CANTIBAS: FALL DEAD LIKE A BROWN SHRIKE

Cantibas is a barangay that is located northwest of Balamban. It has a total land area of 550 hectares. It is bounded by Abucayan, Cansomoroy, Duangan, Gaas, Arpili, and Buanoy.

Cantibas is politically subdivided into eigth (8) sitios, namely: Hinapolan, Kabungahan, Hagkot, Busay, Sam-ang, Tingga, Sulip, and Cantibas Proper.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BARANGAY

 Cantibas was one of the earliest Malay settlements in western Cebu. It might had been a source of lead mines as one of the names of its sitios, “Tingga” (literally means lead), would suggest. Lead and iron were considered more important and expensive than gold by the early Filipinos since they made their weapons out of those metals. The early Filipinos were engaged in conquering neighboring lands.

According to oral history, at the boundary between Cantibas and Duangan, there was a giant clam, Tridacna gigas, known locally as “hagdanan” and “takubo” or “taklobo” if found in the sea but if found in the creek  as “tangub”, that was stuck at a cliff facing Buanoy Creek. It was said that the giant clam opened up during the month of January and then it would close by the month of January the following year and the process became a cycle. This giant clam had a guardian giant octopus or a kraken locally known as “mantaga” which lived in the creek. It was said that during the cycle when the giant clam closed the kraken emerged from the waters of the creek. This kraken was larger than the North Pacific Giant Octopus, Enteroctopus dofleini, weighing 272 kg (600 lb) and having an arm span of 9 m (30 ft). And this was more deadly than a blue-ringed octopus that could kill with its venom 26 adults within minutes. The kraken’s ink sac was said to be made of human blood. The kraken lay millions of eggs whose smell alone could kill humans within minutes. It was said that hundreds of the local dwellers dropped dead, like a fallen Philippine shrike as it dropped dead after being paralyzed due to respiratory depression, as they smelled the gases coming from the eggs. The said gases contained tetrodotoxin, 5-hydroxytryptamine, hyaluronidase, tyramine, histamine, tryptamine, octopamine, taurine, acetylcholine, and dopamine. The Philippine shrike, Lanius cristatus lucionensis, is locally known as “tibas”, “talibas”, and “tibalas”. While the state of “falling dead like a dead bird” is “natibas” or “nangatibas”. This tragic event went on and on until a shaman arrived and by his shamanistic divination he killed both the tangub and the mantaga. From then on the place became peaceful. The shaman who was fond of the Philippine shrikes which were abundant in the area at that time was called as “Tibas”. He became the first datu or chieftain of the area now known as Cantibas from the word “kang Tibas” which means “belonging to Tibas”. 

Another version of the story said that the owner of the said giant clam was a king known as "Khan". It was said that he put the giant clam at the cliff as guardian of nature. As such the giant clam would punish the people who would abuse it by excreting poisonous liquid to the river.


Another interesting aspect of the said historical legend was that the incident happened at the border of a sitio called Sam-ang. "Sam-ang" is an old Cebuano word for cemetery or a burial place.  It corroborates to the claim that there were really "people who dropped dead like a fallen Philippine shrike" who were buried around the area in the ancient times. Furthermore, in popular Cebuano myths, a mantaga is said to be not only a guardian of that giant clam and its pearl but most especially of gold mines. The legend further recounted that half of the head of that mantaga was in Duangan, which had also been proven to have a gold deposit.

Most probably Abucayan & Pondol were part of the jurisdiction of Cantibas, then as a balangay, during the pre-colonial period. But during the time of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, people from Bohol began to migrate in Abucayan and Pondol. Thus, when the Spanish governments began to establish barrios, Abucayan and Pondol became separate barrios from Cantibas.

From a “datu” as ruler of the balangay, it became a “cabezilla” as head of the barrio during the early part of Spanish colonization; became a “teniente” during the latter part of the Spanish colonization until the post-American period; became a “capitan del barrio” or “barrio capitan” after the death of Pres. Ramon Magsaysay in 1957 until the Marcos regime; and as “barangay kapitan” as head of the barangay from the Marcos regime until today.

The last two known tenientes of Cantibas were Hon. Vicente Playda and Hon. Claudio “Dodo” Puentenegra.

At around 1957 when the barrio system in the country was fully established, capitanes del barrios replaced the tenientes. Hon. Claudio “Dodo” Puentenegra ran for re-election as a candidate for capitan del barrio. But the 22-year old Hon. Artillo P. Requizo Sr., a native of San Remegio, Cebu who had gone with his father in 1954 to Balamban to help the latter in his “sakayan” (a fishing boat or banca) making business, had beaten Hon. Claudio “Dodo” Puentenegra in the said election. It was only two years since his marriage with the beautiful native of the barrio, Patricia Pacquiao whose grandparent was a brother of the grandparent of the father of the boxing champ Manny Pacquiao. Hon. Artillo Requizo Sr. was the first and last capitan del barrio of Cantibas. Out of his ambition in establishing an elementary school, he ran under the ticket of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos as “barangay kapitan” even though he knew that there was no honorarium appropriated for the said position. He won and served as “barangay kapitan” until the Marcoses were ousted. During his term he had successfully established the Cantibas Elementary School. He bought the lot for school site for Php 3,000.00, which was a big price at that time, with the gains coming from a social disco called “bayle” and from the Php 20.00 contribution per household. During the regime of Pres. Corazon Aquino, he ran again as barangay captain but lost. So far he was the longest installed barangay captain in Cantibas.

The first woman “barangay kapitan” of Cantibas, Hon. Necifora M. Piliotas, was installed for one term. During her term the barangay captains were already receiving honoraria. After her term, she ran for re-election but lost against Hon. Artillo P. Requizo Jr., the 6^th child, out of 8 children, of Hon. Artillo P. Requizo Sr. & Mrs. Patricia P. Requizo who served for three successive terms.  After this term his father ran again as barangay captain while he as barangay councilor and both of them won in the barangay elections on October 25, 2010.

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE, THE PATRONESS OF THE BARANGAY

Christianity particularly Roman Catholicism also played an important role in the spirituality of the people. In 1932, as Sitio Hinapolan progressed in terms of population growth, socio-cultural activities like balitaw rendition, and handicrafts like wind musical instruments – making (i.e., violin, guitar, harp, and ukulele), a miracle was said to happen in a hill of Sitio Cantibas Proper which was then less inhabited. The barn, locally known as “kamalig”, of a certain Ulac was eaten by fire. Then Ulac had a dream-like apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe telling him to keep safe the wooden cover of a jar in the barn. Ulac went to the parish priest, Rev. Fr. Tomas Borces, and confessed his “dream”. Rev. Fr. Tomas Borces went with Ulac to the barn and there they saw the wooden cover of the jar that was miraculously not eaten by the fire. And to their astonishment, an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was printed on the said wooden cover. The parish priest venerated the image and put it on a chapel that was built in the site where the kamalig stood in the past.  Beside this chapel there is an old spring which was used to be a source of drinking water of the local people. Our Lady of Guadalupe was then made as the patroness of the barangay. From then on, people would go to the said place to pray. The said place is now called Ka-Ulac (“belonging to Ulac”) and it is the hilly part of Cantibas Proper.  

Yet it is also interesting to note that oral traditions, which claimed that the original image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico was taken by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi to Cebu City and was kept safe inside the Guadalupe Cave, are still recounted by many generations. Further on, it was believed that the Cebuanos during the Spanish period used the Guadalupe River as a gateway to Balamban. One of the river-ends from Cansomoroy is Cantibas. From this point of view, it could be possible that the wooden cover of the jar which had the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was brought to Cantibas from the Guadalupe Cave by the members of the Katipunan.

SOURCES OF INCOME OF THE BARANGAY

Based on a comparative study that the barangay had only a population of 488 in 1990, 503 in 1995, and 570 in 2000, it had a population growth rate of 2.53%. In 2007 its population grew to 767 with more or less 200 households only. With this reason the barangay only received an annual Internal Revenue Allotment amounting to eight hundred fifty thousand pesos (Php 850,000.00).

In spite of this, an influx of investors came in. In 1995, sand & gravel became another very important source of income of the barangay.  WTG Construction, Geo-Transport Limited Inc., and Balamban Construction began to operate in the Buanoy Creek within the jurisdiction of the barangay to get limestone, sand, and gravel. In 2000, the backfilling in Buanoy by the said companies gained a half million pesos to Php 700,000.00 out of which 30% went to LGU-Balamban, 30% to the Provincial Capitol, and 40% to the barangay which was roughly more or less around Php 100,000.00.

From 1998 until 2011, the barangay operated and managed the Barangay Association Cantibas Water System which gained Php 120,000.00 to Php 180,000.00 annually. But because of the plea of the LGU-Balamban it was turned over to Balamban Water District on July 2, 2011. However an agreement through a resolution was made as an assurance to the barangay that it would still get an annual subsidy of around Php 100,000.00 from the office of the mayor. 

Another source of income of the barangay is the real property gains tax share. Previously the barangay only got an annual share of Php 5,000.00 to Php 6,000.00 but when the highly industrialized poultry of Birdsteel Farm began its operation in 2005 the barangay had been getting since an additional share of more or less Php 60,000.00 to Php 70,000.00, that is 12.5% of the estimated half million peso gross annual real property gains tax paid by the said farm, with a total annual income from the real property gains more or less Php 70,000.00 to Php 80,000.00.

Based on its resources the remote barangay could economically compete with the rest of the barangays located “along the road”.

BARANGAY OFFICIAL SEAL