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    History of Presidencia de Tuguegarao

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    Kevin Domingo Baclig
    The document discusses the history of the Presidencia de Tuguegarao building in the Philippines. It describes how the building was originally constructed in the 18th century and served as the seat of government until 1960 when it was converted into a school. The building still retains architectural features from the Spanish colonial era and served various governmental functions over time.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    History of Presidencia de Tuguegarao

    Uploaded by

    Kevin Domingo Baclig
    314 views11 pages
    The document discusses the history of the Presidencia de Tuguegarao building in the Philippines. It describes how the building was originally constructed in the 18th century and served as the seat of government until 1960 when it was converted into a school. The building still retains architectural features from the Spanish colonial era and served various governmental functions over time.

    Original Description:

    History of the Presidencia de Tuguegarao, now the Tuguegarao East Central School.

    Original Title

    HISTORY OF PRESIDENCIA DE TUGUEGARAO

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    The document discusses the history of the Presidencia de Tuguegarao building in the Philippines. It describes how the building was originally constructed in the 18th century and served as the seat of government until 1960 when it was converted into a school. The building still retains architectural features from the Spanish colonial era and served various governmental functions over time.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    314 views11 pages

    History of Presidencia de Tuguegarao

    Uploaded by

    Kevin Domingo Baclig
    The document discusses the history of the Presidencia de Tuguegarao building in the Philippines. It describes how the building was originally constructed in the 18th century and served as the seat of government until 1960 when it was converted into a school. The building still retains architectural features from the Spanish colonial era and served various governmental functions over time.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 11

    A History of the Presidencia de Tuguegarao

    Niño Kevin D. Baclig, Museum Curator, Cagayan Museum and Historical Research Center
    A History of the Presidencia de Tuguegarao
    Niño Kevin D. Baclig, Museum Curator, Cagayan Museum and Historical Research Center

    For the Tuguegarao East Central School.

    Copyright Disclaimer. All images and illustrations herein unless otherwise stated are owned by
    the Cagayan Museum and Historical Research Center or their respective owners. Fair use is in-
    voked for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education
    and research.

    DRAFT MANUSCRIPT. Not for publication nor citation.

    CAGAYAN MUSEUM AND HISTORICAL RESEARCH CENTER


    Otis cor. Aguinaldo Sts., Centro 10
    City of Tuguegarao, 3500 Philippines

    January 19, 2022


    Presidencia de Tuguegarao. Cagayan Museum and Historical Research Center, Tuguegarao City.

    A History of the Presidencia de Tuguegarao


    Niño Kevin D. Baclig, Museum Curator, Cagayan Museum and Historical Research Center

    While most public schools in the country re- posts located at the perimeter of the com-
    fer to the “Gabaldon” school buildings as its pound attest to it. Though mostly renovated
    historical core, in Tuguegarao East Central, through the years, the building still has trac-
    this is not the case. The Presidencia de es of its colonial and prewar past: the wood-
    Tuguegarao was the former seat of govern- en staircase, wrought-iron grills at the venta-
    ment of the then pueblo of Tuguegarao from nillas (literally 'small window'; "sliding pan-
    the Spanish colonial era until 1960 when it els between the floor and windows" to allow
    was converted into the Tuguegarao East more air and light; "usually protected by bal-
    Central Elementary School (now Tuguega- ustrades which can either be wooden or
    rao East Central School). wrought iron grills" typically found in a Ba-
    hay na Bato), capiz windows with wooden
    The structure was possibly built in the 18th transoms, the hardwood floors, and the
    century and the remnants of the brick fence- Spanish-era brick fences.
    The building is situated at the old colonial as a reminder of the area being once the
    heart of Tuguegarao, the plaza mayor (now town’s civil center. (The area remains to be
    Rizal Park) fronting the carcel or the Casa Tri- the ecclesiastical center with the Cathedral
    bunal de Tuguegarao, and the Catedral de San and the Arzobispado.)
    Pedro. Beside it stands the wooden Provincial
    Capitol building whose construction started The building functioned as the office of the
    during the administration of Governor Don gobernadorcillo and the capitan municipal dur-
    Pablo Guzman (1901-1906) and completed ing the Spanish colonial era, municipal presi-
    during the time of Don Antonio Carag (1911- dent and mayor during the early American
    1914), now the Primark Mall. The configura- period (1899-1934), Commonwealth era (1935
    tion and component edifices are typical of -1941, 1945-46) , Japanese (1942-1945) and the
    standard urban planning of the Spanish colo- early independence era (1946 to 1950s).
    nial period as directed by the Leyes de las In-
    dias or Laws of the Indies where the church According to Fray Julian Malumbres, OP,
    and town hall and other important civil and during the travel memoirs of Fray Manuel
    ecclesiastical centers are located around a Mora, OP in 1804, he articulates his impres-
    central plaza. This layout is still visible today sions of the building, mentioning that

    Location of the Presidencia de Tuguegarao at the heart of the Pueblo of Tuguegarao in 1892.
    (Encircled in yellow) (Detail) Itinerario de Tuguegarao a Enrile reconocido por los comandantes del
    Cuerpo de E.M. Ejercito, Don Julio Ardanas y Crespo, 1892. [Ar.Q-T.2-C.1_114] Biblioteca Virtual de
    Defensa, Gobierno de España. (https://bibliotecavirtual.defensa.gob.es/BVMDefensa/es/consulta/
    resultados_ocr.do Accessed: 19 January 2022)
    1930s Tuguegarao showing the Tribunal (Now Cagayan Museum and Historical Research Center),
    and the Presidencia (Now the Tuguegarao East Central School). National Archives and Records Ad-
    ministration (NARA). Labels by Prince Wilson Macarubbo, Cagayan Heritage Conservation Society.

    Tuguegarao’s Casa de Comunidad (referring to throughout.” It sports a balcony at its façade,


    the town hall) was of good features ("buena half a meter wide with a wrought-iron balus-
    hechura"). Its use as a town hall continued trade. In 1918, two single-story wings were
    after the Philippine-American War. It was added to the main two-story structure by the
    retrofitted in 1909 during the administration Bureau of Public Works to significantly ex-
    of then Tuguegarao Mayor Don Antonino pand the structure.
    Soriano to its present form, described in the
    Quarterly Bulletin of the Bureau of Public The building survived the Second World
    Works Vol. 2, No. 4 published in 1914 as “the War and was used during the wartime peri-
    first story floors are of reinforced concrete od as the headquarters for the Kempetai or
    with a hardwood interior and tile floors. The the Japanese Military Police. Meanwhile, the
    second story was constructed of hardwood Americans occupied the larger and much
    heavily fortified Casa Tribunal de Cagayan, a The Presidencia is an integral part of the
    combined jail and courthouse right across it. Tuguegarao City Heritage Zone which in-
    cludes the St Peter’s Metropolitan Cathedral,
    The Presidencia was converted into what the the Palacio del Arzobispado, the Rizal Park
    Tuguegarao East Central Elementary School and Monument, the Casa Tribunal de
    in 1960 with only two pioneering classes, Tuguegarao (now Cagayan Museum), and
    Mrs. Aurora Querubin handled Grade 4, the Horno ruins.
    Mrs. Maria Yadan handled Grade 3, under
    the leadership of Mr. Fermin Querubin, the At present, the school has grown exponen-
    school’s first principal. Pupils from the then tially around the old Presidencia to include
    existing Tuguegarao West Central Elemen- six three-storey buildings, one two-storey
    tary School were transferred to the East Cen- and two one-storey building and a school
    tral to populate the newly established school. gymnasium often obscuring what was then
    The building today is used as the school li- the center of civil government in the town of
    brary while works are underway for it to be- Tuguegarao.
    come a mini-museum.

    Brick Fenceposts. These are what remained of the Spanish-era brick fences found at the Tuguegarao East
    Central School. In the past, the school served as the first municipio of Tuguegarao from the late 18th Cen-
    tury until 1960. Prince Wilson Macarubbo, 2018.
    Above. First Graduating Class of the Tuguegarao East Central Elementary School, 1965. Below var-
    ious photographs of the school teachers at the building facade. Emilio Calica Collection.
    Above. The wrought-iron grills of the ventanillas. Below. Brick Fenceposts. These are what remained
    of the low Spanish-era brick fences found at the Tuguegarao East Central School. Prince Wilson Mac-
    arubbo, 2018.
    Old San Miguel Beer Bottles
    c. 1900s-1930s
    Tuguegarao City

    These vintage San Miguel beer bottles were dug


    from a construction site at the Tuguegarao East
    Central School compound last 2018. In the 18th
    Century until 1959, the site of the present
    Tuguegarao East Central School served as the
    municipio/presidencia (town hall) of Tuguega-
    rao. The presence of these bottles indicate that
    social gatherings, bull sessions and other civic
    celebrations were held in this place. Ever since,
    any special occasion in the Philippines is not
    complete without alcoholic drinks on the menu.

    One beer bottle bears the insigna "SM" and be-


    low it "From the Successors of P.P. Roxas". In-
    deed, this beer came from the San Miguel Cor-
    poration and one of its managers was P.P.
    Roxas. The initials P.P. Roxas stands for Pedro
    Pablo Roxas, the manager of the San Miguel
    from 1890 until he lived in exile in Paris in
    1896.

    Another beer bottle bears the same "SM" in-


    signa but below it has the inscription "Oriental
    Brewery and Ice Co.". The Oriental Brewery
    and Ice Co. is a brewery based in Hong Kong
    that was once owned by the San Miguel Cor-
    poration from 1908 to 1912.

    Prince Wilson Macarubbo, November 2018


    OGURA'S BONTON INK
    Ca. 1920-30
    Tuguegarao City

    These antique and vintage ink bottles were ex-


    cavated in 2018 together with various antique
    Chinese porcelain shards and vintage beer bot-
    tles at the Tuguegarao East Central School.

    The dark green bottle in the center is Bonton


    Ink likely from the 1920's to 30's. (Toledo) They
    are molded with cork-toppered openings and
    embossed with the tradrename "Ogura's
    Bonton Ink" on one side, and with the compa-
    ny monogram (in Japanese characters) at the
    bottom.

    These inks were widely used by government


    offices during the period. It was likewise mar-
    keted to the Department if Education, who had
    mandated students to use fountain pens. BIC
    ballpoint pens had yet to come till the 1950's.

    It could be remembered that the library build-


    ing of the Tuguegarao East Central School,
    which is the compound's oldest part used to
    house the Presidencia de Tuguegarao or Town
    Hall during colonial times up to the American
    occupation.

    Most of it was intact after the Second World


    War and it was repurposed into a school in
    1960. What other treasures could its hallowed
    ground hold or beneath the century old com-
    pound is an enthralling mystery, waiting to he
    unraveled.

    Niño Kevin Baclig, November 2018


    REFERENCES:
    Baclig, Niño Kevin. January 2020. “Till the River Runs Dry” in Pater Benignus Ad Omnes,
    (ed. Baclig, NK, Ordillos, Jr., Dennis, et al.) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuguega-
    rao. Tuguegarao City.

    Malumbres, Julian, O.P. 1918. Historia de Cagayan. Manila: Tip. Linotype de Sto. Tomas,.

    Castillet, Ed de Rivera. 1960. Cagayan Province and Her People. Manila: Community Publish-
    ers, Inc.

    Ardanas y Crespo, Julio, 1892. Itinerario de Tuguegarao a Enrile reconocido por los coman-
    dantes del Cuerpo de E.M. Ejercito, [Ar.Q-T.2-C.1_114] Biblioteca Virtual de Defensa,
    Gobierno de España.
    Bureau of Public Works. January 1914. Quarterly Bulletin of the Bureau of Public Works,
    Vol. 2, No. 4. Manila.

    PHOTOGRAPHS/ILLUSTRATIONS CREDITS
    Cagayan Museum and Historical Research Center Archives

    Archives and Records Administration

    Mr. Prince Wilson Macarubbo


    Mr. Emilio Calica
    Mr. Niño Kevin Baclig
    Ms. Joanne Melad

    RESOURCE PERSONS/INTERVIEWS
    Joanne Melad

    Virginia Arugay Paguirigan


    Emilio Calica

    DRAFT MANUSCRIPT. Not for publication nor citation.

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