CITY OF PASAY, RIZAL, Historical Data of Part 3

San Rafael, was named in honor of its patron saint¹⁸, is the area covering the whole compound bounded by Taft Avenue to the east and Libertad to the north, by running southward along the Manila Bay to the west up to Pasay-Parañaque border. It has a total area of 1.8 square kilometers or 69 square miles.

A portion of the barrio is called Coronela in honor of a woman who was once the wife of a Spanish colonel in the army. Later, it was called Manggahan because of the mango trees growing in the vicinity. (It was in this place that an encounter between the Katipuneros and the local officials happened.) Another portion was called Iba because of a certain tree with the same name growing in the vicinity, while a small portion was dubbed "Kay Antoniang Baboy" because it belonged to a woman-dealer of swine.

One place in this district is also called Basal and it is linked with a tale of some kind explaining why the place is at present called Pasay. It is said that a Spanish botanist, Antonio Pineda, frequented the place Basal because it abounded in pasaw, a certain plant. When inquired about his destination during those frequent trips, the nature-lover would answer "to Pasay" because he found it difficult to pronounce the name "pasaw," being a Castilian. Thus, some natives attribute this fact to the naming of the whole territory Pasay¹⁹

San Jose, an area covering an area of 8 kilometers, is north of San Rafael. Its boundaries are Vito Cruz to the north, Libertad to the south, Taft Avenue to the east, and Dewey Boulevard to the south.

In the earliest times, the place was known as Mabolo because of a certain narrow street (now named Luna) that was planted on both sides to mabolo trees. It is dangerous to pass the said street especially during fruiting season because fruits might shower on an unwary passer-by.

The establishment of this barrio can well be credited to Juan Escobal, who was gobernadorcillo in 1849. He was assisted by Gerardo Pangiwe and Kabesang Ingga or Inggayo. Gobernadorcillo Hermogenes Vito Cruz, after whose name the north boundary was taken after, was given the singular honor of building a culvert over the Bitukang Manok River which separated Pasay Culi-culi from San Pedro, Makati. The same construction served as a boundary line.

The street Leveriza²⁰ was named after the philanthropist Exequiel Leveriza, singularly known for his prompt and unique payment of taxes. He never turned in an insufficient amount because when some taxpayers were delinquent, he paid their dues out of his own resources.

Another street in the vicinity was named after Anastacio Villaruel, the first chemist in the town. He worked in a wine factory in Manila.

In the days of Rajah Matanda, he and his entourage of royal blood frequented this place to hunt female deer which haunted the place — thus the name Malibay.

Of all the districts of Pasay, Malibay has undergone the most cadastral changes. At present, the area has a total of 11.1 square kilometers, Malibay-proper being 6 square kilometers while the Manila International Airport is 9.5 square kilometers.

The establishment of the district dates back to 1552, with Hilario de Guzman in charge of the organization. It used to be under the supervision of Tagiig, but later on became a separate town. "Corregidor" was the title given to the executives of the town. It was Romualdo de Guzman, son of Hilario, who held that first post. The title was followed by Alcalde.

As a separate town, Malibay occupied a comparatively wide area extending from the Pasay boundary up to Las Piñas. It also assumed territory over the towns of Parañaque, Pildera, and Mabong. It also built its own church in 1904, through the help of Archbishop Msgr. Jose Jeremias Harty. Parañaque later on became an independent locality.

When, finally, Malibay came to a point where it could no longer be independent financially, it, together with Pildera and Mabong, was annexed as a barrio of Pasay. It holds the same status to our day, except that Mabong and Pildera have been lost through

Mabong and Pildera were politically annexes to Malibay when it was still a separate locality of Rizal.

When finally, Malibay became a part of Pasay, both territories were also annexed to Pasay. For some unknown reason, the ownership of the said territory became questionable — both Pasay City and Parañaque are laying strong claims on them.

Pasay, in keeping with its program on expansion²², is laying strong claims on the area with the following reasons²³:

1. That certain transfer certificates of parcels of land within Nichols Field are under the jurisdiction of Pasay, Rizal before it was taken by the U.S. government.

2. Excerpts from the Philippine Census of 1903 and 1918 show that Barrios de Pildera, Mabong, and Maricaban were under the Municipality of Malibay prior to the annexation of the same to Pasay, the above three barrios being consolidated under the municipality of Pasay.

3. That technical description of the land taken by the United States which came to be known as Camp Nichols showed that the bounderies were consecutively numbered M.B.M. numbering Pasay starting from the Manila boundary around Makati Tagiig, Parañaque, and back to Manila Bay. The monument bounderies numbered 1 - 17 consecutively will define the whole boundary of the Municipality of Pasay.

In keeping with the program of expansion included in the Pasay City Charter, already the local officials have tried to regain former territories belonging to Pasay.

The following is the text of ex-mayor Carlos Rivilla's letter to President Elpidio Quirino dated September 25, 1950 but which has not yet been acted favorably upon:

1. That Vito Cruz be made the boundary to the north, and the present Manila-Batangas railroad line to the east.

2. The return of the territory of the Manila International Airport which was formerly the barrios of Maricaban, Mabong, and Pildera of the former Municipalists [?] of Pasay.

3. The restoration of Nichols Field to Pasay City and

4. If possible, the adjacent barrios of Palawan, Culi-culi, and Bangkal of Makati, Rizal.

Up to the date of writing, no decisions have yet been taken concerning the above proposals for the Pasay City expansion.

According to old legends, Pasay has always been a market place corrupted from the Hindu term "Javan Pasar," or a bazaar.

The modern economic history of Pasay starts with the implementation of the American occupation in the Philippines.

At the beginning of the Americah occupation of the archipelago, very little was known of Pasay, a fourth-class municipality in the Province of Rizal, except that it was in the southern tail of the City of Manila where, due to its swampy geographical condition, its inhabitants of just a few thousands depended principally for livelihood on the plantation of "buyo" leaves and some sporadic fishing. Some ten or fifteen years later, however, some of the natives of Pasay began to go around for the purpose of buying large cattle and pigs which they sacrificed in Pasay and sold them to the people. Likewise, some people from Manila and other neighboring towns began to settle in Pasay, whereby they opened "sari-sari" stores and small bars which the American soldiers patronized. Then, sometime in 1918, the first factory was founded at the heart of Pasay by the late M. Colayco and dedicated to the manufacture of cigars and cigarettes, only to be followed a few years later by another cigar factory at the southern part of Pasay. From this time on, many inhabitants of Pasay were employed in the manufacture of cigars and cigarettes. Then also, a few more years later, Taft Avenue was extended to Pasay, many roads were opened or widened, electric and water systems installed, and all these marked the modern