Whereas, the recorded history of the Philippines is incomplete;

Whereas, a great wealth of historical material is believed to be still in the possession of the people, much of which is preserved only in the memory of some of those who are still living and the rest in manuscripts which are not fully safeguarded from destruction; and

Whereas, it is to the public interest that this material be gathered and preserved in as complete a form as possible and made available to future historians;

Now, therefore, I, Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by law, hereby direct that the information hereinafter specified be secured by the provincial governor of each province in the Philippines and by the city mayor in the case of a city, and that the same be transmitted to the Director of the National Library not later than December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and thirty-eight, for compilation and preservation.

The following rules shall govern the collection and transmission of the desired information:

(a) Upon the promulgation of this Executive Order each provincial governor shall immediately issue instructions to all municipal mayors under his jurisdiction, and in the case of a city, each city mayor shall issue such instructions to any of the city officials designated by him, enjoining said municipal mayors or city officials, as the case may be, to call together the old men in each and every barrio, sitio or district in each municipality or city and obtain from them or

from any documents in their possession the entire history of such community in so far as may be possible.

(b) The information desired is as follows:

1. Present official name of the barrio.

2. Native name of the barrio with its meaning; changes in the name of the barrio, if any, and the derivation of the names; and the names of the sitios included within the jurisdiction of the barrio.

3. Date of establishment of the barrio.

4. Original families of the barrio.

5. List of the tenientes of the barrio from the earliest time to date.

6. Story of old barrios or sitios that are now depopulated.

7. Traditions, legends folk tales, beliefs, proverbs, sayings, superstitions, puzzles, songs, nursery rhymes, etc. (It is preferable that these be written in the language or dialect of the locality and that the vernacular version be accompanied with a translation in English.)

8. Data on any historical site, structures, buildings, old ruins, etc.

The town or city

9. Present official name of the town or city.

10. Former name or names of the town or city with their meanings.

11. Date of establishment of the town or city.

12. Traditions, legends, folk tales, beliefs, proverbs, sayings, superstitions, puzzles, songs, nursery rhymes, etc. (It is preferable that these be written in the language or dialect of the locality and that a translation in English be forwarded with the vernacular versions.)

13. Data on any historical site, structures, buildings, old ruins, etc.

14. Important historical events that took place in the town or city.

15. Names of all capitanes municipales, alcaldes mayores, curas parrocos, jueces, municipal presidents, or other officials, that may be obtained in the community.

The province

16. Present official name of the province.

17. Former name or names of the province with their meanings.

18. Date of establishment of the province.

19. Chronological list of all the governors and principal officials of the province.

20. Names of at least five of the most outstanding citizens (only among those already dead) in the province together with a statement of their achievements.

21. Important historical events that took place in the province.

(c) The name of the family or families that have kept the records mentioned above should be indicated in order that due credit may be given to such family or families.

(d) All writings should be signed by the governor (for the history of the province), by the city mayor (for the history of the city), by the municipal mayor (for the history of the town), and by the teniente of the barrio (for the history of the barrio). However, the materials mentioned in numbers seven, eight, twelve, and thirteen of paragraph (b) should bear the signatures of the persons from whom such materials have been secured.

(e) Information should also be given regarding books and documents treating of the Philippines owned in any community, in order that such books or documents as are desired may be obtained for the National Library, if possible by purchase or gift.

(f) The names of all Filipino authors of any community and the titles of all their productions, whether printed or in manuscript, should be included. If the productions are in manuscript form, a statement should be given of the names of the persons in possession of the same.

(g) All papers pertaining to the barrios shall be delivered to the mayor of the town, who shall forward the same together with the data pertaining to his municipality, to the governor of the province. All the original documents and translations, if any, shall be forwarded by the provincial governor in a carefully made and well-protected package to the Director of the National Library, Manila. Each package shall be marked œHistorical Documents.  The same procedure shall be followed by the city mayor in forwarding to the Director of the National Library all papers and documents pertaining to the city.

Done at the City of Manila, this third day of January, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and thirty-eight, and of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the third.


By the President:

(Sgd.) JORGE B. VARGAS
Secretary to the President