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Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Glimpses of old Davao
By Stella A. Estremera
THROUGH the years, hit topics by any columnists would be something that touched on Davao City, pre-mall era.
Those days in the arcades and the pre-school opening shopping for shoes in Milanes in the Aldevinco Shopping Center for the reliable, and child-proof Gregg shoes (shoes so durable, you'd be wearing it until you graduate in elementary), while hoping mom is rich enough for an ice cream sundae, banana split or peach melba and cheese roll from Goody-goody Kiosk just across the corridor, or in Shoeland or Good Earth Emporium both along San Pedro Street for the cheaper but definitely less durable black Spartan shoes that will last for less than one school year.
And then it's a quick trip to Alan's Commercial or Mindanao Education for school items like that atrocious dark brown Golden Gate or drab green Silver Swan notebooks, Mongol pencils, and wax paper (if mom is on a tight budget) or plastic cover (if mom is feeling generous) to cover the notebooks with.
Shopping takes on an upturn just before Christmas, when Christmas parties in school require you to wear something new. This type of shopping will bring you to Borgaily's still along San Pedro Street for a Collezione or Lacoste and a Matchbox toy or A&M along Bolton Street, way before it became that three-storey structure along Rizal Street for really good imported items and more Matchbox toys.
Those were the days when the most envied classmate is the one who has a "Dymo", that thingamajig that you can spell out names with on a hard plastic tape that you use to label your bags, notebooks, and pencil cases; and a set of Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books. The status symbols of our childhood...
But, way, way before these are even more poignant memories of Davao put to print by two Davao historians and favorite story-tellers, Ernie Corsino who wrote "Davao History" in 1998 and Rogelio "Noning" Lizada who wrote the "Sang-awun sa Dabaw (Once Upon a Time in Davao) in 2002, and the important details that sometimes are glossed over by story-telling are preserved by Gloria P. Dabbay, who wrote "Davao City: Its History and Progress".
In their books we get to know the quaint Davao complete with dates and periods when these glimpses happened, unlike our vague mixed up memories of childhood.
As quoted in Corsino's book, C.D. Cowles in the "Report of the Commanding Officer, Davao" contained in "Report of the War Department", Vol. 9, 538-553, in 1902 wrote, "The twon is well laid-out, with long avenues bordered with palms. There is a good-size church, attached to which is a convento in good repair, capable of containing 125 men. The local barracks is in bad condition (no floor and needs a new roof), nad has space for about 40 men. The two school buildings are dilapidated. The tribunal is commodious; could contain 75 men if flooring were mended, new roofs made, and after a thorough polishing. There is also a government house which could contain 40 men if the building should be thoroughly renovated.
"Some of the private houses are neat and well-built. The health of the community is said to be good. The water is obtained from the Davao River. The staple in the vicinity is hemp; there is sufficient cattle in the immediate vicinity to supply a small garrison, but not enough for export (price about 4 cents per pound on the hoof). The townspeople appear to desire the advent of American troops. They desire to know if there would be a monthly steamer and if it would be possible to obtain a Jesuit priest and named their former pastor, Padre Mateo Gisbert, as the one more desirable."
That was Davao soon after the Americans took over from the Spaniards. It has been a story of growth and development since then, long years filled with memories and snippets that only bring smiles upon those who remember.
Not known to many, Dabawenyos, Davao is the first Charter City under the Commonwealth Regime.
Davao City was once part of this vast chunk of land known as the Davao Province -- now composed of the provinces of Davao del Sur, Norte, Oriental and Compostela Valley.
It was on March 16, 1936 when then Assemblyman Romulado C. Quimpo sponsored a bill in Congress making Davao a chartered city.
The bill was signed into law by then President Manuel L. Quezon on October 16, 1936 under Commonwealth Act No. 51 or the Charter of the City of Davao.
The city was formally inaugurated on March 1, 1937, almost one year after the bill was sponsored.
"The motive of the creation of the City of Davao was the presence in Davao and Guianga of many Japanese nationas. It was then feared that through elections, the Japanese would be in a portion to control Davao and Guianga," Corsino quoted from Jose Ralston Hayden's "The Philippines: A study in national development" (New York: Macmillian & Co., 1955).
Just after the Americans arrived in Davao in 1899, and way before the city was chartered, there was no formal school to speka of as mission school of the Spanish era have been abandoned.
"A common picture of that period depicts a khaki-clad soldier and a young boy sitting on the grass and poring over an illustrated magazine or pamphlet," Corsino wrote.
The soldier would be pointing at a picture and pronounce the name of the object there.
"This was how education began, with off-duty soldiers having friendly session with their pupils. After a while, American soldiers started teaching adults, too," Corsino continued.
But like all centers of development, schools soon flourished, first being government-funded schools.
The first private school hereabouts was the predecessor of the University of Immaculate Conception run by the Religious of the Virgin Mary called Colegio de San Pedro. Its medium of instruction then was Spanish.
It was renamed St. Peter's School for Girls and then two decades later was again renamed Immaculate Conception Institute.
In 1924, the Chinese community put up their own school for the children -- the Davao Chinese School, which first offered primary education with instructions in both Chinese and English.
It was a decade hence when the predecessor of Ateneo de Davao University came into being -- the St. Peter's School for Boys in 1934. This school was conducted by the Jesuit fathers.
The start of the day would be met marked by children on their way to school, Lizada wrote.
"The Davao Light Power Plant blew its siren to announce the start of work. Students of different schools appeared on the streets. Prominent among all were the Japanese students because the boys' head were clean shaven and they wore red caps."
Other distinguishing marks: the Chinese school students were in green skit and white blouses, the Immaculate Conception would be in pink skirts and white blouses, the St. Peter's School for Boys would be in khaki pants and white shirt, while public school students would be in any attire but "occasionally brought garden tools like sickle for gardening."
Noontime in the mid-1930s was very quiet, the street almost deserted.
At around 2 p.m. of a regular day in Davao, Lizada wrote, "In several houses women while away the afternoon playing Pangigue or Landay using Spanish cards with characters like 'Sata de Bastus Spada' or Oros with Alas or ace as the highest card. The men are in the room taking a nap, 'naga pasuka' (a famous Dinabaw term meaning having his scalp scratched or tinkered with slowly till he falls asleep)."
Merienda would be prepared by 3 p.m. and people would then start to leave for the "Paseo" (walk in the park or around town).
Lizada went on to describe how people dress in the 1930s, clothes that distinguished them according to their classes.
"People wearing coats and ties were either professionals or were engaged in white-collared jobs; people wearing 'maong' or denims were laborers, as 'haguteros' or abaca fiber strippers used maong; people wearing rubber shoes belonged to the lower income bracket, as people in the upper income level always put on leather shoes; people sporting two holstered revolvers with bullet belts strapped around their waist were out of town visiting landowners; people wearing buri hats were tenants as landlords wore stetson hats; women wearing kimonas in the markets were Tagalas; women wearing wrapped around patadyongs were most likely Muslims."
Today, the closest we can relate to this description of the people moving around in the city is the one that describes "people sporting two holstered revolvers".
Just a few years ago, this was in the form of vicious-looking people going around in huge pick-up trucks following an equally huge dark-tinted, dark colored SUV.
Since City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte banned those armed men careening all over the city streets in their SUVs, trying so hard to catch up with the dark tinted SUV in front of them, presumably their "amo" from out of town, now only the careening, speeding SUVs and the vicious-looking but unarmed men seated on the rear part of an pick-up truck.
The long-time Dabawenyos can be recognized by the way they talk, or mangled the Tagalog and Visayan dialects, while new arrivals from Manila are distinguished by Manileño twang that a lot of the soft-spoken Dabawenyos find offensive to the ear. The other Visayans, they're barely recognizable until they use words like "pachada" and "nindot", words not used by your Davao Bisaya who will always refer to anything that's beautiful -- whether animate, animate, human or whatever -- as "gwapo". Otherwise, only the guys in the SUVs are distinguishable...
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (March 14, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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