MUNICIPALITY OF LUISIANA (LAGUNA), Historical Data of Part Ii - Philippine Historical Data MUNICIPALITY OF LUISIANA (LAGUNA), Historical Data of Part Ii - Philippine Historical Data

MUNICIPALITY OF LUISIANA (LAGUNA), Historical Data of Part Ii

Municipality of Luisiana, Laguna

PART II

PART I | PART II | PART III

About these Historical Data

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to the low prices of all commodities. (The incumbent, who was said to be a habitual drinker, was questioned, but the punishment was not imposed. He remained in his office until June 30, 1892, when a new municipal system of government was established. Due to this big debt, the government sent a collector. Many cabezas de barangay were forced to sell their properties in order to cover up the deficits of the members of the barangay.

1892-July 1, 1893 - Andres Teope, Governadorcillo. Father Manuel Garcia was removed from this town. In 1893, all stores at the plaza were ordered removed.

1894 - Andres Teope - Capitan Municipal. The beginning of the Regimen Municipal. The cabezas de barangay were then called tenientes del barrio.

1894-1896 - Ubaldo Suello. The revolution broke out in 1896. The capitan municipal was arrested because he was accused of being in connivance with the insurrectionists. He was brought to Santa Cruz and confined there for some days. He was then taken to Lucban, but when still in Majayjay, he died because of the torture and punishments imposed on him. The next to be arrested was the municipal secretary, Pioquinto Fabricante. He was shot while on the way to Santa Cruz, at a place called Duhatan.

1897 - Pedro Ibañez, Capitan Municipal. Because of the revolution, the local curate stayed at Santa Cruz.

1893 - Ponciano Mercurio, Jefe Local. The revolution

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ended with the surrender of the Spaniards. By order of General Aguinaldo, the Jefe Local, Vice-Presidente Local, and other officials of the municipality were appointed and sworn into their respective offices in August 1898.

1899 - Ponciano Mercurio, Jefe Local. During this year, many domestic animals died of diseases. Carabaos, cattle, horses, and pigs were affected.

1890 - Ponciano Mercurio, Jefe Local. The municipal administration was under the Republic established by Aguinaldo. In February, the Americans began their occupation of the country. The members of the revolution continued their struggle for independence against the United States government. In the Province of Laguna, of which the town was a part, the leader was General Juan Cailles.

1901 - Pedro Ibañez, President. The sovereign power was vested on the United States Military Government. Those revolutionists who did not like the American regime stayed in the mountains and forests.

On June 22, General Cailles surrendered with 300 of his men. They surrendered also their arms and ammunition which meant their recognition of the government of the United States in the Philippines. But, because General Caballes, another insurrectionist, had not yet surrendered, the townspeople were concentrated.

1902 - Antonio Estrallado, Juez de Paz. The revolution

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against the Americans stopped withthe surrender of General Caballes. There was an epidemic of cholera and, at the height of the epidemic, there were about eight persons who died daily. In July, the Regimen Municipal was begun, and the first election under the American regime took place. The elected president was Pablo Ibañez. In this year, also, the Iglesia Filipina Independencia was organized. The church constructed was a barong-barong with wooden walls and cogon roofing. It was blessed on September 24 by clergy Manuel Zurbano from Lucban, Quezon.

1903 - Pedro Ibañez, Municipal President. Antonio Estrellado, Juez de Paz. The municipalities of Luisiana and Cavinti were fused in accordance to the law. In November, there was an election. All the 200 electors from Cavinti came to this town, which was the seat of the combined municipalities. There results of the elections were all in Cavinti's favor.

1904 - Pedro Villanueva, Municipal President. Pedro Ibañez, Juez de Paz. The elected local officials took their oaths of office on the first Monday of the year. The municipal council requested for the transfer of the seat to the municipality of Cavinti. It was granted on condition that the name of the municipality remained Luisiana, with the offices at the town of Cavinti. On October 12, the transfer of the offices took place.

1905 - Pedro Villanueva, Municipal President. Gregorio Ortañez, Juez de Paz. On December 5, there was a strong typhoon. The church of the Iglesia Filipina Independiencia was

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destroyed and the roof of the Roman Catholic church was blown off. Around a hundred and fifty houses, big and small, were destroyed both in the town and barrios. In November, there was another election. All the electors from this town went to Cavinti to cast their votes. There were around a hundred electors from this town in comparison with the forty electors from Cavinti. This was due to the delinquencies in territorial contributions. The results of the election were all in Luisiana's favor, Blas Oracion being elected the municipal president.

1906-1907 - Blas Oracion, Municipal President. The municipalities of Luisiana and Cavinti were still combined, but in 1907, the seat was returned to Luisiana. The barrio schools of de la Paz and San Rafael were established. On November 12, 1907, the two municipalities were separated and made independent of each other.

1908-1909 - Marian Gola, Municipal President. During the term of this president, the source of the town's water supply was improved. "Talagang Basa," a natural spring near the town, was cemented. For the labor in improving this source of water, the president was responsible, while the materials needed were given by the townspeople.

1910-1916 - Valentin Dolorico, Municipal President. In 1911, Taal Volcano erupted, and the tremors were felt in this town. Ashes also reached this place. In 1912, there was a big fire. In 1913, the Intermediate BSuilding was completed and the Domestic Science Building was constructed. The sidewalks along the streets were also made.

1917-1919 - Nemesio Reodica, Municipal President. The

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beginning of the construction of the Luisiana-Pagsanjan-Lucban road.

1920-1922 - Pedro Ibañez, Municipal President. The new municipal building was made and the bandstand at the center of the plaza was constructed.

1923-1925 - Roman F. Subijano, Municipal President. The municipal building was finished and the work on the waterworks system was begun. The barrio school of San Salvador was opened.

1926-1931 - Martin E. Hugo, Municipal President. The town market was finished. The building of a new schoolhouse for the Luisiana Elementary School was begun.

1932-1934 - Felipe Reodica, Municipal President. The Luisiana Lucban Road was finished.

1935-1937 - Martin E. Hugo, Municipal Mayor. A slaughterhouse was constructed near the market. The additional rooms for the new Luisiana Elementary School were finished. The work on the road going to San Buenaventura was begun.

1938-1940 - Rufino Ibañez, Municipal Mayor. Additional improvements in the municipal building were made. The Home Economics Building, San Pedro Barrio School Building, and the San Salvador Barrio School Building were constructed. An additional building for the town market was also made. The principal streets of the town were asphalted, and the barrio roads of San Roque, Santo Tomas, and San Buenaventura were improved.

1940-1941 - Severo Villatuya, Municipal Mayor. On December 8, 1941, the war broke out in the Far East. The Japanese troops

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occupied the town on December 28, 1941.

1942 - Gregorio Rogado, Municipal Mayor under the Japanese military government.

1943 - Severo Villatuya, Municipal Mayor. On July 23, the first concentration of the male population of the town. Those who were suspected of being guerrillas or were in connivance with the guerrillas were tortured, and some were killed.

1944 - Severo Villatuya, Municipal Mayor, Rufino Ibañez, Martin Hugo, and Antero Roasa, subsequent incumbents.

He was the chief of police who took the position of mayor. In the months of January, February, and March, many civilians were killed and massacred. This was due to the fanatic beliefs of these Makapilis who were the terror of those times. At the latter half of March, these Makapilis went with the Japanese soldiers to the lowland towns. The guerrillas burned the houses of these Makapilis that were mostly located at the eastern and northern parts of the town. By the end of March, there were only a few left unburned, and the whole town was in ruins and ashes. In April, the Americans liberated the town from the Japanese [Note to the reader: this was already April of 1945.], and the townspeople left the evacuation huts in the barrios and stayed in town for fear of the Japanese stragglers.

1945 - April 27 to Oct. 15, Pedro E. Bala, Mayor. Return of the municipal government under the Philippine Commonwealth. There were agencies like the PCAU that gave rations to the people. The schools were reopened May 1, 1945.

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1945 - October 15 to June 1946 - Severo Villatuya, Municipal Mayor. By a decree, these officials elected before the war were reinstated to their respective offices.

1946 June to 1947 December - Fulgencio Romana, Municipal Mayor.

1948-1952 - Jesus Estrellado, Municipal Mayor. The rehabilitation of the town continued. The town plaza was fully improved. Concrete roads were built around the streets bordering the plaza and four blocks of the Estrellado Street. The public schools were also rehabilitated with the construction of the new building on the former site of the old building that was burned. In spite of the peace and order problems, these rehabilitation projects were carried out and the accomplishments are worthy of mention.

1945 - Pedro Bala - He volutarily assumed the responsibility of reestablishing the municipal government of the town. The seat of the municipality was temporarily housed at the concrete building owned by Don Juan Schultz. Office equipment was borrowed from the residents. The foxholes near the plaze were covered and the streets were cleaned. Hundreds of Japanese soldiers surrendered to the American soldiers stationed at this town. Because of the municipality's lack of cash, he loaned rice and clothing from the government agencies in Manila and sold them to the inhabitants. He also solicited voluntary contributions for the purpose of buying arms and ammunition for the police force of the town.

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DESTRUCTION OF LIVES, PROPERTIES, AND INSTITUTIONS
DURIGN WARS........

The Philippine Revolution from 1896-1900 did not cause much destruction among the inhabitants of the town. The person killed was only the incumbent "capitan municipal," Ubaldo Suello, and the municipal secretary, Pioquinto Fabricante. The insurrectionists easily gained possession of the town and established a government under the short-lived Philippine Republic headed by Emilio Aguinaldo.

With the occupation of the town by the American forces, there were many revolutionists who did not recognize the sovereignty of the United States. These remnants of the revolutionary government stayed in the forests. The American soldiers went after them and in on of their patrols, they found a document signed by many residents of this town. This document confirmed the loyalty of these signatories to the revolutionary cause. Those who had affixed their signatures to that document were arrested. Some were tortured and others killed. The inhabitants of the town suffered physical injuries, loss of property, money, and jewelry, because the Macabebe soldiers took advantage of the opportunity to get what they could once a person was found out to be in connivance with the revolutionists. The two recalcitrant brothers who did not like to be under the American government, Fulgencio and Nicomedes Capili, harassed the American soldiers stationed at Patahan (San Buenaventura), and a Macabebe sergeant was

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wounded. The infuriated soldiers committed acts of revenge upon the harmless barrio people. A farmer was tortured and drowned in a carabao's mud puddle for not telling the whereabouts of a woman that the soldiers were looking for. The rice storage bins were burned also. Later, these two brothers fired upon the American soldiers inside the convent at the town proper. As a retaliatory act, the soldiers burned the houses of these two brothers. The fire spread to the neighboring houses, but it was put out because the residents gave the soldiers their hidden money just to stop the spread of the fire. All the people were concentrated in the poblacion and they lived in a state of uncertainty and disorder. Many animals were killed and two persons were shot to death for going beyond the free zone beyond the town.
The people realized their problem, so they were forced to cooperate in the apprehension of the two brothers. Fulgencio was wounded in a battle with the American soldiers at the barrio of Lucban, Quezon. He was brought to Santa Cruz but expired because of the wound he received. Later, Nicomedes was found tied to a post of one of the houses in Patahan. Thus, he was caught alive but was freed when the soldiers under Colonel Caballes surrendered. Peace was then restored after five months of hardships and concentration in the town. Barrio folks returned to their homes only to find their houses burned by the soldiers.

PART I | PART II | PART III

Transcribed from:
Historical Data of the Municipality of Luisiana, Province of Laguna, online at the National Library of the Philippines Digital Collections.
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