Bridging the Gap
Boat-building in Panay during the colonial period
As already indicated in the previous column, boat-building and the use of boats were extensive in pre-colonial times and during the Spanish period. This was due to the archipelagic nature of the country that developed a people who relied heavily on boats for livelihood, transportation, and warfare, as well as the availability of construction materials and expert boat-builders.
The opening of the Port of Iloilo in 1855 to world trade and the subsequent development of the sugar industry further triggered the expansion of the boat-building activity in Panay. With new economic opportunities centered on the development of agriculture and small-scale industries, agri-commercial intercourse among the different provinces became brisk. The people of Panay traded with Manila, the Bicol region and other Visayan islands. The development of the sugar industry in Panay and Negros resulted in an increased demand for boats to transport goods and sugar to an from Iloilo port. Boats such as the paraw and the newly-developed flat-bottomed lorcha were employed to haul sugar to Iloilo from Negros and the other provinces of Panay. From Iloilo, sugar as well as passengers were brought to Manila and other places aboard locally-built boats (McCoy 1983).
By the closing decade of the 19th century, more boats had to be constructed to accommodate an increasing traffic of humans and goods, a result of the town of Iloilo's rise not only as a commercial center but also as a socio-cultural destination. John Foreman, who visited the Philippines in the late 1890s, observed that there were many wooden boats in the waters of Iloilo, including inter-island ships powered by sail and steam that plied the routes between Iloilo, at one end, and Manila, Cebu and other parts of the country, at the other end (Foreman 1899).
A proof of the importance of the boat-building industry by this time was the heavy investment of both foreigners and Panayanon elite in boats. In 1897, for example, based on the study of Alfred McCoy (1983) on commercial taxes paid in the town of Iloilo, there were 184 boats based in the place. Another proof of the importance of boat-builders in Panay is the fact that boat carpenters in the island, particularly in Iloilo, were paid higher than their counterparts in Manila (Philippine Commission Report 1903).
The American occupation of the Philippines did not bring any significant change in the boat-building industry in Panay and, for that matter, in the country. Records show that they neither introduced any technological or technical innovations in boat-construction. Nor did they initiate programs aimed at helping improved the industry. Unlike the Spaniards who stimulated the development of boat-building for their own interests, American efforts were centered mainly on the development of the agriculture. Nevertheless, there was a continuous demand for the construction of boats in Panay due to the great need to transport agricultural products and manufactured goods, as well as of workers, especially the sugar cane laborers or sakadas who made a seasonal exodus from Panay to Negros when sugar plantations began to expand, particularly in the latter.
Also, due to the increasing demand for fish and fish products, more and bigger boats were constructed for commercial fishing as well. The arrival of the Japanese immigrants who were mostly traders and businessmen in the 1920s further contributed to the busting economic activities in the Iloilo Province (Mabunay 1979). Many more came and, in the 1930s, the group included fishermen who, because of their advanced technology, made a profound contribution to commercial fishing in Panay. Unlike their Filipino counterparts, the Japanese were able to penetrate deeper waters previously unexploited by local fishermen. The local boat-builders were themselves hired by the Japanese capitalists to construct and operate their bigger motorized fishing boats (David 1937).
It can be seen, therefore, that boat-building in Panay has very long history, beginning with the pre-historic period. Its development witnessed different periods in time, including the colonial occupation of the Philippines by the Spaniards and the Americans.