COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES MUNICIPALITY OF LUCBAN TAYABAS MEMORIAL OF THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF LUCBAN, PRESENTED TO THE PHILIPPINE-AMERICAN PREPARATORY COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS HEADED BY HON. JOHN VAN MACMURRAY ON THE OCCASION OF ITS VISIT SEPTEMBER 10, 1937 GENTLEMEN: On behalf of the people of the municipality of Lucban, Province of Tayabas, Philippines, the undersigned, members of the Municipal Council, respectfully and earnestly solicit your help and assistance in the solution of our serious problem, "the prohibition of the exportation of buntal fibers to foreign countries". Before the exportation of buntal fibers to foreign countries like China and Japan, the yearly income of the people of this municipality alone, from the buntal-hat industry was over a million pesos. After the exportation of such fibers became an established business, which permitted foreign competition of said industry, the yearly income fell to only about fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) which is only five per centum of the former income. To prove this assertion, we submit for your consideration and guidance statistics and graphs hereto attached. The buntal-fibers exportation prohibition act, which was duly approved by the National Assembly, is now at the hand of His Excellency The Great President of the United States for consideration. The Presidential sanction on the said prohibition act means a blessing to our now prostrate buntal-hat industry; it containing provisions conducive to saving the said buntal-hat industry from complete ruin and unhappy situation which may be forthcoming due to keen competition and monopolistic exportation of buntal fibers abroad. The unfavorable consideration of the Great President of the United States on said prohibition act will materially redound to the virtual killing of the buntal-hat industry, and sacrifice the prosperity of an American territory to no advantage whatsoever to anyone under her sovereignty, but merely to the benefit and interest of foreign competitors. There is no denying the fact that the life and blood of a good many towns of this Province, as well as the Provinces of Laguna and Bulacan, especially this municipality depend mostly upon the buntal-hat industry. For some years now, the people of this municipality are undergoing one of the severest trials of their lives due to the said keen competition abroad with the resulting tremendous fall in the prices of our buntal hats. We are fully conscious that our greatest com petitor is China, and she relies on us for the supply of her buntal fibers. This being the fact, it is quite easy to remove her, if our Government really chooses to. We sincerely believe that should the very objective of this memorial materializes, prosperity without peradventure of any doubt will return to us for keeps, where commercial and industrial activities will mark a feverish tempo. We, therefore, reiterate our oft-repeated request to prohibit the exportation of buntal fibers. We submit to you our case respectfully and earnestly. In it are the wishes, prayers, fears and hopes of the people of Lucban, whom in fact and in law, we represent. We await with confidence and eagerness the consummation of the very objective of this memorial. 1922. 1923 1924. 1925 1926. 1927_ 1928. TABLE OF BUNTAL-HAT EXPORTS FROM LUCBAN, TAYABAS CENTER OF THE BUNTAL-HAT INDUSTRY (Lucban hats are known commercially as bangkok hats) Lucban is the center of the hat industry. The other surrounding towns engaged in the same industry are Lucena, Pagbilao, Sariaya, Tayabas, Lopez, Sampaloc, Mauban, all of Tayabas Province, and Luisiana, Cavinti, and Majayjay, Laguna. When the demand for this kind of buntal hats was at its maximum, the greatest production has reached 2,200 ternos weekly, or 17,600 hats, making a total of 70,400 hats a month more or less. |