BRIDGING THE GAP
Prominent Ilonggo migrants in Negros, 19th c.
In the early years of the Spanish occupation of the Philippines, Negros Island was put under the jurisdiction of the colonial administration in Cebu. Later, in 1590, the governance of the island was transferred to Iloilo and the first recorded Spanish official assigned to administer the few settlements in it was Gonzalo Ronquillo. It must be pointed out that Ronquillo was the same guy who founded La Villa de Arevalo earlier, the first town that was officially recognized under Spanish sovereignty in Iloilo.
At that time, Negros was sparsely populated and its inhabitants, both of the Malay stock and the Atis, did not offer resistance to the colonizers. Although the Atis or Negritos were of a significant number themselves, the Spaniards did not pay attention to them because they were limited to their nomadic existence and their primitive way.
At first, Negros, undeveloped and almost covered with forest, did not merit the interest and preferential attention of the colonizers, except for the mission work. However, in the middle part of the 19th century, sugar cane cultivation began to flourish in the area. Sugar production was further given impetus with the opening of the port of Iloilo to world trade in 1855. Western Visayas began to develop as the hub of the sugar industry because of the high demand of sugar in the world market and the fertility of the land. Thus, all throughout the 1850s and the succeeding decades, Ilonggos in considerable numbers moved to Negros because of the reported availability of cultivable lands there.
Negros during that time was not yet divided into two provinces. Its capital was in Himamaylan, which was too far south. The capital was later transferred to Bacolod which was more strategically located between the northern and the southern sections.
While the migration to the western part of Negros from Iloilo was going on, there was also a corresponding movement of people from Cebu and Bohol to the eastern side. This exodus of people to Negros from both sides of the island led to its division following the line of her eastern-western coasts in 1890. Also, the influx of these migrants eventually dissolved the distinction of the original Malay inhabitants from the newcomers, except for those living in the hidden or isolated outskirts of towns already under the administration of the Spanish government.
The Ilonggo exodus to Negros in the 19th century did not consist solely of laborers or sacadas and small farmers but also of men of wealth and successful merchants who went there to invest their capital and financial experience. Most of them were prosperous fabric merchants, small and enterprising proprietors, and employees of firms in the progressive town of Iloilo who, in their homes or in their offices, heard tales from their relatives and friends of the bright prospects in a land so close to Panay. In addition, the visible presence of considerable agricultural produce in Negros of rice, corn, abaca, coffee, tobacco, and sugar transported to Iloilo for export and local consumption was an attraction that was difficult to resist. Thus, capital and labor crossed over to Negros that assured tempting yields.
Among the prominent families at the head of the Ilonggo migration to Negros in the 19th century were the Bellezas, Consings, Conlus, De la Ramas, Lacsons, Lazaros, Locsins, Magalonas, Mellizas and Montelibanos of Molo; the Benedictos, Gamboas, Hernaezes, Hilados, Hofilenas, Jaymes, Jisons, Ledesmas, Lopezes, and Severinos of Jaro; the Belmontes, Cuaycongs and Mondragons of Mandurriao; and the Navals and Vitos of Capiz (Varona 1938). These families generally settled in the central and northern sections of the western side of Negros.
Aside from those that originated from the town of Iloilo and its outskirts, there were others who came from Tigbauan, Guimbal and Miag-ao. Individuals and families from these southern towns of Iloilo usually found their way into the southern part of Negros Occidental such as Pontevedra, Binalbagan, Himamaylan, Hinigaran, Ilog, and Kabangkalan.
Today, it is not surprising that most of the prominent families in Negros Occidental, who are in farming, business and politics, can trace their origin and ancestry to Panay. This will also explain why the dominant language in that province is Hiligaynon.