Felix Y. Manalo: From Taguig to top three religion

Today in 1886, Felix Y. Manalo, founder of the Iglesia ni Cristo, was born to Mariano Ysagun and Bonifacia Manalo in Taguig. He would later establish a church in 1914 which would become one of the most influential churches in the country and would become one of the top three religions in the Philippines with 2.6% of Filipinos identifying as members, based on 2020 Philippine Statistics Authority data. They have also been able to help tip the results of presidential elections due to their practice of bloc voting. In 14 elections from 1935 to 2022, all but two of the candidates the church endorsed won. The only two candidates they endorsed who failed to win were Jose Avelino in 1949 who lost to Elpidio Quirino and Danding Cojuangco in 1992 who lost to Fidel V. Ramos.

Felix Y. Manalo was actually born Felix Manalo Ysagun, as his father was an Ysagun. There are several theories as to why he would later use Manalo as a last name over his father’s surname, but many agree he did this to honor his mother after her death. We do know based on other available records in Taguig that his paternal grandfather was Salvador Ysagun whose wife was Teresa Villanueva. This grandfather was born around 1805-1809 and was earlier married to Dolores Manalo in 1829 and married Teresa Villanueva sometime in the 1840s and then had Mariano. Salvador Ysagun’s parents, on the other hand, were Ygnacio Ysagun and Maria de la Cruz, who are described as morenos in records. In the unique Spanish socio-racial classification system, a moreno was a dark-skinned mixed race, usually a second-generation descendant of a black person and an indio. Of course, many racial classifications during the Spanish period, especially during the early years, were not always accurate so only DNA testing can prove or disprove this. Nevertheless, it is interesting to speculate that if Ygnacio Ysagun was 1/4 African, that would make Felix Ysagun Manalo, his great-grandson, 1/32 African.

On his Manalo side, we know that his mother, Bonifacia, was the daughter of Andres Manalo and Maria Cruz. Andres Manalo was the son of Manuel Manalo and Candida Torres. Manuel Manalo’s baptismal record gives us the great-great-grandparents of Felix Manalo: Evaristo Manalo and Maria Pili. Here we have another interesting genealogical fact about Felix Manalo’s family. Manuel Manalo was described as a moreno in his son Andres’s baptismal record. However, Manuel's father, Evaristo, is described as a criollo, a term to describe Spaniards born in the Philippines. So, just like the Ysagun family, the Manalos were at one point described as “part-African”. While the Manalo and Ysagun genealogies need further exploring, what we know about the genealogy of Felix Y. Manalo is that both sides of his family have been living in Taguig since at least 1782. Another clear conclusion we can come up with is that the earliest Manalo and Ysagun ancestors were of Hispanic descent. Two Ysagun men were described as morenos. Fifteen Manalo men were identified as criollos (4), mestizo (1), and morenos (10).

And while his parents were consistently described as poor in many writeups, many of his maternal relatives were local functionaries. Ten of his Manalo relatives were listed as cabezas de barangay while four Manalo women were wives of cabezas. One of these was Felix’s mother, Bonifacia, who married Don Clemente Mozo, also a cabeza, after Mariano passed away.

Felix Y. Manalo, the man considered by his followers as “the Last Messenger of God”, came from some interesting family lines. While his ancestors played a small part in the history of Taguig, it is Felix Manalo whose legacy is still felt today. Not only was he able to establish a church that would become a major player in Philippine politics, but the leadership of this church also continues to this day to his own grandson, Eduardo V. Manalo, who is the Iglesia’s third executive minister.