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Pio Duran: Land of the Setting Sun

Brief History

Pio Duran was formerly called Panganiran (a Muslim word which means “Land of No Return” or the “Land of the Setting Sun”

It later became Sitio Malacbalac of Malidong, then a barrio of Guinobatan.

On June 22, 1963, Panganiran became a separate municipality by virtue of House Bill No. 5355.

It was renamed after late Cong. Pio Duran, husband of the late Cong. Josefina Duran, and was inaugurated as such on March 13, 1964.

History of Tarlac City

The town of Tarlac has had a colorful and significant history. Its story may very well be story of Tarlac province itself, which came into being only in 1873-74, eighty six years after Tarlac town was formally founded in 1788.

From Bacolor, Pampanga came intrepid leaders, namely Don Carlos Miguel and Don Narciso Castaneda who, years before 1788, with their families and followers trekked through the forests and hills of Porac and Bamban before finally settling down in what is now known as the town of Tarlac. They cleared the forest and tilled the fertile soil until a settlement emerged along the bank of the river which flowed across the township.

The community grew rapidly with settlers coming from Zambales, Pampanga, Bataan, Pangasinan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and elsewhere. The Pampanga dialect became the lingua franca in the community, as it was part of Pampanga province in those days. The two leaders, Miguel and Castaneda succeeded in carrying out their pioneering venture through benevolent leadership, which elicited the cooperation of their followers. Thus roads were built, barrios were established without monetary expenditure, only through the common efforts of everyone. It also marked the beginnings of Tarlac as a melting pot of Central Luzon, with a mixture of divergent people working mightily for the common good.

Peace, happiness and self-sufficiency reigned during those early days. Enough agricultural and fish products were supplied by a rich soil and a flowing river, waiting for the hands of its hardworking settlers.

Later, it was unanimously agreed by the growing populace to request the authorities in Manila to convert the community into a town. Don Carlos Miguel prepared the needed resolution and forwarded it to the Spanish authorities. In 1788, a decree was issued by Captain General Don Felix Berenguer de Marquina, proclaiming Tarlac as a town under territorial jurisdiction of Pampanga, whose capital then was Bacolor.

The first governadorcillo (later called municipal) was Don Carlos Miguel in 1788 who, together with Don Narciso Castaneda, established the foundation of Tarlac town. He was followed by Don Luis Briones 1789. It was during his term as the second governadorcillo that the legend of San Sebastian started. It is said that sometime that year, an armed band of tulisanes were stopped from marauding the town by a young boy who turned out to be no less than San Sebastian himself.

Tarlac is represented prominently in the eight rays of the Philippine flag because it was among the first provinces to join the revolution in 1896. The K.K.K. of Andres Bonifacio found early adherents among Tarlaquenos, headed by Don Francisco Tanedo, after whom the town's principal thoroughfare is named. Don Francisco Tanedo was killed in an encounter with the Spanish guardia civil at the outset of the revolution. His early death inflamed the citizenry and his relatives and followers were bent on capturing the town by any means, but were dissuaded by Don Eusebio Tanedo Iro, who volunteered to see his friend, General Monet, former politico-military, governor of Tarlac and at the time the highest military official in Pampanga. Denying that Tarlaquenos were involved in the revolution, Don Eusebio was able to obtain orders from General Monet to stop military operations in Tarlac. However, peace did not reign long in Tarlac because Generals Francisco Macabulos and Jose Alejandrino already started their offensive against the Spanish forces. On June 25 1898, Spanish soldiers surrendered in Tarlac.

The Miguels, descendants of one of the pioneers of the town, Don Carlos Miguel, changed their family name to Tanedo in 1872 upon the promulgation of the Claveria decree on surnames. It is said that the Miguels preferred the masculine version of Castaneda, and Tanedo was also in compliance with the designated starting letter for all Tarlac surnames- it is therefore, not surprising that many Tarlaquenos to this day bear such surnames as Taala, Taar, Tabamo, Taban, Tabaquero, Tabasondra, Tamayo, Tamondong, to name a few.

President Emilio Aguinaldo proudly proclaimed the Philippine Republic on January 23, 1899 in Malolos, Bulacan. Assemblance of an independent government was formed, with a lawmaking body, the Malolos Congress, a cabinet headed by Apolinario Mabini ( who was foreign affairs minister), a judiciary, and of course, an army led by General Antonio Luna. A State University, the Universidad Literaria de Filipinas, was also opened.

By July 1899, however, with the tides of war turning against Aguinaldo, Tarlac became the last capital of the short-lived republic then on the run. Among the deputies who were in Tarlac to attend sessions of Congress were Fernando Ma. Guerrero of Manila, representing Leyte; Daniel Tirona of Cavite, representing Batanes; Tomas Mascarado of Batangas, representing Sorsogon; Servillano Aquino of Tarlac, representing Samar and Francisco Macabulos of Tarlac, representing Cebu.

The Aquinos, forebears of the late Benigno Aquino, Jr., came from lower Pampanga like most Tarlac settlers. The family of General Servillano Aquino settled in the town of Concepcion, still then a part of Pampanga. Present day Aquinos trace their Tarlac, Tarlac connections to one of the original families of this capital town, the Tanedo's General Aquino married Dona Lorensa Tanedo Quiambao and later, when he lost his wife in one of the tragic episodes of the revolution, married his wife's widowed elder sister Dona Saturnina Tanedo-Quiambao de Estrada, grandmother of former Senator Eva Estrada-Kalaw. The latter's bloodline is therefore not Aquino but Tanedo Quiambao, which she shares with the late Ninoy Aquino, her second cousin.

It is said, the past is a prologue to the future. This brief account of the town's colorful history is by no means complete. Since 1788, the town has progressed significantly, leading to its becoming the nucleus of Tarlac province. It has encountered countless hardships in the course of its existence, including those precipitated by earthquakes, cholera and other epidemics, great fires, devastating floods and similar calamities. Through the years, Tarlac's ability to survive wars, economic difficulties and political turmoil among others, has been proven by its consistent re-emergence as a stronger and better town, eager to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

Tarlac upgrade to cityhood started way back in 1996, with the filing of a bill in Congress to convert the town into a component city. House Bill No. 6863 was passed on November 17, 1997, subsequently; Senate Bill No. 2340 was approved on February 23, 1998. Then, on April 18, 1998, through a plebiscite the citizenry overwhelmingly supported the conversion of Tarlac town into a component city with affirmative votes of 21,378 out of 26,020 votes. It was proclaimed as a component city on April 19, 1998 by virtue of Republic Act No. 8593 to be known as the City of Tarlac.

more pictures here

Source: www.tarlaccity.gov.ph

History of Camalig, Albay

Camalig is a first class municipality in the province of Albay, Philippines.

History

Recent archaeological findings within the municipality show that Camalig had been inhabited by people with developed social attributes of cultural and religious, socio-political and economic relationship and organizations as early as the years 200 BC to 900 AD, the period referred to as the early Iron Age in the Philippines. According to Father Cayetano Sanchez, an OFM who made researches on Bicol History at Franciscan archives in Pastrana, Spain, in 1569, a Spanish fleet led by Captain Luis Enriquez de Guzman came to Bicol Region accidentally as they were scouting the neighboring island in search for food supplies badly needed and went as far as Camalig where they came upon a thinning and prosperous agricultural settlement (rancheria) whose inhabitants kept their farm products in little hut with grass roofs and without walls called KINAMALIG, in local language. 

After a brief rest in Camalig, de Guzman and his men went back to Panay . So it is easy to deduce then that Camalig got its name from these native huts used for storing harvests or crops. The settlement or rancheria found by Captain de Guzman in 1569 was evangelized first by the Augustinian friars and later by the Franciscans who came to Bicol Region in 1578. Camalig was founded as town in 1579 by the Franciscan missionaries, Father Pablo de Jesus and Father Bartolome Ruiz, who continued the work started by the Augustinian chaplains of the early Spanish expeditions to the region. It is the earliest town to be founded in the Province of Albay.

Source: Camalig.gov.ph

La Trinidad, Benguet

La Trinidad is a 1st class municipality in the province of Benguet, Philippines. It is the capital municipality of Benguet.

Geography and Climate

La Trinidad is located 3 km north of Baguio City and is 256 km north of Manila. It is bounded on the north by the municipality of Tublay, on the south by Baguio, and on the west by Sablan and Tuba.

The municipality has a land area of 8273.80 hectares, representing 3.16% of the provincial land area. The terrain is generally mountainous with springs, rivers and creeks. La Trinidad's valley floor elevation is at 1300 meters above sea level. Elevation ranges from 500 to 1700 meters above sea level.

La Trinidad belongs under the Type I climate by the Coronas System of classification with distinct wet and dry seasons. The dry season is from November to April while the wet season occurs during the rest of the year. The climate is cool with temperatures ranging from 11.7 C during the month of December at its coldest and 23.2 C at its warmest during the months of March, April and May. The average daily temperature is 18.55 C. Wind velocity is 1.43. During the rainest month of August, the rainfall average is 850.70 mm.

The municipality is also the home of the following schools:

* science high school for the CAR region: Cordillera Regional Science High School

* the first university in the province of Benguet: Benguet State University

* established in 1960s, its first Catholic School: San Jose High School.

* the first private tertiary educational institute in the BIMAK (Bengeut, Ifugao, Mt. Province, Apayao, Kalinga) region: Cordillera Career Development College

It is also a burial place of:

* Deodato Arellano (1844 - 1899), a Filipino patriot and one of the founders of the Katipunan.

History

In 1942, Japanese soldiers were occupied in La Trinidad, Benguet.

In May 3, 1945, The Filipino soldiers of the 2nd, 11th, 12th and 13th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, 1st Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary and the 66th Infantry Regiment of the United States Armed Forces in the Philippines - Northern Luzon or USAFIP-NL was liberated in La Trinidad, Benguet and attacking Japanese troops after the Second World War.

Gumaca

The Municipality of Gumaca is a 1st class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines.

History of Gumaca

Formerly known as Bumaka (to fight), the present town of Gumaca was a settlement founded at the southern bank of Palanas River in the 14th century by a group of settlers from Borneo and Malay Peninsula.

The earliest known ruler was Lakan Bugtali. His sovereignty extended over the regions bordering Gusuan, now called Lamon Bay, from Gamao point to the North, to the island across the bay or now known as Alabat Islands, to the southwest passing the northeastern part of the present town of Calauag, the source of Talolong, which traverses the town of Lopez, and Pandanan Rivers and on the northwest as far as the upper Kalilayan River. Thus when the first Spaniards arrived in this settlement in 1574 led by Fr. Diego Oropesa, they found a group of barangays with their own culture and government.

From 1574 to 1670 the town of Gumaca was ruled by Spanish Friars. Then from 1671 to 1893 the town was ruled by Spanish and Filipino Gobernadorcillos. From 1893 to 1900 the town executives came to be known as Capitan Municipal and from 1901 the head of the town was elected by the people and came to be known as Presidente Municipal. Later in 1936 this title was change to Municipal Mayors.

It must be noted that the brief history of Gumaca had no mention of any law, decree or Republic Act which created the Municipality and there was no mother municipality where Gumaca came from. As for its daughter towns, Lopez is the most notable among them, being one of the largest and the most progressive in that part of the province.

Shakey's Angono

History of Shakey's

Sherwood Johnson was an American G.I. when he caught malaria in the Pacific during World War II. The illness caused him to have the "shakes" and earned him the now famous nickname "shakey".

When the war was over, Shakey came home to California, and together with a group of friends, discovered their common love of dixieland jazz. Gathering regularly to play this lively music, the group also discovered Shakey Johnson's home cooking, especially his pizza. Needless to say, the group got larger and met regularly at Shakey's home--and nowhere else.

The fame of his fine cooking sparked an idea. Shakey and a college friend, Ed Plummer, pooled their savings together and bought an old grocery store at the corner of 57th and J street in Sacramento. On April 30, 1954, with a mere $1.85 in the till, the remodeled grocery store became the first Shakey's Pizza Parlor. Actually, no pizza was served because the oven weren't ready yet that Friday evening. Nevertheless, Shakey played the piano and Ed served the beer for their customers. With the money from the weekend, Shakey and Ed fired up their ovens on Monday and served the very first Shakey's Pizza. By 10 o'clock that evening, they were out of food, but people were still lining up to get in!

From this modest beginning, Shakey and Ed's business grew, and they started to open more stores in the U.S. Word get around about Shakey's thin, crisp crust with delicious toppings. Soon, people were calling it the "World's Greatest Pizza".



In 1975, the first Shakey's Pizza Parlor opened in the Philippines, with a promise to serve "fun...also pizza". That opening day, the restaurant sold nearly eight times as much pizza as expected, amidst balloons, charlie Chaplin movies, banjo and piano music.



Since then, Shakey's has opened over 100 outlets nationwide. Today, you don't even have to leave your home to enjoy "perfect pizzas and a whole lot more". Shakey's can deliver your pizza through one of the widest delivery networks in the country.



It's been a long time since April 30, 1954. But the great pizzas and the fun that Shakey and Ed served then are still around to help make Shakey's the No.1 pizza restaurant chain in the Philippines.

Source: Asiatravel

History of Pasig City

The City of Pasig is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines. It used to be the capital of the province of Rizal before Metro Manila was formed.

Pasig is a primarily residential and industrial city but increasingly becoming a growing commercial area. Being the former capital of Rizal, the old provincial capitol was located in Pasig, in the outskirt of Shaw Boulevard.

History

On June 11, 1901 the province of Rizal was created through Act No. 137 of Philippine Commission. Pasig was incorporated into the province of Rizal, and was designated as the capital of the new province.

In 1975, Pasig was carved out of Rizal province and became part of Metro Manila when the Metro Manila Commission (pre-cursor of Metro Manila Authority and later Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) was created by Pres. Ferdinand Marcos through Presidential Decree 824.

In July 1994, Pasig was converted into a highly urbanized city through Republic Act 7829. And in December 1994, President Fidel V. Ramos signed it into law, which was ratified through a plebiscite on January 21, 1995.

History of Boracay Island

The island was originally home to the Ati tribe. Boracay is part of Aklan Province, which became an independent province on April 25, 1956. Formerly undiscovered, it wasn't till the 1970s that tourism began to develop in Boracay, and the island became popular with backpackers in the 1980s.

Years ago, Boracay Island was a well-guarded secret, almost possessively so that only a few knew of its existence.

It was only in the 70s when, it is said, a foreign movie crew accidentally "discovered" this island paradise. Others maintain that it was the German traveler, 'Jens Peters' book, which included rave reviews of Boracay that changed the island’s pace from that of being a quiet secret to eventually being voted as having the best beach in the world.

Whichever story is true, it was around this time that Boracay Island slowly ceased to be a private travelers hangout and eventually became one of the major tourist destinations in the Philippines.