The Tagbanua Matriarchs


The towns of Aborlan and Inagawan are tied to the Joya Family. History has shown how the Masikampo lineage flourished even as the society changed through years of colonization. The Kursud family descendants sustained the Tagbanua heritage amidst the grueling challenges posed by modernization and conflicts of interest within the family. In celebration of International Women's Day, we honor the matriarchs of the Tagbanua and Pala'wan tribes. Pictured above is the late Rafaela "Apo Pila"Kursud Joya and her daughter Quintera "Apo Kimko" Joya. Apo Pila was of mixed Pala'wan and Tagbanua heritage. Her father was the respected Masikampo Kursud who married a Pala'wan princess from the influential Impot family of Malatgao. Rafaela Kursud was a beloved person in Aborlan and donated a parcel of her land to a church at that time. Although not as famous as her mother, Quintera "Apo Kimko" Joya paved a way for the education of the Tagbanua through her marriage with John H. Finnigan, an American educator who held the high post at the agricultural school in Aborlan now known as the Western Philippines University (WPU). Some of the Palanca family in Aborlan and Puerto Princesa were direct descendants of the Joya-Finnigan union. We celebrate these two women and their contribution to Tagbanua culture and heritage.

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