The Gobernadorcillo was responsible for the collection tributes in town. The amounts collected must tally with the estimates in the census certified by the cura parroco and should be turned over on time to the provincial captain .

The Gobernadorcillo likewise disbursed out of his pocket the expenses of upkeep of the local jail and the feeding of the prisoners . he supplied the municipal government with papers, desk and personnel. And if there were some top bureaucrats or functionaries to be entertained he had to dig deep into his pocket anew. The temptation to augment his personal resources in order to keep up with his assigned responsibilities was therefore great.

But while in the eyes of his fellow natives he was a real somebody on account of his exalted social, political and economic position, the Gobernadorcillo, or any of his associate for that matter, “did not count for much in the eyes of the Spanish colonial community. “ Listen to Frey Zuñiga’s candid account in his aforecited work (pages 285)

“When a town mayor does not immediately comply with the orders pf the provincial governor, or when the head of a big group does not promptly deliver the tribute he collects from his group, or when a justice official, or a principal resident commits a minor fault, all of them are hauled to jailed and thrown into the dreariest dampest and most uncomfortable cells where they mingle with the wickedest and the most hardened of the bunch. Then the warden, out of pity for them and, of course when properly paid, transfers them to a less stinking place.”

The Gobernadorcillo was assisted by the tribunal composed of the teniente mayor ( chief lieutenant ), juez de ganadas (judge of the cattle ), juez de sementeras ( judge of the field ) and juez de policia (judge of the police ). The Maura Law of 1893 changed the title of Gobernadorcillo to a captan municipal and that of each juez to teniente.
From the time Baliwag was separated from Quingua and up to 1898 there were 49 who served as capitan, 13 alcalde and 92 as Gobernadorcillo. The first alcalde was Felix de Lara (1782) while the first Gobernadorcillo was Agustin de Castro (1789)

A number of these chief executives were honored by the the town in 1908, during the term of Municipal President Fernando Enrile, by naming some of the street after them. One of them was Gobernadorcillo Felix Escolano Angeles who was reportedly persecuted and incarcerated by the Spanish authorities for his heroic efforts in thwarting colonial tyranny

Who elected the Gobernadorcillo?

Not the people by ant chance. The Gobernadorcillo was picked out by an electoral board called junta and composed of out going Gobernadorcillo, 12 member of the so – called principalia (prominent citizenship) and the incumbent and former cabezas de barangay and Gobernadorcillos. Later the principalia was slightly expanded to include property owners or taxpayers. But they all remained under the thumbs, or rather under the habito, of the autocratic friar.
However, one distinct advantages enjoyed by the Gobernadorcillo was exemption from tributes and forced labor. As a titular head he could also assign force labor among the hapless inhabitants and excuse the villagers from such labor (for monetary consideration if he was corrupt) “on some pretext or another.”

In any case the poor people always got it in the neck, as it were. Sir John Bowring, an Englishman who visited the Philippines in the 19th century, echoed their lament: “The governor general is in Manila (far away); the king is in the Spain (farther still); and God is in heaven (farthest of all).”

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Add Comment Preview