Bridging the Gap
By Prof. Henry Funtecha

Spanish ‘encomiendas' in Panay

With the Spanish occupation of the Philippines and the passage of the laws of the Indies , Panay was divided into different “encomiendas” in the later part of the 16 th century. The “encomiendas” were geographical-administrative units put under the charge of certain Spaniards who had rendered service and had proven their loyalty to the Spanish government in the Philippines . As they were assigned to these geographical units (roughly equivalent to our present-day provinces), they were expected to protect and educate the natives under their care,   to safeguard their welfare and happiness, and to assist the missionaries in the propagation of Christianity. To help them in these functions, they were authorized to collect tributes or taxes from the people.

The “encomiendas” were provided with facilities necessary for the maintenance of general health and welfare of the inhabitants. However, in most instances, these “encomiendas” became sources of abuses by the “encomenderos”   and of the exploitation of the natives. They enriched themselves at the expense of the people by raising the amount of the tribute to be collected   from them. In times when gold was plentiful and money (reales) was scarce, the “encomenderos” collected money; but if there was plenty of money and gold was inadequate, they collected gold. Thus, at times, the natives were forced to buy gold to pay for their tribute. Furthermore, if harvest of farm products was bountiful, the “encomendero” collected the products. This forced those who did have farms to look for places where they can secure farm lands.

Based on the records of Fr. Juan Fernandez (n.d.), the island of Panay was divided into   “encomiendas” in the following manner: the town of Pan-ay, to his majesty, the king of Spain, the banks of Pan-ay River, inhabited by about 2,000 people, to various Spanish soldiers; the region from Hamindang (Jamindan) to Banga, with 4,000 inhabitants, to Francisco Rivera and Diego Garcia; Batang (Batan) to Gonzalo Riquen; Mayong (Maayon) to Francisco Rey; Mahalud to Alvarez Angulo; the area from   Tigbauan to Banguingging, to Esteban de Figueroa; Ajuy River to Rodrigo Bargas; the mountainous region of Dumangas, with 4,000 inhabitants, to Gabriel Rivera; the shores of the ocean with 6,000 residents, to Luis de la Haya; Dulingan, Bulignan and Asluman, to Diego Jimenez, and Ogtong (Oton) to Miguel Loarca.

With regard to Jaro, it was assigned to Francisco Duran but was transferred to the care of Luis Perez on April 15, 1572 . Other “encomenderos” were: Pedro Sarmiento in Ibajay, Gaspar Ruiz de Morales in Mambusao, Francisco de Rivera and Gabriel Colindres in Hamtik. Hamtic, however, was transferred to Diego Jimenez in January 1570.

During the time when Panay was under the care of the “encomenderos”, the seat of the government in the   island was Ogtong, but later was transferred to La Villa Rica de Arevalo. This was when the former suffered attacks from the Moros of Mindanao one after the other. Gov. Gonzalo Ronquillo made Arevalo the second capital of the island.