My parents, David Jamili Katague and Paz Barrido Balleza were simple people, but proud of their children accomplishments. The following article discussed some excerpts in their lives that I will always remember. I remember them clearly when I hear the song, The Prayers of St Francis. My parents had passed away several decades ago, but the lessons they taught me in my childhood years still reverberates in my mind today.
I attended Catholic mass this morning here in Northern California, USA. It was a perfect autumn day, cool and sunny. The beautiful mass liturgy, music and the priest homily reminded me of my deceased parents and my own mortality. The communion song was the Prayers of St. Francis. The lyrics of the song still reverberate in my mind, especially the last line “and it is in dying that we are born to eternal Life”.
The Prayers of St Francis song is still ringing in my mind, reminding me of the many pleasant memories of my parents and my own mortality.
He did not tell me much of his college days, but he finished dentistry (Doctor of Dental Surgery) at the University of the Philippines, Manila in 1929. That same year he passed the Philippine dental board examination copping second place nationwide. That same year he also married my mother, Paz Barrido Balleza of Barotac Viejo, Iloilo. They resided in Jaro and built a two-story house in Arguelles Street. My father had a dental office in the first floor of their residence.
My father’s childhood years were very normal for his generation. When he was in high school his father died and his mother remarried the younger brother of his Dad, so his mother’s name was still Mrs. Catague. This second marriage produced nine children, three girls and six boys. The family resided in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental. I had two occasions in my childhood years visit relatives in Binalbagan.
My father was a people person. I remember during our monthly shopping trip for supplies in Iloilo City, that he would greet and smile at every person we met along Iznart and JM Basa Streets. On one occasion, he greeted a person with enthusiasm as if they were long time friends. Afterward, I asked him who the person was and he said he does not even know his name. He treated men, women, young and old, all alike. I told him he would be a good politician. He could also draw freehand. His sketches and freehand drawing were beautiful. I know now that my children and grandchildren talents of drawing, sketching and painting is from his genes, since I have no ability at all to draw, paint or sketch.
My mother on the other hand was very reserved. Although she had not finished high school, she was good in mathematics. She could add and multiply in her head. One day, a vendor came to the house and was selling some farm products. She asked for the price and the vendor said 3 for 1 peso. Without blinking an eye or hesitation, she said, here is 8 pesos give me two dozens. I was amazed at how fast she could compute in her head, ratio and proportion problems.
My mother, Paz Barrido Balleza and family are big landowners in Barotac Viejo and the neighboring towns of Banate and Ajuy. The Balleza family were considered rich at that time. She was born on January 14, 1909 and is the youngest of three children, the only girl with two older brothers, Modesto, Jr (lawyer) and Jose who are much older than her. My mother’s parents both died, when she was only in high school. So, she was under the care of her oldest brother, Modesto. At that time, Modesto Balleza family had a big house in Iloilo City, just across the street from St. Paul Hospital and one block from Assumption College-an exclusive and private school for girls.
My mother went to high school at Assumption College until she was a junior. In her senior year, she met my father, fell in love with him, stopped school and got married. My mother with tears in her eyes told me that the reason she married without finishing high school was to get away from the control of her oldest brother. When their parents died, there was no will. Thus, the Balleza properties (rice and corn lands, coconut plantations, fish ponds) were all under the control of her two brothers.
The division of property according to my mother was very unfair. The brothers claimed the best rice lands to themselves. What was left for her to inherit were the properties in the distant barrios, rice land with no irrigation, except for one parcel of rice land (20 hectares) near the town. Of course, she did not receive one-third share of their parents' properties. When she married, control of her properties was given to her. My Dad then helped her manage the rice lands and other properties.
I remember that more than 20 tenants come to the house in Barotac Viejo, almost every week during the planting and harvest season, besides the encarcado (the overseer) of my mother’s properties. At the side of our house, we built another house to store the rice harvests, so that we could sell the rice when prices are high because it is off season. The proceeds from the rice harvests sent all seven of us to college. The income of my father as a dentist was just enough for our daily expenses. His dental patients oftentimes had no cash. In exchange for his dental services, they would bring chickens, eggs and vegetables and other farm products.
My mother was very frugal. She would not leave a morsel of rice on her plate. I remember her saying, “If you do not finish your food, God will punish you”. So even today, I always have a clean plate after lunch or dinner. My mother had a strict budget and allocated 10% of the farm income into her savings. By the time, I was in college, they had enough savings to purchase a commercial property in Iloilo City. With the back pay that my father received having served as a Dental Officer in the Philippine-American Army from 1941-1945, they were able to build a commercial building at Iznart street very close to the provincial capital.
The building was named the “KATAGUE BUILDING”. The building was not properly maintained after the death of my father in the early 1970s. In the late 1980s when my mother died, the seven of us decided to sell the building and land. The land was more valuable than the building, because of its location. The new owner demolished the “Katague” building, built a bigger building and is now a school and a bank.
When my parents died, they have a will allocating the lands to the seven of us. As the oldest child, I inherited the best of the rice land, the 20 hectares of rice land near the town with irrigation. . My sister in Iloilo is now managing it for me. The rental income is barely enough to pay for the annual taxes.
Fifteen years ago, I visited the rice land that was land reformed. I cried when I remember the history of this particular piece of land. Of the ten tenants that benefited from this agrarian program, only one approached me and acknowledged his gratitude. He told me he was able to send all his children to college from the proceeds of my inheritance.
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