You know Haloy?

Haloy, as his name suggests, grew up before the coming of the Spaniards. According to accounts of old folks, many of whom are now dead, Haloy was real. However, his origin was embellished mostly with myth.

Haloy was born in the central plains of what is now known as Iloilo. His family lived along the bank of what is now known as Tigum River. Haloy helped set up the settlement which would later become the municipality of Cabatuan.

Humangin was Haloy's father. His name is Kinaray-a for wind. According to legend he ran as fast as the wind. When he threw a spear, he could outrun it as he could reach the target before the spear could. Humangin's father was Kilaton, a brave warrior who was the first to settle in central Iloilo. Kilaton's twin brother was Hotik who settled in what is now known as Antique. Many times Hotik would visit his brother by travelling over mountains and gorges. In one instant, he jumped over a gorge, lost his balance, and fell with a loud crash. The fall was forever recorded with what could be the gigantic imprint of his buttocks. The gorge (somewhere in the mountains of what is now known as the town of Maasin) where the imprint is found is, up to now, still referred to by the locals as Ginlumpatan Ni Hotik (Where Hotik Jumped). Kilaton and Hotik were among the early settlers who sailed from Borneo.

When the Spaniards came, Haloy was given the name Alonzo. His wife was christened Amas. They had seven children, all boys. They led a happy and prosperous life. There was a saying that referred to them, 'Si Alonzo pilakan, si Amas bulawanan.' Literally, this translates to, 'Alonzo is moneyed, Amas is covered with gold.'

During that time, the Spaniards were busy building their churches. So the Spanish government issued an edict called quintos which ordered all the fifth sons of couples to render free labor to the church. These sons quarried, carried, and hauled tons of stones to build the massive Christian churches. To identify the fifth sons, the Spaniards gave a different surname to every couple, with the children carrying the surname of their parents.

Alonzo loved his sons so much. He did not like them to become slaves of the church. Therefore, he gave his seven sons seven different surnames.

Sabidorio, or Bido, was one of the sons of Haloy. His surname was different from the surnames of his siblings. Bido's children and decendants carried his surname.

Bido fathered five children, 3 boys and 2 girls. His eldest son was Francisco or Kiko. Kiko fathered Pedro and 9 others. Then Pedro fathered Simeon and a host of others.

Simeon was hard working and cunning. He was said to be fair skinned inspite being an indio. He owned tracks of land. He married three times as his first two wives died. In his third marriage, he had three children. The eldest was Urbano.

I would like to cut short the story of Haloy. By now, you might be already wondering how on earth did I bump into Haloy and his story?

Well, Urbano who was Haloy's great great great grandson and who died when I was in first year high school, happened to be my father.@

Note: The Haloy clan composed of seven families holds its reunion every three years. All decendants of Haloy until the sixth generation are recorded.