It started on December 1-2, 1999 as “Lakbay Alay kay Goyo,” a centennial commemoration of the bravery and heroism of Gen. Gregorio del Pilar and his troops at Tirad Pass , in Ilocos Sur. Today, the same commemoration is known as the “Heroes' Trek”. The change of the name from Tagalog to English, although done without conscious intention, represents a transformation in the concept and meaning of the celebration. “Lakbay Alay” which translates into “ peregrination” may be associated with religious visits to such holy places as Santiago de Compostela , Spain ; Jerusalem , Israel ; and Lourdes , France . “Trek ” on the other hand, may be associated with the joy of travel and adventure along uncharted trails in the mountains, or exploration of caves and forests. This is the kind of activity that attracts mountaineering clubs, cyclists and the exclusive set who owns 4x4 vehicles, as well as nature lovers. They have the passion for the fresh hair, the chirping birds and the animals of the wild whose existence is threatened by unregulated mining, slash and burn (kaingin) agriculture and illegal logging.

The “Heroes Trek” involves a wide range of interested organizations such as the cadets of the Philippine Military Academy and the members of the Kaanak '96 (the organization of the descendants of the heroes of the Revolution 1896). Aside from its traditional sponsors from Bulacan and Ilocos Sur, it gets support from the Office of the President of the Northern Luzon , under the leadership of Undersecretary Renato Diaz. So as to enlarge its impact on the communities along the route of the trek, it now makes stopovers in Bayambang, Pangasinan and Vigan, Ilocos Sur aside from Tarlac City, San Fernando City ( La Union) and Candon City ( Ilocos Sur ).

But the inclusion of new stopovers, although excellent for tourism, can be justified by their historical significance. In other words, it is not a mere tokenism to make the Secretary of Tourism happy. Both Bayambang and Vigan, the latter being the capita of Ilocos Sur, had a historic role in the shaping of the nation.

THE TREK FROM MALOLOS TO BAYAMBANG

Malolos and Bayambang represent the establishment and the end of the First Philippine Republic of 1899. What was formed in Malolos was a true natin-state where all components of political organism had been present. It had the three branches of government -the Executive, the Legislative, and the Supreme Court. It was governed by the newly minted Constitution. It had a bureaucracy and a military organization. Its bureaucracy was composed of all the basic branches of the civil service such as postal services, taxation, official newspaper, paper currency, and a system of education. From the very beginning, a Universidad Literaria y Cientifica de Filipinas was put up to offer professional education while the Instituto Burgos offered middle and high school education. As for the military, it had a school for officers known as the Academia Militar.

With the threat posed by American occupation from February 4, 1899, the institutions recently established, could not be sustained as they were in Malolos. Yet even as the capital had been transferred from place to place, the work of the Congress and the various cabinets continued. In fact, even as Mabini opposed the political work done by politicians, since he believed that the effort would have to be military in nature, the sessions of the Malo9los Congress were continued in Tarlac up to October, 1899 although with a very much lowered quality in membership and representation. Supported by an intact military organization, the government was an ongoing entity.

In Bayambang, the republic disintegrated. When Aguinaldo decided to escape from American dragnet, he was no longer the president of the republic; he was merely refugee or escape running for his life. In this context, there was only one president of the republic, and he was Aguinaldo. Those who claimed or proclaimed their succession to the presidency, such as Gen. Miguel Malvar, had the name of president but did not have the political organization on which he could exerciser its power and assume its responsibilities. That organization had ended in Bayambang. As proof of this, we have only to take the word of the common soldiers who had accepted the label given by the enemy – that they were “insurrectos” or rebels to sovereign state now being run by the Americans.

In Bayambang, the decision was to retreat to the mountain fastness where they could engage the enemy in an irregular form of warfare, the guerilla war. This issue was hotly debated upon by the generals. Before he was killed in Cabanatuan , Gen. Antonio Luna was a staunch advocate of guerilla warfare launched from the mountains by small bands of soldiers. But this was opposed by Gen Gregorio del Pilar since he thought that Pangasinan offered a better battlefield in terms of open lines of combat and that he preferred dying in open battle to a combat that could be misunderstood as retreat or escape. In the end, the irregular war was decided by Aguinaldo as the correct route. Troops were divided among the different military leaders and formed into small units. They would no longer put lines of defenses nor established forts or headquarters. Instead, they would only form into units at night or at a signal from their commanders. They would ambush the enemy, engage them when their own troops had the better number, or retreat to their homes when they were pursued. The objective of combat was limited to killing enemy soldiers instead of winning major battles.

Yet even as Bayambang symbolized the end of the Republic, it had a contribution of deep historical significance to the birth of our nation. In her environs once walked the likes of Antonio Luna and the staff of his newspaper “La Independencia” such as Cecilo Apostol, Rosa Sevilla and Jose Palma. In this place were formed some of the political ideas of Apolinario Mabini who criticized the ”balimbing” orientation of coopted politicians such as Pedro Paterno and Felipe Buencamino. In the midst of the fighting, in the village of Bautista , Jose Palma created the emotion-laden lines of poem entitled “Filipinas” which became the lyrics of our national anthem. The staff of “La Independencia” even had the time to sang it at their offices in the railroad station in Bautista. From a “Marcha Nacional” fitted for marching victorious troops, the music was transformed into an anthem. The latter was a pleading for the sons of the people to strengthen their resolve and commitment to a cause now seriously threatened by the superior guns and attacks of the enemy.

THE TREK FROM BAYAMBANG TO PALANAN

The sense that they were already in another stage of the struggle could be seen in the diary of Simeon Villa, one of the aides of Aguinaldo. The title of his diary as translated to English by John R. M. Taylor (Philippine Insurrection against the United States) was entitled “From Bayambang to Palanan.” Villa was aware that the republic was no longer there --- there were but embers and smoke of a one a living political reality. Every entry in the diary was a sigh we usually associate with the dying and the weak – of report of troops captured or killed, or nights without food but camote and wild berries, some of which were stolen from the tribal people. The night dances and feasts in Tarlac and Pangasinan were but memories of happier days; especially the latter, with its bodegas of rice, sugar and all sorts of supplies and the parties among their ladies whom they were wont to compare to the delightful petals and scent of sampaka.

In his entry of December 1-2, 1899, he reported the following;

“December 1. – at 6 o'clock this morning General Pilar requested the honorable president to let him visit the trenches located on Mount Tila(d). The general immediately mounted his horse and started for the mountain. 1,300 meters high. At 10 o'clock that night he sent the honorable president a report, informing him that from Mount Tila (d) he saw the enemy as they were entering Concepcion .

“December 2. – At 5 o'clock in the afternoon the honorable president received a verbal report from two officers coming from Mount Tila(d), to the effect that the Americans had taken all our trenches in Tila(d); that General Pilar had been killed by being shot through the head; that the other soldiers had also been killed; and the officers, were sure the Americans must be in Angaqui at this very hour. According to the statement of the officers, General Pilar died at 10 o'clock ( In Taylor , Philippine Insurrection…vol 5, p.6)

At first glance, Pasong Tirad was a terrible tragedy. Del Pilar could no longer join aguinaldo in Palanan. But he chose to fight in the way he knew, the battle of lines and positions rather than the ambush and retreat in a guerilla war. Perhaps he already had the premonition of what Palanan would become, the act of final capture or surrender. At Tirad Pass , he made the choice of heroic death. Certainly not a tragedy for a man whose handsome face and posture could be the envy of anyone and whose resolve in the face of certain death could be an inspiration to the heroes of every generation.

In spite of the mud and filth daily generated by our politicians, the goal etched with immortal words of del Pilar would always surface and inspire us ---“I am ready to die for my beloved motherland, no sacrifice could be greater.” Thus, as we gather at the scene of his heroism at Tirad Pass where we put up a moment in his honor in 2000, let us remember that such heroism had been celebrated by the birds and flowers, by the grass and the wind, that visit or perennially grow in his burial place. We will also be the silent witness to this miracle of nature.

BAYAMBANG

The Last Capital of the First Philippine Republic

The town of Baymabang is named after a tree, “colibangbang”. Now almost extinct, two such trees can still be found in the town plaza. One of the oldest towns in Pangasinan, Bayambang once included Bautista, Alcala, Sto. Tomas, Rosales of Pangasinan and Paniqui, Gerona and Camiling in Tarlac. Although the territory had been considerably reduced, it still boasts of 77 barangays.

Oral traditions speak of an Aeta, by the name of Agalet, as the founder of the town. As the leader of the tribe, he organized his major settlements in what are now barangays Inirangan and Hermosa. Later on, the settlement has included Barangay Telbang and part of the Poblacion.

As the Agno River drains into Bayambang, migrant populations from the Ilocos as well as the traders from the coasts converged to from a vibrant community. The rich plains of Bayambang was an attractive magnet to these migrant farmers from the north.

During the Spanish conquest, Baymabang became a center of colonial exploitation. It was in 1892, upon the opening of the Manila-Dagupan railroad, that stations established many of its barrios such as Paniqui (now part of Tarlac) and Bautista (of Pangasinan) increase productive activities such as the cultivation of rice and sugar. Many bodegas, sugar and rice mills were established along the railroad stations. Among such companies were the English tradehouses Smith, Bell and Co., and mesatizo families such as the Yuchengcos, the Estradas and the Galvans.

During the Revolution of 1896, Bayambang was the scene of a “reign of terror”. In 1897, in what had been described as the “Juez de Cuchillo” incident, prominent men of the town were executed and many houses razed to the ground. It was thus that Bayambang served as a revolutionary rear since these indiscretions of the Spanish army fed revolutionary fury and revenge.

In this context, we can see why Bayambang became the last capital of the First Philippine Republic in 1899. Even before this event, the people welcomed the presence of such notable figures such as Antonio Luna and Gregorio del Pilar. It was here that they whiled their nights away among the legendary beauties of Pangasinan during soirees and bailes.

The railroad station served as the publishing house of the newspaper “La Independencia” , whose staff included Rosa Sevilla, Cecilio Apostol and Jose Palma. It was in the critical stage of the struggle against the Americans that Jose Palma wrote his immortal poem “Filipinas” which became the lyrics of the national anthem. Amidst the boom of canons from afar and of firings all over the town that the staff of “La Independencia” sang the poem to the tune of the “Marcha Nacional” . It was a call to patriotism and sacrifice, a commitment and resolve to fight unto death.