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The Pila Historical Society is actively working on a different interpretation of the Laguna Copperplate Inscription found in Lumban River in 1989. The Historical Society is collaborating with Antoon Postma and other scholars on a new interpretation of the LCI that may further unlock its secret. The society firmly believes that the placenames in Bulacan as suggested by Antoon Postma are nowhere as significant in Philippine prehistory as those in Laguna especially the town of Pila (Santiago, 2003). The group believes that Paila which was mentioned twice in the Laguna Copperplate Inscription is the present town of Pila. Antoon Postma wrote in one of his correspondence to the society that Paila or Payla is a diphthong and can not develop into Pila as recommended. The society noted and informed Antoon Postma of the development of several tagalog words namely: baywang to bewang, baynat to binat, kailan to kelan, mayroon to meron, taynga or tainga to tenga. The dipthong ai became e or i.

Puliran is not the Bulacan town of Pulilan but the Laguna de Bay. According to the Philippines’ oldest printed dictionary, Pulilan is the old name of Laguna de Bay (San Buenaventura, 1613, page 383). Kasumuran is not a name of a person. According to Antoon Postma, the root word of kasumuran is sumur which means source of water. Puliran Kasumuran thus means Laguna de Bay water source. Puliran Kasumuran most probably is the region from Nagcarlan (Laguna) to Mauban (Quezon). As a testament to the vast amount of water of the Kasumuran region, the first two hydroelectric power plants of the Philippines were constructed in the same region. The Botocan Hydroelectric Power Plant and Caliraya Hydroelectric Power Plant were built before World War II and provided electricity to Manila and surrounding areas up to the present.

Binwangan is not the nameplace in Obando but Binawangan, Capalonga, Camarines Norte, the town next to Paracale, the source of gold of the Tagalogs. Capalonga and Paracali were listed in early Spanish chronicles as part of the Tagalog region (Blair and Robertson, 1903-1909). The Laguna Copperplate Inscription which was dated 900 AD defined the boundaries of the Tagalog region from Tondo to Capalonga, Camarines Norte. The same region occupied by the Tagalogs six hundred years later when the Spaniards conquered Luzon. It is interesting to note that Juan de Salcedo used the same route to capture the gold mines of Paracale (Blair and Robertson, 1903-1909). Perhaps the people who wrote the Laguna Copperplate Insciption are related to the Indios Mutilaos found by the Spaniards during the conquest of Pila and the Puliran Kasumuran region and was conceded (repartimiento) to Juan Lopez de Goyaz and Llorente Machado in 1572 (Nuchera, 1994).

In October 9, 1996, J. G. de Casparis wrote to Antoon Postma and suggested that the word dikrama in line 4 of the LCI means marriage. The Laguna Copperplate Inscription could have documented the marriage and love story of Jayadewa and Namwaran.

Pila Historical Society recommends the conduct of additional archaeological studies in Pinagbayanan, Pila, Laguna and surrounding areas, Kasumuran region and Binawangan, Capalonga, Camarines Norte in light of the recent Laguna Copperplate Inscription findings.

San Antonio de Padua College of Pila, Laguna captured the first runner-up team trophy in the recently concluded 3rd Laguna Provincial Skills Olympics held at the SAPC campus last September 22-23, 2006. St. Michael College of Biñan went home with the championship plum while Colegio de San Agustin-Biñan finished third.

The San Antonio de Padua College Foundation Inc. and Pila Municipal Tourism Council in coordination with AAHRMEI and COHREP Laguna Chapter will be holding the 3rd Laguna Provincial Skills Olympics on September 22-23, 2006 at San Antonio de Padua College, Pila, Laguna. This event intends to gather together the students and practitioners in the hospitality and tourism industry of Laguna in a friendly competition as well as mutual learning event to showcase their various skills. This is also in support to the Annual Celebration of the National Tourism Month with the theme “A VISION TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION”.

The following are the events to be participated by the students of different colleges of Laguna and their industry counterpart namely: Bread-making contest, Recipe Making Contest, Flower arrangement, Cake decorating, Waiters relay, Packaging, Napkin Folding and Bartending.

The contest aims to bring out the best in terms of skills and talents among hospitality and tourism students and their counterpart in the industry and strengthen linkages and collaboration between and among hospitality and tourism educators and their industry partners.

Twenty six HRM and Tourism Colleges and Universities of Laguna will participate in this two day affair.

Antoon Postma gave us a copy of an article he wrote in 2001 describing the seven Tagalog vocabularios written during the Spanish period. Of the seven vocabularios, only four were printed while the remaining three are currently being edited by Antoon Postma.

Antoon Postma is the editor of the Ruiz Dictionary and San Antonio Dictionary, both were published by the Ateneo de Manila University. He is now busy editing the Blancas de San Joseph dictionary and will be published by the same university soon. Download Tagalog Vocabularios article.

San Antonio Dictionary is the second dictionary written in Pila, Laguna.

Dr. Luciano P.R. Santiago provided us a copy of the 1703 Carta of Juan de Jesus OFM describing Pila Choir in 1686.

The Carta de Juán de Jesús, OFM (1703) was cited by Cayetano Sánchez, OFM in La Provincia Franciscana de San Gregorio Magno de Castilla: memoria histórica minima de sus cuatrocientos años de vida. A typewritten copy of the carta was sent to Dr Santiago by the late William Henry Scott. Document found in Archivo Franciscano Ibero Oriental, Madrid. Download copy of the carta.

Preserving a National Historical Landmark is a must for all Filipinos! The Pila Historical Society has found a new medium in their struggle to preserve a Philippine historical landmark, the power of TXT and email. Last year's group action was done through the power of TXT against the very same company that first provided SMS technology while the recent plaza food stand problem was resolved through the use of electronic mail. Rina Jimenez-David wrote an article last Sunday about the recent exchange of email and was picked-up by Google within minutes and automatically sent alert to registered users.

The University of the Philippines will celebrate its 100th founding anniversary two years from now (Year 2008). As part of the 100th year celebration, this website will try to come up with a list of UP graduates from Pila, Laguna. Below is the list of first 9 graduates of the University of the Philippines from Pila, Laguna.

1. Petronio Z. Alava, Bachelor of Arts, 1919
2. Santiago F. Fernandez. Bachelor of Arts, 1920, B.S.E, 1924
3. Aurora Dimaculangan, Bachelor of Arts, 1920
4. Felix N. Maceda, B. Agri, 1921
5. Isabel C. Purificacion, H.S.T.C, 1922 (High School Teacher Certificate)
6. Agapito Evangelista Buenaventura, B. Agri, 1922
7. Nicomedes Carillo Flores, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, 1927
8. Aurora A. Guysayko, Doctor of Dental Surgery, 1928
9. Jaime O. Rivera, University High School, 1928

Petronio Z. Alava is the first UP graduate from Pila, Laguna. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1919 and studied medicine at the University of Missouri. Dr. Alava became the youngest resident surgeon in the United States in 1923. Download 1924 article of The Philippine Republic for details.

Santiago F. Fernandez is the second graduate from Pila, Laguna and the first to earn two degrees. He latter became a teacher of the Laguna High School now Pedro Guevarra Memorial National High School.

Aurora Dimaculangan is the first female graduate of UP from Pila, Laguna.

Agapito E. Buenaventura became a teacher of the Catarman Agricultural School in Samar.

If you are a graduate of the University of the Philippines and from Pila or Victoria, Laguna please send us an email (pinagpala@gmail.com) and we will add your name to the list.

Pinagbayanan will celebrate its 50th founding anniversary next year.  It was converted into a barrio on June 20, 1957.  Pinagbayanan was formerly a sitio of Linga, Pila, Laguna.  It is the site of Philippines’ oldest crematorium found in 1967 by a group of archeologists from the University of San Carlos, Cebu City.  Republic Act No. 1689 is printed in full below.


H. NO. 5140


REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1689

     AN ACT CONVERTING THE SITIO OF PINAGBAYANAN, MUNICIPALITY OF PILA, PROVINCE OF LAGUNA, INTO A BARRIO OF SAID MUNICIPALITY.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1.  The Sitio of Pinagbayanan, Municipality of Pila, Province of Laguna, is converted into a barrio of said municipality.

SECTION 2.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, June 20, 1957


From:  Official Gazzette, August 31, 1957 page 5136
           GPD PI.6 1957 53(16)
      Philippine National Library

"Heaven watch the Philippines, keep them safe from harm! Bless their sons and their precious ones, in the city and on the farm...Friendly to America, may they ever be ... But Heaven watch the Philippines and keep them forever free, keep them forever free!"

Lyrics by Irving Berlin, Leyte, 1945