The Chinoys in Bayambang
Unlike in other towns and cities where there was an influential community of residents with Chinese ancestry that came complete with a Chamber of Commerce, there was only a handful of Filipino-Chinese residents that were well-known to the townsfolk of Bayambang, at least in the 1970s onwards.
Prior to this period, the bigger and thus more influential Chinese-Filipino community must have resided in today’s Bautista town.
At any rate, the presence of a few of them made significant impact in the daily lives of locals, particularly in the area of business.
Do Wa, Uy, and Wee family
One of the earliest Chinese merchants in town lived in the public market at the foot of the Calvo Bridge. Residents referred to him as “Insik Du Wa,” “Dua,” or “Do Wa.” He operated a bakery called Commander Bakery.
Another business enterprise beside it was operated by his relatives, the Uy/Wee family.
It turns out that Dua should have been Chua, but because of a mistake in the recording of local civil registry, Chua was taken by the registrar to be “dwa,” the local (Pangasinan) term for “two.”
Of Do Wa’s children, only his son Alex Uy stayed on in Bayambang. However, some descendants presently live in Brgy. Amancosiling. Another family lives in nearby Bautista town, another lives in Dagupan City, another one is based in La Union, and another one stayed in China.
Alex Uy married the former Lilian Napier of Roxas. Their children, including former Councilor Levin Uy, Genevieve Uy-Benebe, and Councilor Levinson Uy are the present Uys of Bayambang.
The Uys themselves also experienced ending up having two versions of their surname due to the same mishap at the civil registry. The proper pronunciation of Uy is o-wi, and it so happened that two siblings filled out the registration form and wrote ‘Uy,’ while three siblings had someone else write for them, and the person they dictated upon ended up writing what he or she heard, thus the ‘Wee’ variant. The Uy siblings could read and write only Chinese language at the time.
Co Ga
Inside the public market, there was a Safety Bakery owned by Lim Co Ga.
Co Ga sold hot pan de sal as well as galletas, puto seko, and pan de coco. His pan de sal was baked on the dry and stiff side, so locals often joked about how hard it was to the bite.
In the ’70s, five pieces of his pan de sal cost 20 centavos. From the oven, the breads were loaded into tiklis or bamboo baskets, then poured over a table, where buyers converged.
Among his descendants, one uses Lim as surname and lives in Baluyot, Bautista, another uses Reyes and lives in Zone 1.
One time, a fire engulfed the public market, including Co Ga’s nest-door neighbor. Although his place was spared, it was reported that Co Ga eventually went back to Hong Kong.
Cheng
Beside Co Ga’s bakery lived the Cheng family, which operated a retail store.
Bong King
Then there was Bong King who ran a grocery beside Do Wah Bakery. He married a woman named Andang and had at least one child named Rosemarie, a teacher at Bayambang National High School who married a Magalong in Nibaliw.
Just like the rest of the Chinese merchants, Bong King used abacus as calculator. He also used an adding machine that looked like slot machine.
Bosyong
Bosyong (Ong Siong) and Oseng or "Insik Osing" (Lee U Cheng) were the first Chinese merchants in Poblacion Norte (Estacion).
Bosyong (or Bo Siong) married a Filipina named Sion Bacani.
Osing
Right across the street was his business rival, Lee U. Cheng, later called Osing, who married a lass from Brgy. Sapang. They both sold different kinds of grocery items and had friendly competition.
Locals went to Bosyong’s and Osing’s stores to buy anything, from crepe paper to Japanese paper, school supplies, and 'Jobus,' the popular brand of all-purpose water dye.
Bosyong also engaged in junkshop operation, it is said.
Francisco ‘Toni’ Chu
Francisco ‘Toni’ Chu ran New Popular Lumber in Zone IV. It was a lumber and hardware business at the jeepney and bus terminal area at the corner of Bonifacio St. and beside the house of the Mataban family.
The Chus are now in Estacion, where one child is a resident. The rest are in Dagupan.
According to Benebe, the Chan, Uy/Wee, and Chu families are relatives, based on her father’s accounts.
Chua
Also, another Chinese whose family name was Chua had a lumber store where the Matabans are now residing. The building owned by the Matabans then used to be the first movie theater in Bayambang after the war.
Dama
Another Chinese named Dama owned a restaurant in the Manganaan Bldg. along Rizal Ave.
People’s Canteen
Across the old Bayambang Central School, there used to be a three-story building with an eatery called Sawali Restaurant, owned by Dr. Henry Fernandez, but this used to be the site of People's Canteen, owned by a Chinese from Dagupan. It was the only place with a telephone by PLDT for long-distance calls. When you had calls, the owner would come all the way to your house so you could take the call.
'Intsik Jose' or Quelito
There used to be a boarding house near the Municipio where the old Vista Cinema was located. The owner was a Chinese barber they called 'Intsik Jose' or Quelito.
Intsik Jose was also into buy-and-sell business dealing with rice, corn, and tobacco, plus a grocery.
Ong
Patty's Fashion, located along the municipal plaza, was owned by an Ong.
Joaquin Osia
Another Chinese named Joaquin Osia owned a sari-sari store in the public market and married a former German matriarch whose only daughter was named Amparo and married to a teacher.
Te
Jose Te and family are another Chinese family who had a grocery store next to Dr. Aguirre’s family residence in front of Bayambang Central School. Jose had two sons named Joaquin and Jose and a daughter named Rosita.
Lim
The Lims were into buying and selling rice and corn and even copra.
The proprietor was Butch Lim Reyes. He had a wife who was a teacher at Bayambang National High School, Mrs. Josie Reyes (reportedly of pure Chinese ancestry), of the English Department.
Lim-de Vera
The family that owns the Lita’s Grocery along Rizal Ave. are part-Chinese. Their surnames are Lim and De Vera.
Hao
Leeng Hao and his siblings, Akiong Hao and Antonio Hao, lived in Bayambang, even though their businesses were located in Isabela and Sta. Cruz, Manila.
Non-merchants
Only a few Chinese-ancestry residents were not the stereotypical merchant type.
Chan family
The Chan family from the Onofre clan lived in Zone VII. The father retired as an employee of the PSU Printing Office, while the mother retired as a teacher. Jenny and Christopher are two of their resident children.
Lourdes Tiu was a science teacher at Bayambang National High School. She married Dr. Orlando de Guzman.
Simeon Honrado Wee
Simeon Honrado Wee was a Presidential Guard, with a Lt. Col. as title. He is now based in the US.
Other residents who have surnames with Chinese origin (as per research by Teresita Ang-See), such as Limson, Quimson, Sison, Quiambao, etc., were too culturally assimilated to be ever considered Chinese or Chinoy, and their Chinese blood too attenuated to be every considered as being of Chinese ancestry.
Some immigrants with Chinese blood also chose to adopt Filipino surnames instead of retaining their Chinese patrilineal name, thus effectively erasing their Chinese roots and identity.
Sagun
Though they may not expressly identify themselves as Chinese, the Saguns who live at the Bayambang-Basista-San Carlos Junction, are reported to have originated from a Chinese ancestor who had immigrated to the Philippines. The family operates the oldest existing rice mill (established in 1947) in town, among other businesses.
They were so successful and apparently popular that one of them, Eligio Sagun, got elected as town mayor in 1947 and 1951. Another member of the family, Fernando T. Sagun Jr., rose to become a trial court judge.
As in the rest of the Philippines, the influence of Chinese culture on locals lies not just in business but in every aspect of life, from fashion (camisa chino) to food (tikoy, noodles), vocabulary, beliefs (use of firecracker during New Years Eve), and so on. That is how deep their influence is that younger generation are often surprised when they find out.
Informants:
Andrea Ferrer Umoypa
Marciano Junio Flores
Joseph Anthony Quinto
Maria Celia Junio Fernandez
Maribel Bato-Pagsolingan
Joey Ferrer
Jonathan de Castro
Boyette Santillan Poserio
Roberto Ramos
Joel V. Camacho
Isagani P. Junio
Yule Camacho
Cyr Lorenzo Bancolita
Tessie Reyes
Leo B. Aquino Jr.
Arturo de Vera
Perfecto Beltran
Clarita Tagab
Genevieve Napier Uy-Benebe
Marivic Pornea
Elmer Angalan Domingo
Diosdado Galang
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