Roots

204 years ago on January 18, 1820 my hometown of Magdalena was founded in the province of Laguna. It was a barrio separated from the town of Majayjay which Spanish conquistadors established in the foothills of Mount Banahaw within weeks after their 1571 invasion of Manila. Magdalena was founded by Juan Pascual Bernardo, among others, seven generations earlier. According to church records, one of my ancestors, Don Juan (as he was most likely addressed) donated the land on which the town plaza was built. Back then, for a village to be officially recognized by the colonial government as politically autonomous, it needed a plaza with an ayuntamiento (town hall), a church, and a school. Don Juan became the town's second "kapitan municipal" a year after it was founded.

Among twelve of Don Juan's grandchildren, the eldest, Maria Lucena, married a queue-wearing emigre from Fujian, China named Ong Layco. Like many immigrants from Fujian then, Ong Layco probably fled Amoy (now Xiamen) with some silver earnings from the opium trade. When the Qing Dynasty cracked down on the opium trade in 1839, it triggered the First Opium War (1839-1942) disrupting the lives of many, including the expansive Ong clan in Fujian province.

Ong Layco journeyed to the riverside town of Pagsangan, where Ong clan relatives had probably already settled. He was soon baptized as "Luis Onglayco," and moved to neighboring Magdalena perhaps after finding a clever way to acquire land for the burgeoning coconut trade. During those times, it was difficult for "Sangleys" to purchase land because of racial discrimination by Spanish colonists.

According to his great granddaughters (my aunts), Luis lent money to native "sabungeros" (cockfighting aficionados) who mortgaged their parcels of land to settle gambling debts. Many gamblers, apparently did not settle their mortgages and so ownership of their lands transferred to Don Luis. This can be attested to the fact that Luis' sons, Francisco (my great grandfather) & Ananias, eventually inherited patches of coconut land spread widely all over Magdalena, most of which were no larger than a few hectares.

With wealth from selling coconut & other produce, Francisco & Ananias became prominent, land-owning members of Magdalena. They dropped the Ong from their surname, rebranding themselves as Francisco & Ananias Laico, ostensibly to avoid racial discrimination and to facilitate their entry into local & national politics.

Both former local Katipunero leaders, they attended the Malolos Congress. Ananias later became a representative to the US Commonwealth Congress of the Philippine Islands, and Francisco served as town mayor several times.

Reflecting on my ancestral roots this Magdalena Day, as I notice Punjabi money lenders ply their trade, I recall a quote from Jose Rizal, "ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan, hindi makararating sa paroroonan." Those who do not look from whence they came, will not reach where they are headed.

I cannot help imagine Filpinos of South Asian ancestry owning property in Magdalena several generations hence.

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