• KARL ROMEO SOLAND y LACSON, Historian and genealogist, Bacolod City
In my February 25, 2026, article for the Visayan DAILY STAR, I introduced the Matutino family of Barrio Cabutungan (formerly Anilao), Sara, as one of Iloilo’s best-preserved examples of local Principalía heritage. The focus was on Doña Leoncia Matutino y Aberde (c. 1863) and her husband Don Guillermo Arada y Aranda, prominent late Spanish-era figures.
This second part explores the family’s deeper roots through surviving records, consistent oral tradition, and cross-referenced historical documents.
The earliest firmly documented generation is Raymundo Matutino y Alejandrino (b. c. 1827) and his wife Lorenza Aberde (b. c. 1837, sometimes listed as Florencia). The 1876 tributary/Polista lists for Anilao/Sara record Raymundo at age 49, including his occupation, marital status, and children: Simplicio (20), Modesta (16), Leoncia (13), Caripia (11) and Sergia. These Spanish tax and labor rolls highlight the family’s established position, modest prosperity, and local involvement— hallmarks of Principalía status.
The family history names Raymundo as the son of Don Ignacio Matutino y Ledesma, who held offices as Cabeza de Barangay and Gobernadorcillo in the mid-19th century. Don Ignacio was a brother of Jose Matutino y Ledesma. Their father was Don Felipe Matutino y de la Cruz, whose wife—and grandmother to Raymundo and his siblings—was Doña Carmen Ledesma, from Iloilo’s prominent Ledesma family.
Raymundo’s brother was Don Benito Matutino y Alejandrino, uncle to Leoncia. Don Agapito Matutino, son of Jose Matutino y Ledesma, was their cousin.
A key indicator of influence is the 1876 simultaneous appointment of two Matutino kin as Cabeza de Barangay: Don Benito in Cabecería No. 23 and Don Agapito in Cabecería No. 5. This unusual control of neighboring jurisdictions shows a calculated Principalía approach to consolidating power, typical in Visayan elite networks. Remarkably, the Cabecería No. 5 document already designates the successor: Teodoro Matutino, another cousin to Benito, Raymundo, and Agapito—rendering the office effectively hereditary within the family.
Raymundo, Benito, and Agapito all married into equally prominent, landowning Principalía families of Anilao and Sara: Raymundo to the Aberde family, Benito to Doña Josefa Cabangal, and Agapito to Doña Catalina Aposaga. These strategic alliances were classic Principalía practice to safeguard status, land, and influence under colonial rule. This economic dimension is further evidenced by early 20th-century notarial records: The Matutino family lands, especially those of Doña Leoncia Matutino y Aberde, appear as adjoining properties in at least three distinct sales contracts involving different parties, often notable local landowners. Such frequent boundary references in independent deeds serve as a reliable marker of significant landholdings and the family’s prominent position among Sara/Anilao’s landed elite.
Via Doña Leoncia, the Matutino heritage passed to the Arada family, then to the Pamoceno family of Sara (a Spanish-descended mestizo lineage) and the Cuaycong-Lacson family of Negros Occidental. This unbroken thread—from 19th-century barangay leaders to the present—illustrates how indigenous leadership adapted and persisted through generations.
In an era dominated by social media and fleeting attention, many Filipino families lose connection to their past beyond two or three generations. The Matutino story reminds us of the importance of deliberate preservation. By gathering and sharing these surviving fragments, we strengthen our genealogical, historical-sociological, and cultural identity—offering a steady anchor amid modern transience and helping future generations hold on to a true sense of rootedness and belonging.*
