MUNICIPALITY OF BARAS, RIZAL, Historical Data of Part 1

On June 16, 1571, Captain General Don Miguel Lopez de Legaspi ordered his grandson, Captain Juan de Salcedo, for the conquest of this place of Rizal Province, then called by the Spaniards "Rinconada de Moron." On his way to the Bicol Region, Salcedo passed this way and conquest was made by him as he laid waste along the way.

In 1588, Morong was made an "encomienda" by Legaspi, and the encomiendero appointed by the Adelantado was Don Fernando de Abalos. By the end of 1591, the encomienda of Morong was a well-established place comprising the region along the Laguna Lake from Pililla to San Mateo.

Four years later in 1595, the Franciscan missionaries, under the leadership of Fr. Juan de Placencia and Fr. Diego de Oropesa, founded the "visita" of Morong on the present site of Bosoboso and south of Painan, with Apostol Santiago as its patron saint. Due to a lack of ministers, the "visita" remained without a parish priest for a long time. It continued to be a "visita" of Morong and was known then as "Visita de Santiago" until later, it was called Baras. In 1616, its ecclesiastical administration was ceded to the Jesuit Fathers, according to Huerta, a Franciscan Historian. According to Cavada, another Spanish historian, 1595 was the year of the creation of this town. According to the records of Father Chirino, another Jesuit historian, "Santiago," the old name of Baras, was settled by more than 400 inhabitants and had in its vicinity other villages inhabited by Aetas and other mountain people. This estimate was made in 1606 by Father Chirino in his books.

Many lives were lost in the settlement due to the hostility of the Aetas and other mountain people. The church was also

burned. In 1636, the town was transferred to a place called Ibayo, one and one-half leagues southeast of the first site, for security purposes. For some years, they enjoyed tranquil habitation in the new place. They built a church made of bamboo and cogon and made San Salvador their patron saint. For some years, the saint remained under the jurisdiction of the Jesuit Fathers of Morong and, as it was, remained a "visita" of Morong due to the lack of ministers.

Due to the insecurity of the second site, the people decided to move to a new place where they would not be menaced anymore by the marauding tribes of mountain people. So, early in 1682, the town was transferred for the second time and was founded on its present site. The transfer was made possible under the guidance of the Franciscan Father Juan Bautista y Martinez. Both sides of the river in the new site were inhabited by the people. According to old records, the place called Ibayo was supposed to be Binitinan or Kay Aliwas (Aliwas being the supposed chieftain of the first group of people of this town). In the same year, construction of the present church was begun under the direction of Franciscan Fathers Pedro de Tomeu and Antonio de lack

Concepcion. In 1686, after the completion of the church, the first Mass was held in this town and the church was dedicated to its new patron Saint Joseph. During the years from 1606 to 1853, Baras was under the Province of La Laguna, and from 1853 to 1900, its administration was transferred to the Distrito de las Montes de San Mateo.

General to be the gobernadorcillo of the town, even if the said person got the least number of votes.)

ESTADO DE ALMAS
DE ESTE PUEBLO DE BARAS EN TODO EL AÑO 1840

BARANGAY DE SAN JOSE

Tributantes	Nombre y Apellido	Estado	Edad	Observacioñes
" "	Sotero Tesoro Alejandra Llagas Jose Tesoro Maria Tesoro Alejandro Santos Maxima Tongos Carlos Santos Josefa Santos	Casado Casado	54 49 29 16 39 34 12 10	Cabeza de Barangay

Premieros Tributantes de Naturales Idem de Mestizos de Sangley Idem de Presades my privilegio Idem por edad enfermedad Solteros y solteras Idem de la Confesion Españoles Mestizos de Ambos sexes Españoles o Mestizo

752 10 68 86 159 212 344 3 Total de Almas 1,614

In this padron or census, the number of inhabitants in each barangay was determined by writing the head of the family and each member on the column set aside for it. In the padron was also mentioned whether the person concerned was serving the church as "sacristan." A "sacristan" was exempted from paying the tributes. From the padron, the number of persons to pay tributes was determined.

The different barangays of this municipality in 1860 were as follows:

Barangay No. 1 San Jose
Barangay No. 2 Santiago
Barangay No. 3 San Bernardino
Barangay No. 4 San Miguel
Barangay No. 5 San Salvador
Barangay No. 6 Primera Concepcion
Barangay No. 7 San Antonio
Barangay No. 8 De los Dolores

A cabeza de barangay could serve for more than a year, depending upon his conduct and relations with the parish priest.

The following were the different persons who held the position of Capitan Municipal (Gobernadorcillo) in Baras from ____ to 1900:

Name of Capitanes	Tenure of Office
1. Capitan Don Pedro Colla 2. Capitan Don Anacleto Javier 3. Capitan Don Jose Robles 4. Capitan Don Lazaro Medrano 5. Capitan Don Gregorio Castañeda 6. Capitan Don Isidro Ferrera 7. Capitan Don Bonifacio Geronimo 8. Capitan Don Alejo Mediavillo 9. Capitan Don Juan Ferrera 10. Capitan Don Mariano de los Reyes 11. Capitan Don Emiliano Medrano

12. Capitan Don Bonifacio Geronimo 13. Capitan Don Toribio Jimenez 14. Capitan Don Flaviano Estanislao 15. Capitan Don Felix Planco

The following were the persons who became "Cabezas de Barangay" 1840-1900:

1. Sotero Teston 2. Mariano Jimenez 3. Agustin Ferrera 4. Lucio Añolosa 5. Simeon Matignas 6. Francisco Tesoro 7. Miguel Tesoro 8. Lazaro Cabandong 9. Inocencio Cabandog 10. Gabriel de las Llagas 11. Lorenzo Castañeda 12. Estanislao Medrano 13. Toribio Jimenez 14. Marciano Cabandong 15. Hilario Vallestero 16. Miguel Gidma 17. Juan Angkahan 18. Pedro Matignas 19. Bonifacio Geronimo 20. Agustin Ferrera 21. Eligio Vallestero 22. Miguel Medrano 23. Maximo Castañeda 24. Antonino de los Reyes 25. Faustino Galope

26. Hermogenes Robles 27. Catalino Digma 28. Esteban Golla 29. Marciano Cabandong 30. Timoteo Cabandong 31. Baldomero Diñozo 32. Luis Alvarez 33. Felipe Belgado Bigay 34. Leopoldo Digma 35. Cirilo Boloran 36. Telesforo Matignas 37. Isabelo Angkahan and others whose names are illegible to read.

In the census of 1845, Baras had 209 houses, 1,268 inhabitants and paying 300 tributes (Buzeta).

In 1849, the church was repaired as well as the convent. The church was painted under the direction of Fr. Tomas Secante, then the parish priest.

In should be remembered that Baras was under the jurisdiction of the Province of La Laguna from 1606 to 1853, when its administration was transferred to the newly-created Distrito de las Monte de San Mateo and later, in 1857, the said district was changed to Distrito Politicao-Militar de Morong, the capital of which was Antipolo but later was transferred to Morong.

In 1872 ended the jurisdictional (boundary) conflict between the two towns. The leading "maginoos" of both towns agreed on erecting a monument to mark the boundaries between the two towns. This boundary landmark can still be seen on the Tanay-Baras Road. Thus ended the trouble, only to flare up again in 1924, which witnessed the controversy between President Adriano Ferrera of Baras and President Simeon Bendana of Tanay.

On October 14, 1876, after a hot controversy between the jurisdictional limits of Morong and Baras, the civil government of that time interceded and pacified the conflict. The "maginoos" of Baras were led by Don Alejo Mediavillo and Don Lazaro Medrano. The boundary was established in accordance with the recommendations of the Civil Administration's order dated November 1876. Our population then was 1,176.

Having ended the controversial boundary jurisdiction with the adjoining towns, the place enjoyed a period of tranquility for a period of almost 15 years. In 1892, the people learned about a secret organization in Manila and its suburbs. People were jittery about this organization, as its purpose was to overthrow the Spa-

nish domination in the Philippines. After sometime, however, the people forgot all about the organization, and their efforts were channeled to the economic improvement of the place.

As early as 1892, the people of this part of the province had already a notion of the secret organization of the K.K.K., which was being organized in Manila and its suburbs. In July 1895, a year before the Cry of Balintawak, the towns along the Laguna de Bay were being affiliated with this secret organization. The representatives of the Supremo, Andres Bonifacio, had come to enjoin the people of Morong, Tanay, Antipolo, Baras, and Pililla to the cause of the society. One of those trusted men of Bonifacio, Don Teodoro Plata, and organizer of the Katipunan, came to bolster the movement in this place of Rizal. Two men from Morong, D. Jacinto Tolentino and D. Aurelio Tolentino, helped much in the organization of the society in this place of Rizal Province. Baras was no exception to this. Under the leadership of several "maginoos," of which mention can be made about Ex. Capitan D. Eligio Vallestero, alias Mulawin; D. Leopoldo Digma, alias "Chico"; Venancio Boloran, and many others, the Katipunan in Baras was organized. In January 1896, secret meetings were held by the society at Sumipit, a hill about a mile from the poblacion. In that place, the prospective members were ordained and were asked to sign their membership papers with ink of their blood. Sumipit, then, was also the Hq. of Baras Katipuneros. When the Katipunan was discovered, the Hq. was transferred to Gogo, a sitio 4 kilometers from the town near Kay Tukip, the Hq. of the Katipuneros from Morong. At the instance of the transfer, contact was made with the Morong Hq., and immediately, the Baras group was placed under the command of Capitan Atilano Sta. Ana (Capitan Pasado) of Cainta. Capitan Sta. Ana was then the military commander of the region at the time.

On October 6, 1896, at about 7:00 in the morning, the Katipunan, under Capitan Sta. Ana. attacked the Capital (Cabecera) of the province, which was then Morong, with the objectives of capturing the Spanish garrison and its precious arms. The group was composed of about 200 Katipuneros, 40 with guns and the rest with bolos and sharpened bamboos. Morong was defended by a military force under the command of Capitan Dujuils and Lt. Lafuente. There were around 250 guardia civil and quadrillos in Morong than, as it was the capital of the province. Side by side with Dijuils, Father Blanco, the Spanish priest of Baras, was leading the defenders against the Katipuneros. At the instance of the attack, all the "maginoos" of the surrounding towns were herded together at the Commandancia in Morong as a measure of security against further uprising, as these were the men exercising great power among the civilian population of that time. The attack lasted for about two hours, with slight losses on both sides. Due to a lack of sufficient arms, the assailants were forced to retreat.

On November 21, 1896, the Katipuneros from Tanay attacked Baras with the purpose of getting arms, but the attacks were not successful as the early intervention of the Guardia Civil from Morong foiled their plan. During the skirmish, Don Bonifacio Geronimo, then "Juez de Paz," was wounded.

These struggles of the Katipuneros in this part of Rizal Province continued intermittently up to the time when the Spanish Navy was totally destroyed and sunk by the American Navy in the famous Battle of Manila on May 1, 1898. At this juncture, an order came from General Emilio Aguinaldo to renew the attack against Morong. The attack was so intense that the Morong garrison gave up after several hours of fighting. The Katipuneros from Baras fought side by side with those from Morong, Tanay, and Pililla in this famous fight. It must be remembered that the Katipuneros from this part of the province were already members of the Philippine Revolutionary Forces under the direct command of General E. Aguinaldo.

After the defeat of the Spaniards in Morong, an order from the Hq. of Aguinaldo came ordering the establishment of the Municipal

township, to elect its president and the "cabezas del barrios."

President (Municipal) Vice President Cabezas del Barrios

D. Toribio Gimenez D. Luis Alvarez D. Leopoldo Digman D. Gaudencio Mediavillo D. Tomas Cruzado D. Francisco Robles D. Geronimo Castañeda

This government under the Revolutionary Gov't of Aguinaldo did not last long due to the outbreak of Filipino-American hostilities. By June 5, 1899, four companies of the Fourth American Cavalry and nine infantry companies of the First Colorado and Second Oregon Regiments attacked simultaneously Antipolo, Morong, Tanay, and partly the town of Baras. It was in one of these attacks that the cross on the tower of the church was hit by a cannonball from one of the armored launches of the Americans in Laguna de Bay.

When the resistance of the Filipino forces was its lowest ebb, the people of the poblacion evacuated to the nearby hills as a measure of protection against the impending attacks of the Americans, and there waited for further developments. The occupation of the place was completed during the early months of 1900. The resistance was only carried on by a small band of guerriillas roaming in the vastness of the mountains. This band was led by Major Raymundo from Morong.

On March 29, 1900, Military Order No. 40, by the Military Governor, General Merritt, came into effect. This order was about the election of an Alcalde Municipal, Vice-Alcalde, and the Municipal Council. Due to the unsettled condition of the place, many of the inhabitants were still in their hideouts in the nearby hills, so the order was carried out only in October of the same year.

In the election of October 1900, one Adriano Agot, a native of Tanay but residing in Tanay, was elected Alcalde Municipal, with the following as

Transcribed from:

Historical Data of the Municipality of Baras, Province of Rizal, online at the National Library of the Philippines Digital Collections.