Mr. Zosimo P. Mahomoc has grown in age and wisdom. At present he still lives in his house near the chapel of Pamosaingan, together with the family of his son, William Mahomoc. His memory of the past is still fresh as he can still recall the life in Pamosaingan from the years passed. This article was written on August 16, 1977.
Pamosaingan is an old barrio discovered in 1886 by the Spaniards on the western shore of Bucas Grande Island, Surigao del Norte. It is within the best position in an irregular shoreline in a cove which portrays a picturesque scenery especially at sunset. The slopes of the rolling hills where the buildings of the complete elementary school are erected, paint a verdant background to the south. Contrasting to the north is the blue sea that serves as a rich fishing ground for the inhabitants of the barrio, as well as for the people of the neighboring places.
The inhabitants of Pamosaingan are almost all of Visayan origin. The first settlers were from Cebu, Bohol and Leyte. The chief industries of the people are farming and fishing; and their important crops are rice, coconut, mongo, peanut and root crops. Most of the residents are engaged both in farming and fishing for their livelihood.
Pamosaingan was already a barrio long before Socorro was founded as a settlement. In fact the first settlers of Socorro (originally called Bunga), came from Pamosaingan. Old folks say that their grandparents came to this place years before the close of the nineteenth century. Hence, it's the oldest barrio in the island of Bucas Grande.
During the Spanish rule, when San Fernando and Cambas-ac were the only towns in whole island of Siargao, Pamosaingan was once made a town, during which period two proposals were passed to change its name. The first suggested that Pamosaingan be replaced by the name Cecilia. But the residents did not favor the idea which was the brainchild of the Capitan, as the town chief was then called. Later, the next Capitan introduced the name Cardenia to replace Pamosaingan. However, for the same reason, the proposal was a failure. Thus the name Pamosaingan has never been erased from the map.
When the seat of the municipal government of Cambas-ac was transferred to Dapa, and later, that of San Fernando, transferred to Numancia, Pamosaingan subsequently ceased to be a town. Its municipal status was shortlived; only two capitanes had served as town executive - the first was Mariano Mulay, and the second, Sebastian Telin.
By then Bucas Grande Island was divided into two. The eastern portion was taken as part of the territorial jurisdiction of Dapa, while the western division fell under municipal territory of Numancia. Therefore, Pamosaingan, falling back into the status of a barrio, and being in the western side of the island, belonged to the municipalityof Numancia.
A tragic episode occurred at Pamosaingan in 1924. That was the famous "Colorum Uprising" which affected the whole island of Bucas Grande.
In the early 1920s, when a certain Gerardo "Andoy" Lasala led a Catholic League in Socorro, that was the League of the Apostleship of Prayer, which offered pious devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, many devout Catholics in Pamosaingan joined the religious band. Every first Friday of each month the group invited the parish priest of Dapa to officiate a holy mass in Socorro. Nevertheless, in 1922, a certain Juan "Bajao" Cañete came to the island to preach the teachings of Gregorio Aglipay. It was said that Bajao was sent by an allegedly respected figure in the name of Felix Bernales, alias "Lantayog", who came few months later and led the islanders with his fanatic ideologies. When Lantayog departed in the later part of 1923, he left some allegorical statements, saying that he would send a letter when their "redemption was at hand."
Consequently, however, the natives who had banded themselves into a compact religious organization, fervently pursued on their pious practices with zeal and sincerity. Nevertheless, in the course of their religious movement they became a target of suspicion by some government authorities. Soldiers and policemen from Numancia and Dapa was sent random to the island to make investigations of the suspected people, only to findout that they were law-abiding and God-fearing followers of Christ. Yet, despite their innocence, few of them fell victims of injustice under the cruelties of law enforcement agencies. One Pablo Lagapa of Socorro, and Martin Telin and Diego Juanite of Pamosaingan were badly maltreated and punished severely when they tried to argue in response to the false accusation charge against them. Thus the feeling of hatred and a plot for vengeance enkindled in the hearts of the natives, especially among the relatives of those who fell into the cruelties of the government patrolmen, who still adhered to the Spanish system of treating subordinates.
They called themselves "Colorums"
Under the leadership of Gorgonio Timcang a rebellious plot was organized to take revenge. Incidentally, Jose C. Juanite, the brother of Diego Juanite, who at that time was a high school student in Cebu, and Albino Lagapa, the son of Pablo Lagapa, who likewise was a high school student in Luboc, Bohol, went home upon hearing the news about the maltreatment imposed on the members of their families and others among their kinsfolks. Jose took command of the "Colorums" in Pamosaingan, while Albino headed those who were in Socorro. By Coincidence, it was so timely that the insinuating letter from Lantayog was received by his supposed followers which heightened their temper to rise up against the government.
During Christmas Season of 1923 Jose Juanite and Martin Telin succeeded in putting to death three secret agents and one policeman, Pacifico Cariaga, from Numancia who were sent on patrol in Pamosaingan; while in Socorro Albino Lagapa led the killing of two soldiers and one prisoner with them, and later the chief of police and a policeman of Dapa who were sent there for the same mission. These bloody incidents started the popular "Colorum Uprising" in Bucas Grande Island which resulted to many casualties.
January 8, 1924: The Bloody Battle
The most bloody scene of the battle between guns and bolos took place at Pamosaingan, At around two o'clock on that fateful day of January 8, 1924 the M/L Kelly anchored with twenty soldiers aboard under the command of Capt. Valentin Juan, who was then the provincial commander of Surigao. With them was Aurelio Apostial, police chief of Numancia and a civilian, Miguel Borja, who was the boatman of their towed small banca.
Upon arrival the captain shouted to the natives with the request to be fetched from their launch. But the so-called colorums who were assembled in the house of Cayetano Antigro, under the leadership of Jose Juanite, shouted back with refusal for the reason that they, the soldiers, had their own small banca. Since the tide was very low, in which case the big rocks on the reefs would cause much difficulty for them to embark, the army men waited for the rise of the sea. Two hours later they started to land on their small banca up to the place where the water was knee-deep. When they were on land, except the chief of police and Sgt. Garde, who was the launch operator, the armed men started advancing towards the shore headed by Lieut. Juan Guillermo, while Capt. Valentin Juan was at the rear.
Having noticed that there were men assembled in one house, the lieutenant commanded the gunmen to fire, thereby eventually killing eight of the natives including Cayetano Antigro, the colorums, led by Jose Juanite, all rushed towards the attackers furiously and soon the horrible bloody clashes between guns and bolos ensued ruthlessly. Upon seeing the frightful bloodshed, Miguel Borja, the soldier's boatman, hurriedly fled with all his mighty speed, thus was able to escape and freed himself. On the other hand, upon witnessing the fallen bodies of both gunmen and bolo fighters, Capt. Juan tried to retreat back to his banca. But Diego Juanite chased him and soon they had a close fight right on the banca which resulted to Diego's death. Capt. Juan then pretended to be dead and laid himself beside the corpse of Diego in the banca. But two of the men ashore, Fernando Tesado and Juan Alatraca, dounted about the captain's fate. So they stealthily waded to the floating banca and upon reaching it, at the part where the captain lay, they thrusted at the same time their sharp-pointed "sundang" into his stomach. Thus the captain feel dead with his men. His killers pushed the banca towards the open sea.
Three of the soldiers, Gruiar, Estrada and Tecson, were able to escape from the hands of the bolo defenders. As the angry natives manifested their fury in the fight the three hastily fled and swam back to their launch with great fear. Estrada was delayed for he first hid himself behind a big rock at the edge of the reef. Upon arrival of the two at the launch, they and Estrada fired at the natives who were trying to chase them on barotos. It was then may of the colorums died. Soon Sgt. Garde speeded up the engine without pulling the anchor, and the launch made a fast merry-go-round around its anchorage until Estrada got aboard and the cut the rope with his bayonet.
Meanwhile, as the engine was started, Nicolas Antigro son of Cayetano had taken hold of a gun from a dead soldier. He fired at the launch with the help of Esteban Paitan but failed to hit it as he was then suffering from a big wound above his right elbow. The launch, therefore, was fortunate to have escaped from the fury of the colorums.
When the smoke of the battle cleared up sixteen soldiers were left dead behind including Capt. Valentin Juan and Lieut. Juan Guillermo, and more than forty men among the natives lost their lives with their commander, Jose C. Juanite. However, the dead bodies of Capt. Juan and Diego Juanite were allegedly adrifted on the banca to Surigao where they were interned, while the rest were entombed in the heart of the barrio where until at present, has stood the historical marker in which the names of the fifteen fallen soldiers are engraved.
Few days after the bloodshed at Pamosainganm, a greater number of soldiers aboard the M/S Sacramento attacked and shelled Socorro, during which Albino Lagapa and some of his men were killed. It is believed that there were soldiers also killed in action there, however, no reliable record or any other evidence could prove to state the number of deaths.
Pamosaingan and Socorro were totally abandoned by the residents thereafter for they all evacuated and made temporary homes in the mountains. The guns fo the fallen soldiers in Pamosaingan were taken and kept in the place called Lobo where the colorums had established their defensive headquarters under the leadership of Silvino Aliling and Perfecto Alicaway, who were always ever ready to face any threatening elements that might venture to trespass their way.
Peace is sought
Some days later the Coast Guard's M/V Polilio landed at Pamosaingan with twenty-five fully armed men under the command of Col. Bower. Having found the total tranquillity of the abandoned barrio, they marched onward to Socorro guided by Juan Telin whom they happened to catch up with unaware on the way. In Socorro they had apprehended Claudio Taruc who was caught boiling sea water to produce salt. The colonel then requested Claudio to assemble the colorum leaders for a peace talk. Subsequently, Claudio sent his son, Albino, to Lobo with a letter requesting the people to come down. The colorums, being peace-loving citizens, responded favorable to the appeal of the colonel through the mediation of Claudio Taruc. They all went down to Socorro and soon a peace agreement was concluded without much ado. From then on the inhabitants of Pamosaingan and Socorro returned to their respective homes which had been forsaken for man three months.
For compliance with the mandate of the law, forty-five colorums, twenty-one from Pamosaingan and twenty-three from Socorro, who were identified by Petronilo Comparativo and Eustaquio Mirang, school teachers of Pamosaingan and Socorro, respectively, with the collaboration of Andrew Arco of Dapa, were arrested and sent to jail in Bilibid Prison for such a rebellious act they had committed. Lantayog was also at that time apprehended in Calbayog, Samar and was put to prison with the colorums.
Few of the aforementioned prisoners, including Lantayog, died of heart attack and tuberculosis while in jail. The rest, in view of their proven honesty and loyalty, were released after few years despite their sentence of imprisonment for a period of twenty to forty years, depending upon the weight of the case charged against them.
Among the native of the island who were sent to prison, there are only five of them have survived up to the present (June 1977), and of course, since then they have exemplified themselves in leading their kinsfolks to live in a society that is constituted by God-fearing and peace-loving citizens. The five survivors are: Candido Mahomoc, 74 (the writer's Father), Nicolas Antigro, 75; Severo Hemparo, 78; and the two brothers, Rodrigo and Magno Juanite, 78 and 80 years old respectively.
Whereas, the historical marker that has stood through the years in the heart of the barrio of Pamosaingan in memory of the fallen soldiers still clearly reflects the names of the following men, namely: Lieut. Juan Guillermo, Cpl. Catalino Ingle, L. Cpl. Canuto Oliquino, Pvts. Anastacio Olaer, Eugenio Tebe, Lazaro Necio, Victorio Sispon, Candido Penados, Cleto Legaspi, Simon Patac, Jose Gorillo, Felipe Angulo, Alberto Yriarte, Gil Buyser and Antonio Buena.
Pamosaingan in the 1970s
In the ensuing years after the Colorum rebellion the development of economic progress has been too slow on account of so many unfavourable intervening factors, foremost, of which, perhaps, is the fact that transportation and communication are quite difficult between the island and the more civilized mainland of Surigao across the sea.
Life in Pamosaingan was not so much affected by the atrocities of the second world war, since no Japanese elements had ever infiltrated the place. In fact the late Senator Mariano Jesus Cuenco and his brother, the then Congressman Miguel Cuenco, had their evacuation quarter in the place. The inhabitants, however, suffered the great miseries from the effects of Typhoon Louise on November 19, 1964, which mercilessly swept down all houses and other proper properties. Most of the people felt hopeless after the calamities, and that many have migrated to other places to seek better fortune. On April 23, 1969 Typhoon Atring, which deformed the reefs along the western shores of the island, likewise, rendered another bitter agony to the people.
Pamosaingan had been under Numancia up to 1961. In the earlier part of that year, when Socorro was created a municipality which comprises all of Bucas Grande Island, Pamosaingan eventually has become a part of the territorial jurisdiction of the new municipality. Today it is the largest barrio in the municipality of Socorro, although in matter of population it only runs next to Nueva Estrella.
The name Pamosaingan was given by the earliest explorers of the place in consideration of one of its natural environmental factors. A creek runs through the center of the barrio, and some two hundred meters to the east, and within an approximately the same distance to the west, are another rivulets running through swampy marshland. The water from these small rivers flow into the small bay which makes the sea always cool and convenient habitat for a fatty fish called pamosaing. For and in consideration of the abundance of this fish species in the area, although its density has greatly reduced at present, the name Pamosaingan has been adapted to the place, meaning; the place where plenty of pamosaing thrive.
Owing to some facts and reasons beyond control Pamosaingan has never been very progressive. The standard of living of the people falls in such a level that is commonly prevailing in the rural areas of the country. The physical build-up of the barrio has not gone abreast with the speculated modern improvements. The school is not fully equipped with the necessary requirements with respect to buildings and other facilities. There is a simple social hall, the construction of which came to be realized through the cooperative efforts of the barrio people. The unfinished wharf and seawalls, which have been partly ruined year after year by inclement weather, need government subsidies for repair and improvement. However, with all these unfavourable factors obtaining within, the Pamosainganons have lived in a peaceful, carefree and contented life.