Dagupan, the cradle of Pangasinan civilization

By Restituto C. Basa

Source:
August 16-22, 2005
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THE late Nick Joaquin, Filipino national artist for literature, in one of his articles, pointed to Dagupan as the cradle of Pangasinan civilization as Vigan is the cradle of the Ilocos civilization in the north.

Early human settlements started on river deltas. The oldest human civilization grew in Mesopotamia (now known as Iraq). Mesopotamia is situated between two famous rivers, namely Tigris and the Euphrates.

The second oldest civilization is Egypt. This land is situated at the delta of the Nile River.

Pangasinan civilization grew on the delta of the great Agno river. This delta is situated between the twin islands of Pugaro and Bonuan in Dagupan.

It is very interesting to note that the Agno river delta in Bonuan is situated at the central section of historic Lingayen gulf.

Gateway to Agno valley: If we go by the theory that we, Pangasinenses originated from mainland Asia and migrated to this land of salt, the entry point to our ancestors to the Agno valley is the Agno river delta in Bonuan.

Naturally the pioneer settlers occupied the area around the Agno river delta in Dagupan. Subsequent comers spread out into the Agno valley by sailing upstream the Agno river.

By the way, the Agno river drains three central Luzon provinces. These are Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Pangasinan. These three provinces constitute what we call the greater Agno valley.

Being situated at the central section of the Lingayen gulf, the delta played a major rule in the liberation of Luzon from Japanese rule on January 9, 1945.

When General Douglas MacArthur undertook the liberation of Luzon, he used the Lingayen gulf as the landing pad of his troops.

His liberation forces consisted of four infantry divisions. He used the Agno river delta in Dagupan as his point of reference in landing his troops.

He landed two divisions on the east-north side of the delta to wit: one division in Bonuan and another division in Mabilao, San Fabian.

He landed the two other divisions on the west side of the river delta, to wit: one division in Pugaro and the other division in the Lingayen-Binmaley beaches.

At one point in our history, British traders converted the river channel in downtown Dagupan into a seaport; the river delta in Dagupan served as the entry point to the port.

Incidentally, when a group of British industrialists invested here to boost trade in Luzon, they built a railway system that connected two commercial centers, Dagupan in the north and Manila in the south.

They hired the first Filipino engineer who graduated in London to construct the railway. His name is Engineer Juan Crisostomo Villamil, a native of Dagupan.

In constructing the railway, Villamil was supervised by a British engineer, Henry Kipping.

During the construction of the railway, Kipping was introduced to Leonor Rivera in Dagupan. Kipping pursued Leonor. The courtship ended in marriage. They were married at the St. John Parish Church in Dagupan on June 17, 1891.

The wedlock was solemnized by Fr. Vicente Iztequi. It was the same padre who established the Colegio de San Alberto Magno in Calmay. Unfortunately this Dominican college was swept away to the sea by the big flood of 1935. ‘Sayang’.

(Because of her marriage to Kipping, Leonor broke Rizal’s heart. But this is another story.)

Note: The digital camera pictures of the Dagupan City Plaza were taken by: Ray B. Zambrano