Pila is a 4th class municipality in the province of
LagunaLaguna is a province of the Philippines found in the CALABARZON region in Luzón. Its capital is Santa Cruz and the province is located southeast of Metro Manila, south of the province of Rizal, west of Quezon, north of Batangas and east of Cavite. Laguna almost completely surrounds Laguna de Bay,...
,
PhilippinesThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
. According to the latest census, it has a population of 44,227 people in 7,750 households. Pila has a total land area of 31.2 km².
The town of Pila is site for some well-preserved houses dating back to the Spanish period as well as the old Saint
Anthony of PaduaFernando Martins de Bulhões, venerated as Anthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, c. 1195 – 13 June 1231) is a Catholic saint who was born in Lisbon, Portugal to a wealthy family and who died in Padua, Italy.-Early life:...
Parish Church, the first Antonine church in the Philippines.
This also served as a location for the reality show,
The Amazing Race Asia 2The Amazing Race Asia 2 is the second season of the reality television game show The Amazing Race Asia. The show features ten teams of two, with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world to win US$100,000....
.
Pila is politically subdivided into 17
barangayA barangay , also known by its former Spanish adopted name, the barrio, is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward. Barangays are further subdivided into smaller areas called Puroks...
s.
Pila and adjacent towns along the shores of
Laguna de BayLaguna de Bay is the largest lake in the Philippines and the third largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia after Tonle Sap in Cambodia and Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia...
are considered by archaeologists as one of the oldest settlements in the Philippines.
Pila is a 4th class municipality in the province of
LagunaLaguna is a province of the Philippines found in the CALABARZON region in Luzón. Its capital is Santa Cruz and the province is located southeast of Metro Manila, south of the province of Rizal, west of Quezon, north of Batangas and east of Cavite. Laguna almost completely surrounds Laguna de Bay,...
,
PhilippinesThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
. According to the latest census, it has a population of 44,227 people in 7,750 households. Pila has a total land area of 31.2 km².
The town of Pila is site for some well-preserved houses dating back to the Spanish period as well as the old Saint
Anthony of PaduaFernando Martins de Bulhões, venerated as Anthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, c. 1195 – 13 June 1231) is a Catholic saint who was born in Lisbon, Portugal to a wealthy family and who died in Padua, Italy.-Early life:...
Parish Church, the first Antonine church in the Philippines.
This also served as a location for the reality show,
The Amazing Race Asia 2The Amazing Race Asia 2 is the second season of the reality television game show The Amazing Race Asia. The show features ten teams of two, with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world to win US$100,000....
.
Barangays
Pila is politically subdivided into 17
barangayA barangay , also known by its former Spanish adopted name, the barrio, is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward. Barangays are further subdivided into smaller areas called Puroks...
s.
- Aplaya
- Bagong Pook
- Bukal
- Bulilan Norte (Pob.)
- Bulilan Sur (Pob.)
- Concepcion
- Labuin
- Linga
- Masico
|
- Mojon
- Pansol
- Pinagbayanan
- San Antonio
- San Miguel
- Santa Clara Norte (Pob.)
- Santa Clara Sur (Pob.)
- Tubuan
|
History
Pila and adjacent towns along the shores of
Laguna de BayLaguna de Bay is the largest lake in the Philippines and the third largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia after Tonle Sap in Cambodia and Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia...
are considered by archaeologists as one of the oldest settlements in the Philippines. The community is one of three such concentrations of population known archaeologically to have been in place before A.D. 1000. Archaeologists recovered in Pinagbayanan potteries and artifacts that indicate considerable settlement in the area during the Late
Tang DynastyThe Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
(900 A.D.). Archaeologists also recovered ancient horse bones ending the debate on whether the Spaniards brought them or not. The scientists were able to uncover Philippines’ oldest crematorium in the same area. It is worthwhile to note that the oldest Philippine document, the 900 A.D.
Laguna Copperplate InscriptionThe Laguna Copperplate inscription is the first written document found in a Philippine language. The plate was found in 1989 by Alfredo E. Evangelista. in Laguna de Bay, in the metroplex of Manila, Philippines, the LCI has inscribed on it a date of Saka era 822, corresponding to 900 CE...
, mentioned Pila twice.
The Franciscans arrived in 1578 to evangelize the people of Pila and soon afterwards built a church dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua, the first Antonine house of worship in the Philippines. Due to the nobleness and mildness of the character of its inhabitants, the Spanish leadership honored the town with an exceptional title
La Noble Villa de Pila, one of five villas named by the Spaniards in the 16th and 17th century in the Philippines. During this period, the demesne of Pila includes
Victoria, LagunaVictoria is a 4th class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 33,829 people in 6,128 households....
, and
Jala-Jala, RizalJalajala is a 4th class municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 28,738 people in 4,759 households....
.
The Franciscans established in Pila the second printing press in the Philippines and printed in 1613, Philippines’ oldest dictionary and the first book printed using the
movable typeMovable type is the system of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document . The first known movable type system was invented in China by Bi Sheng out of ceramic between 1041 and 1048. Metal movable type was first invented in Korea during the Goryeo...
, the
Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala. The book was written and compiled by Fray Pedro de San Buenaventura and printed by Tomas Pinpin, the Prince of Filipino printers. The book is twenty seven years older than the
Bay Psalm BookThe Bay Psalm Book was the first book, that is still in existence, printed in British North America.The book is a Psalter, first printed in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Psalms in it are metrical translations into English...
, the first book printed in the United States in 1640.
At the beginning of the 19th century the town was transferred from Pagalangan to the present site of Santa Clara because of perennial flooding.
The National Historical Institute of the Philippines declared the town plaza and surrounding ancestral houses a National Historical Landmark on May 17, 2000. Two years later, on July 9, 2002, the Diocese of San Pablo proclaimed the parish church of San Antonio de Padua de Pila as the Diocesan Shrine of St. Anthony. According to Philippine historian, Dr. Luciano Santiago, it is the only town in the Philippines that is formally recognized as a historical site by both the church and the state.
External links