The Caraga Mission

The mission of Caraga was established by Fr. Pablo Pastells, SJ, and Fr. Juan Terricabras, SJ, who earlier substituted for Fr. Gregorio Parache, SJ, in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur.

Fr. Pastells left his Surigao assignment on October 4, 1876 and arrived at Cateel on November 1. Along the way he visited the villages of Quinablangan, Dapnan, Baganga, Baculin, and Manurigao before reaching Caraga. A huge, expectant crowd met the clerics. Fr. Parache, who joined Fr. Pastells from Surigao, handled the arrangements of the temporary residence of the priests.

The plan to establish a settlement in Dauan (San Jose), described as ‘a very good place beside the Caraga river, flat and possessing the assets offered by a river, hills, plains, forests, and the sea,’ was well received by the village officials. They even consulted Fr. Pastells about the project’s time frame, which would serve as timetable for the negotiations with the municipal leaders and the principals of the mission where the new village would be erected.

Amid this development, the animosity between the Manobos of Hinatuan, Agusan del Sur, and the Mandayas of Baganga, Davao Oriental, remained. Although there was relative peace in the southern part of Cateel between 1875 and 1885, tribal customs, in part affected by the resettlement project, encouraged occasional killings and slavery. Residing in a well-organized community did not only prohibit the use of strict traditions, but also punishing crimes contrary to civil standards. To contain violence, the parish priest had to seek military help from Bislig to mediate between warring factions. An example of this volatility was the massacre of 117 Manobos who were attacked by the Mandayas at Ulip, Upper Agusan.

On November 30, 1876, a group of village chiefs dropped by the rectory of Fr. Pastells and discussed with him their plan to form the settlement of San Ignacio ‘in Calatagan situated halfway along the road between Tubud and Manay.’ Dadom, the Mandaya chief, also requested the founding of the village of Santa Maria (Zaragosa) near the Casauman River.

By January 2, 1877, eight new reductions were established by the Jesuits, namely: San Estanislao de Kostka, near Mampanon; San Francisco Javier, in Manay; San Ignacio de Loyola, in Calatagan; Santiago, near the anchorage of Tubod; San Pedro, of Cabaguan along Tigbauan; Santa Fe, in Capanaan; San Luis Gonzaga, of Baogo; and Nuestra Senora del Carmen, of La-miauan, in Manurigao. A village named Baguan was founded at the instance of Datu Kom-kom, a Muslim chief.

Fr. Pastells’ rapport with the natives and the Moro chiefs was one of the most successful missionary efforts that cemented Christianity in the east coast. Aside from attending to their spiritual needs, the padre helped in the restoration of villages and old settlements founded by the early missionaries. In a March 4, 1877, letter to his Mission Superior, he detailed his housing, tribunal, and school building projects in Caraga, Manay, and nearby settlements:

‘Caraga was to build one hundred fifty houses; nearly one half of those are now finished, and the second half will start later. The tribunal is finished, work has started on the church and the convent, and the posts for the schools have been cut. For the time being the boys go to school in the tribunal and the girls in a provisional school building… Everything is done in accordance with the plan of Your Reverence, with only a slight modification, viz., that hammer-shaped wing formed by the church and convent is as wide as that of the right angle formed by both, both being nine fathoms in width…’

In the last part of the 19th century, the parish of Caraga, comprising the area from Cateel down to Manay, hardly progressed since the Recollects arrived there. In Baganga, there were only six houses, while Cateel, with eight barrios, was set for transfer to Dacungbanua (Boston) because of its difficult dock. The new site, called Cateel Nuevo, had a coastline with better anchorage. Still, the amenity did not attract many inhabitants who were reluctant to leave the old village. (9)