IN THE KNOW by Minerva Zamora-Arceo
“In 1941, December 8, the war came. The day World War II started in the Philippines, my mother, my sister Baby, Jovita Fuentes and I were at our (then) hacienda in Arayat, Pampanga, just about half an hour from the Buencamino hacienda in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija. As it was the Feast of the Immaculate Concepcion, Patroness of the Philippines and also of Cabiao, we went to Cabiao. We had the usual enormous breakfast of adobo, tinapa, eggs and God knows what else. I suppose Jovita Fuentes had to sing at Mass. Then we went back to Arayat where we soon saw the smoke rising above Fort Stotsenberg as the Japanese that had bombed it flew right over us.”
This is an excerpt from the memoirs of the late Manuel Lucio “Nonong” Aragon Quezon Jr. that was published by the Philippine Free Press Online on December 8, 2001 titled “Escape from Corregidor”.
Nonong is the only son of former President Manuel L. Quezon and Doña Aurora Antonia Aragon. He has three sisters: Maria Aurora (Baby), Maria Zeneida, and Luisa Corazon Paz.
Nonong was referring to the Quezon family farm in Arayat known as Hacienda Kaledian, a namesake of his father’s birthplace in Baler, Aurora (formerly Quezon province).
Hacienda Kaledian covers vast lands in Barangays Kaledian, now known as Camba, and Suklayin in Arayat, Pampanga. Both barangays were named by Pres. Quezon after the barrios of Aurora Province where they used to live.
During his presidency (1935-1944), Pres. Quezon and Doña Aurora made Hacienda Kaledian their second home, apart from their heritage house in Gilmore Street, New Manila. And although they were the first presidential couple at Malacañang Palace, Doña Aurora opted to spend more time in Arayat because she helped manage the model farm, which is part of their advocacy for social justice and the rice tenancy program of the Commonwealth Government then.
From the book Aurora Quezon: Life and Deeds published in 1950, Sol Gwekoh narrates that the farmstead in Arayat occupied much of Doña Aurora’s attention because she wanted to make it “a model agricultural project for other landlords to emulate”.
According to Gwekoh, Doña Aurora built a chapel on this farm and had a priest assigned there to take care of the religious needs of the people. The former First Lady also tried crop rotation as she wanted more yield from the land aside from rice. She also tried piggery and poultry. And when the war broke in 1941, she was trying to put up a dairy by cross-breeding the native carabao with the Indian buffalo.
The late Dr. Emigdio C. Cruz, President Quezon’s physician, was believed to be instrumental in convincing the President and the First Lady to invest in this land in Arayat. Cruz is a Kapampangan doctor and known for establishing the Arayat General Hospital, now known as the Dr. Emigdio C. Cruz Memorial Hospital.
A descendant of the Quezon family’s tenants Galo S. Gonzales, a retired US Navy officer now living in the USA and a.k.a. Poppo Olag on social media, said he lived on the farm in 1940. He said the late Pres. Quezon and Doña Aurora were in charge of the Kaledian farm while Mang Tomas Ranillo was manning the Suklayin farm.
In 1949 and after the 1986 revolution, respectively, Ma. Zenaida “Nini” Quezon-Avanceña, the second of the four children of Pres. Quezon and Doña Aurora, submitted the family’s lands in Arayat, Pampanga and in Baler, Aurora to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for land distribution.
Based on the story published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on July 14, 2021 titled “Nini Quezon-Avanceña, rights defender; 100”, she received an award from DAR as the first to submit to the Agrarian Reform Program.
The lands were eventually distributed to the kasama or tenants while a substantial portion where the Quezon Nipa House used to stand was donated to the local government unit (LGU). This land now houses the Camba Barangay Hall.
Remnants of Hacienda Kaledian
Local residents in Barangay Camba, Arayat remember that the hacienda had a big Nipa House, several nipa huts on the side, a swimming pool and a fishpond.
According to Barangay Camba Chairman Jaime “Boy” P. Gutierrez, the Quezon farmhouse was not preserved and only remnants of the swimming pool and the fishpond were left through the years. Locals believe these structures were built in the late 1930s and are now about 80 years old.
Although they attest that the structures were “repaired” in the past and are no longer 100 percent original or authentic, Gutierrez said it is still worth knowing that the land where the barangay hall now stands used to be the home of Pres. Quezon and Doña Aurora.
“Ipinagmamalaki po namin na tumira dito sina dating Pangulong Quezon at si Doña Aurora. Mapalad po kami dahil sa dinami-dami ng mga barangay sa buong Pilipinas, ang Camba ay isa sa mga tinirhan ng isang pangulo ng Pilipinas. Nakakalungkot lamang po na ang mga naunang nanungkulan dito sa amin ay nagkulang ng pagpapahalaga sa mga natirang struktura na ito. Ginawa po nilang basurahan. Kaya ngayon, kami po ay nakikiusap sa pamahalaan na tulungan kaming maisalba ito at gawin itong provincial o national park,” Gutierrez said.
The barangay chairman is asking help from the Provincial Government of Pampanga and the National Government to help them develop the area into a public park. He said he has cited this to the Municipal Tourism Office of Arayat but his plea fell on deaf ears.
Gutierrez is also appealing to local historians and the Center for Kapampangan Studies at the Holy Angel University (HAU) to help them conduct a full research on the history of Camba and the establishment of Hacienda Kaledian in Arayat.
“Makakatulong po ng malaki sa amin kung tutulungan kami na buuin ang istorya ng Hacienda Kaledian. At sana sa hinaharap ay magkaroon ng kahit na maliit na Quezon museum dito na nasa loob ng iminumungkahi namin na park,” Gutierrez Said.
Meanwhile, the Abacan River and Angeles Watershed Advocacy Council, Inc. (ARAW-ACI) has taken interest in the proposed development of the historical site.
ARAW-ACI is currently conducting an outreach program in Arayat for the reforestation of the Mt. Arayat National Park (MANP) and conducting educational campaigns for the youth sector.
Last January 30, ARAW Youth President Chito Z. Arceo Jr. awarded a Certificate of Membership to the Kabataan para sa Kalinisan at Kaunlaran (3K) of Arayat. The youth groups led the ceremonial planting of 200 seedlings of fruit-bearing trees at the MANP in Barangay San Juan Baño, Arayat.
ARAW-ACI had a meeting with Gutierrez and Camba barangay officials last month. The meeting was made possible through the help of Blady “Tita SB” Sigua, an aspirant for councilor in Arayat.
The group committed to help the officials and vowed to coordinate with the Center for Kapampangan Studies. ARAW-ACI also committed to re-trace the footprints of the Quezons in Arayat since they were known to be influential in the declaration of the Mt. Arayat National Park in 1933.
Various historical accounts narrate that Pres. Quezon and Doña Aurora were very much involved in developing the old irrigation system in Arayat because of the farmlands that they developed in the town. And while the President was attending to national affairs, Doña Aurora worked on the development of the Mt. Arayat National Park until it was declared such under Proclamation No. 594, series of 1933. Pres. Quezon was then the president of the Senate of the Philippines under the United States Insular Government of the Philippine Islands (1901-1935).
Pres. Quezon was elected as President of the Philippine Commonwealth Government on September 16, 1935.
On September 16, 1937, Pres. Quezon signed Proclamation No. 203, series of 1937, amending Proclamation No. 594, series of 1933, “reserving, setting apart, and designating as Mt. Arayat National Park for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of the Philippines, the parcel of public domain situated in the Municipality of Arayat, Province of Pampanga, Island of Luzon.”
The amendment included an additional parcel of land in Arayat with Lot No. 3123-B of Pampanga expediente cadastre No. 25.
