The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898; Volume 50 / Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century

by Unknown

NINTH ABUSE

It is an abuse that the king pays the expenses of the voyage and support of the fathers in Filipinas, under title of apostolic missionaries, and they go there to become merchants and business men, to the harm of the poor Spaniards and of the Indian, besides their abandonment of the spiritual ministry which is in their charge.

In the environs of Manila—with the exception of the Franciscans, who have nothing, and of the Condesa de Lizárraga, who has a small estate—the religious orders possess the following estates: the Dominicans, Lolomboy, Panay, Navotas, Great Malabon, and Biñan; the calced Augustinians, Malinta and Pasay; the discalced Augustinians, San Pedro Tunasan, San Nicolás, Imus, and Tunasancillo; the Jesuits, Mayjaligue, Masilog, Nagtajan, Nagsubig, Mariquina, Indan, Silan, Marigondon, Payatas, and San Pedro Macati (where they have their earthenware factory, from which they make annually thirty thousand pesos fuertes net profit). These are the ones which I now have in mind, although they have other estates in the provinces, of which I can give no exact account. But indeed I know, because I have seen it, that the Indians who cultivate those lands come to be virtually slaves, by which means the orders have aggrandized themselves, with their trade in sugar, cattle and horses, and rice. Although this last is the bread of all, that bread rises in price to such a degree that it can rise no further—to which is added the great export of these products to China and the coasts of Coromandel and Malabar.[19]

Remedy for this evil

To command, under penalty of expulsion, that they do not trade, as it is contrary to law; and, in respect to estates, they ought to sell them, even though they are the just owners, since such business is inconsistent with their ministry. It is certain that, by public report, if they had to show their titles to those lands it would be found that many, if not all of them, had been usurped from the Indians. On this account, without doubt, in regard to this point there was much talk in the time of Governor Aranda. But nothing was gained in favor of the Indians, from whom, let the fathers allege what they please, the endowment of land which the law orders cannot be taken.