MUNICIPALITY OF MORONG, RIZAL, Historical Data of Part 1

Moro, as the man was called, settled first on a tiny island along this side of Laguna Lake, where he made his living. After having lived alone for several years, his old habit of looting and plundering came to grip him again, so he sailed forth to some populated places and took somme prisoners and much booty. As years went by, he collected a large number of families on the little island, which was not enough to accommodate them, so he transferred to the mainland together with his captives.

In the mainland, he allotted to each family a portion of land to cultivate for the support of their living. Marshes and woods were cleared, and houses were built; thus, a settlement was established, composing a conglomeration of different tribes. The settlement continued to flourish even after the death of Moro, who turned benefactor instead of a master.

From this mixture of different tribes evolved a fine and strong people who became noted for their bravery and [page torn]

Many years after they had settled on this nameless [page torn] of the archipelago, there came in 1578 two Spanish missionaries, namely, Fr. Plasencia and Fr. Diego Oropesa. These two [page torn] were the first ones to Christianize the settlers and called the place "Pueblo de Morong."

Eight years after, in 1586, Fr. Blas de Madre de Dios was assigned by the Archbishop of Manila as priest of Morong, to take the place and continue the work of the former missionaries. The missionary work in this pueblo continued for many

The district comprised the pueblos of Cainta, Antipolo, Moron, Teresa, Baras, Cardona, Binangonan, Pililla, and Jalajala, of which Moron was made the capital or "cabesa." Moro was changed into Moron or "Morong" as it is today, because in the formation of Tagalog words, except in a very few cases, you add the letter "n" or "ng" to any proper noun and you will have a name of a place in most cases, thus "Moro" or "Moron" became "Morong." In this case, we add "ng" to the word "Moro."

In the pueblo during that period, there was no regular letter carrier. If the mail arrived, the "cuadrilleros" (policemen) would pick anybody, preferably the guard a day before, to carry the mail even by walking to the far barrios; but this could be evaded by increasing one's personal tax. This increase of taxes was the whim of the tax collector. Complaint for the exorbitant increase meant jail for six to twelve months. To be jailed during the Spanish time did not only mean hard work, but also whips, slapping, tying until the prisoners were too weak to stand. These were the real situations where taxation without representation and capital punishment existed.

Morong, being the capital, was the center of installation of officials of the pueblo that made up the district of Morong. One may ask, how and who were selected officials? The answer is that the head of the town (capitan) could select anybody who was faithful and close to him. In most cases, relatives. A perfect realization of nepotism.

The principal obligation of these minor officials of the pueblo was to carry out the "orders" of their superiors by all means. They were also obliged to go to church on Sundays and holidays without fail.

As a privilege, these minor officials were free from all kinds of taxes. They were also free from all kinds of labor imposed upon the townspeople.

For the sake of expediency in the collection of taxes, the pueblo of Morong was divided into forty (40) sections. Each section was headed by a "cabesa." Everyone of these ca-

As far as records are concerned, the following were the men who held the office of "Governadorcillo" or "Capitan" in Morong:

The bridge which is called "Puente del San Geronimo" runs from north to south in the middle of the town. It was constructed from 1696 to 1701 through five years of hard and forced labor by our great grandfathers and mothers. The bridge is made of adobe stones so securely arranged in two spans. The bricks of stones are so arranged and shaped in keystone to fit each other when placed together. They are held in their respective places by mortar. This mortar is a mixture of fine sands, lime, molasses, and the juice of ground leaves of "puso-puso." The bridge has no iron or metal of any kind and no wood, even, but it has withstood the biggest and hundreds of other floods or the river and all earthquakes.

The building which housed the government that was called "Gobierno Politico-Militar" was built also by forced labor by our forefathers, like that of the bridge. It is made of adobe stones, hard wood and corrugated iron roofing. The building is about one hundred feet long and about ninety feet wide. It has a ground floor and another above. It is also located at the center of the town by south bank of the Morong River. The building was finished in one year, 1880-1881, under the management of Capitan Mauricio Mata Cruz.

These two structres, the bridge and the Gobierno Politico-Militar, became memorable to the present people of Morong because in their construction, their forefathers suffered whippings and other inhumane punishments whenever they failed to carry on the instructions for carrying stones and other materials.

To prevent any invader who might attack the capital, the government put up the so-called "Bantayan" in all entrances to the town. In this bantayan or houselet was stationed a Filipino Civil Guard (Guardia Civil). The government also put up a

To prevent the destruction of the town in case of fire, Governor Turentique of the district laid down the streets and alleys of the capital according to a more perfect town planning. As a result, the principal streets and alleys, as they crossed each other, formed perfect square blocks. Each block had ten yards equally divided into squares which were surrounded by fences. The pueblo was dissected in the middle by a river running from west to east. Each side had four streets which ran parallel to the river. All these streets were crossed by alleys running from north to south. All of these alleys led to the river from the ricefields on both sides of the pueblo. This perfect blocking of the town by the streets and alleys made it easy for people to go to the river for water in case of a fire, a system not found in many towns except Manila.

The affairs of the provincial government were charged in the office of the governor and other offices of the governor and other offices under him. A set-up of the provincial government who rule the province during the last days of the Spanish regime is as follows:

During these infestations, the inhabitants of Morong suffered greatly from the shortage of cereals and other foodstuffs, so they asked aid from the government. It was also during this time that the locusts in Morong multiplied so greatly that even the church was entered, and the altar swarmed with the pests.

Mariano Raymundo - The people of Morong, even after the election of President Raymundo, still felt the devastation made by the insects to their plantations. To remedy this crisis, the newly-elected town executive drafted plans for the reconstruction of the economic life of the inhabitants.

At this time, very few people planted palagad rice due to the lack of irrigation facilities. To increase the production of foodstuffs by increasing the area of the fields planted to palagad rice, President Raymundo managed the building of the first dirt dam across the Morong River. This temporary dam was first built near the land of Bibiano San Felipe and Mateo Celes. Irrigation canals were built in a network to provide water to the big ricefields. This first attempt to utilize the Morong River for irrigation was successful and the rice crisis was overcome. Since that time, every year, the farmers built this temporary dirt dam for the irrigation of their fields.

Patricio Pascual - Following the policy of his predecessor, President Pascual continued the successful program of President Raymundo. Other kinds of plants were introduced to increase the production of foodstuffs. More irrigation canals were built on both sides of the banks of the river to sustain the increasing hectares of palagad

Lorenzo Martinez - The reconstruction work of President Pascual was continued by President Martinez. The streets, which were badly damaged by the flood, were repaired. Houses were built by the inhabitants to replace the destroyed ones. One of the best and important policies undertaken which should be noted during his term was the revival of the Filipino culture, which according him was slowly disintegrating. To carry out his plan, he enlisted the cooperation of prominent residents of the town.

Mateo Celes - He being of the Burgos type of landlord, his policy was focused on agriculture. How it could be improved and how it could produce more was his main concern. He urged the farmers to improve the fertility of their farms by using fertilizers, increasing the network of irrigation canals not only near the seashore but also in Hulo, during the rainy season, in order to sustain water in those parts that the irrigation system could reach. It was during this period that the number of classes in the Primary School in Morong was increased to accommodate the ever-increasing number of pupils.

Pedro Mata - During his incumbency, that was in 1914, war broke out in Europe. In order to avoid the shortage of foodstuffs in the town, he urged every farmer, both in the lowland

Lorenzo Condez - He was nicknamed "Fisherman President" due to his occupation as a fisherman. During his term, he improved the fishing industry in Morong by organizing a cooperative association of all corral owners in Morong. That is, whenever a new corral would be built, all corral owners would work to finish it up to the time it was placed in the lake. It was the fishing boom, then, and was a lucrative business.

During his administration also, the Filipino militia was organized in the Philippines to help America fight against the Central Powers. He encouraged his townsmates to enlist in the militia, and many did. One of them was Felix Pasco, who became a member of the crew of an American submarine that saw action in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic. Pacual was cited for his bravery and was given two Medals of Honor.

Maximo Pascual - The administration of Pascual was marked with activity toward the amelioration of the lot of the masses, especially the working class. Through his efforts, a national aid was granted to repair the former "Gobierno Politico-Militar," which was then housing the elementary classes. He also built the public market which now stands adjacent to the municipal building. These two public constructions gave the inhabitants plenty of work and money, thus easing unemployment in the locality.

During the administration of President Pascual, a great flood occurred in which the water of the lake swelled to a great height, covering almost one-half of the town. The water