The Inhabitants of the Philippines

by Frederic H. Sawyer

Some late writers speak of the native clergy as if they were of superior morality and better behaved than the Spanish priests. That appreciation does not commend itself to those who have had some experience of the Philippine clergy.

Some of those I have known were of very relaxed morals, not to say scandalous in their behaviour. The Philippine Islands, in short, are not the chosen abode of chastity: but I do not know why the Spanish friars should be singled out for special censure in this respect.

I can truly say that I was not acquainted with any class out there entitled to cast the first stone.

Each of the orders (except the Jesuits) is a little republic governed or administered by officers and functionaries elected by the suffrages of the members. The head of the order is a Superior or General, who resides in Rome, but the head in the Philippines is called the Provincial.

The brethren render him the greatest respect and obedience, kneeling down to kiss his hand.

There is a council to assist the provincial, they are called definidores or padres graves, the exact nomenclature varies in the different orders.

There is a Procurator or Commissary in Madrid, a Procurator-General in Manila, a Prior or Guardian to each convent not being a rectory, an Orator or preacher, lay-brethren in charge of estates or of works, parish priests, missionaries, and coadjutors, learning the native dialects.

The members of the order were appointed to benefices according to their standing and popularity amongst their brethren. The neophytes are trained in one of the seminaries of the order in Spain; for instance, the Augustinians have colleges at Valladolid, La Vid, and La Escorial, with more than 300 students.

When a young priest first arrived in the Philippines, he was sent as a coadjutor to some parish priest to learn the dialect of the people he is to work amongst. Then he would be appointed a missionary to the heathen, where he lived on scanty pay, amongst savages, either in the highlands of Luzon or in some remote island, remaining there for two or three years. His first promotion would be to a parish consisting of a village of thatched houses (nipa) and, perhaps, the church and convent would be of the same material. This meant a constant and imminent dread of the almost instantaneous destruction of his dwelling by fire. Perhaps there is communication with Manila once a month, when, by sending to the nearest port, he may get letters and newspapers and receive some provisions, an occasional cask of Spanish red wine, some tins of chorizos (Estremeño smoked sausages), a sack of garbanzos, or frijóles, a box of turron de Alicante, and some cigars from the procuration of the convent in Manila. These would be charged to his account, and frugally as he might live, many a year might pass over his head before he would be out of debt to his Order. And poor as he might be, he would never refuse his house or his table to any European who might call upon him. Later on, if his conduct had satisfied his superiors, the time would come when he would get nominated to a more accessible and more profitable parish, that would quickly enable him to pay off the debt due to the procuration. He would have a church and convent of stone, keep a carriage and pair of ponies, and begin to have a surplus, and to contribute a little to the funds of his Order.

Soon he would become Padre Grave, and begin to have influence with his colleagues. He would be removed to a richer town and nominated Vicario Foráneo, equivalent to an archdeacon in England. Later on, he might be elected a Definidor, or councillor. Then, perhaps, one of the great prizes of the order fell to his lot. He might be appointed parish priest of Taal or Biñan, worth at least ten thousand dollars a year, or of rich Lipa, high amongst its coffee groves (now, alas! withered), which used to be worth twenty thousand dollars in a good year. He would treat himself well, and liberally entertain all who visited him, and governors of provinces, judges, officers of the Guardia Civil, would often be seen at his table.