Pila Historical Society Foundation Inc.
Pila: The Noble Town
Dr. Luciano P. R. Santiago, M.D.
Pila, Laguna is a unique place. It is the only town in the Philippines that is formally recognized as a historical site by both the church and the state. The National Historical Institute declared the town center a National Historical Landmark on 17 May 2000. The Diocese of San Pablo, on the other hand, proclaimed the parish church of San Antonio de Padua de Pila – the first Antonine parish in the Philippines – as the Diocesan Shrine of St. Anthony on 9 July 2002.
Laguna Copperplate Inscription
Even before the Spaniards arrived, Pila (an ancient Tagalog word meaning soft stone) was a religious, cultural, and commercial center in the region surrounding the great lake, which came to be known as Laguna de Bay. The oldest written record in the Philippines, a copper plate dating to 900 AD and found in nearby Lumbang, mentions the town and leaders of Pailah twice and Puliran. These possibly refer to Pila and Pulilan, respectively, the latter being the old name of the western portion of the lake near which Pila lies. According to oral traditions, from the center in Pinagbayanan, and later in Pagalangan, the datu (chief) of Pila ruled over one of the biggest territories in the area, which extended as far as Talim Island, Tanay, and other lakeshore towns.
Early History
The Augustinians were the first missionaries of Pila. When the Franciscans arrived in 1578, they took over the evangelization of the town and built a church of hardwood and bamboo dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. The mission became a parish on 13 June 1581. And so Pila became the first Antonine parish in the Philippines.
It took 18 years – from 1599 to 1617 – for the stone edifices of the church and convent to be completed. Due to its sphere of influence as well as the nobility of its people, Pila was conferred the special title La Noble Villa (The Noble Town) in c1610. Only four other towns in the Philippines merited this rare honor in the 16th and 17th centuries: Cebu, Vigan, Libon in Bicol and Oton in Panay.
The Franciscans established in Pila the second printing press in the Philippines in 1611. The first Spanish-Tagalog dictionary (Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala) was printed in Pila in 1613 by Tomas Pinpin and Domingo Loag. (It was 25 years older than the first book published in the United States in 1638). The local pastor, Fray Pedro de San Buenaventura of the Franciscan Order, compiled the dictionary to facilitate the evangelization of the Tagalog region.
During their occupation of Pila from 1762 to 1764, the British apparently took the dictionary and the town’s first church bell. Hidden from invaders, Pila’s second bell, cast in 1681, is now the fourth oldest surviving church bell in the Philippines
Relocation of the Town
One of the most prominent Pilenos in the 18th century was Juan de Rivera. He became the founder of the influential Rivera clan and owner of the Hacienda de Sta. Clara, which eventually became the site of the town.
At the turn of the 18th century through the 19th century, the town center at Pagalangan had to be abandoned due to severe perennial flooding from Laguna de Bay. This was the second time in its known history that the town had to be moved due to the same calamity.
The first time was in c1375 when it was transferred from Pinagbayanan to Pagalangan. It was time of bitter controversy that divided the people into two factions – depending on whether they were for (pros) or againsts (contras) the move. In the end the pros prevailed.
The people transferred the town to a higher site, the Hacienda de Sta. Clara, owned by the brothers Rivera: Don Felizardo, Don Miguel and Don Rafael, great grandsons of Don Juan de Rivera. The relocation took almost two decades to complete (1794-1812) under the dynamic leadership of Don Felizardo (1755-1810), the eldest of the brothers, who drew up the grid plans for the new sited based on the classical Spanish system of church-plaza-town hall complex. He is considered the founder of Nueva Pila.
Revolution Interrupts Prosperity
For almost a quarter of a century (1812-1835), Filipino secular priests served for the first time as the acting pastors of Pila due to a shortage of Franciscan friars. In c1825 they finished constructing the new church, into which they had recycled almost stone by stone the old church in Pagalangan. The Franciscan pastors who succeeded them concentrated on building the stone convent, which was inaugurated in 1849 during the terms of Franciscan Fray Benito del Quintanar. He was the longest serving parish priest in Pila during the Spanish era (1839-1852).
Increased productivity in the coconut, rice and sugar industries (all of which had mills in the town) brought prosperity in the last quarter of the 19th century. The abundant harvests were ascribed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, leading to the summer rites of Flores de Mayo (Flowers of May) in 1888, a tradition for which Pila is now well known.
The placid life of Pila was thrown into turmoil when the revolution against Spain broke out in 1896 until 1902. The new colonizers – the Americans – reorganized the municipal government under their rule. The people of Pila vigorously opposed both the Spaniards and the Americans. For this, the Spaniards arrested and jailed prominent Pilenos who supported the revolution, and the Americans razed houses throughout the town.
Boom and Bust
The Thomasites so-called because they arrived aboard the American ship Thomas, introduced a new public school system in 1901. They changed the medium of instruction from Spanish to English. The next decades saw the first professionals of Pila emerge. Perhaps the most outstanding among them was Ms. Mercedes Rivera (1879-1932), whos was regarded as the pride of Pila. In 1919, she founded the Philippine Women’s University together with six other Filipina educators.
Times became good again, and an economic boom occurred in the town. From 1915 to 1931, most of the modest houses in Pila were pulled down to give way to the present great houses, which together with the venerable church and convent they surround – preserving Don Felizard de Rivera’s imprint – impart a distinctive ambience to the town. But the economic boom ended in thirties when the coconut industry in Laguna collapsed and the Great Depression struck.
Just when Pila’s economy was beginning to take off again, the Second World War was declared between Japan and the United States, overrunning the Philippines in 1941. Ironically, during this time of war, the rice boom in the town reached its zenith. Pila became the rice granary of Laguna. The Pilenos unselfishly shared their bounty with the surrounding towns and as far as Manila and its suburbs, saving them from starvation.
Pila was also the guerilla center in the province. It was the first town in Laguna to be liberated by the grateful guerillas in January 1945, completely sparing it from destruction by the clashing Japanese and American forces.
In 1947, a group of appreciative residents led by Father Francisco Radovan, Dona Maria Ordoveza de Rivera and Attorney Casto Maceda founde the St. Anthony Academy (now Liceo de Pila).
Outstanding Pilenos in recent times include Professor Jose Maceda, National Artist for Music; Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Archbishop of Cebu; and Lorenzo Relova y Rivera, retired Justice of the Supreme Court – whose families hail from the town.
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.
Pila, Laguna is a unique place. It is the only town in the Philippines that is formally recognized as a historical site by both the church and the state. The National Historical Institute declared the town center a National Historical Landmark on 17 May 2000. The Diocese of San Pablo, on the other hand, proclaimed the parish church of San Antonio de Padua de Pila – the first Antonine parish in the Philippines – as the Diocesan Shrine of St. Anthony on 9 July 2002.
Laguna Copperplate Inscription
Even before the Spaniards arrived, Pila (an ancient Tagalog word meaning soft stone) was a religious, cultural, and commercial center in the region surrounding the great lake, which came to be known as Laguna de Bay. The oldest written record in the Philippines, a copper plate dating to 900 AD and found in nearby Lumbang, mentions the town and leaders of Pailah twice and Puliran. These possibly refer to Pila and Pulilan, respectively, the latter being the old name of the western portion of the lake near which Pila lies. According to oral traditions, from the center in Pinagbayanan, and later in Pagalangan, the datu (chief) of Pila ruled over one of the biggest territories in the area, which extended as far as Talim Island, Tanay, and other lakeshore towns.
Early History
The Augustinians were the first missionaries of Pila. When the Franciscans arrived in 1578, they took over the evangelization of the town and built a church of hardwood and bamboo dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. The mission became a parish on 13 June 1581. And so Pila became the first Antonine parish in the Philippines.
It took 18 years – from 1599 to 1617 – for the stone edifices of the church and convent to be completed. Due to its sphere of influence as well as the nobility of its people, Pila was conferred the special title La Noble Villa (The Noble Town) in c1610. Only four other towns in the Philippines merited this rare honor in the 16th and 17th centuries: Cebu, Vigan, Libon in Bicol and Oton in Panay.
The Franciscans established in Pila the second printing press in the Philippines in 1611. The first Spanish-Tagalog dictionary (Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala) was printed in Pila in 1613 by Tomas Pinpin and Domingo Loag. (It was 25 years older than the first book published in the United States in 1638). The local pastor, Fray Pedro de San Buenaventura of the Franciscan Order, compiled the dictionary to facilitate the evangelization of the Tagalog region.
During their occupation of Pila from 1762 to 1764, the British apparently took the dictionary and the town’s first church bell. Hidden from invaders, Pila’s second bell, cast in 1681, is now the fourth oldest surviving church bell in the Philippines
Relocation of the Town
One of the most prominent Pilenos in the 18th century was Juan de Rivera. He became the founder of the influential Rivera clan and owner of the Hacienda de Sta. Clara, which eventually became the site of the town.
At the turn of the 18th century through the 19th century, the town center at Pagalangan had to be abandoned due to severe perennial flooding from Laguna de Bay. This was the second time in its known history that the town had to be moved due to the same calamity.
The first time was in c1375 when it was transferred from Pinagbayanan to Pagalangan. It was time of bitter controversy that divided the people into two factions – depending on whether they were for (pros) or againsts (contras) the move. In the end the pros prevailed.
The people transferred the town to a higher site, the Hacienda de Sta. Clara, owned by the brothers Rivera: Don Felizardo, Don Miguel and Don Rafael, great grandsons of Don Juan de Rivera. The relocation took almost two decades to complete (1794-1812) under the dynamic leadership of Don Felizardo (1755-1810), the eldest of the brothers, who drew up the grid plans for the new sited based on the classical Spanish system of church-plaza-town hall complex. He is considered the founder of Nueva Pila.
Revolution Interrupts Prosperity
For almost a quarter of a century (1812-1835), Filipino secular priests served for the first time as the acting pastors of Pila due to a shortage of Franciscan friars. In c1825 they finished constructing the new church, into which they had recycled almost stone by stone the old church in Pagalangan. The Franciscan pastors who succeeded them concentrated on building the stone convent, which was inaugurated in 1849 during the terms of Franciscan Fray Benito del Quintanar. He was the longest serving parish priest in Pila during the Spanish era (1839-1852).
Increased productivity in the coconut, rice and sugar industries (all of which had mills in the town) brought prosperity in the last quarter of the 19th century. The abundant harvests were ascribed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, leading to the summer rites of Flores de Mayo (Flowers of May) in 1888, a tradition for which Pila is now well known.
The placid life of Pila was thrown into turmoil when the revolution against Spain broke out in 1896 until 1902. The new colonizers – the Americans – reorganized the municipal government under their rule. The people of Pila vigorously opposed both the Spaniards and the Americans. For this, the Spaniards arrested and jailed prominent Pilenos who supported the revolution, and the Americans razed houses throughout the town.
Boom and Bust
The Thomasites so-called because they arrived aboard the American ship Thomas, introduced a new public school system in 1901. They changed the medium of instruction from Spanish to English. The next decades saw the first professionals of Pila emerge. Perhaps the most outstanding among them was Ms. Mercedes Rivera (1879-1932), whos was regarded as the pride of Pila. In 1919, she founded the Philippine Women’s University together with six other Filipina educators.
Times became good again, and an economic boom occurred in the town. From 1915 to 1931, most of the modest houses in Pila were pulled down to give way to the present great houses, which together with the venerable church and convent they surround – preserving Don Felizard de Rivera’s imprint – impart a distinctive ambience to the town. But the economic boom ended in thirties when the coconut industry in Laguna collapsed and the Great Depression struck.
Just when Pila’s economy was beginning to take off again, the Second World War was declared between Japan and the United States, overrunning the Philippines in 1941. Ironically, during this time of war, the rice boom in the town reached its zenith. Pila became the rice granary of Laguna. The Pilenos unselfishly shared their bounty with the surrounding towns and as far as Manila and its suburbs, saving them from starvation.
Pila was also the guerilla center in the province. It was the first town in Laguna to be liberated by the grateful guerillas in January 1945, completely sparing it from destruction by the clashing Japanese and American forces.
In 1947, a group of appreciative residents led by Father Francisco Radovan, Dona Maria Ordoveza de Rivera and Attorney Casto Maceda founde the St. Anthony Academy (now Liceo de Pila).
Outstanding Pilenos in recent times include Professor Jose Maceda, National Artist for Music; Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Archbishop of Cebu; and Lorenzo Relova y Rivera, retired Justice of the Supreme Court – whose families hail from the town.
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.