I woke up yesterday feeling nostalgic. I remembered what my father, the late Emiliano Cortez Jurado Sr., told me that the first Jurado came from Toledo, Spain.
Legend has it that when Juan Salcedo was named governor-general, he made Vigan, Ilocos Sur the capital of the Philippines. Magsingal was made its support.
I can believe that. Vigan was and still is the nearest to Xiamen, China, the biggest Chinese trading port at that time. Most of the biggest families in Vigan have Chinese origins, like the Syquias. The late President Apo Pidiong Quirino, the son of a jail warden, was in fact married to a Syquia. The Singsons were also thought to be of Chinese origin—they were known to be the sons of Sing.
I also know that there was a watch tower on the coast of Magsingal, where Spanish soldiers looked out for Chinese pirates.
My late father told me that the first Jurado was a guardia civil, stationed in the sub-port of Magsingal. His first name was Canuto.
Later on, Canuto brought along a brother named Abdon, who also settled in the town. After many generations of intermarriages with Spanish mestizas and Filipino indios, my father was born. He was the son of a farmer, a “nagtatalon,” as they were called.
He had Quintin, Emiliano, Anita, Mariano and Policarpio, whose descendants we still communicate with when we go to Ilocos.
My father was a product of Spanish public schools. He spoke Spanish. He eloped with my mother, Margarita Pacis. He had to, since the Pacis family, whose house was beside the town hall, considered themselves higher in status than the farmers. In any case, through hard work and patience, my father became a teacher. Soon he became a district supervisor assigned to Abra, then a sub-province of Ilocos Sur.
I was born on Sept. 15, 1927 in the town of Dolores in Abra.
Here’s the interesting part of the family legend. My father had an uncle, a Spanish mestizo with two pretty daughters. These girls had many rich and landed suitors from outside of Ilocandia. Maria got married to the hacendero Marque from Tayabas, and Marciana married the hacendero Urdabe of Pangasinan.
Among my affluent relatives were the late Manuel Marquez, a well-known banker, and Anita Urdabe Lorenzana, the name behind the brand of patis and bagoong exported to Thailand. She died at the age of 103.
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President Rodrigo Duterte could not have named a better successor to BSP Governor Amado Tetangco than Tetangco’s deputy, Nestor Espenilla Jr. I have written a few times about how I thought he was the most qualified among those in the running.
A skillful watchdog and economist, Espenilla is competent, having reinforced the banking system such that our banks are now ranked the most resilient in the region.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said this appointment was the most important of all. I agree.
Now we can rest easy. We know that the policies and reforms initiated by Tetangco will continue.
Congratulations to Governor Espenilla. May the force be with you.
I am also happy about the appointment of former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Roy Cimatu as secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The appointment was welcomed with “guarded optimism” by the mining industry.
I do not know Cimatu personally, even though I know he did well at the AFP and as special envoy looking after overseas workers in the Middle East during the Arroyo administration.
I don’t know how he will balance the contrary demands of protecting the environment and managing natural resources. Still, I say congratulations.
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I don’t know what the Manila City Police and Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa are out to prove. ISIS has already claimed that it was behind the recent bombings in Quiapo.
It’s a fact that even national security and intelligence officials have acknowledged the presence of foreign terrorists here.
So why are Dela Rosa and company insisting that personal feuds are the reason for the blasts? Do they just want to appear as though they are doing their jobs?
To discount the possibility of terror attacks will just make the people less alert. Or are they trying to cover up something?
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My belated congratulations to my nephew, Rudolf Philip Jurado, for his appointment as government corporate counsel. Philip is the son of my late eldest brother, Court of Appeals Justice Desiderio Jurado, who in fact has five lawyer children.