Davao and the first lady

Today, May 8, 1967, Davao region was divided into three provinces when Republic Act No. 4867 was signed into law. It thus became the provinces of Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental. Later, the provinces of Compostela Valley (now Davao de Oro) and Davao Occidental were also created from these provinces. An interesting tidbit in Philippine history is the lesser-known fact that the first husband of the great-great-grandmother of current First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos founded and established Davao. Considering the growing animosity between the Marcoses in Malacañang and the Dutertes of Davao, it is intriguing to once again look at history to see how the past is reflected in the present.

The founder of Davao was Don Jose Cruz Maria de Oyanguren Ybarzabal, who christened the settlement he founded as Nueva Guipuzcoa after his home province in Spain. He named the present-day Davao City as Nueva Vergara after his hometown. He came to the Philippines in 1825, leaving Spain due to political reasons. While Guipuzcoa was part of the Spanish kingdom (and remains so, today) it has always been seen by its inhabitants as a historical territory of the fiercely-regionalistic Basque region and home to many famous people in history such as Juan Sebastian Elcano, the first to circumnavigate the world; St. Ignatius de Loyola; Sta. Candida María de Jesus, founder of the of the Hijas de Jesus congregation; and conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi.

Oyanguren stayed and conducted business for several years in the province of Caraga (now Surigao), and in the Calamianes. He also occupied a judicial post in Tondo. In 1846, he was deprived of said judicial post after bureaucrats from Madrid were appointed to colonial positions, replacing those in the colony including Oyanguren. When Davao was ceded to the Spaniards, Oyanguren proposed to Governor-General Narciso Claveria to allow him to conquer the entire gulf district, expel or pacify the Moros there, and convert the natives to Christianity, in exchange for supplies and equipment, command of the district, and exclusive rights of trade therein.

A decree issued by Governor Claveria in 1847 gave Oyanguren command for 10 years and exclusive rights of trade for the first six years. By the beginning of 1849 he was in peaceful possession of the entire coast-line of the gulf and then turned his attention into the interior. The government, however, did not live up to its promises, and after the death of Claveria, Oyanguren was removed from his command. The last years of his life were spent in the fruitless endeavor to obtain what had been promised him.

Oyanguren had married Luisa Azaola on September 5, 1843, in Intramuros, Manila. For whatever reason, Jose and Luisa did not have any children. After Oyanguren’s death in 1858, Luisa returned to Manila and on February 11, 1861, she married Jose Maria Gonzalez y Brenes with whom she had four children. It is from this second union where the current first lady of the Philippines descends, being a great-great-granddaughter of Davao’s founder’s wife. Other prominent descendants are: Paz, a granddaughter of Luisa, who married an uncle of Paz Pardo de Tavera who was married to Juan Luna; Rosario Cacho, a great-granddaughter of Luisa, who married Pedro Jose Cojuangco, an older brother of President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino; Javier Luis Castillejo, a great-great-grandson of Luisa, who married Maria Beatriz Preysler Arrastia, sister of Maria Isabel Preysler Arrastia, the mother of singer Enrique Iglesias; and Maria Angeles Cacho, a great-granddaughter, who married Carlos Romulo Jr., son of Filipino diplomat Carlos P. Romulo.

This Azaola connection to the first lady is truly historically interesting. Aside from the Davao-first lady tidbit, Camarines Sur, a bailiwick of former vice president Leni Robredo, had Don Íñigo González de Azaola as one of its former alcaldes, serving from 1809 to 1814; Don Íñigo was Luisa Azaola’s father. This goes to prove that history is truly filled with events that tell us in the present what transpired in the past, and perhaps learn from their lessons.