Prepared by Ralff Nestor S. Nacor
Balang Falls/ Shower Falls is the last falls in the "Eight Falls in One River" of Sitio Boncao, Curry, Pili, Camarines Sur
Early Inhabitants: The Natives of Pili, Camarines Sur
Balang Falls/ Shower Falls is the last falls in the "Eight Falls in One River" of Sitio Boncao, Curry, Pili, Camarines Sur
Early Inhabitants: The Natives of Pili, Camarines Sur
There are two races
which were considered as natives of Pili, Camarines Sur:
1. Bikol- Isarog Agta Tribe of Negroid stock
2. Central Bikolano speakers of Malay stock
The Agtas were believed to be
the first settlers of the town. They were related to the other tribes with
Negroid stock like the Dumagat, Agta of Mt. Asog, etc. The occupation of the more-advanced
Malays in the lowlands forced them to go upland at the foot of Mt. Isarog. The Bikol-
Isarog Agta race of today can still be seen in the uptown Pili especially in
Barangay Curry.
The Malays were considered as
the ancestors of the dominant-lowland Bicolanos. These people speak the Central
Bikolano language of the Naga variant. If we will follow the Legend of
Maragtas, two Datus went northward from the island of Panay (where the
Confederation of Madyaas was founded by the Malay immigrants). The two of the famous
Ten Bornean Datus mentioned were Datu Dumangsil and Datu Balkasusa. It was
believed that Datu Dumangsil founded a Tagalog kingdom near the Taal lake,
while Datu Balkasusa went southward up to Bicol peninsula. Thus, Datu Balkasusa
was the ancestor of the Bicolanos of Malay stock.
The ancient name of the Bicol
region is “Ibalon” which came from the word “balyo” meaning “cross/ other side”.
The ancient Bicolanos of Malay stock founded their own community centered beside
the Bicol River. The word “Bikol” came from the word “biko” which means “curve”,
that is because the Bicol River is curvy. This community is located at the
present-day Naga City. However, some of them settled at the south of the river in
the present-day Pili for farming purposes.
Spanish Period & The
Cimarrones
The town of Pili was mostly
considered as a hinterland before 1819. Being just a neighbor of “Ciudad de
Nueva Caceres”, the natives were forced to settle in the said Spanish city due
to the policy of “reducciones”. The “Ciudad de Nueva Caceres”, the center of
Ambos Camarines, is the present-day Naga City and is one of the royal cities of
the colony. Pili at that time houses the “Cimarrones” or the “Remontados” who
resisted the foreign rule of the Spanish. The modern day-Pili remembers the
contribution of the “Cimarron” and “Cimarrona” in Pili’s history through a
statue in front of the Municipal Hall.
Ruins of the Hospital Diocesana de Lazarinos de Palestina
Photo from the Pili: Banwaan Ko Padangat Ko Cultural Heritage Society
The center of the settlement was
formerly in the barangay of Binanuaaan (the word came from “Banwaan” meaning “Town”).
With the foundation of the first parish church in the present-day Pili in 1819,
the “poblacion” was ever since transferred to its present-day location. The
church was named after San Rafael Arcangel, the patron saint of fishermen and
held its annual fiesta during October 24. The only living non-parochial Hispanic
infrastructure in the town is the Watch Tower Ruins built in 1872, which is in front
of the present day- Christ the King Parish Church at Palestina. It is here
where the Spaniards built their Leper hospital far away from the city.
American Period &
Establishment As a Town
The Americans established the
town of Pili in 1901. The name of the town came from the word “pili” or “to choose” and not
from the Pili nut (Canarium ovatum). In fact, the fruit is very rare in the
town even if the region is famous for it (Pili trees of the town can only be found
inside the CBSUA- Main Campus and in uptown areas). Known as the “Piniling Lugar”, the Americans wanted to
make Pili as the new provincial urban center, since Naga City which the
Spaniards had developed was prone to major floods. Even my history professor in
CBSUA told us that Pili in its plain form was more elevated than its
neighboring Naga City. The rivers of the town were very low as compared to the
land where the people are living, thus no major flooding occurred at least in
its written history.
Fortunato Tuazon - Pili's First Mayor
Photo from the Pili: Banwaan Ko Padangat Ko Cultural Heritage Society
Photo from the Pili: Banwaan Ko Padangat Ko Cultural Heritage Society
The town is very strategic
location for the Americans. Pili connects the major districts of the province:
the Bikol Naga-speaking towns of the North, Partido Area, and the Rinconada
Area. It was here where they build the current Naga Airport in the barangay of
San Jose. Also in the same barangay, they built the Camarines Sur Agricultural
School in 1918 which is exclusive for boys at that time. This is now the main
campus of the Central Bicol State University of Agriculture.
Japanese Occupation
According to Sir Carlos
Arejola, a Bicolano historian, when the World War II broke out in 1941 the Japanese Imperial
Army sent 3,000 soldiers to Pili due to the concentration of American
developments in the town. They built tunnels, manmade caves, and foxholes all
over the town which are still existent today. The infrastructures of the war
were mostly in the barangays of Cadlan, Curry, San Jose and even in the
Poblacion Area.
"I-Witness: Yaman ng Isarog"
My grandmother Leonor Baylon,
a native of Barangay Tinangis, said that they escaped the war by hiding in the
forests of Mt. Isarog. They were in a group headed by a leader who directed
their exodus. When the Japanese started to lose, they also flee to Mt. Isarog to
hide. Aside from the holes in downtown Pili, they also created a lot of holes in Mt. Isarog and used the mountain as their
last stand in the Bicol Region. In the present, we remember the heroes of the
war through the Filipino-Japanese Friendship Monument in Sitio Bongcao,
Curry located at
the foot of Mt. Isarog.
Filipino-Japanese Friendship Monument
Photo from the Pili: Banwaan Ko Padangat Ko Cultural Heritage Society
Photo from the Pili: Banwaan Ko Padangat Ko Cultural Heritage Society
The Capital Town
Naga City was the former
capital of Camarines Sur. It was formally designated as the provincial capital
by virtue of Philippine Legislative Act No. 2711 on March 10, 1917 under the
American Rule. It is until December 15, 1948 when Naga City was declared a
Chartered City. This move had declared a need of searching for the new site of
the Provincial Capitol building.
Former Governor Juan F.
Trivino chooses the Municipality of Pili as the new home of the Provincial
Capitol. The selection also determined the new capital of the province. Finally
on June 6, 1955, Pili was declared as the Provincial Capital by virtue of R.A.
1336 replacing Naga City. There were six possible sites in Pili which were
considered for the provincial capitol. The Capitol Site Selection Committee
finally voted in favor of the 15 hectare lot donation of Don Susano Rodriguez
in the barangay of Cadlan.
The Barangays
There are 26 barangays in the town. Most of them were named
after each of their respective patron saint. However, there are some which has
names with different origin.
Poblacion Area: Old San Roque, San Antonio, San Isidro, San Juan, San Vicente, Santiago
Uptown Area: Tinangis, Curry, Sto. Nino, Del Rosario, Bagong Sirang
Northern Part - Lowland: Palestina, Cadlan, Caroyroyan, San Jose, San Agustin, Sagurong, Tagbong
Southern Part - Lowland: Binobong, New San Roque, Binanuaanan, La Purisima, Sagrada, Himaao, Anayan, Pawili
Trivia for some barangays:
Curry – former name is Bongcao (which is now only a Sitio).
It is named after the first Governor of Camarines Sur- George Curry. The Eight
Waterfalls in One River can be found in Sitio Bongcao. The seventh waterfall is
the Slide Falls and the last is the Shower/ Balang Falls. Mt. Isarog is the
source of water of every town surrounding it including Pili.
Tinangis – comes from the root word “tangis” meaning “’cry”.
It was believed that natives cried whenever they walked to the upland barangay
due to its far distance from the lowlands. With San Jose and Caroyroyan, they
were the home of the Camp Elias Angeles (9th Infantry Division of
the Philippine Army). The highest waterfall in Mt. Isarog is clearly seen from
here. If you are from Pili, you can see a waterfall visible (a white line) from
the National Highway after a rain and it is the Maati Falls. It came from the root
word “ati” meaning “loses a certain amount”, since the waterfall seems to
disappear in a sunny day. Some may claim Balang Falls as the highest waterfall,
but locals were convinced that it is the Maati Falls (Natives says that it is very
difficult to reach Maati Falls).
Caroyroyan – the barangay is mostly of grass and rice farms
in the early 20th century, that is why it might came from the word “Kaparoroyan”
having the root word “paroy” meaning rice husks.
Cadlan – the location of the Provincial Capitol. It also
houses the famous Camarines Sur Watersports Complex (CWC) and Lago del Rey.
New San Roque – the Balut Capital of Pili
Anayan – the barangay where the roads to Partido and
Rinconada where parting ways. They are famous for their “sinapot”/ fried
bananas.
Modern Pili: Bicolandia’s
Agro-Industrial Center & Urbanization
Pili is the second trading center
of Metro Naga. This paves the way for the rapid urbanization of the town in the
20th century from a mere hinterland before. Most people from Pili
are products of the immigrants from other parts of the Bicol Region. The
proximity of the town in Naga City also made the town an ideal place to live
for those who study and work in the said city.
Also, Pili is Bicolandia’s
Agro-Industrial Center. The town is the home of the Department of Agriculture
in the Bicol Region, parting away from most regional offices located in Legazpi
City, Albay. It is also the home of the Central Bicol State University of Agriculture,
which is the regional center for higher learning in agriculture. Agricultural
products of the town are mainly rice, corn, and sugar canes. In fact, Pili is
one of the rice granaries of Camarines Sur. With this, aside from being an
important agricultural center of the Bicol Region, the town also houses
industrial companies of agricultural processes. Some of the industrial plants
are as follows:
· Co Say Oil Mill –
Located in La Purisima, the company is one of the largest producers of coconut
oil in the Bicol Region. From coconut meat they extracted the natural oil via
leaching.
· Partido Rice Mill –
Located in New San Roque, the company is known for its quality rice products in
the whole province. They have a large milling plant as compared to other
ordinary milling plants.
· Bicol Biomass Power
Plant – Located also in New San Roque, the waste rice husks of the Partido Rice
Mill will be sent here to produce electricity by creating steam from burning it.
This is the first Rice-husk power plant in Southern Luzon.
· B-Meg- Southern Luzon Feedmill Inc. (SLFI) – this countrywide-known brand is located beside the Pili Diversion Road
· Penafrancia Sugar Mill
(Pensumil) – Located in Himaao, they are using the sugar canes planted at the
foot of Mt. Isarog. Pili is known as Bicol’s Sweetheart especially in the ‘70s
and ‘80s due to this.
· Bicol JL Agri Corporation – Located at the Sta.Rita Industrial Park, it is a local plant for animal feed stocks
“The history of Pili,
Camarines Sur may remain an exciting puzzle for historians and history
enthusiasts, but whatever it is we are sure that it played a major role on the
identity of the town today."