Town of Paluan
HISTORY OF PALUAN
By Rudy Candelario
Translated in English by Benjamin Walata
I – DURING THE SPANISH REGIME
The old village of Paluan mentioned in history was Calavite. The said village could be found near the sea at the north-westernmost part of Occidental Mindoro. Its original name was kalawit, from the shape of the mountain behind the settlement of the people.[1]
In 1580, the island of Mindoro was a part of the Corregimiento of Bonbon or Batangas. The missionaries belonging to the Franciscan Order were the ones taking care of the spiritual welfare of the people living inside the corregimiento. They created the Parish of Calavite and constructed a big church at the center pf the parish. The names of Fr. Juan de Porras and Fr. Esteban Ortiz were mentioned as two Franciscan friars who were assigned here. Among the duties of the priests assigned on Calavite was to visit the people in other parts of West Mindoro.
Aside from being the center of the Catholic faith, Calavite was mentioned in history due to shipwrecks which oftentimes occurred in its rough seas. Elders of the Iraya tribe still remember a Chinese ship which sank at the sea near Calavite. The place where the waves brought the remnants of the ship is now called Sitio Purao.[2]
In 1613, six Spanish ships which were gong to Terrenate, Moluccas, loaded with rice, money and other supplies, sank near Calavite. According to Fr. Francisco Collin, a Jesuit historian, the passengers of the ship were saved with the assistance of St. Ignatius, but according to Fr. Diego Aduarte, OP it was due to the help of the Blessed Virgin.
In 1666, then Jesuit missionary but now St. Diego Luis de Sanvictores, together with lay brother Donado Marcos dela Cruz, went to Calavite during the last leg of their mission in Mindoro. They found no priest in the parish, thus, they preached and baptized the people whom they met. In the sitio of Paluan or Paloang, as it was written, they were able to baptize forty adults.
The visit of Fr. Diego and his companion which was supposed to last only for a few days lasted for weeks. It was due to the strong easterly winds which made it dangerous for them to travel by sea. Nevertheless, they were able to convince many zimarrones or Christians who were hiding in the mountains to live normally in the lowlands.
It could be mentioned here that according to Dutch historian Antoon Postma, the people called the sitio of Paluan as Paloang because the farther the boat of a fisherman sails to the sea, the wider the bay where he came from becomes. In the Tagalog dialect, becoming wider is paluwang.
On the other hand, the old folks of Paluan believe the story that the name of their village came from its being the place where the pirates who were captured by their ancestors were severely whipped as punishment for the crimes they committed against the people. Whipping place in the Tagalog dialect is paluan.[3]
When the island of Mindoro was placed under the spiritual care of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, Fr. Diego dela Resureccion was appointed as the parish priest of Calavite. Aside from visiting the far flung places under the parish, like Ililin, Dongon, Tubili, Sto. Tomas, Talasungan and Camurong, Fr. Diego founded also a community at the foot of the nearby mountain of Minuangan. Seventy three (73) houses were built at the said community and one hundred nineteen (119) persons, including the indigenous people were converted to the Catholic faith by the good missionary.
Work was very difficult for the Spanish missionaries during that time. In order to reach a village, they walked for hours or days, rode on horseback or sailboat. Their lives were always in danger due to the attacks of Moro pirates. Many of them got sick of malaria and died. Four of those who got sick & died were the missionaries assigned in Calavite. They were Fr. Agustin dela Concepcion, Fr. Ignacio de San Bernardo, Fr. Bernardo dela Santisima Trinidad and Fr. Francisco de San Miguel.
One of the priests assigned in Calavite, Fr. Jose de San Agustin, served as chaplain of the Spanish soldiers who manned the steamship patrolling the sea between Palawan and Mindoro with the objective of preventing the attack of Moro pirates to the villages under the jurisdiction of the two islands.
Between 1730 up to 1734, great damage was brought by the attacks of the pirates to Mindoro. They burned the convent of Calavite. In addition, in two separate occasions, all the personal belongings of the priests were lost when the pirates attacked and carried all the things which might be of value to them.
Despite the dangers brought by the pirates and the difficult living condition of the people during that time, the Parish of Calavite grew. In 1749, based on the census conducted by the Spanish government, the total population of Sto. Tomas, Mamburao, Sta. Cruz, Dongon, Ililin, Mangarin and Iling, the villages which comprised the Parish of Calavite, during that time, reached two thousand one hundred ninety (2,190). It appeared that during the said year, Calavite, the ecclesiastical territory which was under the spiritual care of Fr. Francisco de San Miguel, was the biggest parish in the whole island of Mindoro. It was only disheartening to note that after ten years, less than one third of the said number of people was left in Calavite.
In November 1742, the pirates attacked Calavite. Together with his acolyte and the people, Fr. Francisco escaped to the mountains. Nearing the mountain, the missionary thought that the distance between them and the pursuing pirates was so great. He took a rest to eat and pray. The acolyte who accompanied him hid in the nearby bushes.
While praying, Fr. Francisco did not hear the pirate who approached him from behind. The pirate speared him. He died instantly.
The acolyte saw what happened to the missionary whom he faithfully served. He even heard what the pirate said:
“A Spaniard killed my father. Now, I am killing a Spaniard.”[4]
The mortal remains of Fr. Francisco were left in that place by his companions who hid in the mountains. Many days have passed before it was found by the Filipinos who gave it a decent burial.
In 1753, Fr. Agustin de Sto, Tomas de Villanueva was assigned in Calavite. The life of the said missionary was always put at risk every time he visited the different villages. In August 1754, he was almost captured by the pirates at Dongon. His escape was considered as a miracle.
The destructive attack of the pirates in Calavite was the reason why the inhabitants of this village transferred to other places. The authorities of the Order of Augustinian Recollects also decided to stop the assigning of priests in this parish, after the period of service of Fr. Damian dela Madre de Dios as parish priest, in 1767.
The former residents of Calavite transferred to Calapan and Subaan, the town of San Teodoro at present. However, they continued visiting the ricefields which they left behind, during planting and harvest season, despite the danger of being captured by the pirates.
The abandoned village of Calavite was transferred to the spiritual care of the parish priest of Calapan. Sometimes, this place was visited by the missionaries. In 1778, Fr. Jose dela Virgen del Olmo was captured by the pirates at the sea near Calavite. Luckily, the superior of the Order of Augustinian Recollects was quick in giving the ransom money for the missionary that after a few months he was released and allowed to return to Calapan.
When the Dutch soldiers tried to occupy Manila in 1780, the battle between the Spanish and Dutch warships reached the sea of Calavite.
In 1783, a group of indigenous people who was transferred to a place near Calapan sent a petition to Corregidor Gregorio Ladero, the administrator of Mindoro during that time. They attached to their report the map of the once prosperous pueblo.
The Irayas were requesting that they be allowed to return to Calavite for they found life difficult at Subaan, the town of San Teodoro at present. According to the indigenous people, within the twenty year period that they lived in another place, they were still going to Calavite to get honey and beeswax which they used for paying government taxes. In their travels to Calavite, their lives were in constant danger. A few translated excerpts of the second petition go as follows:
“During these twenty years, the hardship we are suffering when it starts
to be month of April, is our going to Calawit, looking for the means to pay
our taxes to the Lord King (May the Lord God Protect Him) and the
subsistence of our families and other needs …
“And when we are going there (or coming back), many are captured by
the Moros, together with the beeswax and honey we collected, and other
important things we bring back to our homes. All of these are being stolen
by the Moros as well. Those captured have been almost thirty people from
from Calawit.
“It is because of this deplorable situation we are in,that we are begging
begging and beseeching our Leader and Lord Don Gregorio Ladero, Judge
and Army Captain of this Island of Minolo, taking care of all those within
within his jurisdiction like our real father, who is saddened, and is pitying
us in our plight as long as we are staying here in Subaan, that we may be
free to return to our former homes.”[5]
Although Corregidor Ladero indorsed the petition to the office of the Governor General in Manila, the said leader did not allow the Irayas to return to their old settlement because the Spanish government would find it difficult to defend them against the pirates who continued to plunder Calavite.
The last official report about Calavite was made last 1791 by Governor Ladero. The petition made by the indigenous people was mentioned there.
Calavite was not indicated anymore in the map drawn by the Spaniards in 1800. What would be seen by the travelers, who happened to pass through this place during that time, were the ruins of the big church.
With the disappearance of Calavite, Paluan which was one of its sitios, was the community where people from other places settled. Among the people who migrated to this place from the Island of Lubang, particularly from Barrio Talaotao were the families of Capitan Vicente Abeleda and Capitan Pablo Tria. The two leaders were the acknowledged founders of Paluan.
Aside from farming, taking care of domesticated animals and logging were the occupation of the people of Lubang who transferred to Paluan. The carpenters of this place became famous as builders of quality sea vessels. Sitio Ipol of Paluan was known during that time as the place where sturdy and beautiful big sailboats were built. The construction of this kind of sea vessels stopped only in 1980.[6]
In an old Spanish document, it was mentioned that Sitio Pamutusin was founded in 1829. It was also mentioned in another document of 1843 that Paluan was one of the four mission stations erected by the government.
In 1844, the authorities of the Catholic Church again sent a missionary priest in Paluan, in the person of Fr. Miguel Caro del Salvador. He was a secular priest. He took care of the spiritual welfare of the people of Paluan for two years.
In the census conducted by the Spanish government in 1850, it was learned that there were fifty four (54) houses in Paluan and its population reached three hundred twenty five (325). It was mentioned in the report of the priest assigned there that in this barrio, then a part of the municipality of Lubang, a prison, convent, church and a cemetery near the house of worship could be found.
In the autobiography of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, he mentioned that as a young man, he bought a big sailboat. He bartered goods with the people of Lubang, Paluan, Sablayan and Mangarin. Fr. Julian Llorente, the parish priest of Paluan became his friend. According to records of the Catholic Church, Fr. Llorente was assigned in Paluan from 1887 to 1894.
It was also mentioned in the autobiography of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo that he and his brother Crispulo have his big sailboat, called San Bartolome, repaired in Paluan. They made it bigger so that it could carry more weight than its former capacity of ten tons.
The general also mentioned that he was encouraged to put up a pastureland in Paluan where he raised sixteen pregnant cows. The number of cattle in his pastureland, increased but the animals disappeared during the revolution.
Gen. Aguinaldo stopped bartering goods with the people in the Island of Mindoro when Patricio Solis, his relative and one of the sailors of his big sailboat accidentally fell to the sea between Golo Island and Calavite Point. A few translated excerpts of the narration of the general go as follows:
“A sudden gust of wind made the sails swing and it struck the rope held
by Patricio Solis. He lost his balance and fell to the sea. He shouted ‘Wait’
and when he surfaced in the water I threw him a piece of bamboo where he
could hold on. Although the waves were big and our sailboat almost
capsized, we turned around to rescue him but what bad luck! We did not
see him anymore. Due to our great sorrow on what happened, we stayed
for three days at Calavite Point but we’re not able to see his remains. May
May he rest in peace!
“Afterwards, we proceeded to Paluan to inform the authorities on what
occurred and to request for the necessary document as proof on what
happened to our luckless companion and relative Patricio Solis. We
proceeded to Sablayan and Mangarin to look for a kind of rattan, dye and
some heads of cattle which we could bring back to Cavite.
This was our last voyage to Mindoro. It lasted only for less than three
months and we immediately returned to our hometown . . . ”[7]
In his years of bartering goods with the people of Mindoro, Gen. Aguinaldo befriended Capitan Mariano Abeleda and Capitan Agustin Liboro who both served as capitan municipal of Paluan. Capitan Mariano Abeleda was the son of Capitan Vicente Abeleda, one of the founders of Paluan.
It was mentioned in a document of the Spaniard that Paluan reached what would be considered as the apex of its prosperity in 1886. It was due to the great volume of trees cut & turned into logs in this pueblo and transported to other provinces and countries.
The result of the census conducted in 1887 showed that the population of Paluan was one thousand four hundred fifty four (1454). Its highest population recorded during the Spanish regime was two thousand eight (2008) in 1894.
When the Katipunan was founded, Capitan Mariano Abeleda and Capitan Agustin Liboro joined the secret society. When the Filipinos revolted against Spain in 1896, the two leaders formed the group of revolutionaries in Occidental Mindoro. They captured Fr. Bruni Capanagan, the parish priest of Paluan during that time. Capitan Abeleda burned the records of the Catholic Church. They marched towards the south and with the assistance of other members of the revolutionary movement on other pueblos, they captured the Spanish missionaries in Mamburao, Abra de Ilog, Sablayan, Magarang and Mangarin. The two leaders imprisoned the priests in Paluan, let them work under the intense heat of the sun and afterwards transferred them to Taysan, Batangas.[8]
In June 1898, the revolutionaries of Oriental Mindoro attacked the seat of the Spanish government at Calapan. After a month of fighting or in July 1898, the Spanish soldiers under the command of Governor Rafael Morales surrendered to the Filipino revolutionaries at the plaza of Calapan. General Emilio Aguinaldo declared Mindoro as a free province and appointed Capitan Agustin Liboro as the governor of the island.[9]
The independence gained by the people of Mindoro lasted for three years only. During the last part of 1901, the American soldiers attacked the different towns of Mindoro. The Filipino revolutionaries resisted the attack but they were defeated by the enemies. Mindoro was occupied by the American soldiers.
Aside from Capitanes Abeleda and Liboro who served as leaders of Paluan from 1883-1885 and 1885-1887, respectively, those who were appointed as capitan municipal of this municipality and their respective terms of office were Valentin Costa (1887-1889), Jacinto Bernardo (1889-1891), Leonardo Tria (1891-1893), Mariano Ramos (1893-1895), Jose Villar (1895-1897), Santiago Gonzales (1897-1899), and Macario Daseco (1899-1901).[10]
II – DURING THE AMERICAN REGIME
The municipal officials of Paluan stated that this town was created on January 5, 1901 by virtue of a resolution passed by the members of the Municipal Council of Mamburao. When the Americans occupied Mindoro, they appointed the chief executives of the town. Even during the period that Paluan was reverted to its old status as a barrio of Mamburao, the inhabitants continued to call the appointed leaders of their place as municipal presidents. Those who were appointed as municipal presidents of Paluan and their respective terms of office are the following: Braulio Villaflores (1901-1903), Mariano Tria (1903-1905), Jacinto Villar (1905-1907), Lorenzo Abeleda (1907-1909), Mateo Tajonera (1909-1912), Estanislao Pag-ilagan (1912-1915), Luciano Fineza (1915-1918), Fernando Cuisia (1918-1921), Bernardino Velandria (1921-1924), Framcisco Tria (1924-1930), Antonio Virola (1930-1933), Amando San Agustin (1933-1936) and Vicente Sanchez (1936-1939).
On January 4, 1905 by virtue of Act 1280 of the Philippine Commission, Paluan was reverted to its former status as a barrio and placed under the jurisdiction of Mamburao. However, in 1910, by virtue of Executive Order No. 31, Paluan was again created as a municipality. Mindoro Administrator John Adams widened the land area under the jurisdiction of this town.
In 1914, the historic visit of American Governor General Francis Burton Harrison at the town of Paluan took place. The said leader hunted for tamaraw at Mt. Calavite. He was met at the seashore of Sitio Pula by the people of Paluan under the leadership of Municipal President Estanislao Pag-ilagan. Due to that historic visit of the governor general, the inhabitants of Sitio Pula agreed to rename their settlement as Harrison once it was elevated to the status of a barrio.[11]
In 1919, by virtue of the resolution approved by the municipal council, the seat of the local government was transferred to Lipa, a sitio which was named after a medicinal plant. Years later, the people got used to calling the place Paluan. The former center of the town was renamed Lumangbayan.
One of the distinguished sons of Paluan was Hon. Cipriano Liboro. The said leader, like his father, Capitan Agustin Liboro also became the governor of the whole island of Mindoro. He served from 1919 to 1925. During his first term of office, he was elected as the president of the League of Governors of the Philippines. He was also elected as one of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1934.[12]
Fr. Julian Dival mentioned in his report to Msgr. Alfredo Verzosa of the Archdiocese of Lipa, Batangas that he visited Paluan in January 1925, and he was able to baptize sixty nine (69) adults.[13] Five years thereafter, or in 1930, Fr. Bernardo Roos, the SVD missionary who was assigned in Looc, visited Lumangbayan and Lipa, the old name of the center of the municipality of Paluan. He found in Lumangbayan a wooden chapel which was built by the people and in Lipa he received the document of the lot donated by a charitable Catholic faithful for the chapel. Fr. Roos also mentioned in his report that the population of Paluan was three thousand five hundred (3,500).
Since many ships sank at the sea near Calavite, a lighthouse was built by American authorities in Sitio Calangigan, Harrison, Paluan in 1933.
IV - DURING THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION OF MINDORO
In March 1942, after the outbreak of World War II, the Japanese soldiers landed in Paluan. It was mentioned in a historical document written by teachers that during that year, a ship owned by Dela Rama Shipping Lines, named Don Esteban, was mistakenly identified by the Japanese as an American warship. They riddled it with bullets and dropped bombs on it until it sank at the sea of Paluan.[14]
The Japanese soldiers occupied Paluan. On April 27, 1942 Captain Ishii and Mindoro Governor Felipe Abeleda arrived in Paluan and confirmed the appointments of the municipal officials.
Paluan was one of the places where the group of guerrillas under Major Esteban Beloncio recruited members. The said leader arrived in this town on July 19, 1942 and encouraged the male family members to continue the fight for freedom. Captain Alfonso Umali, the military officer given by Major Beloncio the responsibility as leader of the group of guerrillas in West Mindoro, also made frequent visits to this town. The said captain married Alberta Villar, the daughter of one of the leaders of this place.[15]
Since Mt. Calavite was located at a strategic place in Paluan, it was here where the communication experts led by Major Lawrence Phillips installed their communication equipment on October 23, 1943. Through the information sent by the experts from Mt. Calavite, together with the messages relayed by the guerrillas of Lubang by means of their radio transmitter in the island of Ambil, the American military leaders were able to monitor the movements of Japanese warships in Manila Bay, including the vessels passing by the sea between Batangas and Mindoro, known as Apo West Pass and Verde Island Passage. The role played by the communication system at Calavite during the war was very vital for through the information it sent to the headquarters of the American navy, many warships of the enemies were destroyed by American submarines.
Unfortunately, with the help of their spies, the Japanese soldiers were able to find out the location of the radio transmitter of the Americans. On February 16, 1944, a motorboat full of Japanese soldiers from Batangas landed at the shores of Paluan and herded the people of this municipality at the school building of the town’s center. They searched for Major Phillips and in March 1944, they were able to kill the said military officer, including some of his soldiers, while taking a bath at Kabilugan River, Abra de Ilog.[16]
On December 15, 1944 the liberating force of the U.S. led Allied Forces under the command of Brig. Gen. William Dunckel landed at the shores of the municipality of San Jose. Company B of the 503rd Paratroopers Infantry was sent to Paluan to liberate this town from Japanese occupation. On January 5, 1945 after a day of fighting, the combined forces of the American soldiers and Filipino guerrillas defeated the Japanese Imperial Army stationed in this municipality. Other soldiers of the enemies who escaped were encountered by the guerrillas led by Lt. Pedro Nitura at Sitio Mananao.[17]
The American soldiers made Lumangbayan as their headquarters while they were pursuing the Japanese soldiers. They constructed a wooden bridge over Paluan River. The structure connected Lumangbayan and Lipa which are the old and new center of the municipality of Paluan, respectively.
V – AFTER WORLD WAR II
In 1946, a group of educators led by Judge Jesus Abeleda and Mrs. Maura Liboro founded Paluan Academy, a secondary school for the youth of this municipality. Judge Abeleda served as director of the school for a number of years.
On November 15, 1950 when Mindoro was formally divided into two provinces, Mayor Damaso Abeleda of Paluan was appointed by then President Elpidio Quirino as the first governor of Occidental Mindoro. He was succeeded by Judge Mateo Virola of Lubang who served as governor on August 15, 1951.[18]
During the election held on September 13, 1951 Judge Jesus Abeleda, the founder of Paluan Academy and one of the sons of Capitan Mariano Abeleda was elected as the first congressman of Occidental Mindoro. He served as the representative of the province to the Philippine Congress from that year up to 1953.
In 1956, another son of Paluan, Hon. Mariano Tajonera was elected as governor of Occidental Mindoro. He stated in his autobiography that during his administration, the construction of roads in the different barrios of the province started.[19]
A municipal hall was constructed for the local government of Paluan when Hon. Nestor Abeleda was the mayor of the municipality. It was converted into a building of the public market by Mayor Amando San Agustin, who was elected in 1960. The said mayor constructed a new municipal building, near the church of the Catholic faithful. He also constructed a school building at the southern portion of the town’s center and transferred there the classrooms of Paluan Academy. The old building of the secondary school was converted into a convent of the priest.[20]
In the 1959 Elections, Governor Mariano Tajonera was defeated by Atty. Arsenio Villaroza, his town mate. The said leader of the province served as governor of Occidental Mindoro for more than twenty (20) years.
Although those who were elected as congressmen and governors of Occidental Mindoro were from Paluan, they did not concentrate the implementation of the infrastructure projects in this municipality. The construction of concrete roads and bridges in this town was done gradually.
Aside from farming, fishing and logging, the people of Paluan have no other sources of income. The total area of agricultural land in this town was limited and time came when the sturdy species of trees in the mountains were all felled. As a result, many families of Paluan transferred to other towns of Occidental Mindoro, like Sta. Cruz and San Jose where they saw greater opportunities for improvement.
The Catholic Church and the government joined hands to improve the living condition of the people belonging to the Iraya tribe. It was mentioned in the history written by German researcher Volker Schult, that during the time when the late Hon. Cipriano Liboro was still the governor of Mindoro, he convinced the American authorities to rent for ten pesos a month, a house & lot at Anduyanan, a sitio located east of Paluan. The house was used as a school for the children of the indigenous people. A lowlander was appointed as teacher of the Irayas. Aside from the lessons taught to pupils in the lowland, the children of the Irayas were taught physical and environmental cleanliness.[21]
The rein of the municipal government was entrusted by the people of Paluan to Mayor Pablo Quiñones in 1967. Among the projects he implemented during his twenty eight (28) years reign as municipal mayor of this town were the construction of the municipal hall, improvement of Calawagan Resort and the road going to that tourist spot, electrification of the town’s center, establishment of a water system in Poblacion, converting Paluan Academy into Paluan Municipal High School in 1973, and building concrete roads with the help of Assemblyman Pedro Mendiola, Sr.[22]
In 1979, during martial law period, the National Irrigation Administration improved the communal irrigation system of the farmers at Brgy. Alipaoy, Tubili and Sitio Pamutusin. At present, farmers of the aforementioned places could plant palay in their farm during rainy season.
After the peaceful EDSA revolution in 1986, Hon. Abelardo Pangilinan was appointed as OIC Mayor of Paluan. Within the eleven month period that he served this municipality, one of the projects he implemented was the construction of a swimming pool at Calawagan Resort.
In 1988, the rein of the municipal government was entrusted by the people of Paluan to Mayor Anacleto Terrenal. The said mayor constructed the second building for the public market and the hanging bridge at Calawagan Resort. He also improved the natural bathing place of the resort.
After the term of office of Mayor Terrenal, former OIC Mayor Abelardo Pangilinan was again elected as the town’s chief executive. He improved the new municipal building and built additional structures in it. He also constructed the seawall from Barangay 1 up to Barangay 6, Poblacion.[23]
In 1993, Paluan Municipal High School became Paluan National High School. The government constructed new buildings for the students of this educational institution.
The provincial officials helped the municipal mayors in the implementation of the infrastructure projects. With the assistance of former Congressman Jose Villarosa, barangay halls were constructed at the different barangays, including the elementary school buildings for the indigenous people. Governor Josephine Ramirez-Sato built concrete bridges and covered with asphalt, portions of the main road from Paluan to the municipality of Mamburao.
On May 1, 1998 Mayor Pangilinan was reelected as the chief executive of Paluan. On January 5, 2001 he spearheaded the celebration of the 100th Founding Anniversary of this municipality. Among the numerous accomplishments he reported to the people during the celebration was the award given to Calawagan River as the Cleanest Inland Body of Water in the Philippines for three consecutive years or from 1996 to 1998. In addition, Calawagan River was enshrined in the country’s Clean and Green National Hall of Fame.[24]
After holding office for nine consecutive years, Hon. Pangilinan stepped down from his post and supported his wife Shirley, who ran and won as mayor of Paluan during the May 2001 Elections. Mayor Shirley Pangilinan continued implementing the projects of her husband in this municipality.
On the May 10, 2004 Elections, Hon. Abelardo Pangilinan was again elected as the municipal mayor of Paluan. When he took his oath of office, he revealed his dream of making Paluan a favorite destination of both local and foreign tourists, a dream which he said, he hopes to realize during his administration.
Aside from the aforementioned leaders, those who served as municipal mayors of Paluan, with their respective terms of offices are the following: Lope Trajeco (1950-1951), Vedasto Pangilinan (1951-1955) and Rosalio Tadalan (1955-1957).[25]
HISTORY OF THE SEVEN BARANGAYS OF PALUAN
1. ALIPAOY
The old name of the barangay was Camposanto. However, its inhabitants, upon knowing that the meaning of that Spanish word is cemetery, decided to change it. They held a meeting which started in the afternoon. It was already dark and they have not yet agreed on the appropriate name. Suddenly, one of the local leaders saw the fireflies around a tree covered with vines. He suggested to the group of settlers, to name their settlement from syllables taken from the equivalent in the Tagalog dialect of fireflies - Alitaptap; name of the vine – Lipay; and tree – Kahoy. Thus, they called their community, ALIPAOY.
During the Spanish and American occupation of Mindoro, Alipaoy was a thick forest. Sometimes, the indigenous people and hunters looking for tamaraw and other wildlife reached this place.
When the forests of Paluan were made as logging concessions by families who were very influential to government authorities, the Abeleda family was given permission to cut big trees at Alipaoy. Many able bodied males of the Iraya tribe worked as laborers at the saw mill established by the aforementioned family in this place.
Sitio Anduyanan of Alipaoy was mentioned in a book written in 1991, by Volker Schult, a German historian. It was stated that in 1922, when Honorable Cipriano Liboro was still the governor of the Province of Mindoro, he rented a house and lot in the said sitio and converted it into a school for the children of the indigenous people. Due to shortage of funds, only eighteen (18) schoolchildren were allowed to study in Grade I and II, annually. Aside from the lessons taught by the teachers from the lowlands, during that time, physical & environmental cleanliness was added as subjects to be studied and applied by the children belonging to the Iraya tribe. The school lasted only for a few years due to few enrollees.
When World War II broke out, Alipaoy was one of the places where the people who avoided the cruelties of the Japanese soldiers hid. They learned from members of the Iraya tribe how to eat wild root crops and how to live safely in the forest.
After the war, some families from the lowland, who transferred to Paluan from Lubang decided to stay permanently at Alipaoy. Among them were the families of De Lara, Aguilar, De Veas, Virola, Tarcena, Villas, Pangilinan and Paglicawan. They were able to buy the kaingin of the indigenous people. After a few years, the number of families in this community increased until Alipaoy became a sitio of Poblacion, Paluan.
One member of the Iraya tribe, Anduyong Banter loved to compose poems and songs in the dialect of the indigenous people. His poems and songs were translated to Tagalog. Some old folks of Paluan used to quote it during the early days.
Since many indigenous people live in Alipaoy, the employees of the government agencies which were established to look after their welfare visit them, sometimes. In 1959, it was the employee of the Commission on National Integration (CNI) who visited them. In 1976, it was the employee of the Presidential Assistant of National Minorities (PANAMIN) and in 1985, it was the employee of the Office of Muslim Affairs and Cultural Minorities (OMACC). However, despite the visitations, the economic condition of the indigenous people remained the same.
Before martial law period, the people of Alipaoy requested members of the municipal council that their sitio be elevated to the status of a barrio. After undergoing the required legal process, this community became a barrio of Paluan.
During martial law period, through the workers of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), an irrigation system was constructed in this place. Due to the said development project, the farmers of Alipaoy were able to plant and harvest palay twice a year.
With the cooperation of the inhabitants, leaders of the barangay, local and national government, a barangay plaza, barangay hall, concrete stage and day care center were constructed at Alipaoy.
The persons who served as leaders of Alipaoy were Pablo de Ocampo, Antonio Velandria, Jose Velandria, Adelaida Velandria and Gerry Ungria. The leader of the barangay at present is a member of the Iraya tribe, Brgy. Captain Armando Parisan.[26]
2. HARRISON
The original name of this community was Pula. It came from the name given by the indigenous people to a kind of worm found here. It also came from the color of the soil near the seashore where sea vessels used to land.
A few families of indigenous people lived in this place during the Spanish occupation of Mindoro. Due to the thick forest found on the hills surrounding this place, it was made as a hideout of the individuals who did not want to subject themselves to Spanish rule, refused to be baptized to the Catholic faith and who committed crimes against the foreign invaders. They were called tulisanes by the Spaniards. In 1888, it was mentioned in the report of a Spanish missionary that a group of tulisanes from this community entered Poblacion, Paluan.
The indigenous people belonging to the Iraya tribe were the ones who gave the names of the sitios of this place. Sitio Calangigan where the lighthouse is located at present was named after the turtles or cala which used to lay eggs in the seashore of this place. Sitio Hinugasan was named for its being the location of a river where the Irayas washed the blood of the pigs which they used to offer to their anitos in order that their gods would allow them to gather plenty of honey. Sitio Aglimasan was the place where, for hours, they continuously drew muddy water from the newly dug wells to make it clear and potable.
Two sitios of the indigenous people of Harrison were mentioned in the report submitted by a missionary priest to the head of his congregation, during the Spanish occupation. One of the sitios was Pamutusin which he visited in 1825 to convince the Irayas to receive the Sacrament of Baptism. The second sitio was Ignonoc which was created as a barrio by the foreigners and named as San Francisco.
During the Spanish regime, the families of Garcia, Felipe, Casil, Poblete, Zambales, Castillo, Montemayor, Solomon, Villas and De Veas arrived in this community. Majority of the said families came from the nearby island of Lubang. Aside from farming and fishing, cutting of big trees from the nearby hills were their means of livelihood.
During that time, there were plenty of tamaraw in Mt. Calavite, Paluan and the American officials used to hunt there. One of them was Governor General Francis Burton Harrison who sponsored the Filipinization Policy which gave Filipinos the chance to govern their own country.
In 1914, the said official arrived at Pula. He was met by Municipal President Estanislao Pag-ilagan who was the leader of Paluan during that time. Mun. Pres. Pag-ilagan invited Gov. Harrison to visit the center of the municipality of Paluan before hunting for tamaraw at Mt. Calavite. A grand celebration was held in Paluan as a gesture of the warm welcome given by the people to the foreign leader.
Due to the historic visit of the governor general to Pula, when the community was elevated to the status of a barrio in 1916, by virtue of a municipal resolution, Harrison was registered as its official name.
When World War II broke out, the forest near Harrison was made as one of the hideouts of the Filipino guerrillas. A group of Japanese soldiers sometimes visited the barrio, especially during the period when they hunted for Major Phillip, the leader of the group of Filipino-American guerrillas who were experts in operating communication facilities.
In 1942, pilots of Japanese warplanes thought that MV Don Esteban, a cargo ship of Dela Rama Shipping Lines was an American warship. They riddled the sea vessel with machine gun bullets and bombed it until it sank.
After the war, a primary school was opened in Harrison. Many years passed before it became a complete elementary school.
One of the problems of the municipal mayors of Paluan was how to construct the road from the town’s center up to this community. Since Harrison is surrounded by hills and it is far from the poblacion, the road could not be constructed due to insufficient funds. However, projects like barangay hall, day care center, plaza and concrete stage were constructed in this place.
Those who served as leaders of Harrison were Casamero Viaña, Amador Tagumpay, Rudy Dimapilis, Apollo de Lara and Renato Ramos. The leader of the barangay at present is Brgy. Captain Benito Cababay.[27]
3. LUMANGBAYAN
The indigenous people belonging to the Iraya tribe were the first inhabitants of this place. It was stated in the old Spanish documents that this village was made as a mission station in 1843. It was also mentioned that Fr. Miguel Caro del Salvador was the missionary who was assigned here.
The old name of Lumangbayan was Paluan. According to the old residents of this place, it was here where the defenders of the village punished the Moro pirates whom they captured. They whipped the pirates at the plaza, thus, the village became known as the whipping place or in the Tagalog dialect, paluan of wicked men.
In 1850, the census conducted by the Spanish government showed that there were fifty four (54) houses in this place with a population of three hundred twenty five (325). The priest assigned to this community stated in his report to his superior that Paluan was a barrio of the municipality of Lubang and a prison, convent, church & cemetery near the house of worship could be found here.
During the latter part of 1870, many families from Talaotao, Looc led by Capitan Vicente Abeleda and Capitan Pablo Tria transferred to this place and settled here permanently. The number of inhabitants in this settlement grew. The Spanish authorities appointed leaders with the title of cabeza de barangay. Appointed as leaders of this place were Mariano Abeleda, Mateo Tajonera and Felipe Tunay.
It was stated in the autobiography of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo that when he was still a young man, he bought a big sailboat and bartered goods with the people in the different villages of Mindoro, including Paluan. Fr. Julian Llorente, the parish priest of Paluan who according to old records of the Catholic Church was assigned here, from 1887 to 1894, became his friend.
Capitan Mariano Abeleda & Capitan Agustin Liboro, the son & nephew, respectively, of Capitan Vicente Abeleda also became the friends of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. The two gentlemen served as leaders of Paluan. When the Filipinos revolted against the Spaniards, Capitan Mariano Abeleda & Capitan Agustin Liboro served as the leaders of the Filipino revolutionaries in the western part of the island of Mindoro.
In 1910, Paluan was created as a town by the American government. The center of the municipal government was placed at the site of Lumangbayan at present. Among the leaders who were appointed by the American governor general as municipal presidents and who held office in this place were Braulio Villaflores, Mariano Tria, Jacinto Villar, Lorenzo Abeleda, Mateo Tajonera, Estanislao Pag-ilagan and Luciano Fineza.
During the middle part of the term of office of Municipal President Fernando Cuisia, in 1919, a resolution was approved by the municipal council transferring the center of the municipal government to Sitio Lipa. Due to the said transfer, the people started calling the old center of the town as Lumangbayan.
A primary school was opened at Lumangbayan in 1939. However, since this barrio is near the town’s center and the pupils studied Grade V and Grade VI there, it took twenty six years before the primary school evolved to a complete elementary school.
When World War II broke out, the sailors under Basilio de Lara of Lumangbayan were the ones who loaded to his big sailboat the communication equipment which were used by a group of Filipino American soldiers in the communication system they put up in Mt. Calavite. Basilio de Lara also served as the guide of the American soldiers when they liberated Paluan from the Japanese soldiers.
After the war, like other barrios of Paluan, through the cooperation of the inhabitants, efforts of the barangay & local government officials, the road at Lumangbayan was improved and the barangay hall, day care center, plaza and concrete stage were constructed.
Aside from the aforementioned cabezas de barangay, those who served as leaders of Lumangbayan were Gaudencio Fineza, Felix dela Luna, Remigio Arellano, Loreno Zulueta, Amado Quiñones, Leoncio Mercado, Menandro Casil, Amparo Reyes, Renato Escalona, Jr., and Nestor Quiñones. The leader of the barangay at present is Brgy. Captain Ricardo Zulueta.[28]
4. MANANAO
The indigenous people belonging to the Iraya tribe who first inhabited this place established a community in one part of the lowland near the sea, where at the back a part of the mountain protruded, as if watching and looking for somebody in the area where they lived. In their dialect, the equivalent of the word looking is mananao, hence they called their settlement by that name.
Mananao was a forest of big trees where the honeybees lived. The Irayas used to gather honey from the forest and sell it to the lowlanders. Sometimes, the lowlanders used honey to pay the taxes the government imposed on them, during the Spanish occupation of the Philippines.
Big rocks which look like caves could be found in one part of the seashore of Mananao. The Spaniards called it Calaboso for they used to imprison here the criminals and enemies they captured during those days. At present, the inhabitants of the barangay call the cave like rocks as Underpass.
During the early part of the American occupation of Mindoro, a few families of farmers and fishermen from Talaotao, then a barrio in the small island of Golo, transferred to this place. They crossed by means of sailboats, the rough sea between the small island of Golo and the big island of Mindoro. The community of Mananao grew until it became one of the sitios of Paluan in 1905.
When Abra de Ilog and Paluan were created as municipalities in 1910, their boundary was placed at Agsigan, a sitio near Mananao.
When the American government granted permits to logging concessionaires, Mateo Tajonera was given the right to cut logs at the forests of Mananao. Big sailboats transported the logs and lumber to Batangas and Manila. In addition, lumber from this logging concession was used for building big sailboats which was the occupation of the families living in a sitio near the center of the municipality of Paluan.
When World War II broke out, a group of Filipino-American communication experts installed a communication system on the mountain at the back of Mananao called Alopa by the indigenous people and Mt. Calavite by the lowlanders. The group was led by Major Phillips. The messages sent by the experts to their headquarters, provided information to the combined Filipino-American Forces about the movements of the Japanese warships at the sea between Batangas and Mindoro, including Manila Bay. As a result, the Americans could make the necessary maneuvers in order that the Japanese warships could not inflict damage to their seagoing vessels.
For months, the Japanese soldiers looked for the exact location of the communication system installed by the Filipino-American experts. They could not get any information from the people of Mananao for many of the able bodies males of this place joined the group of guerrillas led by Lt. Pedro Nitura. Unfortunately, through their spies, the enemies found the location of the radio transmitter and they were able to kill Major Phillips at Kabilugan River, Abra de Ilog.
In December, 1944 when the soldiers of the Allied Forces liberated Paluan from Japanese occupation, the enemies retreated to the forest of Mananao. However, they encountered the group of guerrillas led by Lt. Nitura at the mouth of the river of Mananao, The enemies were killed after a bloody fight.
After the war, the people of Mananao strived to improve their community. They intensified their farming, fishing and logging activities.
In 1968, upon the request of parents and teachers, the primary school of Mananao was opened. During that time, Mr. Elias Garay was the Division Schools Superintendent of Occidental Mindoro, Mr. Mariano Ramirez was the District Supervisor of Paluan and Mrs. Purificacion Abeleda was the School Principal.
Through the cooperation of the inhabitants, leaders of Mananao, local and national officials, a barangay hall, plaza, concrete stage, plaza and day care center was constructed in this community.
The persons who served as leaders of Mananao were Fermin Nuñez, Vicente Robles, Antonio Nuñez, Hilarion Garcia, Victorino Ornilla, and Danilo Robles. The leader of the barangay at present is Brgy. Captain Elorde Marasigan.[29]
5. MARIKIT
Baluga was the first name given by the people to this place for its soil is a combination of mud and sand. After a few years, it was changed to Narra because a big narra tree grew in one part of the place.
Baluga or Narra was a forest during the Spanish occupation of Mindoro. It was only during the American regime when a few families from the island of Lubang settled in this place.
It was not easy for the early settlers to own a farm in Narra. Oftentimes, after clearing and cultivating a piece of land, somebody would inform them that the land was a part of a logging concession or had been awarded to an influential person. Conflicts arouse on the ownership of the land. Destruction of crops, killing of domesticated animals and abuses against men & women were committed. After years of struggle, conflicts came to an end and the right to the land they cultivated was awarded by the government to the farmers.
One of the traditions brought by the settlers from Lubang to this community was called Mayuhan. This is the nightly dancing activity during the month of May. Like the Flores de Mayo, this is one way of honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Young men and women from the nearby sitios and barrios of Paluan, like Mariil, Tambo, Camias, Lumangbayan & Poblacion, flocked to Narra every evening during the month of May, to participate in the Mayuhan. The ladies who attended the occasion were beautiful, thus, Pedro Cabrera, the acknowledged leader of Narra during that time proposed to change the name of their community to Marikit, a Tagalog word meaning beautiful. The inhabitants were in favor of changing the name, thus, when Narra became a barrio in 1960, Marikit was registered as its official name.
The following year, the government opened a primary school in Marikit. Mrs. Chancha Trajeco-Terrenal, who was still unmarried during that time, was appointed as the first teacher. Since there was no existing building for the primary school, classes were held at the residence of Mrs. Piring Cajayon.
One of the important events that happened in Marikit was the arrival from Bataan and the Visayan region of the group of Major Generoso Maceda, one of the persons who was given permission by government authorities to cut trees in one portion of the forests of Paluan. It happened just after the end of World War II when it was very difficult to go to Mamburao. During that time, to reach Mamburao from Paluan, a person has to walk or ride on horseback.
Since they have to transport the logs from Paluan to Mamburao, Major Maceda and his laborers constructed a road connecting the two municipalities. They maintained and repaired the road during the entire period of their logging operation. Although the road the logging firm constructed was not the planned provincial road, the engineers of the Department of Public Work & Highways and the Provincial Engineers Office just improved and followed its route.
During martial law period, when the National Irrigation Administration constructed irrigation systems in Occidental Mindoro, an irrigation system was built in Marikit. After the peaceful revolution at EDSA, electric service reached this place, the barangay hall, day care center, concrete stage and plaza were constructed.
Aside from Teniente del Barrio Pedro Cabrera those who served as leaders of Marikit were Pedro Zapata, Sr., Ernesto Castillo, Rodolfo Cajayon, Alfredo Zapata, Rogelio Mariño, Joemari Velandria and Arsenio Cabrera. The leader of the barangay at present is Brgy. Captain Renato Estoy.[30]
6. POBLACION
During the early days, wild plants or ferns called lipa in the Tagalog dialect grew abundantly in this place. The pioneers named the settlement they founded after the plant.
Aside from the indigenous people belonging to the Iraya tribe, families from the small island of Golo, in the municipality of Looc at present, were the early settlers of Lipa. The ancestors of the families who migrated and settled permanently in this place came from the provinces of Cavite and Batangas.
Years later, Lipa became a sitio of the center of the municipality of Paluan which, at present is Brgy. Lumangbayan.. However, in 1919, during the term of office of Fernando Cuisia as municipal president of Paluan, the center of the municipal government was transferred to this sitio. From that time onward, the name Lipa was changed to Poblacion, Paluan.
An elementary school was opened by the American authorities in this place. Pupils who have finished Grade IV in the nearby barrios of Alipaoy, Lumangbayan and Marikit studied Grade V & VI in this community.
In 1942, during the Japanese occupation of Mindoro, the elementary school building of Poblacion was converted into a garrison of the enemies. Those who were suspected of being guerrillas or supporters of the group of freedom fighters were imprisoned in this building.
Captain Alfonso Umali, the leader of a group of guerrillas under the company of Major Esteban Beloncio, frequently visited Poblacion during the war. The said leader who later on became the governor of Oriental Mindoro in 1968, married Alberta Villar, a native of Paluan.
After liberating the town of San Jose, Company B of the 503rd Paratroopers Infantry of the Allied Forces proceeded to Paluan on January 5, 1945 and liberated this town from Japanese occupation. To hasten the operation, the liberators constructed the wooden bridge between the town’s center and Lumangbayan.
In 1946, a group of educators led by Judge Jesus Abeleda and Mrs. Maura Liboro founded Paluan Academy. This private school gave opportunities to the youth of this town who were graduates of the elementary school to pursue secondary education.
Since this place is the center of the municipal government of Paluan, many projects were implemented by the municipal mayors here. Some of them were the first municipal hall built by Mayor Nestor Abeleda in 1957; the new concrete municipal hall and the school building of Paluan Academy which were constructed by Mayor Amando San Agustin in 1960; the lighting of the town’s center, construction of the potable water system, and concreting of the roads during the administration of Mayor Pablo Quiñones which started in 1967; and the construction of the seawall and expansion of the municipal hall by Mayor Abelardo Pangilinan.
On September 20, 1974 by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 557, the barrios were called barangays. Consequently, the town’s centers were divided into smaller barangays. With the exception of Lumangbayan which is sometimes called by some politicians, as Brgy. 7, Poblacion, Paluan was divided into six barangays with corresponding names. The barangays are Brgy. 1 - Mapalad; Brgy. 2 – Handang Tumulong; Brgy. 3 – Silahis ng Pag-asa; Brgy. 4 – Pag-asa ng Bayan; Brgy. 4 – Bagong Silang and Brgy. 6 – San Jose.
Those who served as leaders of the six barangays of Poblacion were Julian Calabio, Amador Viaña, Leonardo Abeleda, Redentor Tinamisan, Carlito Amayan and Juan Aguilar of Mapalad; Crisanto Tagumpay, Reynaldo Tria, Senando Bernardo, Siona Viaña and Roseller Paglicawan of Handang Tumulong; Leonardo Cadahin, Leonardo Tendido and Birgilio Viguilla of Silahis ng Pag-asa; Ruperto Tendido, Abelardo Abeleda and Cesar Dueñas of Pag-asa; Carlos Capinpin, Pedro Mendiola, Jr., Manuel de Veas, Josemari Calabio and Richard Capinpin of Bagong Silang; and Sisenando Insigne, Pablo de Ocampo, Reynaldo Crisostomo, Leonardo Villas, Ronaldo Torreliza & Teodocia Paguagan of San Jose.
The leaders of the barangays in Poblacion who continue implementing the development projects of their predecessors are Joe Losito of Brgy. 1, Zaldy Tagumpay of Brgy. 2, Benito Dueñas of Brgy. 3, Ofelia Diaz of Brgy. 4, Lynette Torreliza of Brgy. 5, and Leonardo Villas of Brgy. 6.[31]
7. TUBILI
The original name of the community was tubli. However, after years of constant use, it evolved to Tubili. The name came from a kind of plant which grew abundantly in this place. It was called tubli in the dialect of the indigenous people. A kind of chemical, harmless to man but poisonous to fishes, could be extracted from the roots of this plant.
During the Spanish occupation of Mindoro, Tubili was a forest. It was one of the sources of sturdy lumber, used as materials for constructing big sailboats, locally known as batel. The Spanish missionaries did not reach this place for its forest was believed to have been made as a hideout of men who did not want to be baptized to the Catholic faith and who have transgressed the laws of the Spanish authorities.
During the early years of the American occupation of Mindoro, Tubili was a part of the logging concession which was awarded by the government to an influential family of Paluan. Big logs were taken out of this place. In addition, hunters looking for tamaraw, wild pig and deer frequently roamed its forest.
Before World War II broke out, a few indigenous people belonging to the Iraya tribe cultivated patches of kaingin in Tubili. They built huts and planted fruit tress in their kaingin.
The war did not affect the families of the indigenous people residing at Tubili. Since no road was connecting Tubili with the center of the municipality of Paluan, the Japanese soldiers were not able to visit this place. As a result, the Filipino guerrillas frequently visited the Irayas in the area.
After the war, many families of fishermen from the Visayan region settled at the coastal areas which are under the jurisdiction of Tubili at present. Years later, some families of farmers from Lubang arrived. Despite the presence of malaria and the hardships they encountered in clearing the area, the farmers & fishermen decided to settle in this place.
Five sitios were formed out of the areas where the farmers & fishermen from the Visayan region and Lubang settled. The sitios are Tinangra, Igsuso, Absukot, Maslud, and Tiquian. More houses could be found in these sitios than the supposed barrio site of Tubili. As a result, the barangay hall, day care center, plaza, playground, schoolhouses and chapels were built in the sitios,
Additional families settled in Tubili when Major Generoso Maceda, the owner of a logging concession in Marikit constructed a road from his sawmill to Mamburao. The road passed near the sitios of this community. The flow of transportation became fast. Moreover, the basic services of the government from the center of the municipality of Paluan could now reach the sitios of this barangay.
In 1950, the people of Tubili and its sitios requested the members of the municipal council of Paluan that their place be elevated to the status of a barrio. Seeing that all the legal requirements had been met, the municipal councilors of Paluan granted the request. That same year, Tubili was created as a barrio.
A primary school was opened by the government in a sitio of Tubili. Through cooperative effort, the inhabitants of the barrio built a schoolhouse made of nipa and bamboos. After a few years, simultaneous with the completion of the elementary school, a concrete school building was constructed.
Years later, the municipal government of Paluan was able to construct the road linking the sitios of Igsuso and Tinangra to the road connecting Paluan and Mamburao. Electric service also reached most households of Tubili. Moreover, with the cooperation of the people, barangay & local officials, infrastructure projects were implemented in the sitios of this community.
Those who served as leaders of Tubili were Jose Velandria, Basilio de Lara, Theodosio Miñon, McDonald Maderazo and Jaime de Lara. The leader of the barangay at present is Brgy. Captain Lolito Zapata.[32]
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