The Fishponds of Malabon

There was a time when the bangus (milkfish) fishponds of Malabon nearly dominated its landscape.

So much so that some long-time residents even think, at some point, the area covered by fishponds might have been almost the same or perhaps even a little more than the non-fishpond area.  This may just be perception, of course, or a belief based on a flawed or biased memory.

But no one could dispute the fact that back then, up to perhaps the 1960s -- a wide expanse of fishponds existed in Malabon, as far as the eye could see.  In fact, of the four major roads going out of Malabon, three used to be flanked on both sides by fishponds:  Letre Road and Governor Pascual Avenue, both going to Caloocan City, and Dampalit Road going to Obando, Bulacan.

Dagat-Dagatan fishponds along Letre Road in 1966  (Photo from S. T. Cajucom)

What made Malabon a natural environment for fishponds?  The first and most important reason is obvious:  proximity to Manila Bay with its rivers going inland, gives Malabon access to saltwater that could be used in fishponds.

Another is that the pond soil found in Malabon is fertile and suitable for the growth of natural fish food.  It is also the right kind of muddy soil called "labon" (thus, "Malabon" denoted a place of soft mud 1/) that could be made into fishpond dikes and at the same time was a natural habitat for mangrove trees (bakawan) with its spread-out roots serving to reinforce the dikes.


A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON WHAT USED TO BE ONE OF MALABON'S PRIMARY INDUSTRIES

The first fishpond was established in 1863 in Barrio Concepcion, Malabon, Rizal, by one Domingo Cornel.  His method became successful, that it was eventually followed not just by his townmates, but by neighboring towns and provinces as well:  Caloocan, Navotas, Obando, Polo, Bulacan, Hagonoy, and later in other coastal towns of Luzon.  Fishponds were constructed in all the municipalities bordering Manila and Lingayen Gulf. 2/

In the old days, local fishpond operators followed the traditional way of culturing bangus, where they would feed their stocks with natural food known as lablab (a type of algae). However, it was a tedious process.

To prepare a pond for growing the algae, water is drained first from the pond, then tobacco dust is scattered on the pond bottom in order to purge it of fish predators. The pond is then sun dried, and afterwards scattered with chicken manure with a little water let in from the river to moisten it.

When the algae growth is already satisfactory, more water is let in and the bangus fry or fingerlings are then transferred to that pond.  There are usually three kinds of divisions within a fishpond - nursery pond, formation pond and rearing pond - which is why you will see that most fishponds have divisions or boxes within them.

The bangus are transferred from one pond to the next, as they grow in size.  When the bangus have reached the desired size, they are harvested and sold through brokers at the fish market in Bayan or years ago, also in Hulo. 3/


At present, most fishpond operators (the few left in Malabon and those from Bulacan, Pangasinan and other areas involved in bangus farming) use commercial feeds for their stock, thus skipping the long and laborious pond preparation for growing algae.  It is said, however, that milkfish that grew on natural food is better-tasting.


WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE FISHPONDS OF MALABON?

You don't even need to go around Malabon nowadays to know that the bangus farming industry in Malabon is a dying industry.  A simple ride through either Letre Road or Governor Pascual Avenue alone will tell you so.  I can only think of one reason, which is the usual reason why a business closes down or does not thrive:  bangus fishpond farming is no longer as profitable.  After all, what businessman would give up a business if it were profitable?

But why is it happening in Malabon, and not to the many other fishpond operations in  Bulacan, Laguna, or Pangasinan?  Pollution is believed to be a likely major factor.  Because of the pollution in Manila Bay and the rivers of Malabon, the quality of the saltwater coming from them is no longer suitable for growing bangus.

Another likely reason we could think of is that, because of Malabon's proximity to Manila, the increase in the value of land now makes it more viable to turn fishponds into residential or commercial land.

There may be other factors unique to the individual fishpond operators that might have brought about the near-disappearance of the industry. But the result is the same: there are now only a few fishponds left in Malabon.  And I expect that it is only a matter of time before those fishponds also go the way of the many vanished fishponds before them.



A VANISHING SIGHT: MALABON FISHPOND AT DUSK

One late afternoon I decided to find myself some fishponds and take pictures.  Yes, find.  Unlike before when we used to see fishponds left and right whenever we headed out through Letre Road or Governor Pascual Avenue, now we have to go to some out-of-the-way place.

And yes, take pictures.  You see, I'm afraid that time will come when these pictures are all that our great grandchildren will ever get to see of the fishponds of Malabon...

Fishpond along Muzon road.  The sky at day's end and birds in flight combine with the fishpond to create a  stunning scene. 

What a peaceful scene.  Just one of the many reasons why I grew up loving Malabon.

Short stretch of road in Muzon with fishponds on both sides - one of the remaining few...  (I wanted to take the picture from the middle of the road so I could show the fishpond on the right side as well.  But I was afraid of getting run over!)

1/    From Tambobong to City of Malabon by Nonoy Marcelo, 2004
2/    History of Malabon-Navotas by Salvador Sevilla, Santos Tiangco, 1976 (quoting Census of the Phil. 1918, Vol. IV, 
       Part 1, page 588).
3/    Info on pond preparation procedures provided by my husband.

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Discovering Balsa sa Niugan

We've heard about BALSA SA NIUGAN for quite a while now, so we decided to see for ourselves what it was about.

Located in a small street a little off San Antonio de Padua Parish Church, it is known as a floating restaurant because you can dine on bamboo rafts, or balsa. I wanted to order the sizzling pork sisig which I heard was its most popular dish, but eventually decided on something a little healthier instead -- the tilapia sisig -- to go with pinacbet.  Both were delicious and the servings were quite big for me and my husband.  Their menu is also quite varied, and with not too many diners by the time we had our late lunch, the overall ambience, as their poster says, was cool and relaxed.

According to Nelia Geronimo, whose family owns the restaurant, BALSA SA NIUGAN was established in July 1998.  It was originally a fishpond, which they converted into a restaurant.  They first started with only four rafts.  They have since added pavilions for bigger groups, and more recently they opened a coffee shop.  They usually have more diners in the evening. 

A collage of their famous customers

The coffee shop was not yet open when we went for lunch.  Nelia said it usually opens around 4:00 pm.

BALSA SA NIUGAN
#3 M. Aquino Street
Barangay Niugan
Malabon City
Tel. No. 448.1033
Hours:  11:00 A.M. to 12:00 midnight (Monday to  Sunday)


P.S.   I read over the Internet tonight that you could catch your own tilapia and they could cook it for you at BALSA.  I didn't know you could do that when we had lunch there today, so I phoned BALSA tonight to confirm.  I was told that since 2009 you could no longer catch your own tilapia.

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The Tranvia: part and parcel of Malabon's proud history

LEAFING THROUGH THE PAGES OF MALABON'S HISTORY shows us the town's importance during the Spanish era.  Not only did the Spaniards build San Bartolome Church in Malabon, considered "probably the only church of its kind in the whole Philippines, and probably the highest and biggest among all, including the Manila Cathedral;"  the first railway, the Manila-Malabon railway, was also built there.


Up to the early 1880s, different types of horse-drawn carriages -- carreton, calesa, carruaje, carromata -- served as the Filipinos' means of transportation.

In 1878 Leon Monssour, an official of the colony's Department of Public Works, submitted a proposal to Madrid for a streetcar system.  The envisioned system was to be a five-line network emanating from Plaza San Gabriel in Binondo, running to Intramuros, Malate, Malacanang, Sampaloc and Tondo.

Spain approved his proposal, but it was only in 1882 when businessman Jacobo Zobel de Zangroniz, Spanish engineer Luciano M. Bremon, and Madrid banker Adolfo Bayo formed La Compania de Tranvias de Filipinas to operate the concession granted by the government.



THE MANILA-MALABON LINE

The Malacanang line was not built as planned and was replaced instead by the Malabon line.  Consisting of four German-made locomotives and eight nine-passenger coaches, the Manila-Malabon railway was the first to be finished of the five lines and it was inaugurated on October 20, 1888.  All five lines were constructed between 1885 and 1889.

The other four lines were horsedrawn.

Horse-drawn tranvia in Manila c. late 1880s (from the collection of Dr. Leonardo Q. Leongson)

But the Malabon line ran on steam, making Malabon the first to have a steam-powered streetcar in the Philippines.

Steam-powered tranvia c. 1900s (from the flickr site of Okinawa Soba and from Old Philippines)

The rail line served Malabon, which was already prosperous because of its cigar-making factories, bangus culture and a large sugar mill owned and managed by British businessmen.

The Manila-Malabon line was approximately seven kilometers. Tondo, then the country's commercial capital, was the end of the line.  There were two other transfer points - Maypajo (in Caloocan) and Dulo, at the north end of that community.  The Tondo terminal was a simple two-story wooden structure with the first floor serving as waiting area, while the Malabon end was located at the roadside under an acacia tree where the conductor sold tickets.

According to Isabelo de los Reyes (1864-1938), writer, civic leader and senator, service originated from Tondo at 5:30 a.m. and ended at 7:30 p.m.

Trips from Malabon, on the other hand, were from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., every hour on the hour in the mornings and every half hour beginning 1:30 p.m in the afternoons if there were many passengers.

Railway tracks c. late 1880s (from Old Philippines and also from the collection of Dr. Leonardo Q. Leongson)

Tranvia on Escolta with the sign going to Malabon  (from a Facebook friend)

The steam-powered Malabon "Tranvia a Vapor" described by Isabelo delos Reyes was almost lost from national memory after American troops captured and converted it into a troop line.  Circa 1899-1902 (from the collection of Dr. Leonardo Q. Leongson). 

According to our Tita Soledad, in the late 1930s to early 1940s she and my husband's mother Ofelia and aunt Gwen used to take the tranvia from San Bartolome going to Maryknoll College, which was then located at Isaac Peral (now UN Avenue).  By that time, all the tranvias ran on electric power and some of the stations along the route they used to take going to Maryknoll included Maypajo, Gagalangin, Lawton and San Marcelino.

The Malabon station was located right in front of San Bartolome Church, and it must have been the "Dulo" station referred to during the Spanish era.  Tita Soledad recalls that the tranvia got destroyed in 1945 when the American liberation forces were forced to bomb south of the Pasig River where the Japanese holed themselves up for a last-ditch stand.


Thanks to my brother-in-law Ramon and to a Facebook friend for helping provide the pictures and references regarding the Manila-Malabon railway, and to Tita Soledad for her personal recollections.



References:
1)  History of Malabon-Navotas, by Salvador Sevilla, Santos Tiangco, 1976.
2)  The Metro Manila LRT System - A Historical Perspective, by Gary L. Satre, published in the Japan Railway and
     Transport Review, June 1998.
3)  The Railways in Philippine History, by Augusto V. De Viana, Ph.D, National Historical Institute, 2008.
4)   Daang Bakal: Tren, Tranvia at LRT/MRT - Images of Philippine Railroad Progress from the collection of Dr. Leonardo Q. Leongson, 2003.


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The Rojas-Borja House: going back in Time

Have you ever imagined what it might be like to go back in time to nearly nine decades ago?

Just recently I was thrilled to find myself inside one of the most beautiful and best-preserved heritage houses of Malabon, the ROJAS-BORJA HOUSE. Ascending the gleaming hardwood staircase, I instantly felt myself transported back in time to a gracious, bygone era. 

A welcoming sight

A quiet reading nook

Charming decorative touches all around

Pictures are not enough to describe how it felt to be there... as if Time had stood still in this house, and I was seeing everything exactly the way it was when the original owners, Manuel Borja and his wife Leona Rojas lived there in the 1920s.

Unmistakable elegance surpassing any modern architectural design you can think of

The feeling of connection to the past was so palpable that, despite the din of jeepneys, tricycles and humanity surrounding it, inside that house, I could be oblivious to them all.  It was like having Christopher Reeve's antique penny in his coat pocket in "Somewhere in Time" --  I was back in time and that was the reality of my moment. 

Too bad, as soon as I stepped out on the sidewalk after the antique wrought-iron gate closed behind me, it was back to the 2010 reality of Malabon - more specifically, an unsightly concrete barangay hall that had the temerity to stand alongside and even block our view of a heritage gem!

Of one thing I am certain: even though the face of Malabon may have changed in ways that we no longer recognize, as long as we have our rich heritage, there is still much of her soul left to cherish...



My profound thanks to Dr. Zenaida Borja Gonzales for graciously letting me experience going back in time in their beautiful ancestral house.


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