By an ironical twist the future of the Philippines, a nation of more than a hundred million people, may rest on the success of a small town. That small town is Arayat. It nestles by a mountain said to be inhabited by a god called Sinukuan.
It is believed the mountain is the home of the god/sorcerer named Sinukuan/Sinukwan or Sucu, which could mean “The end” or “he who others have surrendered to.”
So much for Arayat mountain with a fascinating story. But what of the town named after it? It was known for a long time as the shelter for revolutionaries called Huks, the most prominent, being Casto Alejandrino. He belongs to the Alejandrino family of Arayat who counts among them 10 revolutionaries in the span of 50 years. Interestingly, they come from different walks of life.
On the day I went to Arayat for the first time I was invited to the 144th Pagdiriwang ng Araw ni Heneral Jose M. Alejandrino.
The Jose Alejandrino of today is a member and adviser to Bayanko, a crowdsourcing movement I founded, for a new constitution for the Philippines. That new constitution, this column hopes, will restructure our government into a parliamentary federal state.
His cousin, Bon Alejandrino, a direct descendant of the Huk leader, Casto, is the mayor of Arayat. After more than 20 years in the underground, his town mates elected him their leader. They call him Ang Supremo ng Pagbabago.
“Wala pang naging katulad niya na may katapangan upang ipaglaban ang pagbabago na nararapat sa bayan. Tuwing may magtatanong, sino ba si Mayor Bon Alejandrino? Siya ang Supremo na nagpalago at nakapagpabago sa Arayat.“
He started his term in July 2013. Since then he has worked tirelessly to push the town towards progress – progressive enough to become worthy of being named a city.
He has used every cent of his internal revenue allotment to refurbishing the town hall, putting up modern schools, building roads, health facilities that include a birthing station and preserving a national park in Mt. Arayat.
The progress of Arayat was brought to my attention by a community newspaper they publish, the Maria Sinukuan Newpaper.
On the other hand, the Jose Alejandrino who brought me to Arayat came from Spain where he has resided after a stint in the Ramos government.
He returned to the Philippines to help Bayanko with its advocacy to change our Constitution for a new structure of politics and government – one that would give federal power to smaller units
At the time I could not see the shape or form of this help until I went to Arayat. It was my Ithaca, a return to the kind of home I wanted our country to be – one that was prosperous but just.
General Jose Alejandrino y Magdangal, the man we honored when I came to Arayat was ancestor to both Jose Alejandrino of Bayanko and Bon Alejandrino, mayor of Arayat.
In 1898, their common ancestor served in the Malolos Congress and that he was in two committees which drafted the Malolos Constitution, writes Wikipedia.
He was a brilliant military strategist and together with Gen. Antonio Luna designed the strategies that were adopted during the Philippine wars of independence. Together they built a defensive line from Novaliches to Caloocan to delay the advance of American troops who wanted to capture the railway. The railway was significant in the race between Americans and Filipinos to capture Manila.
But the infighting among Filipinos took a heavy toll on the revolution. Because of the infighting Filipinos lost the game to the Americans and ultimately the war for independence they had won against the Spaniards.
The Alejandrino of Bayanko descended from Ambassador Jose Alejandrino y Medina who organized the workers of Pambusco and Pasudeco into labor unions. But he is more known as a Filipino diplomat who made many friends for the Philippines, among them General de Gaulle.
He is less known as a militant labor leader who organized strikes that paralyzed Central Luzon in the late 1930s that forced Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon to grant benefits to the workers. Anti-labor sectors tried once to assassinate him, he had to carry Thompson submachine gun for his protection.
On the other hand, his cousin Casto organized the peasants against the landlords and became a top leader in the Hukbalahap movement. What sort of place is Arayat that it should breed men committed to the poor and laborers?
I did not make the connection immediately between the Alejandrino from Spain who came to help shape a crowdsourced constitution for parliamentary federal government for the Philippines and the mayor of Arayat, Bon Alejandrino, who was in the underground movement for 40 years and now elected leader by townmates.
Jose Alejandrino of Bayanko writes that throughout the centuries, the Alejandrinos were known as warriors and revolutionaries, not only in Arayat but also in other parts of the world.
He made the connection for me with a posting in FB that he called A Tale of Two Towns.
“?Forty years ago, Mayor Antonio Mena made me a resident of the town of Benahavis near Marbella in southern Spain. At the time, it was one of the poorest villages in the country. A former schoolteacher, Antonio talked to me of his vision to uplift the lives of the townspeople.
He wanted to keep the town as a typical Spanish village and convert it into a touristic and gastronomic center on the Spanish coast.? With vision and good governance, Antonio achieved his objective. Land values went up in Benahavis that benefited the townspeople who owned land propelling them to middle class.
Foreigners flocked to buy land. Rich billionaires like the Khassogis, the Onassis, the Goldsmiths built their summer home in Benahavis. Vladimir Putin is rumored to own a big mansion.?
Today, Benahavis is the richest municipality in Spain. It has 17 world class golf courses. It has world class educational, healthcare, police, housing, environmental, garbage collection, and sports facilities. It has excellent restaurants where famous people come to eat. It has world class hotels like the Villa Padierna where Michelle Obama stayed during her visit and where my daughter Tiffany worked. It has no pollution, no crime rate.?
Arayat in Pampanga is the ancestral home of my family. Today, it has a mayor, Bon Alejandrino, who was in the underground movement for 40 years and related to my uncle Casto, the Huk leader. He, too, has a vision of improving the life of the townspeople.
Bayanko fully supports his efforts. I hope Bon will transform Arayat into a model for other towns with world class educational, healthcare, police, environmental and housing facilities and uplift its people to middle class status, as my friend Antonio Mena did for Benahavis. If he succeeds, as I am confident he will, my two towns are blessed.”