Muntingpulo, Lipa City, Batangas: Historical Data

Historical data from the National Library of the Philippines.

Full transcription of the so-called “Historical Data” for the barrio of Muntingpulo in the City of Lipa, Batangas, the original scanned documents at the National Library of the Philippines Digital Collections not having OCR or optical character recognition properties. This transcription has been edited for grammar, spelling and punctuation where possible. The original pagination is provided for citation purposes.

[p. 1]

HISTORY AND CULTURAL LIFE OF MUNTINGPULO
PART ONE
HISTORY

The present official name of the barrio is Muntingpulo as people used to call it today. The former name that was given to the place was Sapac-Muntingpulo. On the eastern part of this barrio lies a long range of mountains called Malarayat. Just [how] this community came to exist by the name of Muntingpulo was said to be that this place had a small forest covered with trees where the people kept their stolen cattle from some distant places. There were about ten houses in this place. According to the eldest people still living, Muntingpulo was applied to the community because of the small portion of trees at the center of the place. During that time, this place was under the jurisdiction of Sapac. It was during the earliest part of the nineteenth century [that] the people of the eastern side began to settle westward to seek wider opportunities in life. Time came and went fast, the people started moving westward on the level land which would give them the blessing of God. In was in 1930, when Mr. Candido Lopez was the mayor of this city, [when] Muntingpulo was separated from Sapac and made the barrio an independent on which still exists today. There were less than a hundred families living in the said place and those families still live until today such as Luis Reyes, Camilo Aglay, Martin Malaluan, Raymundo Lasig, Felipe Mendoza, Urbano Toledo, Jacinto Mendoza, and Domingo Castillo. Many of their descendants are still living and others are already dead. Here is the list of tenientes from the early days to the present time.

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During the Spanish occupation, the Spanish missionaries played an important role in the educational, economic and religious development of the natives. They went around teaching [the] Christian religion and oftentimes, they solicited voluntary contributions from the natives. It was the custom of the people to kiss the hands of the priest or missionaries whenever they met them. The people wear antagonized by the harsh treatment they received from the missionaries and Guardia Civil. The Guardia Civil where Spanish and Filipino soldiers who wear loyal to the Spanish government. They were always after the Filipino revolutionists called “Insurrectos.” Anyone caught by the Guardia Civil could hardly escaped and they were tortured. One of them was Damaso Bancuro [Bancoro?] who was a leader of the rebels.

Between the boundary of Sabang and Muntingpulo, the rebels fought gallantly win [the] Guardia Civil but some of them were taken prisoners [while] others fled to the neighboring barrio. The civilian population, fearing the reprisals of the Spanish soldiers, left their homes and went to the mountains with their families and belongings. When the Spaniards learned about the matter, they began burning the houses, looted there animals which the people left. Another important event which took place during the spanish time was the news of the coming of the Americans in 1900. Insurrectos retreated to the mountain fastness. The rebels surrender to the Americans and then established the american government.

During the american occupation until the outbreak of World War II, the people lived happily and peacefully. On December 8, 1941, the Japanese forces landed at Mauban and Atimonan on the eastern coast of Quezon province. In an attempt to halt the enemies, the U.S. Army thanks rushed to Atimonan to check the advancing Japanese forces. The rolling tanks made the people aware of the news of the war which they dreaded for a long time. Several days later, the people heard that the Japs were already in Lipa. People went to hide at the foot of Mount Malarayat, but the Japanese soldiers follow them to their hideouts. It was in February 1942, when the people wear order to return to their homes. Following that year, the Japs formed the so-called “Neighborhood Association.” All meals where group and each group was under a leader. The members where required to carry a long pointed bamboo called “sibat” wherever they went.

Due to the cruelties of the invaders, the feeling of patriotism [was] aroused in the minds of the people. Some influential leaders organized the so-called “Guerrilla.” The guerrillas were supported by the people through voluntary contributions. Nobody was being suspected of being a guerrilla for they were very careful of their underground movement.

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When the Japs learned of the arrival of the Americans in the Philippines, they became desperate. They killed people and burned houses. The farmers abundant their farms and begin to prepare for mass evacuation. They brought with them there [word not visible] animals, and their household belongings. They moved forward not knowing where they would go. The people decided to go to Maugat, a barrio of Rosario. There, they built huts and stayed for several weeks. Later, they were ordered by the “Guerrillas” to go to Ibaan. They proceeded to the place. A few days later, the American forces arrived. The people rejoiced upon seeing the Americans. They gave the people many things do eat. When the people wear informed that their burial was already a free place to live in, and that there were no more Japs to molest them, they began to pack up their belongings and returned home and found that there barrio what's the best place for them to live in.