BRIDGING THE GAP
Molo, Iloilo: Its prominent place in history
Although the town of Molo, which is now one of the districts of the city of Iloilo, is small in size when compared to other towns, it played a giant role in the history of the Philippines. Its area is only 4,205,600 square meters (Angayen 1970) but it served in various periods as Iloilo’s trade center, as “Athens of the Philippines” and as the birthplace of prominent leaders in the country’s history.
Long before the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, Iloilo was already having a flourishing trade with the Chinese through Molo. Some of the Chinese traders eventually decided to settle down in the place and took local women as their wives. Thus, upon the arrival of the Spaniards, they found Molo already having a considerable number of Chinese inhabitants who were engaged in the buy-and-sell business. Today, the descendants of these early Chinese settlers can be found in such names as Consing, Ditching, Lacson, Layson, Locsin, Yulo and Yusay. On the part of the native Moleños, it can be found in family names like Mabilog, Mabaquiao, Mabunay, Macalalag, Magahum, Maluto and Mejica (Ibid).
In the second half of the 19th century, Molo earned the sobriquet “Athens of the Philippines” or center of learning. It was here that schools like the Instituto de Molo, Centro Escolar and Colegio de Santa Ana were established. Instituto de Molo was founded by Manuel Locsin while Centro Escolar was owned by the brothers Perfecto, Fernando and Felix Salas. Colegio de Santa Ana was an exclusive school for girls founded by the Avanceña sisters: Jovita, Ramona and Josefina. Some of the teachers in these schools were graduates of universities in Manila, Madrid in Spain, London in England and Paris, France.
Molo was also the birthplace of prominent personalities who played significant roles in the nation’s history. Among them were: Gregorio Araneta, the secretary of the Malolos Congress under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo; Gen. Aniceto Lacson, revolutionary leader and president of the independent cantonal government of Negros; Ramon Avanceña who became chief justice of the Supreme Court; Jose Zulueta who served as Iloilo’s representative in the Philippine Congress for twenty-one years; Raymundo Melliza, one of the leaders of the revolutionary movement against the Spaniards in Iloilo; and Esteban de la Rama, famous entrepreneur and owner of the De la Rama Steamship Co.
Other prominent individuals associated with Molo were: Gil Montilla, Francisco Villanueva, Jose Ma. Arroyo, Espiridion Guanco, Mariano Yulo, Gregorio Yulo, Mariano Arroyo, Jose Yulo Regalado, Angel Corteza, Pablo Araneta, Rodolfo Ganzon, Timoteo Consing, Perfecto Salas, Felicisimo Feria, Miguel Unson, and many more.
Speaking of famous persons, it must be noted that Molo was visited by the national hero, Jose Rizal, in August 1896 on his way to Manila from Dapitan. He saw the Molo Church which, according to him, was beautiful in both its external and internal features. He also admired the beauty of the house of Don Lucio Lacson found in front of the church. Don Lucio was the father of Gen. Aniceto Lacson who, together with Gen. Juan Araneta, was responsible in liberating Negros Occidental from the hands of the Spaniards and who, subsequently, became the head of the independent cantonal government of Negros.
Not to be ignored is the fact that Molo is where the most beautiful neo-classical Gothic church in the whole of Western Visayas is located. Viewed outside, the church is the dominant structure in Molo. Its twin belfries break the skyline and one can hear the tolling of its bells for kilometers. It is affectionately known as the “Women Church” because of the sixteen nearly life-sized images of female saints occupying the columns on either side of the church’s central aisle.