III.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. REDUCCION
When the Spanish started Conquista in the conquest of Las Islas Filipina, they had a huge
problem in reason that, the towns were far away and they couldn't control the Indios. Friar Juan de
Plasencia who came to the Philippines as one of the first Franciscan missionaries in 1577 had
suggested, scattered house must put together and move the indigenous people to an order, or the
Pueblo. It has been called as Reduccion from the word reducirse that not only means reduce or shrink,
it also means to submit or subsidize (Hernandez, 2010).
The center is called the Plaza Complex, where institutions such as church, ammunition,
markets and jails are located (Medina, 1994). Consequently, the plaza complex is at the heart of
power, which is the most important thing for Filipinos is Jesus Christ and the king of Spain, around it
are people's homes, closer to the plaza, more influential and powerful, hence, the pueblos were then
called a bajo de las campanas, or under the bells, meaning the reach of the sound of the caliphate was
under the power of Spain (Koller & Acabado, 2018).
Likewise, the trace of reduccion in such its structure still can be seen in various locations in the
Philippines like at Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija. Trace down here was a sketch map of San Roque Catholic
Church from the Church archives and confirmed by the Cuyapo’s Library, that it was in the center of
the Plaza, behind the Municipal hall of Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija and beside the St. Pius X Institute (school).

Figure 1. Sketch Map of San Roque Parish Catholic Church in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija
B. HISTORY OF PATRON SAN ROQUE
LIFE HISTORY OF SAN ROQUE

Life and Roles of San Roque

in the town of Cuyapo. Retrieved from Cuyapo’s
Library

Ang Buhay ni San Roque sa Bayan ng Cuyapo. Retrieved from San Roque
Parish Catholic Church
HISTORY OF SAN ROQUE CHURCH IN CUYAPO, NUEVA ECIJA
As for this, Municipality of Cuyapo became a Rosales Barrio on September 25, 1849, with
Senior Santiago Vergara as its first Teniente del Barrio or Chief of the Barangay (Peoplaid, 2021).
Consequently, Rosales was a part of Nueva Ecija during that time, but during the American regime,
Rosales was made a town of Pangasinan Cuyapo was detached from Rosales, Pangasinan on October
29, 1859, and became a full-fledged town, with Don Juan Pangalilingan as the first Gobernadorcillo
(Verzola, 2013). In addition, 1871, Mayor Roberto Pangilinan, asked the Archbishop of Manila to make
Cuyapo as a parish and provide its own priest, it was during his term that the first Catholic Church and
convent was built by the Foreign Priests during the early American regime on the corner of Aguila St,
District 1 in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija and designated Isidro Isidore the Laborer or San Isidro Labrador as
the church patron saint (Peoplaid, 2021).
Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, cholera was a global problem. This
plague swept the Philippines and took the lives of thousands of Filipinos (Montero y Vidal, 1894).
However from the Public Health Reports (1896-1970) about Cholera, Yellow Fever, Plague, and
Smallpox it was specified in the record that in year 1902- 1909 there was an outbreak of cholera in
the Philippines, and Nueva Ecija had a multiple cases and records of deaths. (Perry, 1909). Moreover,
In the year 1909, there was an outbreak of cholera (communicable disease caused by the bacterium
known as Vibrio cholera (World Health Organization, 2010) epidemic in the town of Cuyapo, in which
believe by the people of Cuyapo that San Roque has the power to heal any plague in such, they called
the named of San Roque and practiced devotion in order to survive from the epidemic, after a long
devotion and faith to San Roque the epidemic was defeat (Sobrevilla & Ducos, 2022).

Figure 2. (Public Health Reports (1896-1970). Public
Health Reports of Cholera occurring in provincial
towns in the Philippines for the week of July 5,
1902- continued.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/41471029
Figure 3. Public Health Reports (1896-1970),
Vol. 24, No. 19 (May 7, 1909). Cholera, Yellow
Fever, Plague, and Smallpox, from December
26, 1908, to May 7, 1909.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4562970

This comprised anything from assuaging worries of oncoming breakouts to seeking healing and
vengeance in the midst of longsuffering to blessing and burying the dead. As protection, the villagers
painted the cross in front of their houses and doorways, carried a wooden cross around their necks, or
kept one in their pockets. The graces of San Roque were invoked in order to free the locals and
Spaniards from the clutches of death (Worcester, 1909).
Since then, the people of Cuyapo requested that San Roque will be new Patron saint of the
Church, after some processes and developments a Catholic religious public establishment now known
as the San Roque Parish Catholic Church or Parokya ni San Roque was established. Since then, his
feast day is celebrated every August 16th (Sobrevilla & Mendoza, 2022).

CONTRIBUTION
A. PERSONAL LIFE AND FAMILY
The pure devotee, who is fully aware of spiritual existence, avoids material attachments while
cultivating his spiritual bond with the Lord. In other words, a devotee's spiritual knowledge not only
helps him to reject material existence, but it also enables him to comprehend the truth of positive,
eternal spiritual existence. (Prabhupada, 2022). From the response of the participants, being devotee
is both growing and encouraging in the same time, growing as a religious person and the same time
encouraging other people or spreading the divine stories behind their patron saint (Omalley, 2022).
Respectively, many benefits, contributions and transformation will be attain basically in personal life
and together in their family.
- Religiosity
-Pilgrimage Practices
- Devotees
- Catechism

B. COMMUNITY
So upon the highlighted by the participants, San Roque Parish Church was a great
contributions to the Municipality of Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija especially in terms being religious but also
peaceful and quite to any bad deeds. As seen and experienced by the participants, not just people
Cuyapo or neighboring cities were managed to believe at Patron San Roque but also some far cities
from Cuyapo were visiting the Church to lead a journey of pilgrimage. As stated by (Mr. Sobrevilla,
2022)“Maraming dumadalaw kay San Roque, hindi lang taga karatig na lugar pero madalas maraming
bumibista at bumabalik kay San Roque para magpilgrimage. At yung San Roque Church, isa yan limang
napili sa napili ng archbisop ng Maynila na Top 5 Most Pilgrimage Church”.
As also in accordance to Ducos, 2022 ), San Roque Parish Catholic Church were chosen by the
Archbishop of Manila in the Top 5 Pilgrimage Church in the Philippines, namely; (1) Holy Face of Jesus
of Manoppello, Immaculate Conception Parish Church in Nampicuan, Nueva Ecija, (2) San Geronimo
Parish in Baloc, Nueva Ecija, (3) Saint Joseph Cathedral in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, (4) Saint Nicolas
of Tolentine Parish in Carangalan, Nueva Ecija and (5) San Roque Parish Catholic Church in Cuyapo,
Nueva Ecija. According to Bro. Christopher Mejia (2018) report, as the congregation of the Company
of Mary in the Philippines had its 28th Montfortian Pilgrimage held in Nueva Ecija and Tarlac, one of
the pilgrims in the Philippines they chosen and visited in the Nueva Ecija which was the San Roque
Parish Church – Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija (Mejia, 2018).
Furthermore, Mendoza, (2022) also mentioned that Healing keeps the people in tack under the
protection of San Roque. And in such, the people were unified, lots of programs, church services,
Pilgrimage and charity affairs were rise and continue to doing it serve also the people of Cuyapo but
also to help other neighboring cities and other religions (Sobrevilla, 2022). In such here are the list of
programs, church services and charity affairs that most of the people of Cuyapo and other cities joined
and contribute to support the church cited by the participants:
a) SAN ROQUE FESTIVAL
b) SAN ROQUE HEALING MASS
c) HOLY MASS FOR PATRON SAN ROQUE
d) DAMAYANG KRISTIYANO
e) OPLAN CATARACT
f) VISITA PATRON
g) CHRISTMAS GIFT GIVING AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
h) FEEDING PROGRAM