<div class="image-550">
<a href="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-26/katipunan-members.webp" rel="lightbox">
<img src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-26/katipunan-members-2.webp" alt="Memebers of the Katipunan" loading="lazy" />
</a>
<div>
(Late 19th-century Katipuneros in military formation)
</div>
</div>

<p>
Candido Iban is best known as one of the Nineteen Martyrs of Aklan, a group of revolutionaries executed by Spanish authorities in 1897. However, his contribution to the cause of Filipino freedom extends far beyond his martyrdom. Historians and scholars credit Iban with a specific, tangible act that changed the course of the revolution: he funded the purchase of the first printing press for the Katipunan. This machine produced <b class="lt-bold">Kalayaan</b>, the revolutionary newspaper that galvanized the masses and swelled the ranks of the society from a few hundred to tens of thousands. Without Iban's lottery winnings, earned diving for pearls in the dangerous waters of Australia, the voice of the revolution might have remained silent, and the uprising might have been easily quelled by the Spanish authorities.   
</p>
<h2>
The Early Life and Environment of Malinao
</h2>
<p>
Candido Iban was born on <time datetime="1863-10-03">October 3, 1863</time>, in the barrio of Lilo-an, within the municipality of Malinao. At the time of his birth, the province of Aklan did not yet exist as a separate political entity; it was a district within the larger province of Capiz on the island of Panay. To understand the man Candido Iban became, one must first understand the world that shaped him. The mid-19th century in the Philippines was a period of slow but steady change, yet for the rural poor, life remained arduous and strictly controlled by the colonial administration and the local elite.   
</p>
<p>
Malinao was a town deeply connected to the water. Its name is derived from the placid river that traverses the western and southern portions of the area before emptying into the larger Aklan River. The people of Malinao were primarily of Malay stock, descendants of settlers who, according to legend, fled the oppressive rule of sultans in Borneo to find freedom in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panay" class="news-link-ext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Panay</a>. This oral history of resistance and migration was part of the cultural fabric of the region, perhaps instilling in Iban an early awareness of the value of liberty.   
</p>
<p>
Iban was the son of a lowly farmer. His family lived in Lilo-an, a barrio located some distance from the poblacion or town center where the Spanish officials and wealthy families resided. Life in the barrio was defined by the agricultural cycle. Men and women worked the land, planting rice and coconuts, or fished in the river and the sea. The economic system was feudal in nature. Most families did not own the land they tilled; instead, they worked as tenants for the principalia, the landed elite who served as intermediaries between the Spanish colonial government and the local population.   
</p>
<p>
Education for a boy of Iban's social standing was severely limited. There were no public schools in the barrios, and the parochial schools in the town centers focused primarily on religious instruction - teaching children to pray, to obey the church, and to accept their station in life. It is unlikely that Iban received extensive formal schooling. However, the lack of a diploma did not equate to a lack of intelligence or capability. The skills required to survive in Malinao - farming, fishing, navigating the river - required discipline, observation, and resilience. These were traits that Iban would carry with him throughout his life.
</p>
<p>
The political atmosphere in Capiz during Iban's youth was one of simmering tension. The Spanish colonial government relied on the Guardia Civil to maintain order and enforce the collection of taxes. The polo y servicio (forced labor) system required all able-bodied male natives to work for the government for a set number of days each year, often building roads or bridges without pay. This system was a source of great resentment among the poor, who could not afford to pay the falla (exemption fee) that the wealthy used to avoid the labor draft. Growing up in this environment, Iban would have witnessed the daily indignities suffered by his family and neighbors - the arbitrary arrests, the excessive taxation, and the arrogance of the friars who held immense power in the countryside.
</p>
<p>
Despite the hardships, the Visayan region was undergoing an economic transformation. The opening of the port of Iloilo to international trade in 1855 sparked a boom in the sugar industry. This created a demand for labor that the local population of Iloilo could not meet. Recruiters began to scour the neighboring provinces of Antique and Capiz for workers. This phenomenon introduced the concept of migrant labor to the region. Young men, seeing no future in the stagnant economy of their home barrios, began to leave for the haciendas of Iloilo and Negros Occidental. Candido Iban was one of these men.
</p>


<h2>
The Migrant Worker: From Sugar Fields to the High Seas
</h2>
<p>
As a young adult, Candido Iban made the decision to leave Malinao. The exact date of his departure is not recorded, but it follows the pattern of internal migration common in the late 19th century. He first moved to Iloilo and then to Negros to work as a laborer in the sugarcane fields. This experience was a crucial stepping stone in his development. The life of a sacada (migrant sugar worker) was notoriously difficult. Workers lived in bunkhouses, worked from dawn until dusk under the tropical sun, and were paid wages that barely covered their food and basic needs.   
</p>
<p>
However, the move to Negros served a vital purpose: it broke the psychological bond to his hometown. For many rural Filipinos, the barrio was the entirety of their world. By leaving Malinao, Iban proved to himself that he could survive in unfamiliar territory. He learned to navigate the social dynamics of the labor camps, where men from different towns and provinces mixed. This exposure to a wider network of Visayans likely broadened his perspective on the shared suffering of the Filipino people under the colonial economy.
</p>
<p>
Yet, the sugar fields did not offer the advancement Iban sought. He was ambitious and possessed an adventurous spirit that could not be satisfied by cutting cane. He began to hear stories of opportunities further afield - specifically in Australia. In the late 19th century, the pearling industry in northern Australia was booming. The industry was hungry for divers, and recruiters were known to hire sailors and laborers from across Southeast Asia, including the Philippines.
</p>
<p>
Iban traveled to Australia, joining a distinct group of Filipino migrants known as the "Manila Men". These were seafarers and adventurers who had established communities in ports like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thursday Island. By joining this diaspora, Iban stepped out of the Spanish colonial sphere and into the wider world of international maritime labor.   
</p>
<p>
The journey to Australia was long and perilous, but the destination offered something the Philippines could not: wages paid in gold or pounds, and a degree of personal freedom. Iban settled in the pearl-diving centers of the north, likely Thursday Island or Broome. Here, he worked as a pearl diver, a profession that was as lucrative as it was deadly.   
</p>
<p>
Pearl diving in the 1890s was a primitive and dangerous operation. Divers often worked with heavy, cumbersome helmets supplied with air from a manual pump on a boat above. Communication with the surface was limited to tugs on a lifeline. The risks were manifold: shark attacks were common, equipment failure could mean suffocation, and the dreaded "bends" (decompression sickness) paralyzed or killed countless divers. The work required immense physical strength, lung capacity, and nerves of steel.
</p>
<p>
Iban's success as a diver speaks to his physical prowess and bravery. It was in this high-risk environment that he forged a deep friendship with <a href="https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/1712/francisco-del-castillo-and-the-19-martyrs-of-aklan" class="news_link">Francisco del Castillo</a>. Del Castillo was a Cebuano, another Visayan who had found his way to Australia. The bond between the Aklanon Iban and the Cebuano Del Castillo was significant. In the Philippines, regionalism often divided the people, but abroad, they were simply Filipinos - or "Manila Men" - united by their language, culture, and shared status as migrants. This friendship would become the foundation of the revolutionary movement in the Visayas.   
</p>
<p>
Living in Australia also exposed Iban to a different political reality. While Indigenous Australians faced severe discrimination, the "Manila Men" operated in a somewhat gray zone where they had more autonomy than in the Philippines. They were free from the watchful eye of the friars and the Guardia Civil. They earned their own money and made their own decisions. This taste of liberty likely fueled a desire to see similar freedoms established in their homeland.
</p>
<h2>
The Lottery Win and the Return to the Philippines
</h2>
<p>
The turning point in Candido Iban's life - and arguably in the history of the Katipunan - occurred in 1894 or 1895. While working in Australia, Iban and Del Castillo pooled their resources to buy a lottery ticket. Luck was on their side, and they won a considerable sum. Historical accounts vary slightly on the exact amount, but the most consistent figure cited is 1,000 pesos.   
</p>
<p>
In the context of the late 19th century, 1,000 pesos was a small fortune. A skilled laborer in Manila might earn only 15 to 20 pesos a month. A carabao, the essential farm animal, cost perhaps 20 pesos. With 1,000 pesos, Iban and Del Castillo could have bought a large tract of land, built substantial houses, and lived out the rest of their days as wealthy members of the principalia in their respective provinces. They could have retired from the dangerous life of diving and settled into comfort.
</p>
<p>
However, the two men made a different choice. They decided to return to the Philippines. They arrived in Manila in 1895. Their return coincided with a critical moment in Philippine history. The reformist propaganda movement was fading, and the radical, separatist movement of the Katipunan was beginning to take shape under the leadership of Andres Bonifacio.   
</p>
<p>
Upon arriving in Manila, Iban and Del Castillo did not immediately return to the Visayas. They stayed in the city, living in the district of <a href="https://kahimyang.com/articles/3255/tondo-manila-from-ancient-kingdom-to-urban-icon" class="news_link">Tondo</a> or <a href="https://kahimyang.com/articles/3003/the-rich-history-of-binondo-manila" class="news_link">Binondo</a>, the working-class heart of the capital. It was here that they came into contact with the Katipunan. The recruitment network of the society was active in these districts, looking for brave and patriotic men to join the cause.
</p>
<p>
Iban and Del Castillo were befriended by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procopio_Bonifacio" class="news-link-ext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Procopio Bonifacio</a>, the brother of the Supremo, <a href="https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/786/today-in-philippine-history-november-30-1863-andres-bonifacio-was-born-in-tondo-manila" class="news_link">Andres Bonifacio</a>. The Bonifacio brothers recognized the potential in these two returning migrants. They were seasoned travelers, physically tough, and financially independent. They were exactly the kind of men the Katipunan needed.   
</p>
<p>
The induction of Candido Iban into the Katipunan took place in the caves of Montalban. This location was chosen for its secrecy and its symbolic power. The caves were associated with Filipino folklore, specifically the legend of Bernardo Carpio, the king of the Tagalogs who was trapped in the mountains and would one day return to liberate his people. By holding initiations there, Bonifacio connected the revolutionary struggle to the deep, mythical roots of the Filipino psyche.   
</p>
<p>
During the initiation rites, Iban performed the Pacto de Sangre (Blood Compact). He made a small incision in his arm, drew blood, and used it to sign his name in the membership book. This act was a solemn vow. It signified that he was now a "son of the people" (Anak ng Bayan), bound by blood to his brothers in the society. He swore to defend the Katipunan, to keep its secrets, and to fight for the independence of the Philippines until death. For a man who had faced death in the ocean, this oath was not taken lightly.
</p>


Candido Iban: The Pearl Diver Who Financed a Revolution, Born October 3, 1863