History of Pila

THE ROOTS OF PILA, LAGUNA: A SECULAR AND SPIRITUAL HISTORY OF THE TOWN (900 AD TO THE PRESENT)

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Philippine Quarterly of Culture & Society 25 (1997): 125-155
By Luciano P.R. Santiago

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A graduate of the UP College of Medicine, Dr. Luciano P. R. Santiago, M.D., trained in both adult and child psychiatry at the Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He practiced his profession in the US for several years, but is now engaged in private practice at The Medical City Hospital in Greenhills, Metro Manila. In his free time, he researches and writes a wide range of topics, including psychology and various aspects of Philippine art, history and culture. He has published books, monographs and articles in both local and international journals. Among the awards he has received for his works are the Wendell Muncie Prize Award for distinguished writing in psychiatry from the Maryland Psychiatric Society; Premio Manuel Bernabe (Primer Premio) in History from the Centro Cultural de la Embajada de Espana; National Book Award for Art from the Manila Critics Circle; Catholic Author Award from the Asian Catholic Publishers; Catholic Press Award from the Archdiocese of Manila; and a research grant in Spain and the Vatican from the Toyota International Foundation.

A Glorious Past

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In the ancient Tagalog Alphabet (symbol at the left-bottom of this page), stands for Pila, signifying “stone” or “soil.” Thus, pila-pila or pilapil, for short, is a mixture of soil and stones, which form the bunds of ricefields still gracing many a Philippine landscape. (1) In particular, it is recorded that the town had been named for the soft stone (piedra blanda), which “formed its entire floor” when the Spaniards arrived. They used these materials to build the first edifices in the walled city of Manila. (San Buenaventura 1613: 482, 574, 686; San Antonio c1624: 208 and Chirino in Blair and Robertson 1903-1909, 12: 242-244). Stones and soil are apt symbols of the saga of Pila. Blessed by the bounty of nature with a rich soil, Pileños have trodden through rocky, muddy roads set up by the implacable aspects of nature as well as of man down through the centuries.

As early as the Iron age, at the turn of the first to the second millennium A.D., or a little earlier, clay pottery of handsome design and proportion was being fashioned in local kilns. [ ] These were discovered from 1967 to 1968 by archaeologists (Tenazas n.d.) in Pinagbayanan, the name which means “where the town used to be located.” (2)

The oldest written record in Philippine history, a copper plate bearing the Saka-year 822 (900 A.D.), was recently found in nearby Lumbang, Laguna (Postma 1991). It mentions the town of “Pailah” twice and “puliran”, which possibly refer, respectively, to Pila and Pulilan. The latter was the old Tagalog term for “lake” (“laguna” in Spanish), which was anciently taken to mean the western portion of the lake where Pila lies. The ruler of Pailah was Jayadewa who represented the “Chief and Commander of Tundun (Tondo)” in the transaction involving acquittal of a debt in gold. Jayadewa, in turn, appointed another nobleman, Ganasakti, as his proxy. Lawa ng Bae, which the Spaniards later called Laguna de Bay, is the largest fresh water lake (9,000 hectares) not only in the Philippines but also in Asia. Its eastern portion was called Silangan by the ancient Tagalogs. (Some scholars believe that the copper plate inscription refers instead to barangays in Bulacan Province rather than in Laguna. However, the places referred to in Bulacan are nowhere as significant in Philippine prehistory as those in Laguna.) (3)

A Golden Age

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Several centuries before the advent of the Spaniards, Pila was already one of the most important centers of trade, as well as of culture during the early part of the second millennium (Tenazas n.d., see also Tenazas 1973). Also recovered archaeologically were a considerable quantity of exquisite Chinese porcelains (many of them completely unknown in the western collections) including vibrant figurines and scholar’s tools like miniature pouring vessels, brush washers and writing implements used in the art of calligraphy. The ancient Pileños tempered their mercantile spirit with aesthetic and spiritual values. Without neglecting the production and improvement of local earthenware, they accumulated works of art, which date back to the Dynaties of the Northern Sung (960-1127 A.D.), the Southern Sung (1127-1280 A.D.) and the Yuan (1280-1368 A.D.). And they regaled their loved ones with these masterpieces as pabaon (provisions) in their journey to a better world (Tenazas n.d., 12, 15-20). (4)

Pre-hispanic Pila was one of the biggest barangayanic domains in Southern Luzon. Its leader was not only the local chief but also the regional datu. The bards of the shore towns of the Morong Peninsula across the lake from Pila sang of the exploits of Gat Salyan Maguinto, the “gold-rich” datu of Pila who extended his kingdom far and wide into their settlements. In fact, the greater territory was also called Pila. Wary of concentrating power on a noble Indio, the conquistadors later dismantled his realm and to avoid confusion, they changed the name of the Pila dependencies to Pililla, which means “minor Pila.” The original territory had encompassed the present towns of Morong (from which the town of Pililla or Pilang Morong separated in 1583); Baras (sep. from Morong in 1588); Tanay (sep. from Pililla in 1606); Jala-jala whose old name was also Pila (sep. from Pililla in 1786) and Talim Island, which until now, has a sitio Pila. The descendants of Gat Salyan were also regarded as the founders of the other towns of the present province of Rizal. (4-b)

Around 1375, due to some calamity of weather most probably flooding, the original seat of Pila had to be abandoned and the barangay transferred to Pagalangan, which signifies “the place of Reverence”. The Franciscan chronicler, Plasencia (1589) gathered that the datu of Pila, “ with his own gold” purchased the new site from another chief who had owned it and who thus moved to another place. The datu then farmed out the arable land among the nobles and the freemen who, in return, paid him an annual rent of a hundred ganta of rice (Tenazas n.d.: 16,20; Plasencia in his “Customs of the Tagalogs,” Blair and Robertson 7:175). It was the only documented example of a pre-hispanic private estate (the equivalent of a Spanish hacienda) in the Philippines as distinguished from the communal lands. (5)

The Coming of the Spaniards

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Two hundred years later, in 1571, the Spanish conquistadors, led by Don Juan de Salcedo, “discovered” Pila in Pagalangan after the “pacification” of Manila. On 14 November of the same year Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the first Spanish governor-general, awarded the encomienda (tributes) of Pagalangan and other Laguna villages to Don Francisco de Herrera, a regidor (councilman) of Manila. With the reorganization of the encomiendas in 1575, the tributes of Pila were granted to Don Hernando Ramirez on 29 July. This was the first time the name “Pila” appeared in Spanish records. (6-A)

In recognition of its extensive territory and sphere of influence as well as the nobility of its people in background and customs, the town was conferred the special title, “La Noble Villa de Pila” and adorned with a coat of arms. ( ) As privileged subjects of the King, the Pileños were apparently exempted from forced labor of the general type such as felling and hauling trees in the forests of distant regions and building, repairing and manning ships for the galleon trade. A villa was next in rank to a city, which could also be declared a villa. In all his decrees, the king formally addressed the villas collectively. “La Muy Heróica Villa y Corte de Madrid” was the premier villa of the empire “where the sun does not set.” “The Distinguished and Ever Loyal City of Manila” was, however, not designated a villa. Besides Pila, only a handful of Philippine towns in the sixteenth century merited this appellation from the fastidious conquistadors. (Tormo Sanz 1971:123, 144-149; San Agustin 1975:345-346; Zaide 1979:14-24; San Buenaventura 1613, title page & 707; Huerta 1855:137-139). (6-B)

Bajo La Campana

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The first missionaries of the villa were the Augustinians who administered it from Bae, the first capital of the province (1571-1688). The Franciscans took over in 1578 with the arrival of the intrepid air, Fray Juán Portocarrero de Plasencia (ca. 1540-90) and Fray Diego de San José de Oropesa (ca. 1535-90),” the apostles of Laguna and Tayabas.” Impressed by the Faith of the Pileños, Oropesa decided to establish his “principal residence” among them while Plasencia chose Lumbang as his home base. The church of Lumbang was dedicated to St. Francis, the founder of the order while that of Pila to St. Anthony, the most venerated Franciscan next to the founder himself. Thus, the church of Pila is the first Antonine church in the Philippines (1578) and most probably, in Asia as well. From the two centers, they radiated out to the other towns in Laguna and Tayabas, forming reducciones, that is, gathering the early converts in one place to facilitate their religious instruction and training in the new faith. Hence, they were called, “Padres de las Reducciones.” Plasencia spent considerable time in Pila also. His monumental treatise, “The Customs of the Tagalogs” (written in Nagcarlan in 1589) was partly based on his observations in the town, especially of the people’s concept of land tenure. In fact, as mentioned earlier, it was Plasencia who confirmed in this work a momentous episode in the history of Pila that took place long before the arrival of the Spaniards – the transfer to Pagalangan (today’s Victoria) as well as the existence of an hacienda-like estate in the villa. (Galende 1965:35-79; de Huerta 1855:137-139; Gómez Platero 1880:17,25; Plasencia in Blair and Robertson 7:173-185; de la Llave 1644; Tormo Sanz 1971:25,125). (7)

Plasencia and Oropesa raised the reducciones of Laguna and Tayabas into mission-parishes between 1580 and 1583. The Pila parish, called “San Antonio de Pila,” was most probably inaugurated on the feast of its chosen titular, St. Anthony of Padua, on 13 June 1581, which was also his 350th anniversary. It is the first Antonine parish in the Philippines. At this point, its church, still made of hardwood and bamboo, apparently acquired its first bell from the king. The first parish priest was Oropesa (1581-83). Now, it could be said, the Pileños were “bajo la campana” (“under the bell”), or unified in the Catholic Faith which, from then on, has been deeply ingrained in their hearts. It is quite interesting to note that St. Anthony (1195-1231) had lived in Europe during the Golden Age of Pila at Pinagbayanan. Little did the “saint of lost causes and finder of lost things” know at that time that Padua would form a spritual link with Pila at the other side of the globe via Spain and Mexico more than three centuries later. (Gomez Platero 1880:17,25; de la Llave 1644; de Huerta 1855:137; Clasen 1967) (8)

The Pila encomienda in 1582 counted 1,600 tributes or about 6,400 inhabitants. By 1591, “Pila la Grande” (Big Pila) had 6,800 persons or 1,700 tributes. The encomienda was so prosperous that it had to be shared by two officials, Captain Francisco Mercado de Andrade and Ensign Juan de Peñalosa who, unlike other encomenderos, took their responsibilities quite seriously. For they built not one but two convents for the Franciscans of Pila indicating the large sums they had collected from the villa (Blair and Robertson 5:89,8:96-141). (9) As noted earlier, there was another Pila in Morong on the other side of the lake, which was indeed part of Pila before the arrival of the Spaniards. To distinguish it from our Pila, it was called “Pililla” (Small Pila) as it separated from Morong in 1583 (de Huerta 1855).

The Printing Press and the Infirmary

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Affirming Pila as the cultural center of Laguna even before their arrival, the Franciscans established their first printing press not in Manila but in Pila in 1611. It was the second in the islands next to that of the Dominicans. They hired the “Prince of the Filipino Printers,” Thomas Pinpin of Abucay, Bataan (then part of Pampanga) and Domingo Loag to run the press. In 1613, they published the first Tagalog dictionary entitled Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala by Fray Pedro de San Buenaventura, parish priest of Pila. (In comparison, the first book in the United States was printed in 1638 or 25 years later.) Designed to assist the missionaries of all the religious orders in the evangelization of the Tagalog region, the Vocabulario consists of 707 pages and has two parts: Spanish-Tagalog and Tagalog-Spanish. It was a seven-year project that San Buenaventura began on May 20, 1606 until the printing was completed on May 27, 1613. There are only four known copies of this book, one in the Pardo de Tavera Collection in Manila, two in the Franciscan Archives in Madrid (which used to be in Manila) and another in the British Museum in London (which was probably looted from Pila in 1762). In 1994, a facsimile edition of the original in the possession of the Franciscans was printed in Madrid. (13)

Tagalog as spoken in Pila and its environs was highly regarded to be in its pristine form. Soon following in the footsteps of San Buenaventura was his confrere Fray Francisco de San Antonio who likewise studied the language in the parish where he served as the vicar and later as pastor (c1620-24). He had compiled his own Vocabulario Tagalo before he died in the Pila Infirmary in 1624. His dictionary remained in manuscript form until it was belatedly published by Ateneo de Manila in 2000. (14) The works of San Buenaventura and San Antonio have placed Pila in the printing and linguistic maps of the world.

After eighteen years of labor of Faith as well as forced labor, the stone edifices of the church and convent, facing the lake eastward, were finally inaugurated in 1671. A wooden cross with a concrete base was erected in front of the right side of the façade serving as a counterpoint to the tower on the left side. The basic structure was to be described in the late 18th century as “the most beautiful church in the province” by Don José Peláez, alcalde mayor of Laguna and father of Padre Pedro Pablo Peláez, leader of the secularization movement in the next century (de Huerta 1865:138). (14)

Considering the salubrious climate of Pila, the Franciscans also decided to transfer their infirmary from Lumbang to the villa in 1618. It remained in Pila until 1673 whence it moved to Sta. Cruz, Laguna. During this period, a long list of Franciscans missionaries, around 75, retired and died there and were buried in the local cemetery. These included Fray Miguel de Talavera (died 1622), a prolific writer in Tagalog, and Fray Blás de la Madre de Diós (died 1626), ex-provincial and author of the earliest Flora de Filipinas. The natives could also avail of the services of the hospital while they lodged in the house of compassionate Pileños in the vicinity. The most tragic figure to breathe his last at the infirmary was also the most prominent of them all. The former chaplain of the royal palace in Madrid, Archbishop Fernando Montero de Espiñosa of Manila caught a malignant fever on his way to take possession of his see in 1644; he expired at Pila at the height of a storm. His remains lay in state in the local church until they could be transferred in a slow funeral procession through the camino real (royal road) to the Manila cathedral. (de Huerta 1855:139; Gomez Platero 1880; Blair and Robertson 35:111, 289 & 317 and 37:162). (15)

A delegation consisting of the mayor and selected principales of Pila accompanied their parish priest, Fray José Fonte to Manila for the grand celebration of the martyrdom of the Franciscan missionaries and Japanese laymen in the Land of the Rising Sun. On 2 February 1630, “ a luminous procession” was organized in the Franciscan convent, which moved solemnly to the Cathedral. Each Franciscan parish in the suburbs of Manila and Laguna carried their ceremonial cross and standards as well as a blazon of one of the martyrs. The representatives of Pila, being a Noble Villa, were accorded the place of honor at the end of the solemn line just before the Venerable Orden Tercera (VOT). Forming the highlight of the secular part of the festivities was the first bullfight in the Philippines, which the chosen Pileños witnessed and no doubt associated with Spanish cruelty towards the natives (de Huerta 1855:15-16). (16)

The Bells and Choirs of Pila

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In 1681, most probably in commemoration of the centenary of the foundation of the parish of Pila as well as the 450th anniversary of St. Anthony, a new bell was cast for the church. It bears the following inscription: San Antonio de Pila Año de 1681, above which is the figure of a cross on top of a pedestal with three steps on each side. This venerable bell has survived to the present as the third oldest church bell in the Philippines. The oldest, 1596, is the Calamaniogan, Cagayán, though it had belonged to Binalatongan, Pangasinán, and the second, 1642, in Longos (now Kalayaan), Laguna (Jose n.d.). (17)

That Pileños are great lovers of music, there has never been any doubt. According to a Franciscan writer, Fray Juán de Jesús (Sanchez 1988):

“We cannot deny that music is something that appeals to them. We can see that even without mentors, the Indios are capable musicians. I witnessed this in Pila in (June) 1686 when I participated in the vigil of Corpus Christi. During the rites, five choirs sang and not one of them stumbled on a single note. We can also see that {Filipinos} make musical instruments and they play them exquisitely.” (18)

The prestige and ambience of Pila drew some prominent Spanish families of Manila to settle in the Noble Villa in the second half of the 17th century. These included the Thenorios, Caviedeses, Robleses, Sarmientos, de Silvas and del Rios. They intermarried with the landed gentry and gave rise to a class of Spanish mestizos who like that gentry served as the town executives. The Thenorios, in particular, intermarried with the descendants of the datus of Pila and thus, became co-owners of the pre-hispanic estate cited by Plasencia in 1589. Because it had been formed by the native leaders, the estate was not officially considered an hacienda by the colonial government. Nevertheless, the Pileños referred to it as an hacienda because of its huge dimensions. (19a + Rivera wills). Due to their strict vow of poverty, the Franciscans were the only religious order, which renounced the ownership of haciendas. Many of the landed estates in the provinces they administered, like Laguna, were maintained or acquired by families of mixed Spanish-Filipino blood (19b + Rivera wills).

In contrast to the Spanish mestizos, only a few Chinese mestizos were able to gain a foothold in the local society. Hence, Pila never had a separate Gremio de Mestizos de Sangley.

18th Century Leaders

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Before the turn of the 18th century, Don Antonio Maglilo, a descendant of the aforementioned Cabeza de Barangay Don Francisco Maglilo (1599), emerged as the first durable leader of Pila. He served for sixteen years (1696-1712) as the gobernadorcillo (mayor) – the longest tenure during the Spanish Regime (Rivera 1792). Indeed, in Old Tagalog, Maglilo means “to be brave or authoritarian.” (20)

During the mayorship of Don Juán Carillo in 1721, Mount Banahaw, the sacred mountain of the Tagalogs, erupted furiously. Looming over the forests of Pila and the surrounding towns, it wreaked havoc on the countryside. Up to this day, volcanic rocks of different sizes can still be seen strewn in various parts of the town. (21)

Another prominent figure who made his appearance in the early 18th century was Don Juán de Rivera, founder of the Rivera clan, who became the mayor in 1728. By hard work, inheritance and marriage, he came to own the hacienda in Barangay Sta. Clara, which had belonged to three spinster sisters of Spanish descent surnamed Thenorio. According to oral tradition, the sisters were named Doña María Silvana, Doña Jerónima and Doña Inés. Surviving family documents, however, identify Doña Inés Hilapo (“High Grade Gold”) as the niece and heiress of Doña María Silvana. Both were unmarried and bequeathed their estate to the Riveras who were also their collateral descendants. Doña Jerónima was not mentioned in the documents. Don Juán ably managed the estate for the sisters even at the expense of neglecting his own landholdings in another part of Pila called Caralangan (“the sparse lands”). He eventually married the lady’s niece, Doña Josepha de Rivera y Thenorio, who was also his paternal cousin. Further augmenting the Rivera legitime, was Don Juán’s son Don Nicolás Bonifacio de Rivera who also married a cousin on the Thenorio side, Doña Paula Sarmiento de Silva y Thenorio. It should be noted that according to Spanish chroniclers, cousin marriages were not uncommon among early Filipinos. Overlooking Pagalangan, the hacienda, as we shall see, would figure prominently in the history of Pila at the close of the 18th century (Rivera 1792)(22).

The oldest surviving church book of Pila is the Libro de Bautismos (1729-88). Since the baptismal entries include the names of the child’s parents, modern Pileños can trace their ancestry to at least the beginning of the 18th century or about ten to twelve generations back. The second oldest book is the Libro de Casamientos (1752-1834) and the third oldest, the Libro de Entierros (1755-1833). The last book indicates that the principalía were buried inside the church and the rest in the cemetery in the patio or near the church in Pagalangan. (23)

The Century of Sorrows

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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse began to terrorize Pila, one after the other, in the middle of the 18th century. It was probably during this period that a second patron, San Roque, was invoked for the town in order to “assist” St. Anthony of Padua in defending the villa and pleading its cause in the celestial court. San Roque’s specialty was curbing epidemics, which usually followed calamities because of the severe stress, disruption and contamination of food and water supplies, malnutrition and overcrowding in places of refuge. Various miracles were attributed to him by the faithful of Pila, some of which were juridically confirmed by the Franciscan Order and duly recorded in its official books (Huerta 1855, 138). (24)

For the last time in memory, Mount Banahaw erupted in 1743. It buried the town of Sariaya in Tayabas (now Quezon) to the south but mercifully spared Pila and its environs to the northeast (Gorospe 1992:11). (25)

A widespread agrarian revolt broke out in 1745 in the friar estates of Tondo, Cavite, Batangas and Laguna. Pila and it suburbs were left untouched by the strife because the Franciscans did not own haciendas, as noted earlier, and those owned by laymen were not involved in the conflict. But just north of the town, the Dominicans possessed the vast estates of Calamba and Biñán and the Jesuits, that of San Pedro de Tunasán. For a while, the unrest in these places threatened to spill over to Pila whose people certainly sympathized with the victims of Spanish injustices (Roth 1977, 100-116). (26)

Halley’s comet flashed awesomely through the sky from 1758 to 1759 as predicted by the British astronomer for whom it was named. Despite their evangelization, the Filipinos- like other peoples of the world – must have been deeply disturbed by this sign. The subsequent turn of events did not help alleviate their fears. Three years later, the British invaded the Philippines and occupied the hapless colony for two years. They caused more devastation and misery in Laguna than the eruption of Banahaw had done four decades earlier. After burning Pagsanján, the capital, to the ground, they swooped down on Pila. Here they took down the first bell and plundered the sacred ornaments and vessels and most probably the first book published in the town, San Buenaventura’s Vocabulario, as spoils of war (the latter is now in the British Museum). (27) But the Pileños were able to hide their second bell (1681) from the invaders through some ingenious way, perhaps by dragging and submerging it into the Laguna de Bay not far from the churchyard (Zaide 1939:17; Blair and Robertson 49:220,249; José 1993a: 28).

After the British left in 1764, it seemed that the Pileños’ pastor, Fray Mathías Pico (1762-67), instead of recognizing their gallant deeds during the war, took his turn to abuse them. When they could not take his “discourtesies and maltreatment” any longer, the fearless Pileños brought formal charges against him in court. The pastor went on leave for six months (May to November 1766). When he came back, however, he filed a counter-suit against the community as a whole for making up “lies” against him. The long and short of it was that Fray Pico was transferred to another assignment but not before he demanded an apology, in order to save face, from the parishioners. The latter might have complied just to get rid of him. (28)

A violent typhoon lashed out at Pila and nearby towns in 1781. It killed livestock, destroyed crops and toppled and wrecked several houses both of the poor and the elite. Thus, it remained for a long time in the mirthless memory of the town (Rivera 1792) (29)

On August 11, 1792, the French naturalist Louis Nee, a prominent member of the Malaspina expedition (1789-94) accompanied by the Spanish botanist, Juán de Cuélar, roamed in Pila gathering plant specimens. They found the medicinal herb cantulay or cuntulay (Pistia stratiotes L. Araceae). They observed that, after heating and stripping it by hand, Pileños would rub it on bellies of children for the relief of abdominal pains. Unlike in other towns, the scientists did not did not stay longer than a day at Pagalangan probably because of the flooding in the rainy season. Putting Pila in the scientific map again, they published their findings in the Anales de Ciencias Naturales in 1802 (vol. 5, no. 13 pp. 76-82). (30)

Time and Tide: The Transfer to Sta. Clara

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In its turn, Pagalangan was to follow the fate of Pinagbayanan in a poignant historical cycle. After four centuries, “a sea of troubles” began to engulf the town at the turn of the 18th century. The relentless swelling and surging of Laguna de Bay during the rainy season brought about severe annual high waters, submerging the homes and streets and arable land of the Pileños for as long as three to four months at a time. The stagnant water and consequent putrefaction created an unhealthy atmosphere, which increased the incidence of various diseases such as the common cold, cholera, and tuberculosis. A swarm of crocodiles preyed upon their beasts of burden and draft animals. Moreover, flooding impeded commerce, their major source of livelihood, with the neighboring towns. Above all, especially for those living in the distant barrios, it got in the way of fulfilling their spiritual obligations such as hearing mass on Sundays and holidays of obligation (Santiago 1983). (31)

The Pros and the Contras

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A group of principales led by the tres hermanos Don Felizardo, Don Miguel and Don Rafael de Rivera (great-grandsons of Don Juán), supported by the parish priest, were convinced that the town had become totally uninhabitable. They offered their hacienda in Sta. Clara, notable for its high location, as the new site of the town. An opposite faction formed insinuating that the Riveras exaggerated the situation in order to profit from the transfer of the town to their estate. The town was, therefore, split into two groups, the “pros” and the “contras” depending, respectively, on whether they were for or against the move (Santiago 1983). (32)

Although unpopular and outnumbered, the pros appeared to have the upper hand because they were an influential group. However, their ultimate asset was not influence but the incontrovertible reality of the circumstances. With the passing of each year of litigation and inaction by the contras, it became more and more clear that the days of old Pila were numbered, if not by human decree, by the undeflectable deluge from the lake. Time and tide wait for no one. The contras, on the other hand, seemed determined to “go against the current.” Their strength lay in their number for they clearly stood for the majority. As a consequence, the colonial government tried to defer to them as much as possible, thus diminishing the advantage of the pros. Also, the sentiment they expressed – conserving an ancient town – easily evoked sympathy in the outsider (Santiago 1983). (33)

The first decree issued by the governor-general on 7 November 1794 favored the pros. It ordered the transfer to Sta. Clara within a period of three years during which the townspeople were to be exempted from payment of tributes, forced labor and personal services. The contras, of course, objected to the decree and instead recommended building a massive dike along the shores of the lake to prevent inundation. Indeed, this sounded very logical at the time. The governor-general, therefore, signed another decree on 2 June 1796 taking up the suggestion of the contras (Santiago 1983). (34)

Instead of opposing the second decree, the pros simple informed the governor that they had already been faithfully complying with the first decree for the past year and a half. In fact, they had cast a new bell for a new church in Sta. Clara. The bewildered governor responded with the usual delaying tactics: an investigation into the origin of the “new representation” that is, by the contras. Incredibly, the case dragged on for the next seven years (Santiago 1983).(35)

Adrift on the Water

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In 1798, a group of gobernadorcillos from the surrounding towns of Sta. Cruz, Liliw, Nagcarlan, Baé and Los Baños complained of the thick mud on the impassable roads leading into the Pila due to the floodwaters; this situation hindered their business transactions. As the 19th century approached, the fate of Pila was still adrift on the water, literally as well as symbolically (Santiago 1983). (36)

When the prolonged celebrations welcoming the new century had subsided, the provincial commission decided to make a follow-up ocular inspection of Pila; they now found it in a “deplorable situation.” Thus, a third decree was published on 24 May 1800 reordering the removal of the town to Sta. Clara. In the hope of expediting the process, the governor permitted for the first time the demolition of the deteriorating church and town hall so that their materials could be re-used in the new site. The archbishop of Manila also approved the construction of a temporary wooden church at Sta. Clara. Again the contras appealed the government decision, rehashing their old arguments in a paper signed by a long list of both prominent and humble folks. Still trying to please most of the people all the time, the governor-general agreed to suspend the latest decree (Santiago 1983).(37)

The Women of Pila

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But on such a heart-rending issue, total silence could not be imposed. On 20 May 1804, when the transfer seemed to be in full swing, some prominent as well as ordinary womenfolk (principalas y plebeyas) sent a moving plea to Manila to suffer them to tarry in their ancestral town. In a document full of pathos, they spoke of their “bitter confusion and desolation” and the “deprivation of their ancient love.” At best it served as a psychological catharsis for them, for their plea went unheeded. But this is easily the most poignant piece in the whole collection of documents still well preserved in the National Archives regarding the move, breaking at last the monotony and repetitiousness of the position papers of the men on both sides (Santiago 1983). (39)

Don Felizardo de Rivera (1755-1810) Fundador

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The pros had recaptured the local offices in the same year (1804). Now their true leader emerged in the person of Don Felizardo de Rivera, the eldest of the Rivera brothers. He had been the town executive from 1792 to 1793 but apparently chose to stay in the background during the long litigation. Instead, he had been quietly drawing up gridiron plans for the new site; necessity had transformed him into a self-taught town architect. He had patiently kept these plans against the day when the transfer would become an officially sanctioned reality. To implement them, he again served as the gobernadorcillo in alternate years, starting in 1805, then in 1807, and finally in 1809. He died in 1810 and the first of his four sons, José de Rivera, took over the post in 1811. Because of his dynamic leadership during the transition and his orderly design, which both evoked and deserved the ancient name of the town, Don Felizardo is considered by his town mates as the founder of Nueva Pila (Santiago 1983; Rivera 1810; Lipa Diocese 1910-60; Eulalia Bartolomé y Rivera 1971 interview). (40)

Since the Riveras had been prominently established in Pagalangan for at least four generations, it was neither an easy matter for them to abandon their ancestral soil. Although they subdivided Sta. Clara, retaining all the residential lots around the rectangular plaza between the church and the town hall, they had to donate the rest to the distressed citizens and local church and state. The clearing and development of a hitherto dormant section of Pila contributed to the expansion of its agricultural economy. The Riveras further pledged their spiritual and material support to the church in perpetuum up the last of their line (Santiago 1983; Rivera 1810). The new town acknowledged its gratitude by christening the principal street “Rivera,” which connects it like a long umbilical cord to Pagalangan. Two parallel streets were named for their family allies, “Ruiz” and “Oca.” As a consolation for the contras, one street farther east was named “de Castro.” The grandmothers of the Ruizes and the de Castros were also Riveras. (41)

By late 1811, the old church was virtually the only building left languishing in Pagalangan. The isolated but still pulsating heart and soul of Pila Antigua, the temple was torn down and transplanted almost stone by stone to Sta. Clara to infuse new life into the new town. (42) Pila, along with its archival records, has survived a revolution, two wars and various natural calamities, all except floods, which never bothered the town again.

The Filipino Pastors

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For almost a quarter of a century, from 1812 to 1835, Filipino secular priests served for the first time as the acting pastors of Pila due to the shortage of Franciscan priests. These native men of God were: Padres Lorenzo Samaniego (1812-16); Pedro de los Santos (1816-19); Pedro Alcántara (1819-26); and Rudecindo Aquino (1826-35). They worked in almost perfect harmony with their parishioners except for “two or three” contras who tried to obstruct their efforts to finish the construction of the stone church. The work was apparently accomplished during the term of Padre Alcántara. A Chinese mestizo priest, he was the baptismal godfather of Padre Pedro Peláez when he was still the coadjutor of Pagsanján. In his 1819 report, Alcántara mentioned the interesting fact that it took two hours by horseback from Pila to reach the provincial capital of Sta. Cruz. (43) This is hard to imagine in this fast age of motor travel.

The Pastor Who Served the Longest

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Since his Filipino predecessors had already completed the stone church, Fray Benito del Quintanar OFM, who served for the longest term as the pastor of Pila during the Spanish era (1839-52), concentrated on building the stone convent. Towards the later part of the project, it had to be suspended in 1846 when the cholera epidemic struck at Pila. Fray Benito reported that from the twelfth to the eighteenth day alone, 36 (28 men and 8 women) were laid low by the disease, 15 of whom died (11 men and 4 women). The cult of San Roque must have been very busy at this time with prayers, penitence and processions at all times of the day. The resourceful pastor also thought he had found an effective purgative against the infection consisting of olive oil, manzanilla and cognac, for 21 patients (13 men and 8 women) survived the epidemic after availing themselves of this novel concoction (Gomez Platero 1880:673, de Huerta 1855:130).(44)

After nine years of supervising the labor of the townspeople, Fray Benito finally finished the great undertaking in 1849. (45) In behalf of the faithful, he had the following prayer-poem in Latin inscribed in a rectangular stone tablet over the main gate of the convent:

“Fave, Protege, Custod., / Bened. Que S.c Antoni: / Domui Istam Novam / Quam Tibi Dedicavi.” (“St. Anthony, may you look with favor on, protect, guard and bless this new house which is dedicated to you.”)

It seems that St. Anthony has answered Pila’s fervent prayers. The stone church and convent have survived to the present and the latter now houses the parish college, Liceo de Pila.

To promote public worship, the energetic Fray Benito had also started the Archicofradia del Nuestro Señor Padre San Francisco most probably at the beginning of his term. This archconfraternity was next in rank to the Venerable Orden Tercera (VOT) of the Franciscan order, which was situated in Manila. Compared to an ordinary confraternity, the archconfraternity had been granted by the pope the power to affiliate with other groups of the same character. The earliest surviving record of the archicofradia of Pila dates to 1848 when the hermano and hermana mayor were Don Narciso de San Gabriel and Doña Magdalena de la Rosa. Their deputies were Don Tomas de Rivera and Doña Isabel Abella de Rivera who were later elected to succeed to them. Sadly, Fray Benito had to retire in 1852 due to a chronic illness, which had afflicted him for the past two years. [ ] The archicofradia became inactive six years later. However, it was resumed after the monstrous earthquake of 1863 shook the town mercilessly and apparently caused some damage to the church, convent and houses of the faithful.(46)

New Surnames

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Governor-General Don Narciso Clavería, Count of Manila, issued a decree on 21 November, 1849 ordering the systematization of Filipino surnames. Some Pila families at that time still carried saint’s names as patronymics. This was discouraged by the decree because the civil rolls sounded more like a conventual list of monks and nuns. Thus, the family name San Gabriel became Álava; Sto. Tomás was changed to Agra; and San Antonio was transformed to Relova. A Chinese mestizo family which had migrated from Pasig, the Relovas soon emerged as another illustrious clan of Pila when the principalia selected Don Regino Relova de San Antonio as the mayor in 1855-56. Henceforth, the Relovas became the friendly political rivals of the Riveras with whom they intermarried as with the other old families (Claveria y Zaldua 1973:vii-xvi; Ruiz 1969). (47)

The Menace of Tulisanes

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From 1849 to 1853, the towns of Laguna, especially Pila and Nagcarlang, fell prey to the raids of tulisanes who would swoop down from the mountains in the dead of night to terrorize the inhabitants, loot their houses and kill those who resisted them. In order to defend themselves with the help of the cuadrilleros, the alcalde mayor of Laguna petitioned the governor-general on April 26, 1852 to issue firearms to the gobernadorcillo and principales of Pila. This was apparently approved. However, the local leaders were no match to the tulisanes in cunning and ruthlessness. The latter still succeeded in sacking Pila in October 1852 and the frustrated alcalde mayor, probably looking for a scapegoat, fined the gobernadorcillo, Don Jacinto de San Gabriel Alava for “carelessness and negligence.” (48)

New Baptistery and Belfry

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Natural and man-made calamities of whatever magnitude did not deter Pileños from continuing to embellish and improve their house of worship. In 1855, plans for a concrete belfry were drawn by the local architect and builder, Maestro Sebastián Bade. (See accompanying original sketch.) It was also designed to serve as a watch- tower to warn against the approach of the tulisanes as well as a lighthouse to guide those who sailed at night in Laguna de Bay. Before then, the church bells were strung from a horizontal bar supported by two coconut lumber posts 2 baras (5.6 feet) tall. Like the square tower of the defunct church in Pagalangan, the base of which still stands, the first floor of the proposed tower was reserved for the baptistery. On it, the belfry proper of three more floors, progressively decreasing in diameter, were to be constructed topped by a small dome. The windows featured three-centered arches. (49)

Maestro Sebastián estimated that it would be necessary to order the following materials for the project: 9,000 adobe stones (at 6 pesos and 2 reales per hundred) from the quarries of Guadalupe in the province of Tondo (now in Makati) and 5,000 cavans of limestone (at 16 pesos per hundred) from Binangonan. The parishioners pledged to provide the gravel and sand and labor. The contractor asked for 4 reales per day for his fee and he confidently promised to finish the work in stages in two years. The total cost of the project was 1,690 pesos and 4 reales. For lack of parish funds, however, the project was shelved on the order of the governor- general.(50)

The baptistery and belfry were apparently built after the Earthquake of 1863. Of Maestro Sebastián’s design, only the windows with three-centered arches were adopted. Red bricks from local kilns – laid up in the Flemish style – replaced the proposed adobe from Guadalupe except for the square-shaped baptistery on the ground floor. The number of floors for the belfry proper was reduced from three to two and their shape, including that of the spire was altered into an octagon. The structure was so carefully built that it has since withstood the test of time as well as several catastrophes.

Economic prosperity in terms of increased productivity in the coconut, rice and sugar industries of the town was registered in the last quarter of the 19th century until it was interrupted by the Revolution and the Filipino-American War. Several roads and bridges were built in strategic parts of the municipality during this boom period. The first rice mill was set up in 1881-82 by Don Lorenzo and Don Luis N. Rivera, Don Juan Madrigal and Don Benedicto Carillo. Five sugar mills were also started later by Don Luis N. Rivera, Don Juan Madrigal, Don Mariano Dimaculangan (whose family had migrated from Lumbang, Laguna), and Don Feliciano and Don Ruperto Relova (Paterno 1907).(51)

The First Flores de Mayo

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In the religious realm, the rites of Flores de Mayo, for which Pila is now well-known, were introduced in 1888 by the parish priest, Fray Benito de los Infantes OFM (1885-88) with the cooperation of the Gobernadorcillo Don Antonio Agra Natoza (1887-88). This has become an annual thanksgiving to the Mother of God for the blessings she has showered on the town through her intercession. The first hermana and hermano mayor were Srta. Josefa Dimaculangan, the first maestra of Pila who had graduated from the Colegio-Beaterio de Sta. Catalina, and Don Ruperto Relova, a cabeza de barangay (Gomez Platero 1880).

The Revolution

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The placid life of Pila was rent asunder from 1896, when the revolution against the Spanish colonizers broke out, until 1902 when the Americans, the new colonizers, reorganized the municipal government under their rule (Gotiangco 1980:175, Gleeck 1981:1-13). (53)

On 15 November 1896, General Severino Taiño of Pagsanjan fought fiercely against the Spaniards at the Battle of Sta. Cruz. The colonialists rush two commands of soldiers from Manila to help their beleaguered colleagues. The Filipino rebels had to retreat to the surrounding towns, including Pila, where a good number of them came from. In retaliation, the Spaniards assaulted the remaining pockets of resistance in the next few days. When they reached Pila, they expected the municipal authorities to demonstrate their loyalty by giving them assistance as in the other towns. But the following officials were nowhere to be found: Capitan Municipal (Mayor) Don Feliciano Relova; Juez de Paz (vice-Mayor) and ex-Gobernadorcillo Don Luis N. Rivera; the Filipino coadjutor, Padre Jose Gonzaga; Don Regino Relova, the mayor’s son; and their assistants. Fabian Puso and Maximo Cacha. Not surprisingly, they were branded personas sospechosas. A certain Quisumbing of Los Baños denounced them as supporters of the Katipunan (Gotiangco 1980:101-175, Gleeck 1981:1-13, Ruiz 1969).(54)

The missing officials reappeared in Sta. Cruz on 23 November to deny the charges against them. Nonetheless, they were summarily arrested, their elbows were tied behind their backs and they were thrown into the provincial jail, which was already packed with captured rebels. They languished in prison for nine days. They were only released at the behest of the mayors of Luisiana, Majayjay and Lucban who claimed that the suspects were passing through their towns at the time in question in order to report to the alcalde mayor of Tayabas since Sta. Cruz was then in disarray. However, the mayor of Luisiana and his secretary, who had vouched for them, were themselves eventually arrested as traitors, imprisoned and executed by a firing squad (Gotiangco 1980:101-175; Gleeck 1981:1-13). (55)

In the second phase of the Revolution in 1898, the people of Pila took arms again under General Paciano Rizal, the national hero’s brother, who was the commanding general of Laguna. Aguinaldo appointed Telesforo Franco of Barrio San Roque as the mayor of Pila who, together with Captain Simplicio de la Cruz, formed a unit of Pileño soldiers. Beleaquered again and defeated, the Spanish officials finally withdrew from the province (Gotiangco 1989:133-138). (56)

The Holocaust of 1899

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In the Filipino-American War, General Juan Cailles succeeded Rizal’s brother as the commanding general of Laguna. He divided the province into six military zones and commissioned Colonel Regino Relova as the commander of the district comprising Pila (his hometown), Calauan, Bae, and Los Baños. Apparently on the orders of Cailles, the Filipino soldiers caught the erstwhile Spanish and now American sympathizer Quisumbing and executed him in Sta. Cruz (Gotiangco 1980:139-175; Gleeck 1981:1-13). (57)

The ruthless American invaders under General Lawton captured the provincial capital on 10 April 1899 and trooped to Pila the next day. For vehemently opposing the new colonizers, the town was put to the torch by the Americans. At the end of the grimmest day in the town’s memory only the church and convent, the school building across the street, and a few and far between stone houses (bahay na bato) of the elite were left standing amidst the fire and smoke of the battle. Before returning to Manila, the Yanquis vandalized, looted and turned these buildings into garrisons where they entrenched themselves against their angry victims. The casa real (municipal hall) as well most of the houses of the principalia and the nipa huts of the poor in the town center and the adjacent barrios had been razed to the ground. The people felt as though the earth had been pulled out from under their feet. Proud of their heritage, most families were able to save their legajos (bundles) of ancestral documents dating from as early as the 18th century (Gotiangco 1980:139-175, Gleeck 1981:1-13). (58)

Despite the recent holocaust, the Pileños pulled themselves together and held their heads up high to greet the 20th century with fervent hope and prayers.

The New Dispensation

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When General Cailles surrendered to the Americans on 20 June 1900, the “pacification” of Laguna was deemed complete. Pila in ruins was occupied at length by American troops starting in September 1901. They stayed in the convent as well as in the sacristy, baptistery and choir loft for a year picking up where they left off in vandalizing and looting the edifices again without let up until August 1902. Before their return, the parishioners had fortunately salvaged the church records except for the account books, which the soldiers had expropriated apparently as a guide to plundering sacred vessels, furniture and other properties of the church. Barely a few months after their departure, another unit of black soldiers came back to the rectory and stayed for another two months. The conservative estimate of the damage they inflicted was between 1,700 to 2,000 pesos, which was an enormous sum in that era. (58-b: Arzobispado de Manila y los Obispados Sufragáneos. Catálogo de las Reclamaciones que por daños y perjuicios inferidos a la Iglesia Católica de Filipinas presenta al Gobierno de los Estados Unidos de América. (Manila: El Mercantil, 1903) pp. 68-69. )

The Americans tried to make amends to the Pileños by offering the local offices back to the elite as in the Spanish period. The military government installed a prominent musician and composer, Don Ignacio Alava as the mayor of Pila (1900-1902). With the establishment of civil rule, Don Juan Bartolome (originally from Pasig) was chosen to replace Alava (1902-1904) (Gotiangco 1980:139-175, Gleeck 1981:1-13). (59)

To help revive the spirit of Pila after the tragedy of war, its youth organized a socio-civic group, the Capisanan ng Pag-asa (Hope Association) in 1905. The first officers were: Srta. Encarnacion Francia y Rivera, president; Sr. Mesiton Rivera y Rivera, vice president; Sr. Gregorio Agramon, secretary; and Srta. Consuelo Rivera, treasurer. Their parents and older relatives had just reconstructed the rice and sugar mills a year or two earlier to give employment to the people and impetus to the town economy. From the ashes had risen again their homes made of strong wood and thatched with nipa - a far cry from their imposing homes before the holocaust (Paterno 1902:95). (60)

The Thomasites

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A new public school system was introduced in 1901 by the “Thomasites” (so-called because they had arrived aboard the ship Thomas). Miss Burnetta Hoyles was the first to be assigned to Pila to teach the primary course. Although he held office in Sta. Cruz, the superintendent for Laguna, Mr. Roderick McCloud, was quite active in the town. For the school, they used the venerable stone edifice of the school which had been built under the Spaniards and which still stands today as the town museum. (Elementary education or primera enseñanza had been started in Pila with the establishment of the parish in the 16th century). The Thomasites were astonished to find a lady teacher in the town who could speak English – Srta. Doña Mercedes Lina Rivera (1879-1932). A maestra superior in the Spanish system, Miss Rivera had learned English at the newly opened Colegio de la Consolacion (1901) of the Filipino Augustinian sisters in Manila. One of the nuns, Sor Catalina de Jesus, had the foresight to study English in Hong Kong in anticipation of the impending changes under American rule. An accomplished pianist and composer, Miss Rivera’s musical ear had helped her learn the new language easily albeit with British accent. Here the Thomasites were supposed to “civilize” an isolated town, which had turned out to have already developed a high degree of culture as represented by this trilingual lady educator. (In contrast, Mr. McCloud and Miss Hoyles could speak only their native tongue). After about a month of “retraining,” Miss Rivera was made an assistant in teaching the American language (Gleeck 1981:44-50; Ruiz 1964:6, 10; Santiago 1992: 14-25).(61)

The First Professionals

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Not content with just being an assistant, Miss Rivera enrolled at the Philippine Normal School in 1902, a year after it was established. As one of its early graduates, she subsequently taught English and literature in her Alma Mater. When the Pila Intermediate School was set up in 1914, Mr. McCloud invited her to become its first principal. (A trusted assistant of Miss Rivera in the school was a mild-mannered Pileño, Mr. Fructuoso Vidal (1893-1994) who was to become the father of Cardinal Vidal of Cebu). Miss Rivera was promoted in 1917 as the assistant dean of the Philippine Normal Hall in Manila. In 1919, she and six other Filipina educators founded the Philippine Women’s College, which became a university in 1932. It was the first private educational institution for women in the Philippines to adopt English as the medium of instruction as well as the first university for women in Asia. Because of her accomplishments in the field of education, Miss Rivera was regarded as “The Pride of Pila” (Gleeck 1881: 44-50, Ruiz 1964, Santiago 1992; Department of Public Instruction 1905: 27-28, Philippine Women’s University 195: 6). (62)

Like Miss Rivera, her town mates began to branch out into other professions in the early 20th century instead of confining themselves to supervising their family farms. As a pensionado (government scholar) to the United States, Dr. Manuel Rivera y Rivera graduated in 1913 as a Doctor of Pharmacy from Milton University in Baltimore, Maryland. In the same year, the first lawyer of the town, Atty. Jose D. Relova, received the LI.B degree from the University of Sto. Tomas. So did the first dentist, Gregorio N. Agramon, earn a licentiate in the field at the UST in 1913(University of Santo Tomas Alumni Association 1972: 6-D and 8-D). The first physician, Dr. Teodoro Alava y Rivera obtained his MD. degree from the same institution in 1915.(63)

A Season of Grace

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In the meantime, the Flores de Mayo, interrupted by the Revolution and the War, was revived in 1912 to honor again the Blessed Virgin Mary every year. The first hermana and hermano mayor were Srta. Soledad Agra y Dimaculangan (daughter of Josefa Dimaculangan and who later married Dr. Teodoro Alava) and Atty. Jose Relova (who married aDr. Manuel Rivera). In the province of Laguna, the first monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was inaugurated at the Pila Plaza during the town fiesta in 1922. It was donated by the pious president of the Apostolado de la Oración, Doña Concepción Diaz, widow of Don Feliciano Relova (Anonymous 1977:651).(64)

There was indeed a great deal to be thankful for because Pila was enjoying another economic boom similar to the one in the last quarter of the previous century. Thus, it was from 1915 to 1931 when most of the modest houses of Pila were pulled down to give way to the present great houses, which, together with the old church and convent they surround, impart a distinctive ambience to the town. The last building to be completed just before the nadir of the Great Depression was the Municipal Hall in June of 1931. It was erected during the second term of Don Arcadio Relova who worked for the longest duration as the mayor during the American Period (1919-26, 1929-34, 1938-39). The location of the edifice was transferred from the northwest corner of the rectangular plaza to across the west end of the plaza directly facing the church at the east end. The old site was exchanged with the new one owned by Doña Corazon Rivera de del Mundo, daughter of Don Luis Rivera (Ruiz 1969). (65) The present Pila is the picture of a Philippine town frozen in the prosperous twenties – to the delight of period film makers.

Pila contributed a “Miss Laguna,” the statuesque Miss Loreto Relova, to the Philippine Carnival of 1926. The first two lady dentists of the town, Doctoras Raquel Francia and Aurora Guysayco y Agra finished in 1928 at the Centro Escolar de Señoritas and the University of the Philippines, respectively. Two more scions of Pila acquired their medical degrees in the United States in the late twenties: Dr. Juanito Bartolome y Rivera (University of Chicago) and Dr. Petronio Alava, a neurosurgeon (University of Delaware). Dr. Alava was a private scholar of Miss Mercedes Rivera.(66)

The Great Depression

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The economic bubble burst in the thirties when the coconut industry in Laguna collapsed. The price of copra and coconut oil had begun to plunge sharply in 1929 and continued on its downward trend up to 1936. Pila was crestfallen. The crisis, however, witnessed the development of religious vocations among the young Pileños. The town’s first nun, Sister Assumpta (the former Magdalena Alava y Bartolome) joined the “Pink Sisters” of the Perpetual Adoration in 1932. Sor Consuelo (the former Milagros Relova y Rivera) professed her vows as a Benedictine nun in 1932. The first priest, Fr. Felix Codera was ordained in 1938 (Gleeck 1981: 93-98). (67)

Once again, the importance of having a profession in times of crisis was brought to the fore. The first two graduates from Pila of the prestigious College of Medicine of the University of the Philippines finished at this time: Drs. Rogelio Relova (1931) and Jaime O. Rivera (1935) (University of the Philippines College of Medicine 1982:182-187). So did the young lawyers, Attorneys Luis O. Rivera and Benjamin R. Relova (U.P. 1936) and Lorenzo R. Relova (Ateneo de Manila, 1934-40), son of the first lawyer, Atty. Jose Relova. Ms. Araceli O. Rivera earned her BS Music degree (Major in Piano) at St. Scholastica’s College in 1937. The first mechanical engineer, Mr. Regino Relova, Jr. graduated in 1949 from the Mapua Institute of Technology.(68)

In the midst of widespread poverty, the Sakdal Movement among the farmers gained momentum and exploded into a brief uprising in 1935. It was anti-American, anti-Commonwealth and anti-big haciendas. It found support even from some of the elite like Fernando Alava of Pila. Reminiscent of the Agrarian Revolt of 1745, the unrest centered in Cabuyao, Laguna and did not reach Pila. It was crushed within a day by the Philippine constabulary led by Governor Cailles of Revolutionary fame. In the subsequent elections, the Sakdalistas were rejected by the people of Laguna who, even though they sympathized with their cause, did not approve of their violent means (Zaide 1979, Gleeck 1981:106-113). (69)

World War II

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Ironically, just when Pila’s economy was beginning to take off with the rehabilitation of the coconut industry and the increase in rice production, the Second World War was declared between Japan and the United States (1941-45). Pila resumed its role as the rice granary of Laguna during the war. The people vigorously supported the guerilla movement, which many young Pileños joined. The town became the center of guerilla activities in the province. The underground units included the 45th Regiment Hunters ROTC, Marking’s, Fil-American, Hukbalahap (Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon), USAFFE, Quezon’s, and Chinese Guerillas. Fr. Codera of Pila volunteered as their chaplain. Joining him were two other priests, Frs. Baez and Atienza. The Hunter’s ROTC guerillas included Lt. Perfecto Rivera (Bn. S-1 and later, Bn. Executive Officer); Lt. Jose “Jobo” Fernandez (Asst. Bn. S-1); Capt. Jose Relova (Bn. S-4) and Lt. Jose Madrigal (Asst. Bn. S-4) (Zaide 1979, Gleeck 1981:106-113, Mojica 1965: 570-607).(70)

Under the circumstances, the Japanese soldiers stationed in the town seemed at times to be careful enough not to provoke unnecessary escalation of the conflict, which they might not be able to handle. However, as in other towns and other times, they were not lacking those Filipinos who informed and collaborated with the Japanese. They were called Makapili (Makabayang Katipunan ng mga Pilipino), and were mostly former Sakdalistas. The incumbent mayor, Segundo Agra (1940-42) and Delfin Relova were suspected as collaborators and were eliminated by the guerillas. In retaliation, the next mayor, Santiago Fernandez (1943-45) was later assassinated by the Makapili. Another Ex-Mayor Don Mesiton Rivera (1926-28) survived a serious attempt on his life by stabbing also by the Makapili (Zaide 1979, Gleeck 1981, Mojica 1905). (71)

The rhythm of life in Pila, both secular and religious, was allowed to go on by the invaders but not without considerable tension being felt on both sides. Pileños shared their abundant crops with starving people in the surrounding towns and from as far as Manila and its suburbs. The latter paid in kind, when they could, mostly with their furniture, which, if they had kept, would have surely perished in the final skirmishes between the Japanese and the Americans (Zaide 1979, Gleeck 1981, Mojica 1965).(72)

As expected, Pila was the first town in Laguna to be liberated in January, 1945 by the grateful guerillas under the over-all leadership of Lt. Col. Honorio Guerrero of the 45th Regiment. The Japanese soldiers and their Filipino collaborators were easily routed without any casualty on the side of the liberators. Unlike in the Filipino-American War of unpleasant memory half a century earlier, the town was almost completely spared from destruction except for minor to moderate damages to some of the houses. The magnanimous Pileños now opened their homes and extended a helping hand to countless relatives, friends and strangers who were evacuating from embattled places including Manila (Zaide 1979, Gleek 1981, Mojica 1965).(73)

A Time of Peace

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Pileños ascribed their unique blessings in the last war to the intercession of their protector, St Anthony of Padua. To their great joy and as though to confirm their belief, Pope Pius XII declared the saint a Doctor of the Universal Church with the title Doctor Evangelicus on 16 January 1946, only a year after the liberation of Pila from the Japanese.(Clasen 1967). Henceforth, Pila adopted the honorific Bayang Pinagpala (the Blessed Town) as proposed by the town historian, Mr. Rogelio Lota. (74)

A group of grateful residents established a college, St. Anthony Academy (now Liceo de Pila) on 5 october 1947. Its founders were Fr. Francisco Radovan, Doña Maria Ordoveza vda. de Rivera, Atty. and Mrs. Casto Maceda, Atty. Luis O. Rivera and Doña Vicenta Salamanca. The Riveras later donated their shares in the academy to the parish (St. Anthony Junior College 1972). (75)

The first woman doctor of Pila, Dra. Carmencita Rivera y Relova graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Medicine in 1948. She is the daughter of Dr. Manuel Rivera and she married her schoolmate, Dr. Jose Valenzuela, who had finished the previous year (University of the Philippines College of Medicine 1982:201-203). (76)

The venerable barrio of Pagalangan together with those of San Roque and Nanhaya declared independence from the town of Pila in 1949. The new municipality chose the name Victoria in honor of the daughter of President Elpidio Quirino, Miss Victoria “Vicky” Quirino who was then acting as the First Lady to her widower father.(77)

Recent Outstanding Pileños

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The most distinguished resident of Pila is Retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Lorenzo Relova y Rivera (b. 1916). Bearing the two most prominent surnames of Pila, he was born and grew up in the town (Sevilla 1985: 177-1788). (78)

In banking and finance, the late Jose “Jobo” Fernandez, Jr. (1923-1994) excelled, serving as the Central Bank governor in both the Marcos and Aquino administrations. Although his father, Jose Sr., was from Mabitac, his mother, Gerundina Bartolome y Rivera was from Pila and he grew up in Pila. As cited earlier, he was a member of the first battalion of the 45th Regiment of Hunters ROTC Guerillas in the town during the last war (Philansa 1974, Mojica 1965:571). (79)

In the spiritual domain should be cited the saintly Fr. Hernando Maceda SJ (1918-1994) who devoted his life quietly counseling and comforting the poor, the sick and those who mourned, especially among his town mates. He was born and reared in Pila after his parents, Atty. And Mrs. Casto Maceda, originally of Sta. Cruz and Nagcarlan, decided to settle in the town. (Bernad 1974:7, 12)(80)

The other illustrations figure in the religious field is His Eminence, Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal, Archbishop of Cebu (b. 1931). His father, as cited earlier, is a Pileño while his mother, the former Natividad Jamin was from Mogpog, Marinduque where the Cardinal was born. His father was appointed municipal treasurer of Mogpog by Governor Pedro del Mundo who had married Corazon Rivera of Pila (younger sister of Mercedes Rivera). It was the first Pileño priest, Fr. Codera, who encouraged Vidal in his vocation especially at a time when the young seminarian had developed a lung ailment. Of a humble family, the cardinal rose from the priestly ranks to become a “Prince of the Church,” which reminds us that the Catholic Church is the genuine “equalizer” of peoples in the modern world. The examples of Cardinal Vidal and Fr. Maceda show the depth and breadth reached by the roots of the Catholic Faith in the town since the Spanish missionaries implanted it in the “soil” of Pila (its ancient meaning) more than four centuries ago (see Bernad: 1974:7, 12; Perard 1987; Darang 1993a, 1994b).(81)

Dr. Antonio A. Rivera (b. 1943; M.D. 1967 U.P.), son of Dr. Jaime O. Rivera, is one of the country’s luminaries in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine.

In music, Pila’s hallmark, reigns Ms. Digna Agra-Roxas, composer, organist and accordionist, music teacher and arranger who has published innumerable pieces for the piano and other instruments. Her son, Dr. Artemio Roxas, Jr. (b. 1956; MD 1981 UST) has followed in her footsteps besides being a physician of note specializing in neurology. Ms Mercedes A. Rivera-de Silva was voted one of the Ten Outstanding students of 1965 in the field of music. She now teaches music and piano at the International School.

The most recent maker of local history in the field of politics was the late mayor, Mr. Querubin Relova y Agra (b. 1931), who served from 1977 to 1986 and from 1987 to 1988. In the election of 1995, he ran for mayor unchallenged – the first time this ever happened in the town. Having served for twenty years and thus far the longest serving mayor in the history of Pila, Relova had broken the enviable record of Don Antonio Maglilo in the 17th to the 18th century who worked as the town executive for 16 years (1696-1712). (82)