Guide to Newest Additions

Banana Cue and Turon as They Used to be Called in Batangas

Banana-cue and turon, two fairly ubiquitous Filipino street foods and popular for being tasty and — more importantly — relatively inexpensive, are called differently in Batangas. That said, migration and mass media has probably caused the fast disappearance of these terms, although they are still used especially among older inhabitants of the province.

Brigido Morada, the Batangueño Intellectual Sent Into Exile by the Spanish Colonial Government

A Filipino Intellectual from the then-town of Lipa in Batangas, and an associate of Jose Rizal was sent into exile upon the whim of a Spanish friar. His name was Brigido Morada, and it was in the island of Fernando Po in what is now Equatorial Guinea that he would die.

The Heritage Home in Lipa City where Jose Rizal Allegedly Used to Stay

According to the family folklore of the Macasaet clan of Lipa City, Batangas, national hero Jose Rizal used to visit the town in pursuit of the maiden Segunda Katigbak, and would stay at the heritage home that exists to the present day.

Documents on Japanese WWII War Crimes in Batangas

Click on the link above to view a page we recently opened at Batangas History, Culture and Folklore containing transcriptions of documents with information on atrocities committed by the Japanese in the Province of Batangas in World War II. The documents are declassified now from the trials of Japanese war criminals by a United States Military Commission. This page is still a work in progress and will contain information on certain incidents of atrocities committed around the province, individual testimonies of victims who survived the atrocities and even partial lists of those who were killed.

Bureau of Public Works Photographic Archive

This newly-opened section contains pictures of Batangas from 1913-1931. The photographs have all been digitally extracted from the Bureau of Public Works Quarterly Bulletins and Annual Reports and subsequently processed with graphics editing software before being uploaded. Needless to say, the outcome of the graphics processing ultimately depended in the original quality of the scan.

Documents from the Reports of the Philippine Commission

To make life easier for researchers, we have extracted portions of the Reports of the Philippine Commission that are relevant to Batangas and made these available at the Historic Documents page. These extracts are a must for those interested to know about Batangas Province and its various towns early during the American colonial era. Visit the Batangas Historic Documents page here.

Aspects of Batangas Culture and Folklore

This relatively newly-opened page provides links to articles less about history and more about the color of Batangas culture and folklore. Articles are on the Batangas culture of frugality called “arimohanan,” the mysterious hitchhiker along the stretch of road called “zigzag” in Cuenca, Batangas’ unique delicacies such as the lomi and goto and many more.

Col. Jay D. Vanderpool's Documents

For researchers and enthusiasts of World War II history, this new page is a must. It contains documents issued by Col. Jay D. Vanderpool, a beloved figure among Filipino guerrillas who fought the Japanese in Batangas, Cavite and parts of Laguna. He managed to coax guerrilla leaders to set aside their internecine rivalries so that they could all then fight a common enemy, the Japanese. These documents are primarily extracted from guerrilla files.