A Tale of Two Revolutionaries: Ancieto Lacson & Papa Isio

Introduction:

During my stay in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental I have repeatedly heard the
surname Lacson, it would be difficult not to hear the name since there are a few streets
named after the Lacsons’ as well as the historical sites that belong to the family such as
Casa Grande & The Ruins found within the city of Talisay. Seeing the apparent
vehemence the Lacsons had within the island of Negros, I became curious and decided to
search for the reason for such vehemence. It was during this search that I came upon
Aniceto Lacson & Dionisio Magbuelas, the latter most popularly known as Papa Isio.
Both men were prominent figures in Negros Occidental during the Philippine Revolution
however, their stories have vastly different endings.

Ancieto Lacson y Ledesma was a Filipino “sugar baron” & revolutionary general
who became the president of the short lived Republic of Negros. Dionisio Magbuelas was
also a revolutionary general who led the shamanistic revolutionary group called
“Babaylanes.” While both were prominent revolutionary figures in Negros each
represented different social-economic factions within Negros and ultimately each faced a
differing outcome and legacy. Aniceto Lacson along with Juan Araneta represented the
hacendero or as Filomeno V. Aguilar (1997) called them “planters” a group of economic
elites that ended up ousting the Spanish forces from Negros during the 1898 Negros
revolution but otherwise used more subversive rather than direct methods to resist
Spanish colonization before that point. Papa Isio on the other hand represented the less
wealthy citizens of Negros, mostly sharecroppers using shamanistic religion combined
with Christian traditions/methods as a bond for his revolutionary group. Papa Isio and his
group led raids against the Spanish and used more direct & violent methods to resist the
Spanish, the revolutionary group led by Papa Isio also claimed to have resisted the
Spanish far earlier than those of Lacson & Araneta’s. Lacson and Araneta lived through
the Spanish Colonization Period, Philippine Revolutionary Period and died somewhere
halfway through the American Colonization Period. Their names are exalted throughout
Negros while Papa Isio’s seems to have faded into obscurity likely due to his resistance
against the Americans and his eventual arrest and death in Bilibid prison in 1911. While
Lacson & Araneta surrendered nearly immediately.
Research Focus & Justification:

Although Aniceto Lacson’s legacy and name relatively well known in Negros, works
related or dedicated to him are surprisingly few, there are records and accounts of his
deeds during the Philippine revolution as well as his role in the Sugar Industry within
Island of Negros, however, little is known about the man himself. Writings, letters, his
thoughts and beliefs, even the perception, thoughts, and accounts from the people around
him are scarce to non-existent. Those few that I have been able to find have come from
somewhat dubious sources. Much is the same for Papa Isio, although his actions during
the Philippine Revolution is better documented when compared to Aniceto Lacson’s
possibly due to the larger number of years he spent active as a revolutionary and the more
meticulous American records kept regarding his activities, but little is also known
regarding his personal life. I find this to be rather disappointing, while we have relatively
extensive works and papers focused on the lives and deeds of Tagalog revolutionary
heroes works focused on Visayan revolutionary heroes are paltry in comparison. Any
works dedicated to these men will be extremely difficult to create as the sources available
are few, it would also be difficult to appreciate & relate to these historical figures as
works about them are scarce. In order to rectify this problem I am proposing a research
focused on gathering information regarding Aniceto Lacson and Dionisio
Magbuelas/Papa Isio. Ideally, I would like to compile information on their educational
background, personal history, family genealogy, beliefs/ideals from the Spanish Colonial
Period 1840’s to the American Colonial period of the 1920’s. This research would
allow for the greater appreciation and awareness of Visayan revolutionary heroes
particularly Papa Isio who I feel has been neglected within Visayan and Filipino
historiography. It would also contribute the body of Visayan and Philippine
Historiogrpahical works and the fields of Social & Political history by hopefully
providing more easily verifiable and “trustworthy” sources as well as encourage
future/other historians into pursuing works dedicated to Visayan historical figures. I
believe such a work would also greatly benefit the tourism industry within Negros,
particularly in Bacolod City and Talisay City by providing more information to historical
sites owned by the Lacson’s and historical sites dedicated to Papa Isio.
Discussion of Sources:

If this research proposal were to be accepted and pursued, the most important sources
would of course be primary sources to be more specific sources such as letters/memoirs,
government reports, and accounts/testimonies recorded from people involved with
Aniceto Lacson and Dionisio Magbuelas preferably from family members, close
confidants, etc. However there is an issue with obtaining primary sources in regards to
these two figures. While Dionisio Magbuelas/Papa Isio has a relatively detailed account
of his revolutionary activities, details about his personal life is scarce as are sources
regarding his personal life. The most commonly known detail regarding his personal life
was that he was the children of migrant farmers in the Visayas and after his parents death
he became a cattle herder and he eventually became a rebel after getting into an
altercation with a Spanish man. Hopefully there accounts/personal effects belonging to
Papa Isio that was passed onto his descendants, however this is unlikely as he was
presumed to be illiterate and knowledge regarding his descendants are scarce to
non-existent. Even if accounts coming from his descendants were to be gained they may
not necessarily be trustworthy as such extreme rigour must be taken to verify them if any
were found. I believe the most likely places to find primary resources related to the
personal life of Papa Isio would be the Bacolod City Archives or Capitol Archives,
alternatively there may be records or accounts written by others about him during his time
in Bilibid Prison. In the case of Aniceto Lacson I believe it will be easier to gain primary
sources regarding his personal life, he was literate and must have left letters and
correspondences to confidants and others. There is a higher possibility of finding his
memoirs or accounts about him, in particular I believe making contact with the Lacson
family would be extremely helpful as they may retain accounts regarding Aniceto Lacson
or papers/documents about him, however I would also recommend extreme rigour be
taken when it comes to fact-checking and cross referencing any information taken from
the Lacson family with other sources as they may be prone to mystifying their ancestor.
Other possible sources from which to gain primary sources regarding Aniceto Lacson
would be from the Bacolod Capitol Archives or the Ilo-ilo city Archives as they have
extensive records dedicated to Hacenderos of the region and may possess documents
pertaining to Aniceto. The research should be conducted primarily through archival
research though interviews of descendants regarding accounts of such men may also be
taken.
 Due to the pandemic, access to primary sources & even secondary sources has been
rather difficult, I have tried to gain access to the Bacolod City Archives where I had
hoped to find more primary and secondary sources regarding Aniceto Lacson & Papa Isio,
though my attempts were unsuccessful. As such I have been forced to rely primarily on
secondary sources found through the internet I have chosen to rely primarily on the works
of historian Filomeno V. Aguilar, a professor of History and former dean of the School of
Social Sciences in Ateneo De Manila University as he has written various historical
papers/articles focused on the Island of Negros. I have also consulted various websites
that contain information dedicated to either Aniceto Lacson, Papa Isio, or both. I will also
make a short recommendation of other historical paper/articles I believe would be helpful
but have not gained access to.

1. “Masonic Myths & Revolutionary Feats in Negros Occidental”

- In this journal Professor Aguilar discusses various historical figures within Negros
Occidental who were either mystified in Negros, opposed Spanish Colonial rule or both.
In particular Professor Aguilar discusses the various myths associated with Juan Araneta
& Papa Isio & Isidro De La Rama in particular their connection to “anting-antings” and
various anti catholic imagery used to bolster their reputations/gain support” While
Professor Aguilar is focused on Masonic Myths & other discussions it is through his
accounts of revolutionary feats that I was most interested in as he provides a rather
detailed account of Papa Isio though little of his personal life.

2. “Colonial sugar production in the Spanish Philippines: Calamba and Negros

compared”
- While this journal is focused on the Colonial Sugar Industry within the
Philippines particularly in Calamba & Negros it does provide context to the world & time
Papa Isio & Aniceto Lacson inhabited. In particular it discusses the holdings the Lacson
family owned at the time, and allows one to infer how Papa Isio & Aniceto Lacson may
have lived within the context of Negros near the end of the 1800’s and early 1900’s. I
believe reading this work and other similar works are integral in being able to analyze the
views,thoughts, and accounts that may be gathered regarding Papa Isio & Aniceto
Lacson.

3. Papa Isio & His Rebellion

- Website that contains accounts of Papa Isio’s early life & actions as a revolutionary,
while not a paper or journal they do provide a list of secondary & primary source
containing from where they received their information.

4. General Aniceto Lacson & Papa Isio by Tukib Tv

 - A youtube video that discusses Aniceto Lacson & Papa Isio primarily their actions
during the Philippine revolution but also discusses some of their early life & Personal
history. I would recommend fact checking the information provided.

Bibliography:

Filomeno V. Aguilar (1997). Masonic Myths and Revolutionary Feats in Negros

Occidental. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 28, pp 285-300 doi:10.1017/
S0022463400014466

Aguilar, F. (2017). Colonial sugar production in the Spanish Philippines: Calamba and
Negros compared. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 48(2), 237-261.
doi:10.1017/S0022463417000066

Papa Isio And His Rebellion. (n.d.). Watawat.Net. Retrieved January 3, 2020, from

http://www.watawat.net/papa_isio_and_his_rebellion.html

Tukib Tv. (2020, August, 26) General Aniceto Lacson and the untold story of Papa Isio

[Video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF1QO7qzZdI&ab_channel=TukibTV