http://journals.aol.ca/mabait42/ASINGANIAN/entries/1055
The above link will tell you the first part of Pedro Calosa's saga, which I found out, was never finished in this Journal. Here is the rest of Pedro Calosa's story which took place in Tayug, Pangasinan in the '30s.
When the Pantranco and the Binalonan Transit were still plying between Dagupan and San Jose, Nueva Ecija, I was also a frequent visitor of Tayug, the next town east of Asingan. One of my dentists before was Dr. Okol, a brother probably of the noted businessman Mr. Apolinario Okol who became rich ( according to a story ) starting with a few trucks that carried sand and gravel to supply construction projects in Pangasinan.
As a movie fan, I was so happy when a big theatre in Tayug was established by Mr. Okol. If I am not mistaken the name of the theatre was ORA. Years later, another theatre was established by him in Urdaneta, this time named ARO. Acronyms of his name I suppose.
Anyways, I often wondered about the walls of the Tayug church which my bus would pass by before reaching the Poblacion of Tayug. Its scars and pockmarks spoke of a fierce battle that might have occured hereabouts.
I learned of that story later from a book published by the Cornell University Press written by David R. Sturtevant. Here is the rest of the story. A resident of Tayug, Mrs. Nenette Tebangin ( the wife of Dr. Tebangin ) told me that the incident was made into a classic Tagalog movie filmed in the '50s.
It is sad that a copy of this movie ( as well as the countless others made from the time the Philippine movie industry was born ) is no longer available for present day viewing. Anyways books, magazines and now the Internet are available for more stories and information about The Philippines.--#
The rebels arrive in Tayug
On the afternoon of January 10, 1931, Pedro Calosa and his aide Cesario Abe notified their men to prepare action against Tayug, Pangasinan. Tayug's residents were still groggy with the post-Christmas and New Year's celebration. Dusty crepe paper and tattered tissues scattered in the streets of the town, silentreminders of the previous big celebration. The atmosphere of the town was as dull and sleepy. The Constabulary detachment, like the townspeople, retired early. Tha place--as Calosa and Abe had anticipated--was ripe for the taking.
The uprising began shortly after midnight.To create a diversion, the rebels set fire to the houses of 2 municipal policemen in San Nicolas, a neighbouring town.Then forty farmers equipped with bolos and a few old shotguns rode on two buses and started for Tayug which was about 10 kms. away. While the vehicles headed for Tayug, twenty or more villagers--some on foot others on horseback--converged on the Tayug Municipio. Around 1:00 am, 60 or 70 peasants ( including 14 young women ) assembled quietly near the Constabulary barracks. One of the girls lured the sentry from his post. Her companions immediately hacked him to death and dumped his dead body into one of the prison cells.
Immediately after, some of the rebels started attacking the sleeping constables, others confiscated the rifles and ammunition and set the building on fire. All hell broke loose.In the confusion, eight of the eleven enlisted men escaped. The officers, awakened by the commotion, rushed towards the flaming barracks. They fell dead under a volley of gunshots from the rebels.The townspeople started running away into the countryside. The town defenders were gone or were dead. By 1:30 am, Tayug belonged to the insurgents.
For the next five and a half hours, the raiders dominated the town. The Presidencia ( Municipal Building ) together with its hated land records, went up in flames, as did the Post Office. Looters broke into 35 houses--including several belonging to rich Tayug families--and stripped them of valuables. The houses were then burned after.By day break, the revenge angainst the rich people by the angry peasants was over.
When the first light of day came, the rebels gathered in the still decorated streets and headed for the church.They shoued and pounded on the convento's door and brought the padre to the face the grimy bunch. Some of the weary raiders just sprawled on the ancient pews. The leaders asked for a mass and a breakfast. The clergyman obliged. He was asked to leave the premises in order to avoid being hurt. So the Pastor and his staff left the group who contemplated their next plan of action...
The PC Strikes back
Retribution came swiftly. An hour and a half after the the attack on the Constabulary barracks, a survivor jogged into San Quintin town which is 12 kms to the southeast. He informed a telegraph operator about the events in Tayug. Immediately messages were sent to Manila and Dagupan. The messages contained exagerrated details on a massacre perpetrated by hundreds of "colorums.." Manila authorities responded accordingly. Well before sunrise,a big detachments were ordered to Eastern pangasinan. While Police reinforcements hurried by road and rail towards the trouble zone, the Philippine Division of the US Army ( manuevering in nearby lingayen Gulf ) was placed on standby alert. Around 6:30 am, the first Constabulary contingent--fifteen steel helmeted troopers and two junior officers from Dagupan--arrived in Tayug. Thirty minutes later, carefully deployed riflemen opened fire on the convento. Secure behind massive walls, the rebels answered with a defiant fussilage.
The strange skirmish raged for twelve hours. Until the late afternoon, the outcome remained in doubt. Accurate fire from the besiegers kept the insurgents in their bastion. But random volleys from the church and convento also pinned down the assailants. By 4:00 pm, ammunition supplies on both sides were almost gone. Developing uncertainties vanished when one hudred Constabulary reinforcements arrived from Manila. They placed themselves in position in the square or plaza. This bloody Sunday in Tayug was about to reach its climax.
For suddenly and inexplainably, the convento door swung open. Firing ceased. A young woman stepped from the building. While disbelieving troopers stared, she lifted a Philippine flag over her head. Waving the emblem slowly, her bare feet moving to its cadence, she marched across the sun-splashed plaza. When she reached the statue of Jose Rizal, Constabulary rifles shattered the hypnotic spectacle. The woman's body crumpled beneath her banner at the monument's base. After this, both sides lost their zest for fratricide. Collective agonies ended when a storming party broke through the bullet splintered church doors into the dim nave. Rebels throw down their empty firearms and gave up the fight. All of a sudden, Tayug became very quiet.
Could this be the site where the woman with the flag crumpled?
casualties on both sides
Forty four rebels were captured. Six of the raiders ( this includes the woman with the flag and another woman ) were dead. Twenty of the rebels were injured. Fifteen or twenty managed to escape before the soldiers entered. On the government side, five members of Tayug's scattered company had been killed. A captain from Manila, together with a lieutenant and three enlisted men from Dagupan's contingent had been wounded. Property losses were extensive. Spiritual and psychological losses however were beyond calculation.
Years later,a Filipina novelist Kerima Polotan* said "many things were gone. Not just relatives dead, and houses burned and important papers missing from the municipio, but something else again: a certain innocence, a graciousness, gone from the town."
To the Constabulary's dismay, Calosa could not be found among neither casualties nor captives. Interrogations failed to uncover any leads.Tight lipped prisoners--emulating the still-defiant Abe--refused to disclose their leader's whereabouts. Fearing further attacks, officers ordered squad leaders to track down the supremo. Whether he was inside the church or not remains a mystery up to this day**
The Constabulary maintained that Calosa left Tayug after the assault on the barracks and that he attempted to burn out buildings of the El Porvinir, the Lichuaco family's 4,000 hectare estate. The patrols found several cases of attempted arson but they were not able to prove that it was the doing of Calosa.
By sunrise of Jan. 12, the subject of the manhunt appeared to have vanished. However, around 10:00 am, a sergeant led his weary detachment as a last resort to the rebel's house. Calosa, the proud father of a newborn infant, WAS THERE! He maintained that for the past 36 hours, he was on an exhausting paternal vigil. Unable to dispute the squalling evidence, the confused constables insisted that Calosa accompany them. He surrendered peacefully. Shortly after noon, Calosa plus twelve other suspects-all women, arrested near or in their homes--were enroute to a Dagupan jail.--#
***
*KerimaPolotan. Her father, then a Constabulary lieutenant, led the Dagupan detachment into Tayug.
**Until his death, Calosa insisted he was not in Tayug during the uprising. Testimony from the paticipants ( constables and raiders ) however indicated otherwise.
Next entry: the trial of Calosa, and the publicity it generated...
