Lapolapo 2nd, San Jose, Batangas: Historical Data
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| Historical data from the National Library of the Philippines. |
Full transcription of the so-called “Historical Data” for the barrio of Lapolapo 2nd in the Municipality of San Jose, 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 THE BARRIO (of Lapolapo 2nd)
Part One – History
1. Present name of the barrio – Lapolapo 2nd
(a) Present – Lapolapo 2nd
(b) Past – Lapolapo
(c) Derivation and meaning of this name
According to the story handed down from generation to generation in this place, [a] long, long time ago, there lived a well-known Chinese named Lapolapo. He was very rich that he became popular with the people and at the same time, he ruled the community. The people in this place baptized it Lapolapo, derived from the Chinese man.
Being a wide and thickly populated barrio, it was divided into two, the western side leading to the town was named “Lapolapo First,” the eastern side which has a greater population and which is almost at the juncture of Lipa in the west and in the south, the town of Ibaan, was named “Lapolapo Second.”
2. Pulo
3. Date of establishment – as early as the 18th century.
4. Original families – about 151 families
2. Justo Masilungan – served for five years.
3. Francisco Hernandez – served for three years.
4. Feliciano Aguila – served for a long period of time; he was characterized by his loyalty and trustworthiness in his duties.
5. Segundo Hernandez –
6. Briccio Quizon –
7. Crispin Ona –
8. Clemente Aguila – He was a suplente during that time. Still living and can related stories of the past.
9. Leandro Quizon – served for so many years. He was greatly loved and admired by the people, being tactful in his duties.
10. Paulino Villanueva – he was killed by the Japanese.
11. Federico Hernandez – successor of Paulino Villanueva and was also killed by the Japanese.
12. Melchor Mendoza – still living and very young. Good-looking man, served his community well.
13. Daniel Masilungan – barrio lieutenant during the liberation. He served for three years.
14. Vivencio Flores – our present barrio lieutenant (1953).
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7. No data because no historical sites, structures, buildings, old ruins, etc.
8. Important facts and incidents that took place.
1. None
2. During the Filipino-American War.
In the year 1901, the Americans ruled the islands. Destruction of properties and lives took place.
In this barrio, almost every house was burned because of the insurgents hiding in this place. The inhabitants evacuated to the town of San Jose for a period of six months. Then, after this, peace and order prevailed in the islands.
9. a. Ten houses were burned and twenty (20) men were killed in 1943.
PART TWO – FOLKWAYS
1. Baptism – Baptism is mostly done on Saturdays and Wednesdays. The common belief of the people why they have this occasion on these days is that these are happy and glorious day.
A child who is newly-born is baptized by a priest at once in the parochial church with his or her sponsors. The sponsors are selected by the father of the baby. A newly-born child who has not been baptized must be watched at night by a person for fear of being stolen by a ghost.
2. Birth – When a mother is giving birth, she is confined in a room or part of a room which is not properly ventilated and only the “hilot” or the midwife is taking care of her. It is their common belief that if too many persons linger around her, she would suffer much in giving birth. Only the grandmother of the newly-born child can succor the “hilot.”
3. Courtship – The parents of the young men are the ones to select a partner for their son. The son will have to abide by the parents’ selections. Sometimes, the man visits the house of the girl, but he will have to talk with the parents while the girl stays inside the room.
4. Marriage – Once a man wishes to marry a woman, he first tells it to his parents. If his parents admire the woman, he will ask a third person to talk with the young man’s father and arrange the marriage. This is called the “Bulungan.”
The marriage ceremony is simple. It is performed in the church by the priest. There are sponsors chosen by the parents. After the marriage ceremony, they have a party in the bride’s home. Gifts are usually given by relatives in money to the couple. After the party, the bridegroom will leave her home for one or two days. A man is chosen to break a pot in front of the house before the group with the bride departs. Shouting and laughter are heard along the road till the group reaches the bridegroom’s home.
5. Death and Burial – A person who is dying is assisted by a person who is well-versed in prayers. This person prays for the salvation of his soul so that his soul will go to heaven.
Dead persons are laid on the floor or bed with the head to the west. All the relatives kiss the dead person and they cry loudly. Before putting the dead person in the coffin, his clothes will be changed. Things that he appreciated much when he was still living are placed in the coffin with him. He is buried in a deep pit in the cemetery.
6. Visits – Visitors are welcomed by giving cigarettes, buyo or a cup of coffee.
7. The festival in this barrio is only the “Flores de Mayo.”
2. Kneeling on the floor with sand.
3. Praying 3 or 5 times in a closed room.
9. Myths, Legends, Beliefs, etc.
Have your heard the fire laugh? The children in the Home Economics building were cooking rice. The blazing of the fire produced a noise as if it were laughing. One of the pupils shouted. “Oh! We shall have plenty of meat today for dinner.” After sixty minutes, the H. E. Supervisor came to visit our school. Three chickens were killed and cooked in the H. E. building. This incident means that laughing fire foretells an incident.
| [Sgd.] DANIEL MASILUNGAN | [Sgd.] LUIS AGUILA |
| [Sgd.] CLEMENTE AGUILA | [Sgd.] GREGORIO REMO |
| [Sgd.] MARCELO HERNANDEZ | [Sgd.] LUCENA QUIZON |
| [Sgd.] MELCHOR MENDOZA | |