ponce de Leon son of Fernando Pedro de Aguilar y Ponce de Leon and Josefa de Santillan y Villasis.[52] It was Governor Geeneral Rafael Maria Aguilar y Ponce de Leon who issued the decree mandating the reorganization of Pandoyocan.[53]

Creation and Founding of Villasis

The town of Asingan located in the eastern part of Villasis contributed to the growth of Pangasinan. The formation of Villasis (a revival of Pandoyocan) and San Manuel (a revival of San Bartolome de Agno) could be credited to Asingan. The town of Asingan was first established in 1698.  It served as a midway station to San Bartolome de Agno. It appears that its existence was finally established near the river Sinapog and hence taken the name of the river.

Governor General Fernando Valdes y Tamon granted the license to establish the town of Sinapog in 1733. Sinapog and Asingan must have been interchanged since accounts of Fr. Collantes notes that the Vicariate of Asingan still preserves the name of the mission. It was also listed in the Actas Capitulares as S.Luis de Sinapog from 1733 to 1785 while it was listed as S. Luis de Asingan, Sinapog in 1789. Then in 1802, it was finally called as San Luis Beltran de Asingan. [54]

 Fr. Fernando Sta. Maria vicar of Malasiqui together with the principales of Pandoyocan petitioned for the founding of sitio Pandoyocan into a town. The license to found the town of Pandoyocan was granted on October 18, 1759, by the Bishop of Cebu and ad interim Governor General from June 1759-July 1761 Bishop Miguel Lino de Ezpeleta.[55]

Pandoyocan’s status as a Pueblo was elevated in 1759. Fr. Fr. Fernando Sta. Maria chose Macayo as the town center.[56] Privileges and amnesty from tributes were protracted to attract more settlers. The initial tributes amounted to 300. The election of gobernadorcillo and other municipal officials was finally held for the first time by the Alcalde Mayor of Pangasinan on May 13, 1760. [57]Its first missionaries were also appointed in 1760.

In 1763, Pandoyocan was accepted as a vicarage by the Dominican Provincial Chapter DPC). However, after the three-year exemption for tributes ended, only 92 remained from the initial tribute of 300. This case seems to be the outcome of the inhabitants registering in the new found town to avail of the amnesty and privileges extended to them but did not leave their original place of residence.

In 1769, apparently, its status as a vicarage was downgraded into a visita status and was entrusted to the vicaria of Sinapog (Asingan). The vicaria of Asingan took care of the visita de Pandoyocan from 1769 until the town was accepted as a vicaria again in 1841. The Actas Capitulares records after 1773 did not mention anything more about Pandoyocan. The status of Pandoyocan as a vicarage was downgraded to a visita status. The vicaria of Asingan took care of the visita de Pandoyocan from 1769 until the town was accepted as a vicaria again.[58]

Table 9. Missionaries assigned in Asingan prior to the reestablishment of Villasis[59]

After 10 years of suppression, the people of Pandoyocan again applied for a petition for the restoration of the municipality. [60]A Royal Decree was published on June 22, 1804, mandating the reconstruction of Pandoyocan.[61] According to the Villasis municipal library manuscript, the execution of the decree was delayed so the residents made another petition for the establishment of the town and together with the petition was to change the name of the town to Villasis.[62] A document however states that the change was made by the ad Interim Governor general Mariano Fernandez de Folgueras in respect to his predecessor and of course to honor Governor General Rafael Maria Aguilar y Ponce de Leon. [63]The name of the town was taken from the maternal family name of Josefa de Santillan y Villasis, the mother of Rafael Maria Aguilar y Ponce de Leon.[64] The decree was signed on March 2, 1807 by Mariano Fernandez de Folgueras. [65]

Another discovery however points that Pandoyocan became a sitio of Villasis.[66]. According to a letter written by Mariano Fernandez de Folgueras on April 6, 1808, ”the children in the sitio of Pandoyocan  has not been baptized for  three months and that the nearest town of Bayambang did not want to give the holy benefits[67]  This letter corresponds with the claim that Pandoyocan was relocated to Macayo[68] where in a chapel has been already built. Fr. Fernando Sta. Maria originally intended Macayo to be the site of the town center. In the present time, Villasis is located in a strategic location which contributed to its astounding growth. The Municipal Council (Sangguniang Bayan) of Villasis designated March 2 as the founding day of the town in accordance with the Municipal Ordinance no. 23-200596 .[69]

The Revolts in Pangasinan

The emergence of Poblacion was the evidence of hispanization in the country. People were persuaded to build their homes within the poblacion or town center. The reduccion facilitated the conversion and administration of the people.  The Poblacion became the home to the principalia or principal families. The anacbanuas(class of chiefs) who constituted the principalia was the native ruling elites. They served as the connection between the Spanish ruling class and the native society. They were the political absorbers of the native lower class Indios. The demands of the Spanish regime were transmitted by the native ruling class to their kinsmen- followers. In the course of Philippine history, however, there were accounts that the native ruling class were the leaders of the series of revolts that happened within the more than 300 years of Philippine colonization.

The Spanish Galleon trade which lasted until 1815[70]and other Spanish institutions of taxation, forced labor, indulto de comercio and monopolies were the leading perpetrators of the abusive treatment received by the inhabitants of the Philippines. The aforementioned issues were not yet enough to inflict hardship to the natives. In addition to the forced labor or rendering their services in various forms away from their families, the natives mostly the lower class, have to pay tributes. They were also obliged to observe the vandala(quotas of products to be sold compulsorily to the government).

The unpredictable condition of the Philippine weather did not improve the plight of these poor people. They had to sell their produce at a very low price but had to pay double/triple the price of the commodity if they needed them. The abusive tax collectors also demand that the natives pay the tributes in kind if the commodities were scarce and asked them to pay in cash if the commodities were cheap. In many occasions, the poor natives had to purchase the rice on exorbitant price just to pay the tribute prescribed by law. This, in turn, will make them borrow more money to purchase the required amount of rice to be given to the tax collector. 

Many natives unable to endure the abuses inflicted by the Spanish officials and Spanish friars resorted to rising up against the Spanish government. The revolt that happened in Pampanga was concurrent with the revolt that happened in Pangasinan. Although the revolt in Pampanga lasted for only two months, it was already enough to ignite the rebellious spirits of the people.

The Malong Revolt

Series of events in 1660 has led to a massive uprising in the Northern provinces.[71]The range and severity has not been seen before. Spanish accounts declared that this was the ultimate power struggle between the traditional elite and the Spanish colonial state in the region. In October 1660, around three hundred and thirty natives of Pampanga and Bulacan skipped from their daily routines of timber cutting. They decided to take up arms after being fed up with the ill-treatment from their shipyard commander. The natives of Binalatongan followed suit on the 16^th of December[72]. Andres Malong the Master-of-camp of Binalatongan became the leader of the uprising in Pangasinan. The rebels were mostly consisted of Principalias and Timaguas. The leader of the uprising Andres Malong was from the principalias.

The rebels were angered by the excessive abuses of the secular Spanish military and Spanish civil officials. They were instructed to kill all Spaniards but surprisingly, Andres Malong instructed the rebels not to harm the Spanish Friars and made sure that they won’t forget to attend mass. This instruction was followed in Binalatongan up to Agoo and Bauang but the church and convent in Bolinao were burned and even threatened the Recollect priest assigned there if he would not leave the place.

The remarkable revolt was also called The Great rebellion[73] because of the great number of people who voluntarily joined. The initial success of the uprising was upheld with the proclamation of Andres Malong as king while Pedro Gumapos was declared as Count. Pedro Gumapos was then instructed to reduce Ilocos and Cagayan while Melchor de Vera was instructed to conquer Pampanga.

The Failure of Malong Revolt

The rebellion that Malong wanted to incite in Pampanga, Ilocos, and Cagayan, however, was a failure. Unknown to Andres Malong, Francisco Maniago chief from the village of Mexico in Pampanga which was the main actor of the start of the Pangasinan revolt and Juan Macapagal, the chief of Arayat had already made peace with the Spaniards. The joined efforts of Juan Macapagal, the chief of Arayat ,Francisco Maniago chief from the village of Mexico, the Spanish soldiers, Ilocanos, Tingguianes from Abra, Cagayanes (from northern Cagayan Valley) and foreign mercenaries with the supervision of the Spanish generals namely; Felipe Ugalde, Francisco de Esteybar and Sebastian Rayo Doria with the help from the ground commander Captain Lorenzo Arqueros quelled the rebellion.

Almost all rebel leaders were captured except Pedro Almazan, a very rich chief from the village of San Nicolas ( a visita of Ilauag). He was also declared king of Ilocos by the Calansas[74]. He hated the Spaniards and friars that he kept fetters in his house for every Spaniards and friars in the entire province. [75]The rebels were tried in court and eventually, all of the leaders were sentenced to death. The rebel chiefs included Don Melchor de Vera, Don Francisco de Pacadua, Don Jacinto Macasiag, and fourteen others. They were hanged on the sixteen gallows built for the execution and some were mutilated. One-hundred thirty convicted insurgents that helped in the uprising were also convicted to death by gunfire; gallows; or by beating. The number of those that were sent to the galleys amounted to seventy while ninety-nine were sent to the port of captivity and fifty-nine to the royal hospitals, colleges, and churches to serve hard labor.

                A record also showed that Agustin Pacadua, a timagua who has been a principal engineer of the revolt was also found guilty thus, he was sent to the gallows. Unfortunately, the families of the rebels and even those that helped during the course of the revolt were not exempted to the punishments. They were rounded up and were sold to slavery. The sell to the slavery of Christian Indios was not forbidden by law since it was justified by the forfeit of their right for protection from the King or Pope if they rebelled against the Crown and the Church.[76] Some of the children of the rebels were unlucky to be tortured and executed.

The uprising ended with the capture of Andres Malong on February 6, 1661. Andres Malong as the Master - of the - camp was given an honorable sentence. He was sentenced to die by firing squad and was promptly shot in the back.[77] Another account, however, states that Andres Malong’s head was cut off and hanged his headless body in his house yard and clipped a placard with Spanish inscriptions and Pangasinan dialect that read: “For being a traitor to God and the King, the law has condemned me”.[78]

The Palaris Revolt 1762-1764

The plight of the natives especially the timagua class or the common people did not improve after the Malong revolt. Binalatongan as a land lock community mostly consisted of an agrarian society. The main source of income was farming. The fact that most farmers were sharecroppers, payment of tributes was burdensome to the natives. Abuses and heavy taxation were still practiced and caused hardship to the people. The head of the family and every unmarried person ages 18 to 60 years of age were levied 10 reales. The tribute could also be paid in silver or rice.

The additional burden to the natives was the way the tribute was collected.  Since the tributes can be paid in cash, rice silver or gold, it became the funnel of corruption among the tax collectors. The natives were asked to pay cash, silver or gold if the harvest was good and the prices of the harvested rice were low while they asked the natives to pay the tributes with rice if the harvest were less. The Alcalde mayor was the only trader in the province and the prices were controlled by him. The timagua class was the most affected of these practices. In turn, they had to borrow money to buy the mandated tributes to be spared from the punishment of the law.

The arrival of the British troops in the Philippines on September 23, 1762, was like a heaven-sent for the oppressed. Archbishop Rojo summoned the Alcalde mayor of Binalatongan to lend a hand in fighting the British forces because Binalatongan was the largest and most populous town of Pangasinan. Eventually, Manila was captured by the British forces and the Binalatongan forces still on their way to Manila, were informed and they happily return home.

According to Cortes, Boncan, and Jose (2000), it was Juan de la Cruz Palaris who came home shouting “there is no more King, the Spaniards were conquered; there is no need to pay the tribute!”[79]. The fire in their heart ignited as a result of the Manila occupation. It appeared to them that the Spanish government was not that indispensable after all. The British proclaimed that they will grant the inhabitants of the Philippines preservation of their religion, goods, property, liberty, and commerce.

The Start of the Palaris Revolt

On November 3, 1762, the inhabitants led by Don Jose Magalong presented a list of demands to father Melendez. The list includes:

That the people were not obliged to pay tribute until Manila had been returned to Spanish power.

That the collected tributes should be returned.

That the teacher of the school and the fiscal of the church should be removed.

That the chiefs, or government, and the police of all the barrios should likewise be removed.

That the provincial governor should be expelled from the province.

That the position of the master-of-camp of the province should not be taken away from Binalatongan.

That no foreigner should hold any position in the tribunal of the town.

That the four town residents assigned to serve as guards in the provincial jail should no longer serve as such nor be required to pay the exemption.[80]

The Palaris revolt of 1762-1764 that started on November 3, 1762, greatly affected the neighboring towns. The revolt that stemmed from the discontentment of the people surpassed the scope and duration of all the revolts in Pangasinan.  It was so contagious that the neighboring towns of Malasiqui, Bayambang, and Mangaldan followed suit. Binmaley and Asingan were the only towns which remained loyal to the Spanish government. But by December 6, only Asingan was left to continue displaying the Spanish flag.  Almost all of the towns in Pangasinan had followed the example of Binalatongan.

The End of the Seven Years War

The signing of the Treaty of Paris that ended the Britain-France war or more popularly called “The Seven Years War” signaled the end of the uprising. This development made the uprising useless. Bishop Ustarriz of Nueva Segovia led the curates in renewing the pacification drive. The rebel leaders succumbed to the efforts of the curates and in the middle of September 1763, they signed the documents of amnesty which Governor-general Simon de Anda offered them.

The rebels petitioned for the appointment of a new Alcalde Mayor upon their submission to the amnesty program. The former Alcalde Mayor Don Joaquin Gamboa almost got back the position of governor if not by the protest of Fr. Andres Melendrez. He insisted that it was Don Joaquin Gamboa who triggered the uprising of the people. Gamboa was greedy and inflicted abuses among the poor people of Binalatongan. These are enough reason why he must not be reinstated to his original position.

The Renewal of Conflicts

The newly appointed Alcalde Mayor arrived in Paniqui on October 31, 1763. Don Jose Rafael de Avecedo was well received by the people. The scenario looks like the rebellion had come to an end, but it was not as it seems to be since the harvest season was fast approaching and it was the signal of paying tributes. However, due to the uprisings, the harvest most probably was scarce. This fact could be concluded from the moratorium proclaimed by the tax collectors. A moratorium on March 27,1764 Fiscal Viana declared that:

the natives were compelled to pay the arrears of the unpaid tributes due before and during the English invasion;

that the village chiefs should not be exempted in paying the tribute;

that each tribute was ought to pay two reales extra for the reimbursement of the amount used in putting down the rebellion.

The announcement although well received by the people made them realized that they will be paying the tributes again. Moreover, the newly appointed Alcalde mayor ordered that the pieces of artilleries that the rebels had seized were to be returned. The order was ignored. It somehow appears that the rebels were not sure of the amnesty that the Governor General has offered them. The interception of a proclamation from the Alcalde mayor of Ilocos, Don Manuel Arza made the situation more complicated. The proclamation states that “all treacherous chiefs in Ilocos, Pangasinan, and Cagayan were to be arrested and to be escorted to Vigan for punishment. It was intercepted in Mangaldan and was immediately sent to Binalatongan. Palaris envisaged this as a proof that they were not pardoned. The order hardened the spirits of the rebels to fight or die.

By the middle of December, a report reached the rebel leaders about the arrival of the Spanish forces to the province. The rebel leaders called for all the people to be armed.  The rebels assembled in Malunguey (present day Bayambang). This second phase of the revolt was executed with more cruelty and ruthlessness.

The End of Palaris Revolt

Governor General Simon de Anda was able to send a strong force commanded by Don Pedro de Bonnardel. Around this time, Juan de la Cruz Palaris and his men were camped at Mabolitec, a barrio of Malasiqui, the mother town of Pandoyocan. The Palaris men however were no match for the strong Spanish forces. Some of the native forces were killed and some were hanged. Many towns were reduced to ashes as the Spanish forces rallied behind the escaping native forces.

The rest of the fleeing rebels were caught one by one. Some were killed by the sword and some were hanged upon arrest. The rebels that were sent to the gallows included the master-of-camp Andres Lopez and Juan de Vera Oncantin. Andres Lopez as the master-of-camp was reported to receive the harshest punishment. His body was quartered and was hanged. The punishment for the rebels was so severe that eight were hanged in one day and eleven on the other days. The most intense punishment was the hanging of thirty-six people including nine Cabezas de barangay in a day in the plaza viewed by the town people.  The most horrible punishment was quartering of the bodies of the rebels; hanging them by hooks and displaying them in towns, fields, seashores, and borders of the town.

Palaris however eluded by hiding in Binalatongan. It was the betrayal of his own sister that resulted in his capture. His sister apparently told the gobernadorcillo that she will be meeting her brother and Palaris was expecting her. He was apprehended by the Spanish troops accompanying Don Agustin Matias, the gobernadorcillo of the town. He was arrested on January 16, 1765. He left a letter of disclosure about his involvement in the revolt written in Pangasinese dialect and Spanish.[81] On February 26, 1765, he was hanged on the gallows. And to erase the ugly memory of the disloyalty of the town, the name of the town was ordered to be changed to San Carlos to honor King Carlos III.

Consequences of the Palaris revolt

The revolt which surpassed the scope and duration in Pangasinan was left with thousands of casualties.  The casualties who fought for the King in the recently concluded revolt amounted to seventy Spaniards and two hundred and fifty natives while the casualties in the rebel’s side would amount to thousands. The revolt also took a toll in the lives of local inhabitants. The total number of inhabitants in the province of Pangasinan before the insurrection had 60,383 souls. A computation held on May 13, 1766, computed only 33,456 souls left after the insurrection which makes a total of 26,927 souls lost in the uprising. Many of these souls migrated to the nearby towns while others were killed during the conflict.[82]

Mounds of ashes were left in the town centers, churches, and houses. Several reports written by the Dominican Friars after the bloody revolt points the direct involvement of Pandoyocan to the revolt. In the 9^th item of the result of the investigation prepared by Fray Manuel Gutierrez, it states; That the churches and convent of the towns of Calasiao, Sta. Barbara, San Carlos, alias Binalatongan, Malasiqui, Asingan, Pandoyocan, Paniqui, Telban and San Isidro were burned down because the rebels set fire on them. The better churches that were consumed by the fire were those of the towns of Calasiao, Sta. Barbara, Binalatongan, and Asingan, while the last three were made of wood, whereby the household furnishings of the convents and much of the churches perished in the fire.[83] The revolt persisted for two years and resulted in heavy losses of lives and destruction of properties.

Investigation of the Friars Conduct During the Palaris Revolt[84]

Five years after the Palaris revolt ended, Fray Andres Melendez O.P ordered a province-wide investigation on the conducts of the Dominican friars during the Palaris revolt.  Don Joachin de Bustamante mandated the province-wide investigation on the conducts of the Dominican friars. This was done to clear the doubts on the conducts of the friars during the Palaris revolt. The following points were the result of the investigation prepared by Fray Manuel Gutierrez, O.P. the incumbent Vicar Provincial of Pangasinan:

That as soon as the fatal news of the siege and capture of the City of Manila by the British enemies reached the Province of Pangasinan, the religious ministers of the Dominican Order in this Province employed themselves in maintaining the natives due to fidelity to the Catholic Monarch of Spain.

That as soon as the superior order of the Metropolitan Archbishop and Governor of the islands for succor had reached the province of Pangasinan, the religious ministers of the different towns of the province rationed their respective flocks with rice and other supplies for their trip to the Royal Plaza in Manila.

That as soon as it was learned that Don Simon de Anda y Salazar had declared himself the Governor and Captain General of these islands, the religious ministers likewise attempted to persuade all the natives of the town of this province to render their due obedience to the said Governor.

That as soon as the uprising of this province was declared, the religious ministers tried to stop it by all possible means, especially the Prior Provincial , Fray Andres Melendez who, as the Vicar Provincial and minister of  the capital of  Lingayen, came out of the church convent of this town to receive the rebels from the towns of Binalatongan (presently named San Carlos), Malasiqui, Calasiao, and others, who entered the said town, and kneeling down, he preached to the rebels that they desist from their depraved intent.

That the said religious ministers did not cease in manifesting to the said rebels during the period of the uprising the ugliness of their vile activities and their grave sins, notwithstanding the threats of death, and the furious and depreciating remarks by the rebels against them.

That the said religious ministers had attempted to subdue the rebels under royal obedience through doctrinal and evangelical persuasions and had denied the administration of the sacraments to those who did not show signs of real submission.

That as soon as the Royal Army of the King entered this province, the religious ministers, especially the Vicar Provincial, who did not fall into the hands of the rebels, proceeded to serve, attend, and pay whatever they had for the Royal army, giving to the soldiers that which they requested.

That the rebels took the Prior Provincial, Fray Andres Melendez, who was then Vicar and minister of the town Binalatongan alias San Carlos, and Fray Joseph Subero, Vicar and minister of the town Salasa, and brought them to the forests and mountains, denying them the respect and veneration due their sacred status, threatening them at every step with death, until the Royal army reached the mountains where he was detained by guards and was freed.

That the churches and convent of the towns of Calasiao, Sta. Barbara, San Carlos, alias Binalatongan, Malasiqui, Asingan, Pandoyocan, Paniqui, Telban and San Isidro were burned down because the rebels set fire on them. The better churches that were consumed by the fire were those of the towns of Calasiao, Sta. Barbara, Binalatongan, and Asingan, while the last three were of wood, whereby the household furnishings of the convents and much of the churches perished in the fire.

The Diaspora of the Ilocanos

According to De Los Reyes (1890, Vol.2)[85], the migration of the Ilocanos could be dated from the late 1500s. Out-migration could be the result of region-wide economic depression. The phenomena would have been made worse by a series of droughts and floods in the late 1500s.  A volcano erupted and a locust infestation plus the Moro raids in the region made worst the situation of the Ilocanos.

The Ilocanos that migrated to Pangasinan at the middle of nineteen century were from the Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, and the La Union. The areas in those regions were not all suitable for farming. Although some lands were rich, most were sandy and full of stones which were impossible to be cultivated. Life was so hard in those areas of the Ilocos Region. The population was continuously rising but the source of livelihood was scarce. The amount of land that can be cultivated could not support the increasing population.[86]

In the early nineteenth century, the mostly forested land in Pangasinan was cleared and farmed by the Ilocano migrants.[87] The process of homesteading has been concurrent with the arrival of the Ilocanos in Pangasinan.[88] Homesteading made the pioneer Ilocano immigrants owner of the newly cleared land. Ilocano migration began to accelerate in the early 19^th century. This wave of migration usually consists of a whole community of a leader. [89]The community consisted of helpers and not so well-to-do relatives or vassals that in turn became their helpers in tilling the lands. They help the landowners to earn profits from their lands.[90]

The difficult living conditions and the lack of arable lands in Ilocos and not to mention the aftermath of the Palaris and Silang Revolts forced families to seek refuge in a greener land. Many take refuge down to the coasts of Western Luzon. The settlements in Pangasinan, Zambales, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija were soon filled with Ilocano immigrants. The coming of Ilocano migrants in the late eighteen century and the early nineteen century marked an increase in the population of Pangasinan. In fact, only one town founded in the nineteenth century which has no Ilocano migrants was Urbiztondo. Ilocano migrant from the Ilocos Region helped rebuild Pandoyocan and they contributed to the increase of the population. They were included with those inhabitants that petitioned for the refounding of Pandoyocan under the name of Villasis.

CONCLUSION

Villasis with its former name, Pandoyocan was a sitio located around the jurisdiction of Malasiqui. It is the nearest town created along the towns in Pangasinan. The Visita of Malasiqui was then the administrator of the spreading of the gospel in the suburbs of Pandoyocan. The designation of its visita to the visita of Asingan made it a frontier settlement until its status was reverted to a vicariate.

                The founding name of Villasis has many versions. The documents gathered during the course of the study correspond with the tenure of  Governor-general Rafael Maria Aguilar y Ponce de Leon as the founding name of Villasis. The third version seems obsolete since Governor General Antonio de Urbistondo y Eguia was the governor of the Philippines from July 29,1850-December 20, 1854.[91] Upon the death of Rafael Maria Aguilar y Ponce de Leon on August 8, 1806, he was succeeded by Governor Mariano Fernandez de Folgueras as ad interim governor-general from 1806-1810.

According to official records, the fourth version corresponds to the tenure of Governor General Rafael Maria Aguilar y Ponce de Leon as the Governor General from September 1, 1793-August 7,1806.[92] He was the longest serving governor in the Philippines. In fact, he served as the Governor until his death which is on August 8, 1806. The issuance of the decree also corresponds to the time of his tenure. The manner of the execution of the decree, concludes that Villasis was indeed named after him.

The so-called Great Rebellion in the North and the Palaris Revolt that happened in Binalatongan had great effects on the lives of the people in Pangasinan. Although it was few miles away from the town, the effect is tremendous. It caused people to migrate to the nearby places which took a toll on the number of people residing in the place. The revolts that happened in Binalatongan affected the cultural, socio-economic, and political life of the people residing in Villasis. Although the revolts were narrated by the Spanish chroniclers, officers, and Dominican friars, they are reliable sources since it is the only available sources. Pangasinan revolts still can be deduced as a sub-national unit of the Philippines history. These significant events are still part of the history of Pandoyocan.

The diaspora of the Ilocanos to Pangasinan augmented the few inhabitants living along the town of Pandoyocan. It is their arrival and occupation of the forested land in the vicinity of the town that made the acculturation of cultures. The process of reduccion, also points to Barangay Puelay located at the southern part of Villasis as the starting point of Pandoyocan. It was just one kilometer away from the town proper and it is along the riverbank of Agno River. Hence, it is a strategic site which makes it a progressive site for a settlement.

Bibliography

PRIMARY SOURCES:

Documents from Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson. The Philippine Islands 1493-1898.

Vol.XVII Appendix: Chronological list of governors of the Philippines, 

1565-1899, and the administration of the islands at different periods

Vol.XXXVIII Insurrections by Filipinos (1674-1683) The account of the revolt was taken partly from Diaz’s Conquistas, pp.468-590. These events are also related in Sta. Cruz’s Hist. Santo Rosario, pp. 331-341; Murillo velarde’s Hist. de Philipinas. Fol. 253b-256; Concepcion’s Hist. de Philipinas, vii, pp.256; and Fernando’s Hist. de PP. dominicos,iii,pp.67-74.

Vol.XLVIII Later Augustinian and Dominican Missions 1751-1765 translated from Antonio Mozo’s Noticia Historico Natural ( Madrid, 1763)

Vol.XLIX Letter of Anda to Carlos 1759-1765

Vol. L Events in Filipinas 1764-1800

Vol. LI Events in Filipinas 1801-1840

Vol.LII Agricultural Conditions in 1866 taken from Jagor’s Reisen. pp.303-306

Philippine National Archives

Erecciones de Los Pueblos –Rosales, 1805-1808

Philippine National Library

Historical Data Papers-Villasis 

U.S.T.  Archives

1808. (Sin titulo). Fols. 262-263. Tomo 3. Doc. 29.

A solicitud de los naturals reunidos en el sitio de Pandoyocan, jurisdiction de la provincial de Pangasinan, he proviedo (el gobernador general Folgueras) este dia el decreto siguinte, que traslado a V.R. para su inteligencia y cumplimiento en la parte que le comprenda. Fols. 264-267. Tomo 3. Doc.28.

Carta de Manuel Gonzalez sobre proveer de cura al pueblo de Villasis. 10-I-1812. Fols.255. Tomo 4. Doc. 3.

Carta sobre el mismo asunto, 1812. Fols. 254. Tomo 4. Doc. 4.

Declaracion que hizo Juan de la Cruz Palaris antes de ser a justiciado, 13-111-1766. Fols. 339-340. Tomo 2. Doc.9

Deligencias hechas en Pangasinan sobre el porte de los religiosos de nuestra orden en tiempo de los Guerra. 1769. Fols. 329-419. Seccion de Pangasinan, Varios, tomo 2. Doc. 13.

Document en Pangasinan, de Juan de la Cruz Palaris, 1765, Fols. 117-118. Tomo 2. Doc. 8

Expediente sobre las erreciones de los pueblos o sitios de Pandoyocan y Telban, Provincia de Pangasinan. 1766. Fols. 181-215. Tomo 2. Doc.10

Presentacion de ternas para proveer de ministros de doctrina a varios

pueblos de Pangasinan. Tomo 2. Doc. 15. 1772. Fols. 57-60

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo 12 Estadisticas o estado de alams, 1788-1882

Sobre la errecion de los pueblos de Pandoyocan ( hoy Villasis)y Barug (hoy Gerona) continua la material del document 10). Tomo 2. Doc. 11

Articles:

Alvarez, Kerby C. “El Pueblo de Tambobong: Isang Kasaysayan ng Malabon noong

Dantaon, 17 at 18”.Kasaysayang Pampook: Pananaw, Pananaliksik,Pagtuturo.      

Philippines:LIKAS.(2012): 141-157.

Costa, Horacio de la. Church and State in the Philippines during the Administration

             of  Bishop Salazar, 1581-1594 Hispanic American Historical Review 30:

             314-35. 

Dizon, Lino L. Amlat and the Kapampangan Historical Tradition (The Case for Upper

Pampanga)Towards a Filipino History: Festchirft  for Zeus Salazar. Portia  L.Reyes,  ed.Bahay Saliksikan ng Kasaysayan/Bagong Kasaysayan,   Inc.(BAKAS),2015.pp.53- 87.

Fegan, Brian. “The Social History of a Central Luzon Barrio”, Philippine Social History   

             Global Trade and Local Transformations.Alfred McCoy and Ed de Jesus, eds.,      

             91-129.1982.              

Galang, Jely.” Pandarayuhang Ilokano at Pagtatatag ng Bayan sa Hilagang Tarlac  

              Simula noong Ika-19 na Dantaon”. Kasaysayang Pampook: Pananaw,

              Pananaliksik,Pagtuturo. Philippines:LIKAS.(2012).187-204.

Guerrero, Milagros C. “The Provincial Elites of Luzon During the Revolution, 1898-

              1902”.Philippine Social History Global Trade and LocalTransformations.

              Edited by Alfred McCoy and Ed de Jesus. Manila: 1982.155-190.

Jose, Regalado T. “Light in the Land of Lightning Preaching of Saint Dominic’s Sons in  

            Pangasinan”. Pananisia: Heritage and Legacy. Lingayen: Archdiocese of

            Lingayen- Dagupan.(2014).3-19

McCoy, Alfred W. “Introduction: The Social History of an Archipelago”. Philippine

            Social  History: GlobalTrade and Local Transformations. Edited by

            Alfred McCoy and Ed de Jesus. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University

            Press.(1982). 1-18

McLennan, Marshall. “Changing Human Ecology on the Central Luzon Plain: Nueva

              Ecija, 1705-1939”. Philippine Social History: Global Trade and Local

Transformations. Edited by Alfred McCoy and Ed. de Jesus, eds. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University, 1982. 57-90.

Navarro, Atoy M. & Orillos-Juan, Maria Florina Y. Kasaysayang Pampook: Pananaw,

              Pananaliksik, Pagtuturo. Philippines: Likas,2012.

Serraon, Fr. Melquiades R. “The Dominicans and the End of the Pangasinan Uprising

            (1764).”Pananisia: Heritage and Legacy. Lingayen: Archdiocese of  Lingayen-

            Lingayen- Dagupan. 2014.

Ubaldo, Lars Raymund C. Historia de Ilocos (1890) ni Isabelo De Los Reyes Bilang

            Maagang Halimbawa ng Kasaysayang Pampook .Philippines: LIKAS,2012.

Journals:

Apilado , Digna Balangue. History from the People Volume 7 (National Historical

 Institute,Phil. National Society c.1999),pp.101-107.

Apilado, Digna B. The Agturay of the Ili: The Elite of Ilocos, 1574-1661.The Journal  of 

History Vol. LVI(January – December 2010): The Philippine National Historical

society, Inc.,2010.pp.5-30

Diokno, Maria Serena I. Journal of  Philippine Local  History and  Heritage Vol.1, 

                Manila: National Historical Commission of the Philippines. 2015. 

Wickerberg, Edgar, ”The Chinese Mestizo in Philippine History” Journal of Southeast  

              Asian History 5:62-100.

Zafra, Nicolas. The Colonization of the Philippines and the Beginnings of the

            Spanish City of Manila: National Historical Commission. Bagong edisyon,

           Manila: National Historical Institute, 1993.

Books:

Apalisok, Simplicio M. Bohol Without Tears: Land of the Country’s Most Battered

People. Philippines: Surigao BB Press .1999.

Abella, Domingo. From Indio to Filipino and Some Historical Works. Manila:

Milagros Romualdez-Abella. n.d.(circa 1978).

Agoncillo, Teodoro A.  History of the Filipino People 8^TH Edition. Quezon City:

C&E Publishing.Inc. 2012.

Aragon, J. Gayo. The controversy over Justification of Spanish Rule in the Philippines

Studies in Philippine  Church History. Gerald H. Anderson, ed.  

University,3-21.

________.Ideas Juridico Teologicas de los Religios de Filipinas Sobre la 

                Conquista de las Islas. Manila: University of Santo Tomas. 1950

Bazaco, Fr. Evergisto, O.P.. The Church in the Philippines. Manila: University of  

                Santo Tomas. 1938

Blair, Emma H. and James A. Robertson (eds. And trans.). The Philippine Islands,

             1493- 1898 (55 vols.). Cleveland: Arthur H. Clark Co., 1903-1909.

 Brillantes, G., Quiazon, S., Perez, P., and Tan, S. The Philippines: Land and Atang1.   

                Manila: Kalinangan Group.1986.

Calairo,Franco Emmanuel. Cavite el Viejo: Kasaysayan*Lipunan*Kultura.

             Cavite:Cavite   Historical Society.1998.     

Constantino, Renato  & Constantino, Leticia . The Philippines: A Past Revisited.

Quezon City: Renato Constantino.1975.

Corpus, Onofre D. THE Bureaucracy in thePhilippines. Manila: University of the

Philippines Institute of Public Administration.1957.

Cortes, Rosario M. Pangasinan 1572-1800.Quezon City:New Day Publishers. 1974.

______PANGASINAN, 1801-1900:  A Politico-Economic Social History.           

Quezon City: New Day Publishers. 1979.

_______PANGASINAN 1901-1986: A Political, Socioeconomic and Cultural

History .Quezon City: New Day Publishers. 1990.

Cortes, Rosario M., Celestina P. Boncan and Ricardo T.Jose. The Filipino Saga:

             History as Social Change.Quezon City: New Day Publishers.2000.

Cunningham, Charles H. The Audencia in the Spanish Colonies as Illustrated by the 

              Audencia of Manila. New York Guardian Press. 1919.

Cushner, Nicholas P. Spain in the Philippines From Conquest to Revolution.

Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University.1971.

De los Reyes y Florentino, Isabelo. Historia de Ilocos (2 vols.). Manila: Imprenta de la  

Opinion, 1890.

De Viana, Augusto V.The Philippines a Story of a Nation. Manila: Rex Book

                Store Inc., 2011.

Dizon, Lino L.Recoletos, Ingleses y La Joya Gadatina Essays on Colonial Cavite,1616- 

1898:Cavite: De La Salle University-Dasmariñas Cavite Studies Center and 

Cavite Historical  Society.2013.

________Viñetas Caviteñas Culture and Everyday Life in Cavite Province from Colonial

Eyes,1609-1898. Cavite: De La Salle University-Dasmariñas Cavite Studies

Center and Cavite Historical Society.2015.

Duka,  Atty. Cecilio D. Struggle for Freedom: A Text Book in Philippine History.

             Manila:Rex Bookstore Inc.,2008.

 Foreman, John. The Philippine Islands: A Political, Geographical, Ethnographical,

                Social and Commercial History of the Philippine Archipelago and its

                Political Dependences, Embracing the Whole Period of Spanish Rule.

                London: Sampson Low, Martsten(third ed. 1906).

Foronda, Marcelino A. Kasaysayan: Studies onLocal and OralHistory. Manila:

             De La Salle University Press.2015.

Halili, Maria Christina M. Philippine History 2^nd ed. Manila: Rex Bookstore, Inc. 2010.

Ileto, Reynaldo C. Pasyon and Revolution: Popular Movements in the Philippines,

             1840-1910. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila Press. 1979.

Jagor,Feodor.Travel in the  Philippines, Austin Craig ed. Manila:National Book Co.,

             1925.

Jesus, Edilberto C. de. The Tobacco Monopoly in the Philippines Bureaucratic

            Enterprise and Social Change,1766-1880.Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila  

            University Press.1980.

Kamen, Henry. How Spain Became a World Power Empire, 1492-1763. London:   

            Penguin Books, 2003.

Larkin, John A. The Pampangans: Colonial Society in a Philippine Province.

            Quezon City: New Day Publishers.1972.

Llorente, Ana M. A Blending of Culture: The Batanes 1686-1898. Manila:

            Historical Conservation Society.1983.

Lopez-Gonzaga, Violeta B. The Negrense, A Social History of an Elite. Bacolod:

Institute of Social Research and Development University of St. La Salle,1991.

Lynch, Owen J. Colonial Legacies in a Fragile Republic: Philippine Land

             Law and State Formation with Emphasis on the Early U.S. Regime

             (1898-1913)Quezon City: University of the Philippines College of Law.2011.

Muñoz, Honorio. Vitoria and the Conquest of America. Manila: University of Santo

              Tomas,1984

Phelan, John L. The Hispanization of the Philippines:Spanish Aims and Filipino 

             Responses,1565-1700. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.1959.

Robles, Eliodoro G. The Philippines in the Nineteenth Century.Quezon City: Malaya

             Books.1969.

Salamanca, Bonifacio A. Foreword to Pangasinan 1572-1800. Quezon City: New

              Day Publishers. 1974.

Schumacher, John N. The Eighteenth Century Filipino Clergy: A Footnote to de la Costa

             Philippine  Studies 28:157-73.

Scott, William H. GREAT SCOTT: The New Day William Henry Scott Reader. Besalie

            Bautista Uc-Kung ed. Quezon City: New Day Publishers. 2006.

_______Looking for the Prehispanic Filipino and Other Essays in Philippine History.

             Quezon City: New Day  Publishers.1992.

_______Ilocano Responses to American  Agression 1900-1901.Quezon City:

              New Day Publishers.1986.

_______Prehispanic Source Material for the Study of Philippine History

             (Revised Edition). Quezon City: New Day Publishers.1984.

_______Cracks in the Parchment Curtain and Other Essays in Philippine History

             (Emended Edition with Index).1982.      

______The Discovery of the Igorots: Spanish Contacts with the Pagans of Northern

             Luzon. Quezon City: New Day Publishers. 1977(revised edition)

Wickerberg, Edgar. The Chinese in Philippine Life.1850-1898. New Haven: Yale

            University Press.1965.

Worcester, Dean C.ThePhilippines Past and Present. New York: MacMillan.1914.

INTERVIEW:

Mina, .R. MPDC Director of Villasis. Sept. 9, 2016.

Internet:

http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/u/urbiztondo.htm accessed on December 12, 2016.

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=QKgraWbb7yoC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false accessed on December 12, 2016.

http//institucional.us.es/revistas/arte/12/31%20garcia%20leon.pdf accessed on December 12, 2016.

APPENDIX

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo 2. Doc. 8. Documento en Pangasinan , de Juan de la Cruz Palaris, 1765, Fols, 117-118.

Handwritten declaration and signature of Juan de la Cruz Palaris about the Palaris Revolt in his native Pangasinense language

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo 2. Doc. 9. Declaracion que hizo Juan De la Cruz Palaris antes de ser a justiciado, 13-111-1766. Fols. 339-340.

Spanish written declaration of Juan de la Cruz before his execution

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo.2. Doc.10.  Expediente sobre las erreciones de los Pueblos o sitios de Panlaguit y Telban, Provincia de Pangasinan 1766. Fols. 181-215

A record about the erection of the towns and sitios of Panlaguit and Telban, Province of Pangasinan 1766

Seccion Pangasinan, Varios, Tomo 2. Doc. 11. 1767. Fols. 216-220.Sobre la errecion de los  pueblos de Pandoyocan ( hoy Villasis) y Barug ( hoy Gerona) (continua la material de documento 10)

About the erection of the towns of Pandoyocan (today Villasis) and Barug (today Gerona) (continuation of the material of document 10)

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo 2. Doc.13.Diligencias hechas en Pangasinan sobre el porte de los religiosos de nuestra orden en tiempo de la guerra. 1769. Fols. 329-419

Diligences made in Pangasinan about the religious part of our Order in the time of war.

          Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo 3. Doc. 28. A solicitud de los naturales reunidos en el               

          sitio de Pandoyocan, jurisdiccion de la Provincia de Pangasinan, he proviedo ( el   

          governador general Folgueras ) este dia el decreto siguinte, que traslado a V.R.

          para su inteligencia y cumplimiento en la parte que le comprenda. Fols . 264-267.

             At the request of the assembled natives in the sitio of Pandoyocan,

          jurisdiction of Pangasinan Province, Governor general Folgueras has provided  

         this day the following decree that was transferred to V.R. for his intelligence

          and compliance on the part that he understand.

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo.3. Doc.29. 1808. (sin titulo), Fols.262-263

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo 3. Doc. 29. Nota : Carta de Governador general Mariano Fernandez de Folgueras sobre sitio de Pandoyocan estan no ministro y sus hijos y hijas por tres meses no recibe el santo bautismo.

Doc. 29 Note: Letter of Governor general Mariano Fernandez de Folgueras about sitio Pandoyocan and their having no priest and that the children were not baptized for three months.

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo. 4. Doc.3. Carta de Manuel Gonzalez sobre proveer de cura al pueblo de Villasis. 10-I-1812. Fols.255

Letter of Manuel Gonzalez about providing a priest to the town of Villasis.

Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo 4. Doc.4. Carta de Manuel Gonzalez sobre asunto de proveer de cura el pueblo de Villasis,1812. Fols.254.

Letter of Fr. Manuel Gonzalez about the issue of providing a priest in the town of Villasis.

        Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo. 12 . Estadisticas o estado de almas, 1788-1882.

        List of tributes in Villasis on February 26, 1816, as reported by Vicar Provincial     

         Fr. Geronimo Hernandez.

               Seccion Pangasinan. Tomo.7 Doc. 15a. P.Ramon Suarez.Apuntes curiosos sobre      

              los pueblos de Pangasinan. 1869. Fols. 183-229

             1879 map of  Pangasinan

 General base map of Villasis circa 1991