I have never met my father’s father nor have I seen any of his photos. However there were stories told to me about him. One of them was from my high school teacher Mr. Ona. Mr. Ona was a classmate of my father at Mapua Institute of Technology. They were studying engineering. Mr. Ona also hailed from Bataan. Mr. Ona said that Donato used to be the mayor of Orion. He was developing a specific kind of soap, one that does not sink. Why is that important? The women go to the river to wash clothes and if the soap sinks to the bottom it’s lost. So there is an advantage of a soap that floats. Mr. Ona also said that Donato makes different kinds of wine. My mother told me that when they evacuated to the mountain during the Japanese occupation, Donato died there. Perhaps from one of the jungle diseases like typhoid or dysentery. He was quite old by that time.

I found the Orion History Book from their website. In that book there is a write-up of Donato Calimbas and also of his brother Francisco. Both Donato and Francisco were mayors of Orion. Bataan. And that they belong to a rich family that owns lands and they belong to the elite of Orion. Here is the excerpt from the historical book.



That is just about all I know about my father’s father. My father did not talk much and most of all he never talk about his family or Orion. It was mentioned to me that they have a house in Orion, Bataan and they grew up in that house.




Donata was married to Emilia del Rosario. Coincidentally my wife Leonard's surname is del Rosario. I met her. She lived in Mandaluyong. How she moved from Orion to Mandaluyong I do not know. she is a small fragile woman with a ready smile. She is fair skinned and has some spanish facial features. 

My mother however had a tidbit of story about the Calimbas. She said that according to an old story, the original Calimbas was a chinaman who came from the chinese boat. And that this chinaman jump ship and stayed in the Philippines. Somehow he settled in Bataan. And that he wore a queue which is normal for a chinese person at the time in history. And that he is a fierce man who brings a long spear with him around town. Apparently this chinaman did well. Donato according to the biography owned vast tracks of land in Orion and Pilar.

What happen to his wealth? According to the biography he spends a lot of money running for mayor. But could all of those wealth be gone just running as a public official? Hardly. I knew my grandmother Emilia was not well to do. She has a modest house in Mandaluyong. I did not hear of any remaining lands that Donato left to his children.

Note: This is my take as to where the name “Calimbas” comes from. The queued chinaman’s name is Lim. This is a common chinese name. He settled in Orion, Bataan, married, had a family and established himself. My guess is that Lim wore a goatee which is usual for the chinese back then. A goatee in Tagalog is called balbas. This somehow got attached to his name and people started calling him Lim Balbas. Later on it got shortened to “Lim Bas”. In the Philippines, they precede a name with ‘Ka” as a sign of respect for the elderly. Lim’s name then became “Ka Lim Bas”. There are people whose surname is Kalimbas and even a street named for it. Somehow the letter K became C and it became Calimbas.

The family must be well to do back then. The brothers Lope, Pacifico, Urbano and Enrique went to college in Manila. Agrifina chose to stay in Orion. Before I went to the US, I went to Orion to see Tiyang Agre. I saw her at the local market. I don’t see her very often but she knows me and invited me to her house. She has a large family. Tiyong Lope looks similar to my father Pacifico. They have the same face, built and almost talk the same way. They have this Orion accent. Lope studied Philosophy and was a musician. He married Tiyang Ila and I met them several times. Tiyang Ila was a nurse. Tiyong Banoy (Urbano) is well to do. He married Tiyang Santa who is a member of a rich chinese family. Tiyong Banoy was an accountant.

The brothers definitely have Spanish features notably Enrique and Pacifico. This probably came from their parents although some chinese blood is mixed in their. On my mother’s side, there is definitely chinese blood.

Tiyong Iking (Enrique) was in the PMA, Philippine Military Academy. Only the brightest of students can entered this prestigious military school. The equivalent of West Point in the US, you must have the endorsement of a congressman or senator to be accepted. In his early days in school, Tiyong Iking got very sick. This is enough for him not to be able to continue schooling. Nobody knows exactly what is wrong with him but he was becoming violet during spells. In those times the “cure” was lobotomy. And this is what they did to him. From then on his violence disappears but he became like a zombie. He can communicate but it does not sound like a sane person. He lived his life under Tiyong Banoy’s house until he died.

I don’t know what is wrong with Tiyong Carding. He never worked in his life. His constant companion is Tiyong Iking. They used to live in our house in Hermosa. They smoke like chimneys and my mother was not too happy about that. I was playing basketball in the Hermosa neighborhood with the”siga-siga” (tough guys of the street). Somebody came to me and ask “Do you know that guy sitting there” He said he is your uncle.” It was Tiyong Carding. In a typical neighborhood in Manila if your face is not familiar and you are hanging around, you will get beaten up. I said, “ That is my Uncle, don’t bother him”!.

In Washington there was a commotion one day. Apparently somebody was taking a bath in the public faucet naked! It was Tiyong Carding. I did not see it and I am not sure if he is 100% naked.
Tiyong Iking wanted to commit himself voluntarily into the Mandaluyong Mental Institute and Tiyong Carding is willing to go with him. Carding likes to walk around the city of Manila until one day I heard that he was run over by a jeep.

They are all gone now. The only one remaining is Tiyang Santa who is the wife of Tiyong Banoy. Their generation has passed and my generation is next. The more reason I have to put down into words whatever I can remember from that generation. There are not many photos because cameras are expensive and films are expensive too. Whatever photos I can find I will put in here.

Tiyang Santa finally passed away too. So today my father's generation are all gone. As our generation will pass too. But as we fade away, the next generation from us are growing and they are giving roots to the generation after them.