Philippines Ancestral Records Lost Destoyed

edmondsallan - good morning all. This story on Filipino ancestral research may to some readers , be very interesting ,if they are after or comdemplating - research in the Philippines . In my previous journal on the Philippines, I wrote about the strict rules they have on any ansestral inquiry & the " Claveria Decree " on the giving of surnames beginning with A in the far north . I think I should have given you all better background on the research I was doing plus some of the basics of the country invovled ;.
( a ) Population of the Philippines in 2000 AD was 37,333,330 .
( b ) In the second world war , the Japanese while fighting the Americans used a scorched earth policy . Among that destruction & enslaving the " Filipinos " they destroyed , over a million ancestral records that had been amassed / & held by countrie's archives -etc'. This particular action was to destroy nearly all known BDM records especially between the years 1552-- to -- 1898 . Many other records were destroyed also and were more up to date. Worse than the Irish destruction of their BDM records.
( c ) The regathering, reconstructing of their ancestral heritage records , and computerizing them , did not restart till after 1948. Today ,this huge time consumming work load, the BDM records, are held in Manila , capital of their country . Many areas are still being researched and when proven added to the BDM computerized System. This in turn has caused researchers world wide , huge problems.
The name I was researching in the Philippines of Cebu, one of the 9 larger islands. This person knew her father & mother, sisters & brothers , a few cussies , couple of Aunties . and after that came a big black space in time / ancestry. Even if we click on " Ancestry " ( LDS ) you will see a very small collection & records . This young lady had no idea at all , what nationality her grandparents came from . Neither did her mother , who migrated to NZ with her children , after marrying an Austalian . living in NZ. Wanted to know her ancestry background after viewing works I had already completed . 4.5 years later . she now has a book being compiled by me , of approximately 400 pages . with photo' , history , family ancestery, step by step , each generation, back to China & Spain to 1384 AD . Todate, only one generation on her fathers side is not proven . - known !! but not proven .I am not trying to blow my trumpet here . I am trying to show anybody , who hunts down the research on their ancestry . have patience against all odds . keep notes , numbered , filed for reference will succeed. What you will put together will be a a rewarding classic of your ancestry . Right across our beautiful country today , we have in NZ , well over 150,000 Filipino residents with families . More want to come . We have been a multi- cultured race of people . and I believe we will become more so. Just as kiwi maoris & europeans and other people from far off lands are now as one, raising or have raised their families , we need to also get to know , the " Filipino People " & their ancestral ways . Our children may choose to bring them into our family - I will go on with this ancestry path at a later date , if any one is still interested - Regards - edmondsallan