For Brother Dennis Newton, SVD

The Origin of the Fiel Clan in the Philippines

EARLY EXPLANATIONS ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE FIEL CLAN IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Edict of Claveria was imposed on the Filipinos on November 21, 1849. This was the Spanish colonial decree establishing the systematic distribution of family names and the imposition of the Spanish naming system on the inhabitants of the Philippines. The surnames were culled from many Philippine languages, including Tagalog and Cebuano. Spanish, however, provided the bulk of the surnames.

Prudencio Tan Fiel, grandson of Antero Fiel of Ormoc, shared that when he was taking his EIT (Engineering In Training) studies at the University of Southern California, he met a Spanish historian, paleontologist, archeologist taking doctorate studies in paleontology in that school. He asked Pru how he got his last name.

“I told him probably it was of Spanish origin,” Pru narrated.

The Spanish historian explained that normally Spanish surnames are named after towns, villages, and communities where a person comes from. For example, Madrid, Villahermosa, Barcelona, Sevilla, etc. and also normally they are nouns, i.e., names of places and things like Gracia, Mesa, Laguna, Luna etc. and very rarely adjectives like Fiel. But from this guy's experience, he noted that in places that the Spaniards and Portuguese have colonized like South America, the natives were designated adjective word surnames like Bueno (good), Malo (bad), Delgado (thin), to indicate personalities and characteristics because the colonizers did not know the names of the places where the natives came from.

Assuming that we were only given designated Fiel surname, then our ancestors must have been very good people because Fiel means loyal, faithful and true.

However, it is surprising that in the list of surnames in that Edict of Claveria ,the Fiel surname was not listed! Meaning, our surname was not designated by the Spaniards to several people of a certain area. This Fiel surname, therefore, had a bearer(!) and was already existent prior to the Philippine distribution of surnames.

When I first asked my Lolo and Lola where did the Fiel Clan originated, they told me that the Fiel Clan were originally from Guimbangco-an, Sibonga, Cebu. They said that Cebu during the early 20th century was a very poor province. The composition of the soil is mostly rocky and so, the crops they planted almost produce no yield. That is why, the Fiel families transferred to Mindanao where corn plants grew higher than the farmers!

However, the Borromeo Clan of Cebu had also their explanation about the origin of the Fiel Clan. They claimed that sometime in the not-so-distant past, a relative of theirs with a Borromeo last name was trying to escape the arms of the law, settled in Ormoc. To make his identity change complete, he changed his last name to Fiel and married an Ormocana. In short, they claimed that the Fiels in Ormoc are actually Borromeos. Assuming that this claim is true, it can never claim to be the origin of all the Fiel families in Ormoc and all Fiels in general. It can only be rightly said that one of their kind decided to be one of us.



THE FACT ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE FIEL CLAN IN THE PHILIPPINES


The first Fiel to arrive in the Philippines was a prayle from the Augustinian Order. He was Fr. Felizardo Fiel, OSA. From Spain, he was sent to Cebu for a mission. His two brothers Favian Fiel and Andres Fiel who were non-priests followed him but they did not stay in Cebu. They preferred to stay in Dumaguete in Negros. As expected, many ladies fell to their natural charm because they were handsome mestizos. It was not surprising then that Favian was nicknamed “Terong.” Etymologically, terongon in deep Sugbuanon dialect means "to father many children."

From Dumaguete, they transferred to Ormoc. It proved to be a wise move. Favian became the first cabeza de barangay of Ormoc back in 1860s when it was still a barangay. He must have been very influential! He initiated the construction of a bridge called “Fuente dela Reina” adjacent to where the city hall of Ormoc stands today. This bridge is still existing and efforts were made to preserve it because the name of Favian Fiel was on it. His brother Andres, on the other hand, settled in Hinunangan, Southern Leyte and spent the rest of his life in that place together with his family. One of our Fiel descendants asked the superiors of the Order of St. Augustine (OSA) congregation if we could be given more information about him.

However, he was told that it would not be good to extract the histories of their confreres who were long dead. Perhaps the OSA congregation was also very careful because the history of Fr. Felizardo might awaken the media’s interest of excavating the scandals of the clergy during the times of Spanish conquest.

Fr. Felizardo Fiel and his brother Favian Fiel and Andres Fiel were the three great grand patriarchs of the Fiel Clan in the Philippines.

A warning to the readers before we proceed: Please scan the pages with open mind. The stories you will read here are sacred stories. These are the stories that formed the greater part of who we are today. However imperfect, they are full of lessons and inspirations. They can serve as our story guide to be better individuals in our time, and hopefully good models for the Fiel generations to come.

Fr. Felizardo Fiel, OSA had a relationship with the young cook in his mission area. Generosa Lucero, a lass from Argao, Cebu, became pregnant. According to Amir Nasser Dela Cruz Salamat, “When she was asked by her female kin, why she allowed herself to get pregnant by Fr. Felizardo Fiel, out of innocence, she was afraid of the wrath of eternal punishment..She faced a lot of trials in her life while pregnant of her child. She was disowned by her family. She received maledictions. There were a lot of attempts from her kin to abort the child in her womb because the child's father was a priest who for them was a sinless and holy man. But, Generosa never took the courage to be tempted and to commit abortion.” The child, who was named Augustin, would soon become one of the great Juan De Marco of the Clan.


AUGUSTIN LUCERO FIEL, THE CLAN'S JUAN DE MARCO

Augustin Lucero Fiel grew up as an intelligent handsome man who knowledgeable in business, astronomy and music. However, true to his name, he was also a great lover of women. He married the beautiful and religious Teodora Bangoy of Baclayon, Bohol, Philippines. The marriage was brought to the test many times because of Augustin’s womanizing.

One day, Augustin brought his concubine the 15-year-old Magdalena Gelbolingo in their home in Sibonga. Amir Nasser Dela Cruz Salamat, one of our clan historians narrated: “This made the pregnant Teodora furious of jealousy. In order to be welcomed in the Fiel place, Magdalena fabricated a story that Teodora had another man in Carcar, Cebu whom she met secretly. This made the Fiel household in doubt of Teodora's fidelity to Augustin. Unknown to others, the man in Carcar was Francisco Bangoy, the elder brother of Teodora who had dried fish and fried pig intestine business. Francisco Bangoy was the father of Gabriel Bangoy whose wife was Alejandra Porta. When Teodora gave birth to her own son, Generosa put Magdalena as the mother of the newly born child and of course, Augustin as the father! This made Teodora left Sibonga because after giving birth, she was disowned by the Fiel household. She went back home to Baclayon, Bohol, Philippines weeping and never returned to Sibonga for several years until she was informed that Augustin died due to heart attack. Teodora saw and met again his son Lucas Fiel on the day of her grandson Faustino Embrado Fiel's wedding to Doña Ysabel Sauza Guidote.”

For the record, Augustin had the distinction of having the most number of (documented) wives, and he had children from all of her seven wives! All in all, he had 29 children! Truly, a great philanderer!

A. Children of Augustine Lucero Fiel – Teodora Bangoy (first wife)
1. Lucas Bangoy (Gelbolingo) Fiel

B. Children of Augustine Lucero Fiel – Magdalena Gelbolingo (second wife)
2. Crispulo Gelbolingo Fiel
3. Cayetano Gelbolingo Fiel
4. Fausto Gelbolingo Fiel
5. Juan Gelbolingo Fiel
6. Patricia Gelbolingo Fiel
7. Placido Gelbolingo Fiel 8.
Concha Gelbolingo Fiel
9. Lucia Gelbolingo Fiel
10. Mariana Gelbolingo Fiel
11. Trinidad Gelbolingo Fiel

C. Children of Augustine Lucero Fiel – Angustias Cabiling (third wife)
12. Dioscoro Cabiling Fiel

D. Children of Augustine Lucero Fiel – Ester Teves (fourth wife)
13. Aquilino Teves Fiel
14. Pascual Teves Fiel
15. Eustaquio Teves Fiel
16. Agueda Teves Fiel

E. Children of Augustine Lucero Fiel – Abelarda Yap (fifth wife)
17. Balbino Yap Fiel
18. Fructouso Yap Fiel
19. Gerardo Yap Fiel
20. Marcelino Yap Fiel

F. Children of Augustine Lucero Fiel – Zita Rocha (sixth wife)
21. Jose Manuel Rocha Fiel
22. Jose Ernesto Rocha Fiel
23. Jose Matias Rocha Fiel
24. Maria de la Paz Rocha Fiel
25. Maria de las Victorias Rocha Fiel


Children of Augustine Lucero Fiel – Jacoba Suarez (seventh wife)
26. Adolfo Suarez Fiel
27. Nemesio Suarez Fiel
28. Quirino Suarez Fiel
29. Angeles Suarez Fiel


Zita Rocha (sixth wife) and Jacoba Suarez (seventh wife) were known cousins from Sitio Ubos in Tagbilaran, Bohol. According to Fr. Eduardo “Jingjong” Rocha, SVD – today there stands an ancestral house of the Rocha-Suarez clan in Sitio Ubos. This place, however, is not yet explored by any of our Fiel Clan historians.

Reaching Out

My official photo entry for an online contest.

Salubong in Olutanga Island

The Salubong ("Sugat' in Cebuano) is a Filipino tradition done early in the morning of Easter Sunday, wherein the images of the Risen Christ and Sorrowful Mother symbolically meet in a pre-dawn procession.

The celebration starts with two different processions that start at different points. The first one consists of the Risen Christ carried by men while the second consist of the Blessed Virgin Mary (covered with a black veil to denote her mourning) carried by women. These two processions meet at the church courtyard from different routes.

At this point, the ceremony of the meeting begins with the choir singing alleluias as Mary approaches Jesus. Then, an angel descends on top of the head of Mary and lifts the black veil from her, exposing a happy mother who is seeing her son. Little angels will then sing songs of joy.

Pakol!

Holy Land Dream

Millions of Christians dream to reach the Holy Land. But unfortunately the need of recruiting sufficient budget to fulfill this dream is very hard for them. The good news is that HOLY LAND DREAM is now here to organize tours to the pilgrims who wish to see the places they read in the Bible.

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It is the vision of the HOLY LAND DREAM TO enable pilgrims from all the economical classes to afford fullfilling The dream of visiting the Holy Land. As a christian travel agency ,it is your best consultant for the "Holy Land". Their staff is well experienced and well-educated and can dp the best to let the pilgrims feel at home.

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They have 7 nights and 8 days program:

DAY 1: TEL AVIV / TIBERIAS Arrival in Tel Aviv airport. Meet & Assist by the guide and driver and make our way north to Sea of Galilee to your hotel for a dinner and over night for 3 nights.

DAY 2: TIBERIAS: CAPERNAUM AND SEA OF GALILEE SITES This morning we begin with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. We will visit a replica of a fishing boat from the time of Christ. Our visit continues with Capernaum, the Heptapegon . We ascend by motorcoach to the Mt. of Beatitudes to gain a panoramic view of the Sea of Galilee. We continue to the Baptismal Site at the Jordan River to renew our baptismal vows, then a visit to Bethsaida. We return to hotel for the dinner and overnight.

DAY 3: TIBERIAS / NAZARETH / CANA / MT. TABOR / TIBERIAS We make our way to Nazareth where we visit the Basilica of the Annunciation ,. Then to Cana, site of Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding feast. where we invite couples to renew their wedding vows. Our next stop is the site of the Transfiguration at Mt. Tabor. Back to hotel for a dinner and over night.

DAY 4: TIBERIAS / AKKO / MUHRAKA / CAESAREA / JERUSALEM: Today we drive towards our first station Akko (Acre) the great crusaders city. Continue to Carmel mountain to visit the holy shrine "Muhraka" which take us back to the period of the prophet Elia (Eliahu). Continue to the great Roman city built by king Harods the city of Caesarea. Continue to your hotel in Jerusalem for a dinner and over night for 4 nights.

Day 5: JERUSALEM: Mt. of Olives churches, Via dolorosa , Holy Sepulchre: We start our day by visiting Mt. Of Olives churches, continue to the old city by entering the Lions gate. Visiting the way of the cross churches , continue to Holy Sepluchre church to see the Golgotha place and Jesus tomb. Visiting the Dome of Rock and Al-Aqsa mosques (temple mountain), then we continue to the wailing wall for Jews. Continue to Mt. Zion churches: St. Peter Galicantu, Dormition Abbey ,the last supper room and King David Tomb. Back to hotel for a dinner and over night.

DAY 6: JERUSALEM - BETHLEHEM- EIN KAREM - JERUSALEM: Drive to Bethlehem, visiting first Shepherds’ Field, followed by the Church of the Nativity, St. Jeromes Chapel, and St. Catherines Church. We will allow extra time for shopping in Bethlehem. Returning, we stop in Ein Karem where we visit the Church of St. John the Baptist and the Church of the Visitation. The balance of the day is at leisure to browse in the local markets. You may wish to include a group visit to the Yad Vashem Memorial Museum, telling the story of the Holocaust and serving as a sober reminder of mans inhumanity to man. Back to hotel for dinner and over night.

DAY 7: JERUSALEM-DEAD SEA AREA - JERICHO: Driving to the great stronghold of Massada the last Jewish resistance place against the Roman Empire great army. Ascending up to the site by a cable car. Our next stop is Qumran, site of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. We stop to view the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. We continue to Jericho to view the Mt. of Temptations from a distance and to see the traditional Zaccheus site. This city was the site of Joshua’s first dramatic conquest. From a distance, we view the Mt. of Temptation, now home to Greek Orthodox priests. In our way back to Jerusalem we might visit Bethany site of the resurrection of Lazarus. Back to hotel for a dinner and overnight.

DAY 8: JERUSALEM / TEL AVIV / RETURN We transfer to the Tel Aviv airport for our return flight to the USA.

NOTE: While no changes are anticipated, there might be occasions when certain alterations become necessary to this itinerary due to changes in airline schedules or for other reasons. All Masses are subject to final church schedules.

FOR MORE DETAILS, PLEASE CONTACT:
Bassam Michael Abunassar
GM – Holy Land Dream
Tel: 972-4-6550000
Cell:972-505317179
Fax:972-4-6455565
Email: info@hl-d.co.il

please also visit their Facebook Page.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=69709945608

I Went to Nueva Ecija

Last May 1 2007, I went to Gapan City -- yes, the nicknamed "Footwear Capital of the North" and the inseparable part of the Rice Granary of the Philippines. It is located in the southern part of Nueva Ecija. According to the wikipedia, the town was formerly called Ibon. How it came to be known as Gapan is an interesting legend: When the place was still wilderness, Spanish soldiers came there on a mission when they saw natives crawling through the thick bushes. The soldier stopped them and, not knowing the local dialect, asked in Spanish for the name of the place. The natives knew nothing on the Spanish language and, thinking that the Spanish were asking what they were doing, answered in Tagalog, a local dialect "Gumagapang gapang kami". The Spanish took it as a name and henceforth called The Pueblo Gapang.

Eventually, the letter "g" was dropped and the name Gapan sticks to this day. Another legend stated the name came from the climbing and crawling plants that were so numerous in the locality.

My companions in going to Gapan were Fr. Glenn Paul Gomez, Fr. Redz Domino, Fr. Kit Ramirez, Fr. Rod Dela Rosa, Fr. Pablito Tagura, Fr. Yoyo Rebucias and his two relatives, Sr. Tonette Morales, two Chinese confreres and two other co-missionaries.


The long trip from Quezon City to Nueva Ecija was not tiresome since the countryside offered breathtaking natural sceneries that makes you feel proud to live in the Philippines. The air was fresh! Their rivers were clean!

Fr. Rod assures us that we would not be lost. “As long as we are near Mount Arayat, we are on the right track.” True enough, the place is just at the back of the majestic mountain.