Padre Mariano Bernad in Dumaguete: Its History in Retrospect, 1620-

1895
By Fr. Roman Sagun Jr.

Fray Mariano Bernad (1835-1915) was an Augustinian Recollect friar who was pastor of Dumaguete, and
later provincial and eventually superior general of the Recoletos. He first came to Negros Island in 1866
as an associate of Fray Fernando Cuenca in Minuluan. He was then transferred to Dumaguete where he
initially served for close to nine months (1866-1867) before getting appointed as parish priest of Misamis
in Mindanao.
On 1 February 1880, he assumed office as pastor of Dumaguete once more, a post which he held for
eleven years until his election as provincial superior of the Augustinian Recollects. After his term of office
as provincial superior, he once more returned to Dumaguete in 1894 and served the town until 1897.
After the Philippine Revolution, Padre Mariano, as he was fondly called by the people of
Dumaguete, received a letter on 18 August 1899 from Genoveva Lezana:

…diri iampo gayud cami intaon can cami opod naga-ampo canimo, firme gayud sa among ba-ba ang
ngalan sa pari nga dili na gud daguay namo maquita, pag ca ilo ug pag ca macalolooy sa amo diri
nga pahabilin uala ca cami diri ing pangayu-an ug concejo, ug dili ang Dios na lamang ang
magtuctuc sa among mga concienca bason madayon unta namo pag lacat ang ma-ayung dalan, ug
cami naga ampo nga taga-an unta icao ug maayo ang lawas…

Fray Mariano was also known to have written one of the earliest historical narrative about
Dumaguete. On 1 May 1895, he came out with “Reseña Historia de Dumaguete” (A History of Dumaguete
in Retrospect). In the introduction, he made this confession:

Aware of my inadequacies, I take on the task of writing this narrative history. I would like to divide
the topic into four areas. The first will deal with [Dumaguete’s] historical beginnings (1620), its
topographical location and climate, and some developments worthy of note.
It is not an easy task to be able to investigate the exact facts and get the reliable information about
the origin and beginnings of the town of Dumaguete, having interviewed so many but finding only
faint traces about the past. Nevertheless, the indications will show that it is one of the towns of great
antiquity in this Island of Negros, like Binalbagan in the Western Coast and Tanay or Tanjay in the
Oriental Coast.
We find in the Diocesan Archives of Cebu the book of Don Felipe Redondo entitled Breve reseña
de lo que fue y de lo que es la diocesis de cebu en las islas Filipinas, Manila, 1886. It gives the notable
information “that in the year 1620, the new parish of Dumaguete was created, then on the 15th of
March of the same year, Don Juan de Roa y Herrera, a canon [in-charge of the finances in the Cebu
Cathedral] was presented to administer the parish, recently separated from Tanjay.”
Dumaguete being an independent parish in 1620 may imply that the origin and beginnings of the
town might be much earlier, for as everybody knows, a town does not subsequently become a parish.
An intelligent guess could be formed that since it was not a new mission but a parish being
established and served by a secular priest, and no less than by a canon of high dignity in the Diocese
of Cebu, it is safe to say that in 1620, Dumaguete could be of no little importance, and it is my gut
feeling that it is one of the towns of great antiquity in this island.
Admittedly, in the creation of this new parish, the sitios of Siaton, Marabago (Malabago), a barrio
of Bacong, and Maralongon, were made its satellites, as well as other places found in the canonical
books of great antiquity that are conserved in the parish archives. These places are referred to as
Budiong (probably Zamboanguita), Alum or Sibulan, Cauitan, Hiligaon, and finally the island and
town of Siquijor. Earlier belonging to the Tanjay Parish, Siquijor became a satellite of Dumaguete by
virtue of a (Royal) Decree on 14 December 1627.
The island and town of Siquijor remained part of the town of Dumaguete until 1780, by which
 time, the town was created as an independent parish, as confirmed in a concourse in May of the
following year, in 1781. The barrio of Hiligaon today belongs to the Siaton Parish, which was
founded in 1848. That of Alum or Sibulan was made a parish in 1856, as the Government Records
show, though I heard that it could be much earlier (1838).
That of Cauitan now belongs to the Bayawan mission founded in 1876 (or 1868), though in other
mission plans, they place Cauitan as proximate to Tolong, and I am inclined to believe that it refers to
the present Tolong, or whichever is proximate. I have nothing much to say about the sitios of
Budiong, Maragago, and Manalongon as they are not so significant places and which were only
settled lately, and if ever I may come across some information, I shall make the proper corrections.
Dauin also used to be part of Dumaguete until it was erected as an independent parish in 1796.
Government Records indicate that the town of Dauin was founded in 1856, but I believe that it was
much earlier, probably in the late 1700s, inasmuch as, for so many years, the entries from Dauin do
not appear in the canonical books of Dumaguete.
From 1620 onwards, nothing much is known except for the fact that the parish was administered
by eight secular priests, who were as follows: Don Juan de Roa y Herrera [1620-1623], Don Pedro
Gómez de Herbaute [1623?-1633], Don Luis Fernández de león [1633-1694], Don Andrés Galiano
Marmolejo [1634-1636], Don Alberto Marti [1636-1639], Don Pedro Miranda [1640], Don Francisco de
Roca [1642], and Don Pedro de Uriarte [1642-1645].
Besides these, we know much less about what developments occurred in this town from 1642 (or
1645) until 1710, considering the fact that I have never found the faintest trace that would shed some
light. (Father Anghel Martinez Cuesta, who has thoroughly unearthed primary sources in Europe,
draws our attention to the fact that after Don Juan Navarro was transferred in 1673, the parish was
not attended to by a priest between 1673 to 1683. In 1684, Don Diego Ponce took over its religious
supervision.) Everything remains in great darkness until the year 1710, wherein one may encounter a
few loose papers in these archives and a book in which the entries of baptisms, weddings, and
burials of all the visitas were made between 1710 to 1754, with signatures of the entire parish,
including the priest and even their assistants.
It should not be surprising that there is such silence and even absence of data in many of the
towns of the Philippines, especially in the towns of the Visayan islands, which were constantly
subjected to Moro raids from Jolo and Mindanao, so that the inhabitants lived in constants fear. And
besides, there are the other elements, such as fire and storms, and the destructive power of termites
known as the anay. Finally there is the fact that there is no interest among the natives in keeping a
memory of the happenings in their towns and families… for which reason, nothing much can be said
for the period of sixty to eighty years, or sometime between 1642-1710.

Information not available in the time of Fray Mariano Bernad indicates to us today that the Moro
raids became frequent with the coming of the Spaniards. These piratical raids turned out to be systematic
in Negros in the 1600s and became intensified in the 1700s.
The most terrifying of them which affected Dumaguete tremendously took place in 1722. In
December of that year, the pirates exhibited their most violent force not just in Dumaguete but also in the
barrios of Budiong, Dauin, and Siaton. They burned rice fields, cut down coconut and fruit trees, and
killed all the farmers’ livestock. The parish priest of Dumaguete, Don Juan de Prada, together with fifty
other men, saved themselves by fleeing to the hills.
Likewise, from May to June of 1753, the pirates once again razed Dumaguete—the last time they
would do so in many years—demolishing everything completely as they went along their way. More
than six hundred natives were abducted from Dumaguete and its surrounding districts, and accordingly,
“only three were able to escape” from the barrio of Siaton.
While most of Negros was systematically ransacked by the pirates, Dumaguete between 1755 and
1760 remained untouched due to the campaign led by its courageous parish priest, Don Jose Manuel
Fernandez de Septien. Fray Bernad writes that the name of the latter appeared in the parochial books
after 15 distinct names of priest between 1710 and 1754.
It can be noted that people of record had happy memories of Father Septien, not only in the town of
Dumaguete, but also in its surrounding towns. For some very grave fault committed against His Majesty
the King of Spain—and despite his aristocratic ancestry—Father Septien, then still an ordinary Spanish
citizen, was exiled to these islands.
With slim hopes of being able to return home to Spain, Father Septien decided during one sojourn in
Cebu, to pursue the priestly life—and soon he got ordained by the Bishop of Cebu who assigned him as
Parish Priest of Dumaguete.
With certainty, Father Septien must have had nerves of steel. One can just imagine how in those
times—and with so meager sources at hand—he was able to accomplish numerous projects with such
tenacity. The massive stone church which still stands today is due to his great labors, though its transepts
were developed at a later time.
The convento was built from choice strong materials, which covered even the rear portion. This
edifice, in which remnants of warfare can still be found in its original doorway, was constructed like a
strong fort and ensured safety from any attack by pirates. It was also fortified by a wall over two meters
in height from the outside, forming a large square in the center where the church and the convento were
situated; there was also a large plaza where the inhabitants could take refuge in times of necessity.
At the four corners of the fortress, there were four massive watchtowers made from stone and
mortar, and each was mounted with cannons. At present, these watchtowers no longer exist but there are
remnants: one of the corners, upon which the current belfry was built during the administration of Fray
Juan Felix de la Encarnacion, is what we know today as the campanario or the Dumaguete belltower.
In addition to this arrangement of the fortress, there was a contravalla, another defense perimeter
walling of a smaller size than the former, whose remains can still to be found here and there.
Aside from constructing the church, the convento, the fortress, the watchtowers, and the contravalla,
Father Septien also built bulwarks which were located at strategic positions on the beachfront of
Dumaguete. All these were made of stone and were well secured, and they were utilized to keep watch
on the coast and prevent any surprise pirate attack. Also to his credit, Father Septien constructed the
convento in the town of Siquijor, though a lesser massive structure in comparison to that of Dumaguete’s.
I have not been able to determine the exact year when Father Septien died, which could have
occurred in 1776. However, in the canonical books being conserved in the parish archives, his signatures
ended in the month of February of that year. Neither was I able to check the location of his grave, though
one can infer that he was buried in the center aisle of the church, since the transepts did not exist then.
From the death of Father Septien to the arrival of the Recollect friars, there were only a few notable
developments in the town of Dumaguete.
There are 18 names of parish priests which appear in the parochial books from 1776 until 1855, when
the first Recollect friar assumed office. During this period, the transepts of the church was constructed.
An annex was also built to join the old convento and the church. Unfortunately, a firecracker exploded in
the church during the town fiesta of 25 November 1846, which caused a massive fire. The roofing of the
church was completely burned. The fire also consumed the wooden altars and pews, all the religious
articles, including the modest church organ. Luckily, the convento was spared from the fire after a brigade
was quickly formed to put it out—thus avoiding the roof of its annex from being destroyed.
Father Martinez Cuesta noted that at the turn of the 1800s, of the nine parish churches in Negros,
only that of Dumaguete was considered decent. It was then the only stone church in the entire island.
Such was the prominence of the town that the Bishop of Cebu, Monsignor Mateo Juaquin, assigned no
less than his own vicar general to Dumaguete.
In Father Martinez Cuesta’s report of December 1779, we read:

The parish of Dumaguete and its satellites are administered by Don Manuel de Sanz y Aranaz,
formerly a student of the Colegio de San Jose in Manila who was previously assigned in a Spanish
parish in Manila. He was with the staff of Bishop Miguel Espeleta, who was my predecessor in the
bishopric of Cebu. He served also as vicar general during the tenure of Bishop Espeleta, and as
curate of the parish church in Cebu. He is a Spaniard of good family, well-versed in Latin,
philosophy, theology, and canon law, and is as well my very own vicar general. He is forty-nine
years old.

(From completely different sources, I have gathered that Dumaguete was administered by Don Jose
Teves sometime in the 1790s, Don Juan Ignacio Galan in the 1830s, and Don Jose Gorriz in the 1840s until
his retirement in 1855.)
Before Fray Bernad concluded the first part of his narrative account of Dumaguete’s history, he
made mention that the people of Dumaguete was

the most hard-working in the Oriental Coast, perhaps because they were able to adopt the ways and
attitudes of their parish priests, mostly Spaniards, like Father Septien, who was so tenacious and
enterprising… I was also able to observe that they distinguish themselves as gentle in manners and
showing great admiration and respect for their priests. May they be able to keep it up as God wills it.
This gentleness (cariño aprecio) and affectionate nature (afecto) must be traceable to the remote past,
the people having been nurtured by so many Spanish parish priests, inasmuch as the town since
antiquity was in constant contact with Cebu whose inhabitants used to achieve the fame of being
gentle (cariñosos), of which I knew for a long while… (Before the 1850s), generally speaking, the pace
of life in these towns moved very slowly.

In an attempt for a suitable conclusion, I will present some salient points from the second and third
sections of Fray Bernad’s “Reseña Historia de Dumaguete,” which focus on the religious ministry and
civilizing work of the Recollect missionaries.
When the Recollect priests came, beginning in 1855, the church in Dumaguete was in dire need of
repair, renovation, and refurbishing.
The first to take charge of the parish church was Fray Antonio Ubeda, who came to the town of Bais
in 1855. He was followed by Fray Pedro Lago, who served from August 1856 to November 1859. Fray
Antonio Moreno was parish priest in 1859-1866, and it was him who furnished the church with sacred
vestments and other necessary religious articles. It is noted that he showed meticulous attention to the
solemnity and pomp of the ceremonies as those celebrated in his homeland and in cathedrals. During
Fray Moreno’s administration, schools of stonework were erected for boys and girls, which led to the
renovation of the church with galvanized iron roofing.
Later, Fray Juan Felix de la Encarnacion (1867-1879) also greatly contributed to the renovation of the
flooring of the entire church which was then made of very fine wood. He made improvements on the
altar with all kinds of embellishments. He also installed the beautiful bell tower upon the ruins of one of
the massive watchtowers built by Don Jose Manuel Fernandez de Septien a century back.
In his vivid recollections, Fray Bernad related that inspite of the old age of Fray Juan Felix de la
Encarnacion, he “fulfilled his obligations as parish priest with great zeal, indefatigable in the preaching
(of the Gospel) and the administration of the sacraments.” It may be noted that Fray Juan Felix de la
Encarnacion had been offered several times the bishopric of Cebu, and even that of Manila, but he
humbly refused to take such a position. He was also the author of Diccionario (Bisaya-Español), 1851,
which was later considered by eminent Filipino scholars as a reference book whose value was beyond
compare.
Fray Mariano Bernad assumed office as Pastor of Dumaguete in February 1880. He found himself in
charge of a parish with approximately 12,500 faithful, and his utmost concern was for their religious
needs.
It was characteristic of Fray Mariano to be a man of few words but more a man of action. Five years
after assuming pastoral care of Dumaguete, he entered this note in the Libro de Cosas Notables de
Dumaguete: “In the month of March 1885, the portico of the church was finished, at no expense of the
church’s (funds) except for the (purchase of) galvanized iron roofing and tile-flooring.”
While later making an assessment of his ministry, Fray Bernad also noted that most of his projects
were all successful because his parishioners were cooperative and supportive. Written in a kind of a
sketch of himself in the third person, some of the accomplishments of Fray Bernad in 1889-1891 are
detailed accordingly:

Under his direction, the cemetery was enclosed with stone walls… To his credit (also) goes the work
on the renovation of the roofing of the church and the convento, using galvanized iron in place of the
light materials (which kept) falling apart. Likewise the purchase of a sufficient number of (religious)
 articles and sacred vestments that are absolutely necessary. At his prodding, the canopy with rich
golden embroidery as well as the artistically rich garb of the Patroness, St. Catherine, Virgin and
Martyr, was designed by his own parishioners. The project of the reconstruction of the flooring of the
church (in presbyterium, center, and side aisles), which was made of fine multi-colored tiles
especially ordered from Valencia (Spain), was not at all small. He undertook the great restoration of
the large convento by first joining this structure with the church, then renovating the sala and rooms
with fine wood flooring, erecting concrete posts as strong supports. Under the supervision of this
priest, all these projects were accomplished with hardly any expense taken from the church’s (funds)
except for the purchase of the materials… The sewerage system, using tunnels under all the streets of
the town, including the kiosk of the poblacion, are due to the initiative and guidance of this priest.

During this period, the interior of the entire church was also painted and decorated. Before the end
of 1886, two fine side altars were dedicated, one to the Virgen de la Consolacion, and the other to San
Jose. Through Fray Bernad’s initiative, the faithful of Dumaguete acquired a magnificent organ of the
Roques Vermaos model from Zaragoza, which was inaugurated on 24 June 1891.
When Dean C. Worcester (who was later very critical of the Spanish friars) was in Dumaguete in
1890, he was appreciative in his remarks on the accomplishments of Fray Bernad: “The public buildings
were more than ordinarily imposing. The church and convento were in excellent repair, and near them
was a substantial structure which had, in the past, served the double purpose of watchtower and belfry.”
Fray Licinio Ruiz, who later served in various towns of Negros Oriental for eight years, would write
of Fray Bernad that “his name is still remembered up to the present with gratitude and reverence by all
the people of Dumaguete without distinction of classes.” Fray Licinio Ruiz went so far as to declare that
“without fear of being disproven, the town of Dumaguete, thanks to the zeal of P. Mariano, is one of the
great religious towns in the Philippines.”
On January 1890, the Island of Negros was divided into two provinces. The province of Negros
Oriental was established as a separate political unit by Governor General Valeriano Weyler in accordance
with a royal decree issued on 25 October 1889.
Manuel de la Reguera was made interim administrator until the arrival in May 1890 of Joaquin
Tavera, the duly appointed Governor of the Province. Accompanied by Maximiano Brabo as Judge of
First Instance and Pedro Herrero as Provincial Treasurer, his party was given a cordial reception by Fray
Mariano Bernad, the parish priest of the new provincial capital town of Dumaguete.
Reforms in political government were then underway. The Court of First Instance was officially
installed on 16 June 1890 in order to establish law and order and administer justice. In the past, many
cases of criminal acts was kept hidden, allowed to go unnoticed. In August of the same year, a royal
decree was also issued, granting the request of Gen. Weyler to distribute land for free in Eastern Negros,
three hectares to each head of the family, thereby discouraging banditry.
Around this period, the Philippines was already noted abroad for its sugar industry and for the
cultivation of Manila hemp in Negros. At the end of 1890, the province produced about 150,000 piculs of
sugar, which was almost threefold higher compared to only 54,000 piculs from ten years before. By
December 1892, the total volume of sugar being exported reached 246,900 piculs. One can also observe
the same phenomenon in the cultivation of abaca. Of the 31,220 metric tons of abaca leaves exported by the
country in 1864, Dumaguete alone produced 8,893 piculs. The total volume of abaca leaves exported by
the province 28 years later increased to 204,755 piculs. Such is our glimpse of the rapid growth of a
relatively developing economy in Negros Oriental.
If socio-political reforms had to be facilitated and economic growth sustained, the missionaries of
Negros believed there was a necessity for creating new mission centers. Sharing the convictions of many
of his contemporaries, Fray Mariano Bernad knew that the presence of the missionary would attract to
the new settlements those people who were still living in the hinterlands. When he was elected provincial
superior of the Augustinian Recoletos in 1891-1894, he resolutely sought the approval, and then saw the
execution, of the project of creatng new mission centers. Thanks to the determination of all those behind
the project, the royal decree of 14 November 1894 gave approval to Fray Bernad’s vision. Of the 29 new
missions in the whole island of Negros, nine were erected in the province due to a particular set of
circumstances.
 Between 1895-1896, the following missionaries were already serving in their assigned posts: Fray
Inocente Lamata (Basay), Fray Juan Lorenzo (Giligaon), Fray Anghel Sanchez (Bonbonon), Fray Julio
Espierez (Ayuquitan), Fray Francisco Elizalde (Pamplona), Fray Eusebio Valderrama (Calag-Calag), Fray
Pedro Jimenez (Hibaiyo), and Fray Pedro Bengos (Bagauinis). As parish priest of Dumaguete and vicar
provincial, Fray Mariano Bernad would make a “visit of inspection” of all these missions for one full
month after Easter Sunday of 1896.
Let me conclude with some few considerations contained in the last part of Fray Bernad’s 1895
“Reseña.”
On 29 May 1894, Fray Bernad, his term as provincial superior over, eventually returned to
Dumaguete, and received a very enthusiastic welcome from the people.
After six months, he could observe that the traditional customs and values of the town were
changing, already a bit differrent from only three years back. Though opinions at the time might have
varied regarding this change, Fray Bernad was confident that the notable increase in the volume of trade
and the coming of more government officials to the new province were responsible for the eroding the
old traditions of his parishioners. The changing moral standard, he pointed out, was to be attributed to
“new ideas, many which are not in conformity with the laws of God.”
Though this may be the case, Fray Bernad could still count on the fact that much of the fruits he had
gathered throughtout his pastoral ministry from 1880-1891 were to be largely attributed to the labors and
sacrifices of his predecessors. He recalled: “I am sure in affirming that all Recoleto fathers who have
administered this parish have labored as much as can be done to ensure more and more among the
faithful sound doctrine and a good moral life. All have been zealous in uplifting the customs and
traditions of the people.”
“Concerning the faithful of Dumaguete,” he added: “…on account of the constant labors and zealous
ministry of their parish priests from great antiquity to the coming of the Recoleto friars who were
Spaniards…, they [the faithful] have always been noted for being very devoted, very affectionate, and
respectful towards them.”
However, when the Spanish colony’s overall political conditions in 1895 were already becoming
unstable, Fray Bernad was also straightforward in pointing out: “But how long could this last?” What the
future held out for the town of Dumaguete in the mid-1890s, Fray Bernad did not and could not know.

The paper makes extensive use of Fray Mariano Bernad’s Reseña Historia de Dumaguete, leg. 56, nro. 3,
Archives of Marcilla [Navarra], Spain).