Monday, April 06, 2009

A Brief History of Bacon


Justo Duran Dellosa
Municipal President 1926-1928; 1929-1931
Municipal Mayor 1941-1942
Assassinated: August 24, 1942


PART TWO
CHAPTER THREE
During the Civil Government Under the American Rule

The Titles of Municipal Officials, their Elections and Terms of Office:
Under the American Regime until the establishment of the Commonwealth Government, the local head officials retained the titles: President and Vice-President respectively.

The President and Vice-President together with the municipal councilors (in place of the Cabezas de Barangay of old) were elected by the registered voters of the locality. Their tenure of office was two years until 1909 when those elected in this year’s election served for three years. In 1912, however, a law was passed by the lawmaking body then, making the term four years. In 1916, when the Jones Law was passed, the term became three years again.

Besides the elected officials, there were other municipal officials who were appointed according to their qualifications, merits, experience and eligibility. They were the: Municipal Secretary, the Municipal Treasurer, Justice of the Peace, Chief of Police, the Sanitary Inspector and the employees under each. The Ecclesiastical Authorities appointed a Parish Priest to head the Parish of Mater Anunciata. Although the Parish Priest no longer held the same power as he used to hold under the Spanish rule, due to separation of the Church and the State, nevertheless, the people still look up to him for spiritual leadership, up to the present.

The Civil Government under the American Rule in Bacon, was established on July 1, 1901. The first local election was held. Men of age were gathered at the Municipal Building, registered as voters, instructed on how to vote; and right then voted. They were to select from the candidates to the elective posts like we do at present. The following were first elected officials as a result of the first election: (Available records show only the following)

Presidente Municipal----------Victor Eco
Vice Presidente-----------------Juan Azas
Concejales:
1. Elias Dia-------------for the Poblacion Central
2. Doroteo Nepomoceno-for San Roque
3. Antonio Diaz -------for San Juan
4. Dimas Empleo------for San Isidro
5. Gervacio Din -------for Bogna and Contod
6. Marcelo Ayo ------- for Salvacion and Sugod
7. Mariano Serrano----for Gatbo and Sawagnan*
8. Domingo Ayo-------for Montufar
9. Mariano Garcia----- for Rapu-Rapu
10. Pedro Doma---------for Batan

Appointed Officials and Leaders:
a. Municipal Secretary----Miguel B. Ramirez
b. Municipal Treasurer----Miguel Serrano
c. Cura Parroco-------------Rev. Fr. Clemente Emerencia


1902

Presidente Municipal----------Victor Eco
Vice Presidente-----------------Juan Azas
Juez de Paz ---------------------Ramon Garcia

The same officials served up to 1903. When the Municipal President, Victor Eco, resigned, the Vice President, Juan Azas, assumed the Presidency.

1904-1907

Presidente Municipal --------- Cirilo Jimenez
Vice Presidente-----------------Pedro Dona
Juez de Paz----------------------Ramon Garcia
Cura Parroco--------------------Rev. Fr. Ramon Santiago

1908-1909
Presidente Municipal----------Jose Garcia
Vice Presidente-----------------Dimas Empleo
Juez de Paz----------------------Roman Barbudo
Cura Parroco--------------------Rev. Fr. Balbino Hernandez

1910—1912
Presidente Municipal---------- Miguel B. Ramirez
Vice Presidente----------------- Gregorio Elona
Secretario Municipal-----------Julian Lacre until July 14, 1910 then
Jose Morato who served only few months; then
Francisco Morcador succeeded him.
Juez de Paz------------------- Ramon Barbudo until 1911.
Enrique Tabuena succeeded him in 1912.
Cura Parroco------------------ Rev. Fr. Balbino Hernandez

1913-1916
Presidente Municipal-----------Casimiro Eco
Vice Presidente------------------ Cipriano Dichoso
Secretario Municipal------------Rafael Dena up to 1914.
Porfirio Jimenez finished the term.
Tesorero Municipal------------ Francisco Mercader up to 1914.
Esteban Antas served until 1916.
Juez de Paz--------------------- Enrique Tabuena
Cura Parroco------------------Rev. Fr. Antonio Bayona

1917-1919
Presidente Municipal------------ Pablo Deocareza
Vice Presidente------------------- Balbino Ballesteros
Secretario Municipal-------------Julian Lacre
Tesorero Municipal---------------Francisco Mercader
Juez de Paz-------------------------Roman Baarbudo
Cura Parroco------------------ Rev. Fathers Antonio Bayona,
Martin Alcazar and
Balbino Viteron alternately served the parish.

1920-1922
Municipal President-------------- Amado Jimenez
Vice- President-------------------Gregorio Dioquino
Municipal Secretary---------------Julian Lacre
Municipal Treasurer---------------Zenon Diesta (temporarily serving)
Justice of the Peace--------------- Felix Bongon
Parish Priest-----------------------Rev. Fr. Jose Fuentebella

1923-1925
Municipal President--------------- Gregorio Dioquino
Vice- President----------------------Eutiquiano Duka
Municipal Secretary----------------Julian Lacre
Municipal Treasurer----------------Zenon Diesta (permanently serving)
Justice of the Peace-----------------Felix Bongon (1923-1924)
Roman Barbudo (1924—1925)
Parish Priest-------------------------Rev. Fr. Jose Fuentebella


1926-1928
Municipal President---------------- Justo Dellosa
Vice-President-----------------------Ramon Azas
Municipal Secretary---------------- Julian Lacre
Municipal Treasurer-----------------Zenon Diesta
Justice of the Peace -----------------Concepcion U. Lim
Parish Priest-------------------------- Rev. Fr. Jose Fuentebella


1929-1931
Municipal President----------------Justo Dellosa
Vice- President----------------------Zacarias Diesta
Municipal Secretary----------------Julian Lacre
Municipal Treasurer----------------Zenon Diesta
Justice of the Peace-----------------Concepcion U. Lim
Parish Priest------------------------- Rev. Fr. Jose Fuentebella

1932- 1934
Municipal President----------------Ramon Azas
Vice- President--------------------- Cornelio Diolata
Municipal Secretary----------------Gregorio Logronio
Municipal Treasurer---------------- Zenon Diesta
Justice of the Peace-----------------Concepcion U. Lim
Parish Priest--------------------------Rev. Fr. Francisco Bigornia


PART TWO
CHAPTER FOUR
The Period of the Commonwealth Government

The Change of Titles of the Town’s Head Officials and Their Terms of Office:
During the Period of the Commonwealth Government, the titles; Municipal President and Vice President were changed to into “Municipal Mayor” and “Vice Mayor” respectively. The term of office of the elected officials remained three years.

1935-1937
Municipal Mayor-------------------Rafael Domo
Vice- Mayor-------------------------Leon Ayo
Municipal Secretary----------------Julian Lacre
Municipal Treasurer----------------Zenon Diesta
Justice of the Peace-----------------Concepcion U. Lim
Parish Priest------------------------- Rev. Fr. Jose Fuentebella

1938-1940
Municipal Mayor------------------- Leon Ayo
Vice Mayor------------------------ Felix Dreu
Municipal Secretary---------------- Gregorio Logronio
Municipal Tresurer------------------Zenon Diesta until 1939; succeeded by
Gavino Estur- 1939-1940
Justice of the Peace-----------------Concepcion U. Lim
Parish Priest-------------------------Rev. Fr. Jose Fuentebella; his last year
of service- 1940


1941
Municipal Mayor---------------------Justo Dellosa
Vice Mayor--------------------------- Gregorio Latosa
Municipal Secretary------------------Teodoro Eco
Municipal Treasurer------------------Domingo Pancho
Justice of the Peace-------------------Concepcion U. Lim

The officials elected this year were supposed to serve a three year term; but the Pacific War broke out which shook the political make up of the whole country.

PART TWO
CHAPTER FIVE
During the Japanese Occupation Period

The following municipal officials during this period were appointed; the first two mayors, by the Japanese Imperial Army of Occupation; The other one was appointed by Salvador Escudero , incumbent Provincial Governor , elected 1940, head of the Resistance Movement.


1942
Municipal Mayor---------------------Justo Dellosa,
incumbent municipal Mayor when the Pacific War broke out.
He was appointed by the Imperial Army of Occupation.

Municipal Secretary------------------Teodoro Eco
until August of this year, when Mayor Dellosa died.

Municipal Treasurer------------------Antonio Jalasco, acting Treasurer

1942-1944
Municipal Mayor---------------------Jose Amador, appointed by the
Japanese Army of Occupation, to fill the office vacated by
Mayor Dellosa who died on Aug. 24, 1942.

Municipal Secretary------------------ Eulalia Eco, acting secretary for some time.

Municipal Treasurer------------------ Antonio Jalasco continued in office.

When Jose Amador died in October, 1944, nobody else was appointed to fill the vacancy.

1943-1945
Leon Ayo was appointed Mayor by the Resistance Movement (Free Government) headed by Salvador Escudero.

By: Cristina D. Jose -author

To be continued

16 comments:

gurangonon na bacongnon said...

interesting! salamatunon sa marhay na hard work of civic-minded Mrs. Jose! i have read about some political challenges of Mr. Dellosa. to be in the mayoral or presidential seat for several terms, he must have done quite a good job. in some stories about him, one stands out for me: he had apparently imprisoned a family man for a crime committed. however, because he was poor, the mayor helped his family without the knowledge of jailed family man. it says something.

by the way, were the assassins of Mr. Dellosa ever captured? who were they? as I hold the history of Bacon sa kapuso-pusuan ko, tama sanang maaraman ko man lang ini, so, anyone with the answer, salamatunon sana.

descendant said...

" The battle, Sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave."
by Patrick Henry

It must be Justo Duran Dellosa's favorite quotation as published in his school journal in San Francisco, California.

Annie said...

I agree, from what I heard, he was the most handsome mayor in Bacon, aside from academic excellence, social grace and good nature.

somebody said...

If he were alive longer, there would be countless pictures of me and him, of family and him. If he were still around, I would have interesting conversations with him. If he were given more time, surely things would be different, discipline and all. If he were allowed to give warmth and wisdom for several years, I would have sought his advice on so many things. If he were up and going, I would be dancing with him. If he were sitting across the table with me, we would be having intellectual discussions and arguments (oh, how I would have loved it, knowing the experience and knowledge that would have flowed from him). If he were still smiling, my sons would be eager to listen to his memorable moments. If he were not robbed of time, I would have a snapshot of him at a computer, bespectacled, but youthful. If he were allowed to stand in so many years, I would have seen several years of a very joyful Lola beside him, enjoying the happy moments of family reunions. If he were present, my children, young then, would run as fast as the wind to fill the space between his waiting outstretched arms; older, they would stoop to help their great grandpa get out of a chair, whenever he visited.

The thing is, I was never, ever beside him at all and this makes me sad and angry because somebody took away that important opportunity; he never had the chance to know that I would be born.

jenny said...

Idyllic and historical town, common family names, social status, positions, professional jealousy, power and bloodshed. Quite a place! Book material perhaps?

JJ said...

To gurangonon…

According to the history of Bacon:

1. Justo D. Dellosa was the incumbent elected Mayor when the Pacific war broke out.

2. Political movements in Bacon were divided between guerilla and the Japanese Imperial Army on occupation.

3.The Resistance Movement or guerilla was
(Free Government) headed by Governor Salvador Escudero and by Col Lapuz, Provincial PC commander of Sorsogon.

In contradiction to the author:
1.Bacongnon guerillas were divided between Escudero & Lapuz.*

2.Both claimed to be the legitimate head of the guerilla movement in Sorsogon.*

3.There were reported occasional minor encounters between these 2 factions.*
Bacongnon civilians were fearfully silent.

Somehow, being the elected Mayor before the war broke out & the appointed Mayor of the Japanese Imperial army on Occupation, different factions misunderstood Mayor Dellosa’s position.

Therefore I can conclude that the assassins, definitely Bacongnons belong to one of the 3 groups mentioned.

Or could it be a conspiracy?

What do you think retired inspector Senen Dollison?

*need further research

gurangonon na bacongnon said...

may nagsarabi sa cuya na si Untoy daa nag-tatao pa qui bagas sa mga guerillas can panahon can Hapon. saro pa, su saro na aqui ni Untoy muya daang gadanon can Hapon ta dae pig-abrehan su puertahan can magduman su Hapon sa balay ninda. nagparatoktok daa su Hapon. may kutob aco na aram can dacol an mga ngaran can nag-gibo can krimen, tarakot sana. pero para sa pagsulong sa mga taon na nacaagi o maabot tama daw kaya na lingawan na sana ang gabos? saro man ini con nata ta muya co cuta maaraman con nadakup an mga nag-gadan kay Untoy. gari dakulaon na kakulangan con dai nagkadarakop ta pan-o an mag-gadan di sala baga. siguro kaibhanan na diyan an politica sa mga kagibuhan can panahon na ito. dai na puede gayod ngunyan ituro con sisay manangad an nagplano can gabos, ano? mag-patarawad na sana entero. Diyos na ang bahala.

M.I. said...

Interesting.

el Muralla said...

Very interesting! A piece for my archives. I really need some past ideas about Bacon.

But the problem here is that, we got no idea who's or what is the real source of this history, from what book or file. Is Ms. Cristina D. Jose is a credible historian of Bacon? Or is she like the late Gregorio Zaide?

Current generation Bscongnon said...

Mrs. Jose was a historian but like every human being can not always be objective or accurate. She was so skimpy in details and accomplishments in all matters with regards to the late Justo Dellosa who I understood had been in the provincial political limelight for a long time.
Can somebody publish a brief biography of Justo D. Dellosa? Thanks.

1st time Bacongnon blogger said...

well, if it completes Bacon's roster of who's who with relevance to its life and history why shouldn't there be something about Justo D. Dellosa? same with Mr. Leopoldo Figueroa? and others.

Sosyal Na 'Syano said...

Maaari po bang may mag ambag din ng talambuhay ng ating kasalukuyang alkalde? Tanggapin man natin o hindi, kaisa na siya sa "history" ng ating bayan.

Anonymous said...

NATA TA GARI DAI NAGHIHIRO ANG BLOG KAN MGA BACONGNON. DAI NA CUI BAG-ONG TARARAMON. BUKTAKI MAN TABI CUI PAGHURONONAN. ANO NA ANG NANGYARI?

guinalpong said...

It seems to me that this blogspot is becoming a "lost-and-found for missing Bacongnons. No more interesting topics that we can discuss. Expect that the next posting that we can see here are some OBITUARIES.

jenny said...

I politely urge guinalpong to be a contributor. It will spice up this site if there are articles from a good variety of contributors. The more perspective on different topics are discussed with more depth in posted articles, the livelier we can all participate and perhaps, to a certain extent, be more informed.

This, however, should not stop any Bacongnon from trying to locate or search for friends and relatives. At the onset, I believe this has been one of the major purposes of this blog site. I don’t see anything wrong as well, if anyone wanted to relay to somebody that a close friend or relative has passed away. Why would we deny such assistance? It will be off if the blog is used mainly to post somebody’s death, as would be done in newspapers.

Unknown said...

wow...!My great Grand father Gregorio Dioquino was one of the elected President of Bacon confirmned yung kwento ng Father ko

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