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A marker
posted in the municipal building of Kalayaan reads:
"On this side grew
a coconut tree with three branches interpreted by our
forebears as the future site of our municipal building;
three branches being San Juan, Longos and San Antonio."
Today, the belief had
been realized. But digging through historical records,
it seems that the place is still made up of the three
original visitas of Babaye (now Longos), Abacao (now
San Juan) and San Pablo (now San Antonio).
Babaye got its name when
the Spaniards came and found women washing clothes in
the brook. When the Spaniards continued their aim to
conquer the land and a little north of Babaye, they
saw a place where people dried abaca and named the place
Abacao. The Spaniards claimed the mountains east of
Babaye and named the village found there in honor of
San Pablo.
In 1577, Francisca priest
arrived, some settled in Laguna. The two priests assigned
in Laguna were Father P. San Juan de Placencia and Father
Diego Oropesa. They started their mission to Christianize
the Filipinos in this part of the country. The three
visitas were initially ruled by the Spaniards from Lumban
under the leadership of Don Juan Tinawin, a Paeteñno.
In 1590, the leadership was given to Don Pable Caodpod
who hailed from Babaye. Then in 1600, by the order of
Rev. Father Juan de Cliver, the three visitas were ruled
by native leaders, Don Agustin Gatan as Presidente and
Don Antonio Hubid as the Vice-Presidente.
In 1669, after the long
ardous work of Don Pedro Banay-banay with the help of
Father Juan Bautista the town of Longos composed of
Babaye, Abacao and half of San Pablo was established.
The other half of San Pablo remained under the political
jurisdiction of Paete. The first Parish Priest was Rev.
Fr. Lucas Sarro.
Came 1755, the residents
of San Pablo presented a resolution to the Governor
General advocating its separation from Paete and Longos,
and the establishment of their own town which was renamed
San Antonio.
After three long years
of negotiation, San Antonio became a town separate from
Longos and Paete on September 9, 1757. Peace therein
was, however, disrupted when Moros raided the town in
1760. They killed the inhabitants and burned down the
town. The in straights were taken as prisoners and slaves.
It took a long number of years before some straight
thinking citizens were able to re-establish peace and
order in the town.
When the Americans came,
Don Epifanio Montes was installed as Military President
of Longos while Faustino Lafrades was given the same
position for San Antonio. Under the administration,
Public Law No. 959 was enforced for economic reasons.
The 30 towns of Laguna were narrowed down to 19 on October
12, 1903. Longos, San Antonio and Pakil again became
part of the municipality of Paete. However, on March
23, 1908, Don Pedro Sabio, then President of Paete,
successfully worked for the separation of Longos from
Paete. San Antonio was reverted back to its former status
as a barrio of Longos.
In the year 1934, chaos
was in the air. In San Antonio, the Anak Pawis Movement,
a communist group headed by Teodoro Asedillo, a former
teacher and police officer, was organized. Asedillo
became a fugitive from justice for killing three municipal
officials. Military operations were instituted for his
capture. Residents feared for their lives and the town
was in total confusion until 31 December 1935, when
Asedillo was killed in Sitio Kaldon, Sampaloc, Quezon
by Lt. Jesus Vargas. Peace was eventually restored thereafter.
In 1936, under the leadership
of Mayor Gregorio Ademe, construction of Longos and
San Antonio road was begun.
During World War II, many
sons of Longos joined the underground movement called
Hukbalahap organized by Pedro Villegas in San Antonio.
On the other hand, Dr. Tomas Kabamalan organized the
Fil-American Comrade under Col. Hughed Strangun in Barangay
San Juan. On July 4, 1946, the municipality joined the
nation in the celebration of Philippine Independence
from the United States of America.
On March 30, 1946, Executive Order No. 127 which ordered
the transfer of the seat of government from Longos to
San Juan was signed by Pres. Manuel Roxas. From then
on, a part of San Juan became the Poblacion, while Longos,
San Antonio and the rest of San Juan became its barangays.
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