The Philippines has had a long association with gold. Just how long that association has been is indicated by the ongoing Asia Society New York exhibit of Philippine gold jewelry and ornaments—a hundred twenty pieces in all—from the pre-colonial era. The items on exhibit are on loan from the collections of the Ayala Museum and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Much that is significant has been said and written—including the article titled “Philippine gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdom”—in the highly influential New York Times, but undoubtedly the most significant of the comments and observations has been those accepting the fact that the Philippines was not ‘discovered’ in 1521 by explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish colleagues and the fact that before that Spanish gentleman set foot on Limasawa, there already was a thriving civilization in these islands. Among the most eloquent, and most beautiful, manifestations of that civilization are the items currently being exhibited in the financial capital of the US.
The New York Times article spoke of a “historically intriguing exhibition” featuring the works of “astonishingly skillful goldsmiths” and suggested that there was, in these islands, life before the arrival of the Spanish colonizers.
In the midst of the PNoy administration’s ambivalent attitude toward the mining industry, it is easy to forget that the Philippines has long been one of the world’s top gold producers. Benguet Consolidated Mining Co., the company founded by American judge John Haussermann at the start of the US colonial regime and one of the most prized stocks in the Philippine Stock Exchange, remains one of the world’s leading gold producing companies.
Benguet Consolidated’s output, and the gold by-product of Philippine copper producers, used to be exported from this country in unrefined form. Then, in the mid-70s, the Central Bank of the Philippines established a gold refinery (cum security printing plant) in Quezon City. Upon the start of operations of the refinery, gold exports from this country—whatever has not been retained to form part of the BSP’s international reserve—go out into the world market with the internationally required 0.9999 fineness.
The production of jewelry and ornaments made of gold has continued through the centuries of colonization and independence. Today, almost five centuries since Magellan’s arrival in these islands, the gold products manufacturing industry continues to thrive. It is centered in the area surrounding Bulacan’s Meycauyan City. Because of the strong domestic demand for Meycauayan’s output, a strong Philippine export trade in gold jewelry and ornaments has not developed.
I believe the time has come for people seriously interested in the history and culture of the Philippines to show as much interest in this country’s pre-colonial period has on its post-Magellan history.
The ongoing Asia Society New York exhibit is an excellent starting-point.
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