THIS month (March) is women’s month. In keeping with the significance of the season, I would like to focus our attention on a woman leader of Pangasinan who has been overlooked by local historians.

I am referring to Binari Kabontatala.

This probably is the first time you will come across the word binari. I, myself, coined this word. Literally, it means biin ari, which I would like to mean princesa. (Kabontatala was the daughter of the anak banwa of Domalandan).

Princesa, however, is Spanish. So it is incumbent upon us to coin a new word which would sound native. Binari in English means woman ruler.

Who is Binari Kabontatala, and what was her role in Pangasinan history?

Kabontatala’s name entered the pages of Pangasinan history by accident. The accident was the fact that she was romantically linked to Limahong, said to be the “bloody pirate” who was moored in Pangasinan.

It was the Spanish chronicle that branded Limahong a “bloody pirate”. The Spaniards were biased against him. He was the foe. They had an axe to grind against him.

I took an objective look at him. What I discovered was that he came to our shore, not to do plunder, but to look for a hospital place to establish a colony. He came with 3,000 men, women and children.

He first tried to find a place in the Manila bay area. Unfortunately for him, Juan de Salcedo, the Spanish conquistador, arrived there ahead of him.

The two (Salcedo and Limahong) fought twice for supremacy. The first fight was inconclusive. In their second combat, Limahong suffered a serious injury.He withdrew from the Manila bay and sought a refuge up north, along the South China sea coast. He found a hospitable place in the Lingayen gulf.
He dropped anchor along the Agno river in Domalandan, a barangay of Lingayen. Here he established his fort, to recuperate from his injury.

It was Kabontatala who treated his injuries. As there was no Botika sa Barangay in those days, Kabontatala gathered herbs to cure her patient. In due time, the Chinese naval commander recovered from his injuries. And the two eventually fell in love with each other. Their marital union bore fruit. Kabontatala was seven months in the family way when Limahong had to leave as his hideout was discovered by Salcedo.

When her time to deliver came, she gave her son a Chinese name – Quimson, which means precious gold. He became the ancestor of the Quimson clan of Pangasinan.

Two of his descendants rose to become governors of Pangasinan – Sofronio Quimson of Alaminos and Francisco Quimson Duque of Aguilar. The two are cousins who trace their roots to the Quimson clan of Domalandan.

To be faithful with Pangasinan history, Princess Urduja House, the official residence of the governor, should be renamed Binari Kabontatala.

The consensus among Asian historians is that Urduja was a Cambodian and not a Pangasinense.
I suggest that the Pangasinan Provincial Board, headed by Vice Governor Marlyn Primicias Agabas, undertake a study to correct this error.

Kabontatala, by the way is the name of the early morning star, which in other cultures is named Venus.