Calaca, Batangas: Historical Data Part I

PART I

PART I | PART II | PART III | PART IV

Full transcription of the so-called “Historical Data” for the Municipality of Calaca, Batangas, the original scanned documents at the National Library of the Philippines Digital Collections not having OCR or optical character recognition properties. This transcription has been edited for grammar, spelling and punctuation where possible. The original pagination is provided for citation purposes.

[Cover page.]

DIVISION OF BATANGAS
DISTRICT OF BALAYAN
CALACA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

HISTORY AND CULTURAL LIFE
OF THE TOWN OF CALACA
AND ITS BARRIOS

[Foreword.]

FOREWORD

In conformity with Memorandum No. 34, s. 1952, and Executive Order No. 486, dated December 7, 1951, of the President of the Philippines, the teaching force in the municipality of Calaca, Batangas, undertook to gather and compile the desired historical data of the town and its barrios. Efforts have been exerted to collect to the minutest detail all available data in the whole municipality. All sources that may help or contribute in the undertaking have been availed of, hence, whatever information or data might have been missed in this compilation work is due to the absence of possible sources of information.

In order to divide equitably the compilation of the data of the poblacion and the different barrios, the principals and head teachers of the different barrios assisted by their teachers made the collection and compilation of the data of the respective barrios within the jurisdiction of their schools, while the principal of the Central School and his committee gathered the data for the poblacion and took charge of the compilation of the report for the whole municipality.

It is, therefore, with sincere gratitude and appreciation that the administration fully acknowledges the cooperation and assistance of all the teachers and resource persons who, one way or another, have contributed in the collection and compilation of this report herewith submitted.

Src

[p. 1]

HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL LIFE OF THE TOWN OF CALACA
Part One: History

Present Official Name of the Town. – The present official name of the town is Calaca.

Former name and meaning or derivation. – Ever since the creation of the town of Calaca, the official name has never been changed up to the present. The name was derived by the natives from the roofs of the houses made of bamboos cut into halves put and arranged over one another. As to how it got the name officially, an anecdote runs this way: When it was still a sitio and long been called Calaca, three Spanish officials happened to pass by. They saw some carpenters making the roof of a house. They asked one of the carpenters about the name of the place. The carpenter, who did not know Spanish, believed that the Spaniards were asking what they were making and they answered, “calaca.” Coincidentally, the answer was correct. The Spaniards jotted the name and since that time, Calaca became the official name when it became a town.

Date of Establishment. – Calaca, formerly a barrio of Balayan, was established as a town in the latter part of 1835, the first centennial anniversary being held on December 23 and 29, 1935.

Names and Social Status of the Founders. – The founders of the town were Rufino Punongbayan, Cayetano Buhay, Januario Punongbayan, Valentin Capacia, Juan Sangalang and Diego Inumerable. They were the most well-to-do, more educated and wielded great influence over their barrio folks. These six prominent citizens worked hard together to request the high Spanish Officials in Manila to make the flourishing barrio a town, and they succeeded.

Names of Persons Who Held Leading Official Positions in the Community with the Dates of Their Tenure

Name	Position	Year
1. Mr. Rufino Punongbayan 2. Mr. Cayetano Buhay 3. Mr. Januario Punongbayan 4. Mr. Valentin Capacia 5. Mr. Juan Sangalang 6. Mr. Diego Inumerable 7. Mr. Ciriaco Crisostomo 8. Mr. Juan Pineda 9. Mr. Victoriano Vizconde 10. Mr. Ramon Zara 11. Mr. Francisco Sinag 12. Mr. Guillermo Matalag 13. Mr. Gabriel Marasigan 14. Mr. Santiago Jolongbayan 15. Mr. Juan Panganiban 16. Mr. Vicente Relevo 17. Mr. Aniceto Gatdula 18. Mr. Martin Tolica 19. Mr. Pedro Mandanas 20. Mr. Anselmo Ronimo 21. Mr. Tomas Consul	Gobernadorcillo " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " "	1835-1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856

[p. 2]

Name	Position	Year
22. Mr. Felix de Ocampo 23. Mr. Gabriel Marasigan (2nd term) 24. Mr. Apolinario Javier 25. Mr. Julian de la Joya (2nd Term) 26. Mr. Felix de Ocampo (2nd Term) 27. Mr. Martin Medina 28. Mr. Juan Inumerable 29. Mr. Felix de Ocampo (3rd Term) 30. Mr. Claudio Vizconde 31. Mr. Mariano Vizconde 32. Mr. Basilio Villamar 33. Mr. Agaton Macatangay 34. Mr. Juan Marasigan 35. Mr. Natalio Vizconde 36. Mr. Fermin Malabanan 37. Mr. Catalino F. Roxas 38. Mr. Agaton Macatangay 39. Mr. Apolinario Bacal 40. Mr. Claudio Vizconde 41. Mr. Perfecto Rosales 42. Mr. Felix Rodriguez 43. Mr. Mauricio Dedal 44. Mr. Basilio Villamar 45. Mr. Felix Rodriguez	Gobernadorcillo " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " Capitan Municipal Capitan Municipal Capitan Municipal	1857 1858 1859 1860 1861-1864 1865-1866 1867-1868 1869-1870 1869-1870 1871-1872 1873 1874 1875-1876 1877-1878 1879-1880 1881-1882 1883-1884 1885 1886 1887-1888 1889 1890-1891 1892 1893 1894-1898
46. Mr. Ruperto de Leon	Jepe Local (Gobierno Rev)	1899
47. Mr. Felix Rodriguez	Municipal Pres.	1900 (American Rule)
48. Mr. Higino Concepcion 49. Mr. Roberto Sale 50. Mr. Francisco Marasigan 51. Mr. Ignacio Marella 52. Mr. Felix Rodriguez 53. Mr. Angel Admana 54. Mr. Ireneo Arriola 55. Mr. Francisco Vizconde 56. Mr. Ananias Bihis 57. Mr. Catalino Reyes 58. Mr. Jose de Leon 59. Mr. Catalino Reyes (2nd Term) 60. Mr. Luiz Macatangay 61. Mr. Zoilo Espinoza 62. Mr. Zoilo Espinoza (Reelected) 63. Mr. Bernardo Macatangay 64. Mr. Manuel Macatangay (Jap Occupation)	Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres. Municipal Pres.	1901-1902 1903 1904-1905 1906-1907 1908-1909 1910-1912 1913-1916 1916-1919 1919-1922 1922-1925 1925-1927 1927-1930 1930-1934 1934-1938 1938-1941 1941-1944 1945
65. Mr. Conrado Macatangay (Appointed After the Liberation)	Municipal Pres.	1945
66. Mr. Guillermo Gomez (Appointed After the Liberation)	Municipal Pres.	1945
67. Dr. Bernardo Macatangay 68. Mr. Conrado Macatangay (Municipal Mayor) 69. Mr. Conrado Macatangay (Reelected) 70. Mr. Conrado Macatangay (Reelected)	Appointed Mayor Municipal Mayor Municipal Mayor Municipal Mayor	1946 1946-1947 1948-1951 1952 to the present

[p. 3]

Data on Historical sites, structures, buildings, old ruins, etc.

Reliable information from the old folks in the town gave the following data: that Calaca was formerly only a barrio situated east of the present poblacion just on the other side of the Bolbok River. The houses were almost all made of “calaca.” When the barrio was made a town, the founders selected the present site of the poblacion which is a wide plain. Diego Inumerable, one of the founders, suggested the place between Dacanlao River and Cawong River but it was not approved due to its proximity to Balayan. Roads were laid out as they are now but were not given any names then. Only the road rounding the back of the present church disappeared because no one would care to build a house there. Few passed that way, too. The site of the present was the cemetery. The chapel was east of the cemetery in the corner of the present Rodriguez Street and de la Salud Street where Mr. Vicente Rosales’ house now stands. The immediate surroundings in the northern part was a thick forest with big trees where some lumber used in making the present church was obtained. That time, the roads were not yet given names and it was only in the latter part of the Spanish regime and early part of the American government when the streets were named mostly in honor of those who contributed and worked hard for the welfare of the town. They were named Vizconde Street, Admana Street, Marasigan Street, Sangalang Street, A. de Joya Street and Rodriguez Street in honor of the first priest Fr. Basilio Vizconde, the former Capt. Apolonio Admana, former General Eleuterio Marasigan, former Gobernadorcillo Juan Sangalang, former Judge Arcadio de Joya, and Felix Rodriguez, respectively, who held different positions as head of the town. The other streets were named San Rafael Street in honor of the miraculous Patron Saint of the town, De la Salud Street, De la Paz Street and Igualdad Street.

The former tribunal or municipal building was situated in the corner of San Rafael Street and Admana Street. In front was the public market. Then, the new municipal building was built at its present site in the town plaza. The market was rebuilt on its present site on Marasigan Street in the southern part of the poblacion which was formerly the cemetery in the early part of the establishment of the town. The church was built on its present site, as well as the cemetery where they are now in the northern part of the poblacion.

Most of the lands were owned by the natives, then, but some pieces of land were given to the church due to some church officials who made the innocent and ignorant people to believe that by donating their land to the church, they would be more blessed, would surely be in heaven after death, and for the salvation of their souls. Other tracts of land passed from hands to hands of settlers who were land opportunists, through inheritance and purchase. Of course, majority acquired their land through legal means.

Some of the oldest buildings were destroyed but some of the remaining ones are the Catholic church and the stone house now almost in ruins, but still used as the headquarters of a detachment of the Philippine Ground Forces. The stone house is owned by Don

PART I | PART II | PART III | PART IV

Transcribed from “Historical and Cultural Life of the Town of Calaca” 1953, online at the National Library of the Philippines Digital Collections.