Batangas Town, Batangas: Historical Data Part II

PART II

PART I | PART II | PART III | PART IV | PART V

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1915

1916

1917 – 1918

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1919

1920 – 1922

1923

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1926 – 1928

1929 – 1930

1931 – 1934

1935 – 1937

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1938 – 1940

1941

1942 – 1944

1945

1945 – 1946

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1947 – 1949

1949 – 1951

1952 – 1954

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DATA ON HISTORICAL SITES, STRUCTURES, BUILDINGS, OLD RUINS, ETC., IMPORTANT FACTS, INCIDENTS OR EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE

THE BATANGAS REVOLT … The results of the November 3, 1949 election which was bitterly fought between Mr. Elpidio Quirino, of the Liberal Party, on the one side and Dr. Jose P. Laurel, standard bearer of the Nationalista Party, on the other, play an important role in the history of the town of Batangas.

Refusing to concede the victory of the Liberal Party, which they believed was won through fraud and terrorism, some disgusted citizens of Batangas rose in revolt against the government forces. That was on the chilly morning of November 19, 1949, at about two o’clock, when a big group of armed men marched to the town of Batangas and raided it at three strategic places. The first attack was made at the Batangas Electric and Water Plant, and at a sudden, Batangas was plunged into complete darkness. That must have been the signal, for immediately thereafter, a similar band of armed men crept into the Batangas Police Station, disarmed the policemen therein, and took away with them some rounds of ammunition. Almost simultaneously, the attacks on the Batangas P. C. Headquarters and the 12^th Station Hospital ensued. Heavy firing continued for half an hour, after which the rebels retreated and the firing ceased as suddenly as it started.

When the townspeople awoke, Batangas was a remarkable ghost town. The streets were deserted and practically all the business establishments were closed. It looked like a typical town undergoing zonification by the Japanese during the occupation. In almost all homes, windows were closed and doors were barred. The market place was empty because sellers stayed at their homes and those who had permanent stalls took their products or merchandize home.

After the rebels had fled, the P. C. and army reinforcements from neighboring towns came. With the joint forces of the P. C. and P. A., the rebels were driven back into their lairs, far out into the fastness of the mountains. The rebels were not defeated so soon because their courage and determination to find redress for the fraud committed during the election day. They fought valiantly although they were outnumbered. Their courage coupled with their being well-equipped enabled them to offer a stiff resistance to the pursuing government forces. They employed the “hit and run” tactics, the common method used by our men during the guerrilla movements during the

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hectic days of the Japanese occupation. This caused the revolt to last for a couple of months.

Later, in the early part of December of the same year, Gen. Francisco Medrano, the overall commander of the Batangas rebels, accepted the surrender terms offered by the President. He personally appeared before President Elpidio Quirino with some high-ranking provincial officials and his aide de camp. After this, his followers laid down their arms and returned to their homes to resume their former role of being peaceful citizens.

Thus ended the Batangas revolt… a revolt which is a manifestation that the Batangueños are alert and vigilant over their fundamental and inalienable rights, as provided in our Constitution.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH…. The first church of Batangas was built in the year 1581by Father Diego Mexica who was [at] that time the pastor of Calapan, Mindoro. It was a small chapel of bamboo and nipa dedicated to the Immaculate Concepcion de Nuestra Señora. The said father was from the province of Salamanca, Spain. He died in 1584.

The year 1672 came. During this period, the economic condition of the town made it possible to begin the rock foundation of the first stone church. The first nave was completed in 1686, the crucero was added in 1706, and it was finished with a solemn benediction of the whole church in 1721. This little church of “arrecife” stone was constructed entirely by the Fathers. This building suffered or experienced many earthquakes of a period of seventy nine years but no very considerable damage was ever recorded of the structure.

In the year 1851, the population of the town so increased that a larger church had become a necessity. When Father Pedro Cuesta became parish priest, he undertook the construction of a new edifice. The difficulties caused by poverty, disgusts and sacrifices did not deter men of such character as these pastors possessed. Notwithstanding the drawbacks of the situation, the pastor obtained the necessary permission; erected a temporary chapel in the public plaza, and had the old church torn down. The first stone of the new and larger church was placed in the year 1851. For six years, the work of the construction was carried on with many discouraging obstacles intervening. Father Pedro himself was engineer, director, foreman, and paymaster.

PART I | PART II | PART III | PART IV | PART V

Transcribed from “History and Cultural Life of the Poblacion (Batangas Town),” 1953, online at the National Library of the Philippines Digital Collections.