HISTORY OF DASMARIÑAS
Like the town of
Historically, Dasmariñas
had played an important role as gateway to the Magdalo
revolutionary capital of Imus. It was in the
strategic Pasong Santol, in
barrio Salitran Dasmariñas,
where General Emilio Aguinaldo and later his elder
brother General Crispulo Agunaldo
fought off Spanish General Jose Lachamber’s troops in
seesaw battle from March 7 to 24, 1897, when the Spaniards captured it
"over the dead body" of the elder Aguinaldo.
With the capture of this Dasmariñas salient, the fall
of Imus to the Spaniards was a foregone conclusion.
The first settlers to arrive in this former barrio
of Imus in 1862 included the families of Gil Tirona, Vicente Guevarra, Eleuterio Ceda and Eustaquio Palume. The influx of
settlers must have been so heavy that in few years they petitioned higher
authorities for the conversion of the barrio into a separate municipality. When
the new town called Perez-Dasmariñas was inaugurated
in 1868 it had already its own Catholic parish established the year before by
Augustinian Recollect fathers.
The history of Dasmariñas
is inextricably linked with the life of one of its outstanding sons, Placido Campos. Kapitang
Idong, as he was popularly called, was the son of
Valeriano Campos (Kapitan
Vale), of Talaba, Bacoor,
and Julia Nave, a native of Bayang Luma, Imus. He was the fifth in a
family of nine children.
The revolutionist pursued the fleeing Spaniards,
overtaking them n barrio Sampaloc. In the ensuing
skirmish a Spanish sergeant and a priest were killed while the rest were
captured.
About seven months later, specifically on
During the Philippined-American
War (1899-1901) Kapitan Idong
again took up arms on the side of General Aguinaldo
and his Revolutionary Government. It was a losing fight from the very
beginning. The Americans, superior in men and material, defeated the
ill-equipped Filipinos after two years of fighting. Kapitan
Idong and his nephew, Guillermo Campos, were
captured and imprisoned at the Provost Political Prison on
In October 1901 the Americans established the civil
government. In the first election held in Perez Dasmariñas
Placido Barzaga, was
appointed treasurer. The census of 1903, however, showed a tremendous decrease
in the population of the towns of
In 1917, the situation having long returned to
normal, during the administration of Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison,
1913-1921, Perez Dasmariñas was again made an
independent municipality. The provincial governor of
The complete name of barrio Burol
is Pansol-Burol. Pansol
is a Tagalog word meaning aqueduct, while Burol, also a native word, means mound. Burol is one of the oldest barrios of Dasmirañas
as evidenced by the ruins of old sugar mills and stone buildings that may still
be found in some parts of the barrio. Another barrio is Langkaan.
Its name was derived from Langka,
meaning jackfruit. Hence Langkaan means a place
abounding in jackfruits. This barrio has many sitios.
The barrio Paliparan was
a grassy land with no trees growing on its wide area, providing an excellent
place for flying kites during summer. In fact, this was what the place used to
be – a paliparan – meaning an airfield for
flying kites. During the Spanish regime the Spaniards used to go to this place
during weekends to fly kites of different designs and colors. On the other
hand, the next barrio, Sabang, got its name from the
diversion of the booklet separating it from barrio Malagasang,
Imus. The flow of the stream was diverted to irrigate
rice fields in the area, and this branching out of the booklet or intersection
is called sabang in Tagalog.
The barrio was established in 1916.
In the southeastern part of Dasmariñas
is barrio Salawag, a Tagalog
word meaning studs, to which nipa or cogon is
attached for roofing. This place abounds in bamboo’s, which are split into
studs for roofing. Another barrio of Dasmariñas
called Salitran became famous in history because it
was in a strategic pass in this place called Pasong Santol where Filipinos and Spaniards fought what may be
considered the bloodiest battle during the Revolution. It was here where
Filipino volunteers under General Crispulo Aguinaldo held Lachambre’s forces
at bay until the defenders were wiped out almost t the last man. Crispulo Aguinaldo himself was
the No. 1 casualty.
TOWN HEADS OF DASMARIÑAS
Except for lack of dates of the terms of the gobernadorcillos (also popularly referred to as captain)
during the Spanish regime, the list of town heads of Dasmariñas
is complete from its founding to the present. This speaks well of the sense of
history of the municipal officials of Dasmariñas. The
list follows in full:
GOBERNADORCILLOS FROM 1895: (1) Juan Ramirez (date
of incumbency unknown); (2) Adriano Llano, (3) Eduardo Bautista, (4) Anastacio Paulme, (5) Valeriano Campos, (6) Eugenio Ambalada, (7)
CAPITAN MUNICIPAL : Placido Campos, 1895-1896
MUNICIPAL PRESIDENT :
Francisco Barzaga, 1900 (under the Military
Government).
MUNICIPAL MAYORS : (1) Teodorico
Sarosario, 1935-1940; (2) Felicisimo
Carungcong, 1941-1945; (3) Maximo
de la Torre, 1946 (appointed); (4) Gaudencio Geda, 1946, ditto;
(5) Fermin de la Cruz, 1947, ditto; (6) Arturo
Carungcong, 1948-1950; (7) Emiliano
dela Cruz, 1951-1955; (8) Tomas Hembrador,
1956-1963; (9) Remigio Carungcong,
1964-1971; (10) Narciso M. Guevarra,
1972 to his death on December 17, 1982; (11) Recto M. Cantimbuhan,
December 1982 (12) Elpidio Barsaga
1986 (13) Recto Cantimbuhan
1988 – 1995 (14) Elpidio Barzaga
(1995 – present).