ARLINGTON ULYSSES BETTS

One of the two early American provincial Governors that remained

permanently in the Philippines (the other was James Ross of Camarines Sur).

Only Betts never left his adopted province. He was also exceptional among

the Governors both in education and experience, and his record of six years

as Governor, four elected, is unique. Born in Ohio in 1867, he was one of the

few native Americans among the volunteers to have studied in Europe. The

second eldest son of a well-to-do family, he received a military education in

Germany at the time Bismark was creating the formidable military machine

which so decisively humbled France in the Franco-German war. On his

return from Europe, Betts went off to Mexico and started a rubber plantation.

When the Spanish-American war broke out, Betts sold his plantation to the

Firestone Rubber Co. and organized the Buckeye regiment of Ohio

volunteers.

Col. Betts, at the head of his regiment, sailed directly from San

Francisco to Legaspi, arriving in 1899 to find the beach fortified by Filipino

troops. The Filipinos opposed the American landing courageously but

ineffectively, at first using homemade cannon balls made of abaca and pieces

of iron. Betts and his men, in contrast to many of the volunteer regiments,

were well armed with Springfield rifles and trench mortars. After a few days

of fighting, the Filipino forces were defeated, and Betts organized a military

government. Moving on with his men to Barrio Bantayan in Tabaco, Betts

met strong resistance from the remaining Filipino forces, who here were well

armed and using captured Spanish cannon. Nonetheless, after suffering

substantial losses, the volunteers took over the town, and Betts turned his

attention to governing the province. The social and professional composition

of his regiment made this relatively easy. Many of the volunteers were

professionals, with fine educational backgrounds in civil life: doctors,

engineers, teachers, accountants and technicians of all kinds. Even so, the

first months were an ordeal.

With military governments in most towns and provinces concentrating

on the establishment of public schools, most of the officers had, figuratively,

to make bricks without straw. Betts, like some others, turned to his

hometown for help. After several months, crates of textbooks for all grades

and a generous quantity of school supplies arrived from his town mates. In

the meantime, he improvised writing paper from banana and abaca leaves

and utilized as ink a red juice made from a local fruit tree. Improvisation also

solved the currency problem. Spanish paper money had been abolished, and

there was almost no American currency, so Betts used paper and a

homemade stamp, modeled on the ubiquitous local Chinese variety, to create

his own fiat money which circulated in the province until the arrival of

American currency.

Civil Government was proclaimed in 1901, and after two years as

military Governor, Betts found himself elected for four years to the office of

Provincial Governor by the votes of the mayors and councilmen of the

Province, in the process defeating nine Filipino candidates. During these

years, he emphasized health and sanitation as well as education and the

restoration of the abaca industry. Hemp buyers, deprived by the hostilities of

their supplies for several years, were clamoring for abaca, and the provincial

economy was heavily dependent on its production. Betts was capably

assisted in his work of reconstruction by Lt. Governor Roman Santos, who

succeeded him in office in 1905, and by an able secretary, Joaquin Tomas,

from a prominent propertied family of the province, whose daughter he

married.

Betts never left Albay. A man of means himself, an intelligent and

capable businessman who married into a wealthy family, he acquired

plantations, real estate, a coal mine and sawmills. Five children were born of

his marriage, the eldest Joe, taking over management of the family business

and property. Although Betts suffered severe property losses while with the

guerrillas in the Albay hills during the Japanese occupation, the family

resumed its prominent place in provincial life after the war. In 1957, aged

91, Arlington Betts died.

Source:

Gleeck, Lewis E. Jr. Americans on the Philippine Frontiers. Manila: Carmelo & Bauermann, Inc., 1974.

GOVERNOR MANUEL CALLEJA Y MARONILLA

Don Manuel is best remembered and written about as an illustrado. He

distinguished himself as a lawyer, a Fiscal, a Judge of the Justice of Peace

Court, a Governor, a Judge of the People’s Court and a Judge of the Court of

First Instance. He was reared in the old school and belonged to it with great

honor and distinction. In the discharge of his functions and responsibilities in

the various public offices that he held, he was singularly known as an

outstanding public servant and a man of the people. As a lawyer, he

espoused the caused of the poor and rich, of the privileged and the less

privileged. He had a golden heart and a keen mind, both of which he used to

advance the cause of his clients in their quest for justice. Because he was an

outstanding lawyer who possessed and displayed superior integrity and

probity, he deservedly merited the various appointments as Provincial Fiscal

and Judge of the Justice of the Peace Court, the People’s Court and the Court

of the First Instance.

As Governor-elect of the Province of Albay before World War II and

after the war, he served the people with untiring dedication and great

sacrifice. He was loved and respected in the barrios and in the towns

throughout the province. He is remembered to this day as a loving, caring,

selfless public servant.

The son of Don Ignacio Calleja and Doña Aguilina Maronilla, Don

Manuel was married to Paz Aspillera by whom he had three sons and three

daughters, who all measured up exceedingly well to his expectations. The

eldest and the youngest of them dedicated their lives to the military service

and died for their country in line of duty. The eldest Luis, was in the Death

March from Bataan to Capas in World War II. The youngest Ignacio III was

a Philippine Military graduate. The three daughters, Alice, Zaling and Nenita

and the other son Peping have distinguished themselves in their own way in

various occupations and professions in life. But very close to his heart was

his son, Pascual, who adored him and had always tried to be that worthy

“chip” off the old block. Don Manuel will long live in the memory as the

most worthy son of the town of Libon and in the best traditions of the people

of Albay.

GOVERNOR NICANOR MARONILLA-SEVA, JR.

He belonged to the first batch of who graduated Bachelor of Laws

from the Ateneo de Manila where he studied elementary and secondary

(1922-1933) and Associate in Arts (Pre-law in 1935). On the year of his

graduation, 1939, he passed the bar. Barely 24, he studied at Adamson

University graduating Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service in 1948. He

was then in military service as Second Lieutenant in the Philippine Army in

Camp Murphy since 1939. From 1941 to 1942, he joined the Philippine war

campaign during the Second World War in Bataan Peninsula. He was among

the war prisoners who joined the Death March and was incarcerated at

Capas, Tarlac from 1942 to 1943. After the liberation, he became Judge

Advocate assistant to Col. Fred Ruiz Castro in JAGO from 1945 to 1949.

Later, he became a prosecutor of Philippine War Crimes Commission from

1949 to 1952. He held government positions first as member of the

President’s Complaints and Action Commission (PCAC) in Malacañang

Palace from 1952 to 1954. In 1955, he was elected governor of Albay

holding the term from 1955 to 1959. He was reelected governor by

overwhelming majority votes from 1959 to the time of his death on

November 4, 1962.

Already early at the time of his demise, he had distinguished himself

as member of the Executive Committee of the Nacionalista Party;

spokesman for the Bikol Delegation to the Nacionalista Party Conventions;

Member of the Philippine Governors’ League at age 39 as youngest

governor elected. He had sponsored the construction and opening of the

Libon-Pantao Magsaysay Feeder Road after a project dormancy of 25 years,

officially inaugurated by President Carlos P. Garcia. he initiated and

sponsored the construction of the municipal and barangay school buildings

which were needed to enhance education specially at elementary level. He

initiated and sponsored the construction of feeder roads from barangays to

municipalities to foster economic efficiency of the people. To the people of

Albay, he rendered and accounting of his first four-years terms of office as

governor, according to him, “in fulfillment of our sworn responsibility of

promoting your welfare and protecting your interests… your personal well-

being has always been our constant guide and your confidence our

encouragement.” Adhering strictly to facts and statistics, he avoided half-

truths and exaggerations. Thus did he make a clear statement.

He gave a report of the provincial finance by expenditures: a summary

of roads built and improved from 1946 to June 30, 1959; a summary of

public works- the constructions, improvement and maintenance of roads and

bridges, public buildings, port works, river control, irrigation and other

public works like lighthouses, the airport.

Source: Libon Fiesta sa Maynila 1998-1999 Souvenir Program.

GOVERNOR JOEY SARTE SALCEDA

Acknowledged by many as the chief architect of the Fiscal Roadmap

to Recovery of the Arroyo administration and a senior policy adviser to the

President, Governor Salceda was formerly a three-term lawmaker from the

Third District of Albay (1998-2007). He was appointed as Presidential Chief

of Staff last February 9, 2007 and has worked as a Congressional Fellow to

former Speaker Ramon Mitra and Chief-of-Staff to then congressman,

senator and Education Secretary Raul Roco.

Voted by foreign fund managers in Asiamoney’s Annual Survey as

“Best Analyst” in 1995 and “Best Economist” for four consecutive years

from 1993 to 1996, Gov. Salceda has a wealth of insights on legislation,

policy, research and market dynamics.

During the 11th Congress, three of his substantial economic proposals

became law – Republic Act No. 8751 or the Countervailing Duty Law,

Republic Act No. 8752 or the Antidumping Law, and Republic Act No. 8800

or the Safeguard Measures Law. These measures are critical in allowing the

country realize the full benefits of its membership in the World Trade

Organization (WTO) and at the same time protect domestic farmers. In the

12th Congress, he was the author of Republic Act No. 9243 – An Act

Rationalizing the Provisions on the Documentary Stamp Tax on Financial

transactions which supports the development of the domestic capital

markets.

Gov. Salceda is also fondly regarded as the “Founding Father of Ligao

City” after his successful sponsorship of the measure converting the

municipality of Ligao into a component city under Republic Act No. 9008.