Early 20th Century Brickmaking in Capiz

A brick from the kiln in Libas, Roxas City

Capiz had a thriving brick-making industry at the turn of the 20th century. In the 1903 Philippine census, Capiz was one of the provinces, alongside Bulacan, Rizal, Iloilo, Ilocos Norte, Isabela, Marinduque, Masbate and Pampanga, where the country's 27 brick and tile plants were located. During the Spanish period, bricks were supplied in church constructions. A kiln was identified in Calivo, which supplied the bricks in the construction of the Calivo church in the 1870s. The La Manchega in Capiz was recorded as supplying bricks for the churches in Loctugan and Panay in the 1890s. 

In the American Philippines, brick-making was ranked 16th in terms of capital investment. The industry was the 8th largest employer in the country, 17th in terms of monthly wage paid, and 15th in terms of value of products. Data from the Bureau of Public Works show that the annual value of brick products reached P457,900 based on the 1913 figure. Capital investments amounted to P237,543 with raw materials costing P72,840. 

By the second decade of American rule, the brick industry in Capiz had lamentably disappeared. The province had since depended on the brickmaking plants  of Javellana and Jalandoni families in Iloilo. 

 Lim Juyco,  a Chinese from Fookien who married a Capizeña from Calivo in 1905, established a brick-making plant near Libas Port in Capiz Town around 1910s and 1920s. According to his grandson, Ruben Yap, red clay used in making the bricks abound near where the kiln was situated in what is present-day Purok Tres. Alongside this business, the family also ventured into deep-sea fishing. A salt farm was also identified as among the family initiatives. The brickmaking facility halted operations at the start of World War II. Lim Juyco died from tuberculosis in 1945. 

(With special thanks to my friend, Dimples Tabujara Yap for the data about Lim Juyco)