Pacete: The evolution of the ‘indio’

DURING my first day in class at Colegio San Agustin, I was called by my teacher as “Mr. Pacete.” I was not comfortable with “Mr. Pacete.” Our high school teachers were calling us using our family names... in my case, “Pacete.” With “Mr. Pacete” in college, I could only speculate that college students are trained to become professionals.

In our village (Hda. Adela), I was just “Berin,” the son of a sacada.

For my family, I was “Nonoy,” the oldest son. People who were not sugarcane workers were calling us “obreros”. Those who grew old in the farm (and died) did not taste being addressed “Mister.”

People like us who started as “sacadas” understood transformation through education. This kind of change reminds me of the evolution of the “indio.”

When our “lands” were colonized by the Spaniards, we were never “Filipinos.” The Spaniards were basically racists. They justified their expansionist aggression by reasoning that the people they conquered were inferior. “We who are sent by God and the King are better than you.”

The Spaniards called the natives “indio” (uncivilized) or “Juan Tamad” (lazy, irresponsible, hippie).

Later, there were natives whose interests were best served by allying themselves with the colonizers. They belonged to the “principalia.” Only a member of the “principalia” or a “gobernadorcillo” (town mayor) could be addressed by the title “Don.”

Those who lived around the plaza were “taga-bayan.” Those who dwelt in the highlands were “taga-bukid.” The folks upriver were “taga-ilaya.” Those downriver were the “taga-ibaba.”

Those who did not belong in a particular community were known as “de afuera” (outsiders). “Ang hindi kasali ay hindi kabahagi.” (Pueblo de Silay practiced that).

At the height of the Spanish colonization, the high-end Spaniards lived inside “Intramuros,” protected from the natives and the Chinese by a moat, and from pirates and invaders by Fort Santiago. The only natives living inside the Walled City were “cocheros,” “costureras” and the “muchachas.”

In Negros, there emerged a “hacendero class” (Chinese “mestizos” and urbanized “indios.”) Their children married fortune-seeking Spaniards or went to Manila and Madrid to become lawyers, doctors, priests and subversives. They were called “ilustrados,” the enlightened ones. In Silay, they were comfortable being called “buena familias.”

The more educated and cultured they became, the less willing they were to accept “indio” status, insisting that they were Filipinos.

The wives of the “hacenderos” purchased pieces of expensive jewelry and displayed them if they would attend a cultural presentation at Teatro Kahirup de Silay.

The envious friars called our ladies as “bestias cargadas de oro.” In the early days of Marcos Administration, the Negros ladies found First Lady Imelda funny because her “cargadas” were not as expensive as theirs. That could be the reason why our sugar industry was badly hit during the time of Marcos.

There were four distinct classes in Philippine colonial society. The “peninsulares” (first class) were the Spaniards who came from Spain. The “insulares” or “criollos” (second class) were the Spaniards born in the Philippines, including Spanish mestizos if they could pass for whites.

The Chinese “mestizos” and urbanized indios “belonged to the third class while the “indios” (uncivilized) belonged to the fourth class.

Andres Bonifacio of the working class started the revolution. He was not supported by the “ilustrados.” Rizal, the “ilustrado,” believed the revolution was premature and bound to fail. Emilio Aguinaldo led a successful revolution against the Spaniards and the “ilustrados” in his government became the “first Americanistas.”

In post-World War II era, some Filipinos became politically conscious. They called themselves “masa” and found strength in their collective power, “anak-pawis.” Modern times needs the “ilustrado” today’s broader-based “professional.” The rich and the powerful were later known as the “alta sociedad.”

The Americans taught the Filipinos ABCD and made us English-speaking brownies.

The crème-de-la-crème of the “burgis” of the 1960s were known as the “oligarchs.” In Negros, they were “agalon nga may duta.”

The activists called Marcos cronies “puppies or tuta.” Now, the rich and powerful Filipinos belong to the “Makati Circle.” Those who engage in super gambling are now “drug lords;” and those who are on top of illegal drug cartel are the “drug lords.”

Those who handle the military, the police, and the government call themselves “politicians.” Those who fight for the people and recently have been elevated to the status of “terrorists” are men and women who belong to the CPP-NPA-NDF. Most of them still believe that they are Filipinos who enjoy national sovereignty, democracy, and social justice.

Evolution is a matter of personal and vicarious experiences seasoned by a belief that a human “indio” can be a full-fledged Filipino.

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