The Author
The Author
Butong is a barrio of the town of Taal in the province of Batangas. It is located in the southern region of Luzon, one of the three main regions of the Philippines (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao). It is about 100 km south of Manila and is accessible through the south superhighway and mostly paved roads with some bad sections, especially as you entered the town of Cuenca. Going by Tagaytay route is longer, but has better roads and some good sightseeing spots.
Butong lies between Taal and neighbouring town of San Luis. The name Butong apparently came from a nut-bearing tree named Butong, which were abundance in the old days, although. I had never seen a Butong tree in all my years of growing up there. Also, history indicates that most of now Butong was once under water, but water receded farther and farther away towards the west for years. This explains why the eastern part is up on the hill ("Ibabaw") and about 40 ft from the Butong mainland. Apparently the abrupt change in elevation was where the waves used to break as it rolled toward the beach. There was also a huge (about 15 ft high) rock near the foot of the hill at one time that broke off from the hillside and became Butong's landmark at the Taal-Butong border. I spent a great deal of time with friends up on that hill to play and pick guavas, "kamatchile" and corn in the fields of Ka Ido or Ka Ises, two of Butong's famous farmers at the time. The Butong beach, aside from being the favorite picnic site by the city dwellers during summer, had a memorable history. The Butong Sea Breesze Resort became the American Soldier's Entertainment Club House during World War 2. American soldiers from all over the country came there for vacation or a break from duty during the war. My father worked at the club as an interpreter between the Americans and the locals during that time.
Butong's economy was booming during the 50's and 60's.. Fishing brought prosperity to its people. A number of local people were able to afford big boats for commercial fishing ("basnit"). People from other towns and provinces were lured to work for the boat owners and lived in Butong. Fisherman from as far as the Visayan province came to the barrio to fish. They were experienced divers who caught fish underwater by sling spear. They also introduced new methods of fishing and way of life to the locals. Most of them eventually became resident of the barrio for good.
The barter system ("palitan") was very much alive in those days. Farmers from the eastern part of Butong (Ibabaw & Ipil) and from the neighbouring town of San Luis would flocked to the beach of Butong in the early morning hours to wait for the fishing boats to arrive after all night fishing in Butong's waters, the Balayan Bay. They would trade their produce for fish. Vegetables, eggs, peanuts, yam, cakes, pudding, and sticky rice in banana leaves ("suman") were the farmers' common trade goods. While tuna ("tuli-ngan"), blue fish ("galunggong"), butterfish ("hiwas), marlins ("tambakol") and small fish ("dulong") were the fishermans' common catch of the day. A lot of kids who attended Butong School worked for commercial fishing boats ("basnitan") at night and normally brought a lot of farmer's produce to school after they traded-in their share of fish. Two of my brothers had experienced working for these commercial boats only for a short while because work in the sea at night was too tough for them, especially when the weather was bad. There were no cabins in those boats, so they were exposed to cold wind and rain. Workers received their earnings when the season ended, where the owner took a portion of the total earnings and divided the rest among all the workers. In additon, each would be given a small portion of the catch everyday while the rest would be taken to the market to sell. Fish in bamboo baskets ("bakol") or wooden boxes were normally taken to the neighbouring markets of Taal & Lemery by horse-drawn buggies ("Kalesa") and lately by tricycle ( motor bike with side-mounted car).
"Basnitan" is a method of fishing where fish are lured by light. The boat carries a number of kerosene-fueled lantern (Coleman) and position them around the boat to attract fish. Locating the school of fish could be difficult at times. Therefore, they usually need the help of an independent on-looker ("maninilaw") that carry one or two lamps to locate fish and then anchor the boat to that location upon the on-looker's signal, usually done by raising and lowering the lamps. The on-looker got paid according to the amount of fish caught. The fish were caught by net lowered to the water on one side of the boat by a number of workers standing along the boat and raised it up when the fish were contained.
Another method of fishing which was very popular in those days was called "Sapyaw". This type of fishing was usually practiced during the day and during the high tide season ("habagat"). They used bait, which was ground fish, usually from the previous catch. It also uses a net, but smaller than the one used by "basnitan". The boat was also smaller and workers were only four to six in number. They could make 2 to 4 trips to catch fish a day. However, the catch was very limited to certain types of fish, normally "galunggong".
Butong was the most prosperous and the most populous barrio of Taal in those days. It had also the most number of students in high schools and in the universities, mainly in Manila. It was become the most sought about territory on votes for politicians. However, the barrio was often divided in its support for political candidates. There were a number of political campaign leaders. Among them were Nicasio Maranan (Butong;s Barrio Captain in the 50's) Artemio Tamayo (Butong's Barrio Captain in the late'60's), Fidel De Villa (Butong School Principal), Max Paala from Ilaya and Briccio Cauntay (Taal Elementary School Teacher) to name a few. Even my father was considered a leader because if his good standing in the community where a lot of people asked him for advise. However, he tried to maintain a low key because he was a government employee and therefore, by law he was not allowed to participate in any political campaign. Later on, it was my brother Antonio Jr.who became active in politics in Taal.
Butong was always divided socially in its history. People of the the South (Ibaba) was usually in conflict with the people of the North (Ilaya). There was rivalry between them since the beginning of time, probably because of their social and financial differences. Most people of the north were fishermen who earned seasonal living , while a good number of people from the south were employed by companies in town or in Manila, therefore, they were well off financially. Youngster from "Ibaba" wore more contemporary clothes than their counterparts in "Ilaya". And the south seemed to be the center of all social activities. Not only that the community center and the church were in the south, but the youngsters in the south seemed to enjoy socializing more, influenced by the city's way of life where many of them worked and went to school. I grew up in the middle section (Gitna) of Butong, although most people considered us to be part of "Ilaya". Our youngsters hanged out mostly in "Ibaba" and members of social clubs there, namely, The Young Heart's, Tigalpo, Breezers' Sr., Breezers' Jr, Dribblers, Butong United Youth, and many more. Our favorite hang out places were the basketball court ("basketbolan") where kids just took turns shooting the ball , Angge's Variety Store ("Tindahan Ng Nanay Angge") where kids sat on bamboo bench, smoking, talking or just hanging out to meet people who came to buy something from the store, and the bingo parlor either in "Ka Brik's" store or in "Nanay Angging-Martin's" front yard. During our summer vacation we frequently hanged out at Butong's beach resort, the " Sea Breeze", swimming or just talking and watching people that came from around neighboring towns and from as far as Manila. Social dancing was very popular and frequent. All it took was a record player with amplifier ("Am-ple"), some lighting and some light refreshment. Group drinking of either beer, rum, whisky or "lambanog" (palm tree rum) were also the joy of some youngsters, especially when a resident of the barrio just came back home from a long absence or when there was a visitor in the barrio.