Nasugbu, Batangas
Encyclopedia
Nasugbu is a 1st class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines
. According to the latest census, it has a population of 113,926 people in 19,615 households.
Several bus services provide transportation to and from Nasugbu. Jeepney
s from Tagaytay City
also enter and leave the town at a scheduled time. Within the town, tricycles are the main mode of transport.
The local government is pushing for the cityhood of the town, which would pave the way to make it more industrialised and developed.
soldiers was allowed by their commander to go on a sightseeing tour of the friendlier villages on the western coast of Batangas. The group came upon a native couple cooking rice in a palayok (clay pot), the lid of which rattled over the steaming rice. In Spanish, the group leader asked the woman: "¿Cómo se llama este pueblo?" ("What is this place called?") The woman, who knew no Spanish, thought that the stranger was asking about her pot of rice. "Nasubo na po iyan, eh, kaya ganyan" ("The rice is boiling; that is why it is like that,") she replied. The Spaniard repeated the word "nasubo" and nodding his head towards his companions, introduced the word to them. The village henceforth began to be called by that name. Although no historical documents can support this legend, it is the most common story one hears when asking how the town got its name.
.jpg)
Most of the people in Nasugbu are Tagalog
s. In recent years, there's been a noticeable increase of Visayans in Barangay Wawa and other barangay
s. The main language spoken is Tagalog
, and a significant number now speaks Cebuano
. Due to the historic relevance of the town, a small number of families speak Spanish
. Many among the educated class speak English
.
A great majority of Nasugbugueños are Catholic
s. Although there is a legislated separation of church and state in the Philippines, the town fiesta on December 3 is a holiday. Nasugbu is also one of the most important centres of the Roman Catholic Church
in the Archdiocese of Lipa
. Though officially called Vicariate I, it is sometimes called the Vicariate of San Francisco Xavier
in honour of the town's patron saint. Some barangays have their own respective patron saints and celebrate a feast day other than that of St. Francis Xavier's. It is to be noted that San Lorenzo Ruiz is now also a patron saint of Nasugbu. The minority belong to other minor religions like the indigenous Iglesia ni Cristo
, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Born Again denominations.
Located at 14:05:51N (14.0975) latitude and 120:35:56E (120.5988) longitude. Nasugbu is bounded on the north by the municipalities of Maragondon
, Magallanes
and Alfonso in the province of Cavite
; on the east by the Batangas municipalities of Laurel
, Calaca
and Balayan
; on the south by the Batangas municipalities of Lian
and Tuy
; and on the west by the South China Sea
. It is the largest town in Western Batangas with a land area of 276.33 km².
Entering the town proper via the national highway, one passes fields of sugar cane, corn and rice fields, hills and mountains. The terrain slopes downwards to the South China Sea. Because of its rolling terrain and coastline location, agriculture (sugarcane, rice, corn, vegetables, coconut, fruits) and aquaculture are Nasugbu's main industries.
Travel distance from Metro Manila is about 102 kilometers via Tagaytay City. From Batangas City (the provincial capitol), its distance covers about 70 kilometers.
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Nasugbu is politically subdivided into 43 barangay
s. The 12 barangays located in the poblacion
are classified as urban, and the rest are classified as rural.
from November to April and wet season
for the rest of the year. The annual average temperature in the municipality is 27.3 degrees Celsius. January is the coolest month having an average temperature of 25.8 degrees Celsius, while April is the warmest month registering an average temperature of 29 degrees Celsius.
.jpg)
By virtue of Presidential Decree 1520, former dictator Ferdinand Marcos
declared some areas of the municipality as a potential tourism area. Thenceforth Nasugbu had a tourism industry known primarily for its beaches. Before Boracay
and other places became fashionable, Nasugbu was one of the traditional destinations tourists headed during Holy Week
and other holidays. Its proximity to Manila
still makes it a popular and practical choice.
Some economic highlights are the development of Nasugbu's agro-industrial industry (feed mills, meat processing and poultry-growing) by building more farm-to-market roads. The loal government is encouraging investors, particularly computer companies, to build a technological park. Aside from the technopark, there are plans to develop the Wawa fishing port as an ecotourism center, which would be patterned after Pier 39
in San Francisco.
While the government wants to turn Nasugbu into a viable investment area, they also wish to preserve the town's natural environment. Hiking in the mountains and virgin forests around Nasugbu is popular. One particular spot, Karakawa, is a series of multi-tiered naturally-formed rock pools hewn out of the mountain. The smallest pool is about the size of a jacuzzi while the biggest measures about 25 square meters. The pools are more than 6 meters deep, and one can catch fish in the pools.
At the moment, because of its rolling terrain and coastline location, agriculture (sugarcane, rice, corn, vegetables, coconut, fruits) and aquaculture are Nasugbu’s main industries. It is home to the Central Azucarera Don Pedro, one of the country's largest sugar producers.
Being home to one of the largest sugar milling companies of the country, the production of sweets is a significant portion of the local economy. Nasugbu is the only town in Luzon which hosts a bibingkahan (rice cake area) in its public market. There are at least 10 kinds of rice cakes that are found only in Nasugbu, in addition to the varieties that could be found elsewhere in the country. Many Nasugbugueños, even those who do not do much cooking, take pride in making a variety of sweets such as sweetened yam, sweetened coconut and similar products.
.
Nasugbu West Central School is the largest elementary school
in the Southern Tagalog
region. Other elementary schools in the town proper include Lourderette School, Pedagogia, St. Paul's and Creative Dreams School. Most barrios (or barangays, as they are now called) have their own grade schools, and some in recent years also have high schools, as in Bilaran and Kaylaway.
Nasugbu Institute, founded in 1932, is a private high school that has prided itself in producing some of the town's more successful natives. Nasugbu also hosts the high school campus of the|Batangas State University], known locally as the Apolinario R. Apacible School of Fisheries (or simply "Fisheries"). It was formerly a fishery school with courses including Fish Culture, Fish Capture, and Fish Preservation, but was later attached to the Batangas State University. Presently, aside from Fishery courses, the school also offers other courses like Education and Tourism. Other relatively new high schools are Nasugbu Christian Faith Academy and the RB Cordero Academy.
Despite improvements of the town's education system, the proximity to Manila
makes well-off families send their children to the metropolis for college.
The town is home to the Nasugbu Auditorium, where many cultural activities regularly are held. It is the town's primary theatre and showcases not only plays but also concerts of popular artists and bands.
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Nasugbu has always been a humble town with no historical document recounting its foundation. The earliest written date to the founding by the Jesuits of the Parish of St. Francis Xavier in 1852.
It never became a commercial centre since the town of Balayan was just very near, and the Chinese had long established it as a trade route. Neither did it become a religious centre like Lipa nor a centre of governance like Tanauan. Little was written about the area until the time of the revolution.
The first historical account about this humble town was when a native tribesman, known only as Matienza, led his fellow Nasugbugueños, together with some natives from the nearby Lian, in revolt against a large land grant to the Roxas
es. However, victory was not on their side. This happened in the end of the 19th century.
Nasugbu was not as much irrigated as the fields of nearby towns, making it one of the towns that suffered much when the town of Lipa was besieged on 18 June 1896. Ten days later the effects for the people of Nasugbu were so dire that the Gobernadorcillo authorised taking P1000 from the treasury of Lipa to provide a rice subsidy for the Nasugbugueños.
When the revolution officially started in Batangas in September 1896, an organised revolt also broke out in the town of Nasugbu, together with the towns of Balayan, Lian
, Talisay and Lemery
seven weeks later. The Revolt of Nasugbu was led by Luciano San Miguel and was one of the largest revolts in the province. However, on 12 December 1896, San Miguel unknowingly led his men into a trap, and Nasugbu suffered the greatest number of casualties in the revolution.
In September 1898, the town of Cawit (Cavite
) officially declared independence from Spanish rule. This made the life of the Caviteños more tumultuous than before. Due to this, the people of the nearby town of Alfonso
invaded the Roxas
estate and started to harass the tenants there. Although the municipal officials of Nasugbu responded quickly and complained to their counterparts in Cavite, the citizens were already defying authority.
During times of war, Batangas was administered by the Governor General and the right of habeas corpus
was suspended, resulting in more casualties.
, a group of scientists found a wooden cow a year before the Second World War. Knowing that it was of great significance to the history of the country, the cow was immediately handed over the National Museum, but it did not survive the destruction of the war. However, a year after the war, a new archaeological artifact was excavated in the nearby town of Calatagan, which in turn became the most important prehistoric artifact of the country.
, the United States
and the Philippines
.
In his book, Los Succesos de las Islas Filipinas, Fr. Antonio de Morga wrote that being the Admiral of the Islands, he tried to defend the country from Dutch soldiers, who was then under the leadership of Admiral Oliver Van Noort. but since de Morga had very little experience in warfare, he led the San Diego to sink somewhere south of Manila Bay
. It was the first ever recorded battle between two European powers in Asian waters.
This eventful sinking of the San Diego happened at the dawn of 14 December 1600. Although the fight resulted in a draw, the news of the sinking reached every main city of the Old World
. According to the chronicles, the ship contained so much food and battle gear that there was no room for people that would operate them.
De Morga, however, failed to give the exact location of the wreck. The ship remained sunk in Nasugbu waters for almost 500 years until its 1991 discovery. To date, it remains the country's most important submarine archaeological finding. From it, the National Museum of the Filipino People was able to collect about 5000 artifacts representing a time capsule
of Asia, Europe and the Americas.
The artifacts include Asian jars and ceramics from Vietnam
and China
, weaponry from Japan
(like sabres) and Portugal
(like cannons and gilded articles believed to come from Iberoamerica. According also to the National Museum, the wreckage contained some of the world's best preserved astrolabe
s.
The artifacts were also exhibited in France
in 1995 and Germany
in 1996, returning to Manila
for the celebration of the centennial of Philippine independence in 1998. Today, the San Diego collection remains the most extensive collection in the National Museum, occupying a large portion of the building's first floor and the whole second floor.
Nasugbu is the site of the first recorded naval battle between European troops in Southeast Asia — at Fortune Island
to the west of the town.
and defined its composition and boundaries.
The Municipal Government chose 31 January as the town's foundation date to commemorate the date when the Americans landed on its shores after the famous Leyte Landing
. This landing marked the beginning of the liberation of the island of Luzon
from the Japanese occupation.
The American officers had a crucial mission, the end goal of which was first kept secret from Gasilao. One could only guess that it had something to do with the planned landing operations in Southern Luzon, and that there was a need to measure the varying depths of the waters of Nasugbu Bay. Specifically, they wanted to gather information on the enemy forces, especially their radar positioning, searchlight installations and other shore fortifications. The American officers came in person because it was dangerous to convey all this via radio communications.
The captain, John Richmond, told Maj. Gasilao that they had only 24 hours to beat, and must return to Abra de Ilog off the northeastern coast of Mindoro, in twenty-four hours. So he asked the guerrilla major to assign at least two of his officers to do the job. Maj. Gasilao agreed to designate two of what he referred to as the best intelligence officers in his battalion, Lt. Romeo Gatan, assistant S2, and Lt. Domingo Angeles. Gatan was assigned to explore the shore line, and Angeles was sent out to find out the depth and bottom of the ocean including it surface contours.
But as the sun rose, the morning fog that had been Heaven-sent was swiftly blown away and as the Japanese patrol boat in the area noticed the banca soon gave warning shots. At the sound of the gunshots, Angeles's two companions darted out of the banca and escaped. Angeles was left alone, and also thought of escaping but it was too late.
While about four Japanese patrolmen chase after the two escapees, the rest rounded up Angeles and interrogated him. Insisting that he's just a simple fisherman which the Japanese didn't believe, Angeles was slapped across the mouth and kicked several times, and then brought to the Japanese Naval Commander at San Diego Point.
There he was continuously interrogated and tortured, and was forced to admit that he was doing espionage activity, which he denied until he passed out. Coming to his senses later, he found himself soaked in water. He was grilled again until he almost lost his senses again, but he never wavered and stuck to his original claim that he was a fisherman.
Wanting to prove if he was telling the truth, the Japanese brought him to the barrio of Bucana, where he said he lived at that time. Bucana used to be a marshy area very close to the river flowing onto Nasugbu Bay.
Angeles could speak some Japanese, which he learned being a POW (Bataan Death March). He became a construction foreman for some major installations and infrastructure that the Japanese Occupation Forces wanted to build on Corregidor after its fall (the Japanese used both American and Filipino POWs to build them).
The knowledge of some basic Japanese somehow helped since the Japanese guards accompanying him to Bucana were rather kinder to him. He was so thirsty and asked the guards if he could get a drink up the first house that they reached in the village. They allowed him to do so, and one of the guards left his rifle with the other and went up the house with Angeles.
As Angeles finished his glass of water, he went to the old houseowner and before the old man was able to get hold of the glass, Angeles jumped out of the window and ran as fast as hell through the thicket behind the house on to the marshland and mangroves that fill the area, all the time dodging the salvo of bullets fired by the Japanese guards. After running some distance away, he hid under the marshes breathless until dusk fell. He then cautiously pulled off a miraculous flight back to the battalion command post on the evening of January 18, 1945.
Angeles learned then that in the same breath, Romeo Gatan was also captured and pounded into a pulp by the Japanese but also made it back to the command post.
Oblivious of their pains from torture extracted by the Japanese and from extreme fatigue, Angeles and Gatan immediately engaged in writing up their respective reports composed of sketches and detailed maps. Before midnight of January 18, the American officers boarded their PT boat back to the U.S. Eighth Army HQ.
Lt. Col. Henry J. Muller, G2 of the 11th Airborne Division, declared later on the accuracy of the reports by the Hunters ROTC Guerrilas (where Angeles and Gatan belonged) in the zoning in Nasugbu Bay, and on the firepower of the Japanese enemy on the shore.
The mission of these daring men was to be one of the deciding factors in the ability of the American forces to successfully land in Nasugbu, and start ousting the Japanese Occupation forces from Southern Luzon towards liberating the country from the horrors of WWII.
declared Nasugbu, famous for its white sand beach resorts, a special tourism zone, mandating the formation of a private sector-led "Nasugbu eminent persons group" to oversee development. The Nasugbu Special Tourism Zone will cover areas included in the Nasugbu Tourism Development Plan prepared by the municipal government and validated by the Philippine Tourism Authority
(PTA). SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) plans to construct a 59 km² resort
, the Hamilo Coast, at the NSTZ. Within the property is Mt. Pico de Loro, a national park
. SMIC will also establish a ferry
service from the Manila Bay
terminal of the SM Central Business Park in the Mall of Asia to Hamilo Coast, due to be operational by 2008.
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. According to the latest census, it has a population of 113,926 people in 19,615 households.
Several bus services provide transportation to and from Nasugbu. Jeepney
Jeepney
Jeepneys are the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They were originally made from US military jeeps left over from World War II and are known for their flamboyant decoration and crowded seating...
s from Tagaytay City
Tagaytay City
The City of Tagaytay is a second class city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. Only away from Manila via Aguinaldo Highway, it is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. Tagaytay City provides a good view of the Taal Volcano...
also enter and leave the town at a scheduled time. Within the town, tricycles are the main mode of transport.
The local government is pushing for the cityhood of the town, which would pave the way to make it more industrialised and developed.
Name
According to legend, a group of SpanishSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
soldiers was allowed by their commander to go on a sightseeing tour of the friendlier villages on the western coast of Batangas. The group came upon a native couple cooking rice in a palayok (clay pot), the lid of which rattled over the steaming rice. In Spanish, the group leader asked the woman: "¿Cómo se llama este pueblo?" ("What is this place called?") The woman, who knew no Spanish, thought that the stranger was asking about her pot of rice. "Nasubo na po iyan, eh, kaya ganyan" ("The rice is boiling; that is why it is like that,") she replied. The Spaniard repeated the word "nasubo" and nodding his head towards his companions, introduced the word to them. The village henceforth began to be called by that name. Although no historical documents can support this legend, it is the most common story one hears when asking how the town got its name.
Demographics
Tagalog people
The Tagalog people are an ethnic group in the Philippines. The name Tagalog comes from either the native term tagá-ilog, meaning 'people living along the river', or another native term, tagá-alog, meaning 'people living along the ford', a ford being a shallow part of a river or stream where people,...
s. In recent years, there's been a noticeable increase of Visayans in Barangay Wawa and other barangay
Barangay
A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...
s. The main language spoken is Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
, and a significant number now speaks Cebuano
Cebuano language
Cebuano, referred to by most of its speakers as Bisaya , is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 20 million people mostly in the Central Visayas. It is the most widely spoken of the languages within the so-named Bisayan subgroup and is closely related to other Filipino...
. Due to the historic relevance of the town, a small number of families speak Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Many among the educated class speak English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
A great majority of Nasugbugueños are Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s. Although there is a legislated separation of church and state in the Philippines, the town fiesta on December 3 is a holiday. Nasugbu is also one of the most important centres of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in the Archdiocese of Lipa
Archdiocese of Lipa
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lipa today comprises the civil province of Batangas located in the southwestern part of the island of Luzon in the Philippines.-Suffragan dioceses:*Diocese of Boac*Diocese of Gumaca*Diocese of Lucena-Location:...
. Though officially called Vicariate I, it is sometimes called the Vicariate of San Francisco Xavier
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534...
in honour of the town's patron saint. Some barangays have their own respective patron saints and celebrate a feast day other than that of St. Francis Xavier's. It is to be noted that San Lorenzo Ruiz is now also a patron saint of Nasugbu. The minority belong to other minor religions like the indigenous Iglesia ni Cristo
Iglesia ni Cristo
Iglesia ni Cristo also known as INC, is the largest entirely indigenous Christian religious organization that originated from the Philippines and the largest independent church in Asia. Due to a number of similarities, some Protestant writers describe the INC's doctrines as restorationist in...
, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Born Again denominations.
Topography
Maragondon, Cavite
The Municipality of Maragondon is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines. Maragondon is 54 kilometers away from Manila going southeast. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 33,604 people...
, Magallanes
Magallanes, Cavite
Magallanes is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 18,890 people. The town is named after Ferdinand Magellan.-History:...
and Alfonso in the province of Cavite
Cavite
Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...
; on the east by the Batangas municipalities of Laurel
Laurel, Batangas
Laurel is a fourth class municipality in the Province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 34,953 people in 5,153 households...
, Calaca
Calaca, Batangas
Calaca is a 1st class municipality in the Province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 64,966 people in 11,306 households.The mayor of this municipality is Sofronio "Nas" C...
and Balayan
Balayan, Batangas
Balayan is a 1st class municipality in the Province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 79,407 people in 13,843 households....
; on the south by the Batangas municipalities of Lian
Lian, Batangas
Lian is a second class municipality in the Province of Batangas, Philippines. According to thelatest census, it has a population of 44,925 people in 8,215 households.The patron of Lian is Saint John the Baptist.- Barangays :...
and Tuy
Tuy, Batangas
Tuy is a 3rd class municipality in the Province of Batangas, Philippines, 100 kilometers south of Manila. According to the latest census, it has a population of 40,290 people in 6,978 households....
; and on the west by the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
. It is the largest town in Western Batangas with a land area of 276.33 km².
Entering the town proper via the national highway, one passes fields of sugar cane, corn and rice fields, hills and mountains. The terrain slopes downwards to the South China Sea. Because of its rolling terrain and coastline location, agriculture (sugarcane, rice, corn, vegetables, coconut, fruits) and aquaculture are Nasugbu's main industries.
Travel distance from Metro Manila is about 102 kilometers via Tagaytay City. From Batangas City (the provincial capitol), its distance covers about 70 kilometers.
Barangays
Barangay
A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...
s. The 12 barangays located in the poblacion
Poblacion
A Poblacion or Población, literally "town" or "Population" in Spanish, is the name commonly used for the central barangay or barangays of a Philippine city or municipality. Common features of the poblacion include a town plaza, church, market, school and town hall. It is sometimes shortened to...
are classified as urban, and the rest are classified as rural.
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|
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Climate
The climate of Nasugbu falls under the first type of classification, Type I, characterized by two pronounced seasons: Dry seasonDry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
from November to April and wet season
Wet season
The the wet season, or rainy season, is the time of year, covering one or more months, when most of the average annual rainfall in a region occurs. The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the...
for the rest of the year. The annual average temperature in the municipality is 27.3 degrees Celsius. January is the coolest month having an average temperature of 25.8 degrees Celsius, while April is the warmest month registering an average temperature of 29 degrees Celsius.
Economy
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
declared some areas of the municipality as a potential tourism area. Thenceforth Nasugbu had a tourism industry known primarily for its beaches. Before Boracay
Boracay
Boracay is an island of the Philippines located approximately south of Manila and 2 km off the northwest tip of Panay Island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Boracay Island and its beaches have received awards numerous times. Boracay was awarded in the "Travelers' Choice...
and other places became fashionable, Nasugbu was one of the traditional destinations tourists headed during Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
and other holidays. Its proximity to Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
still makes it a popular and practical choice.
Some economic highlights are the development of Nasugbu's agro-industrial industry (feed mills, meat processing and poultry-growing) by building more farm-to-market roads. The loal government is encouraging investors, particularly computer companies, to build a technological park. Aside from the technopark, there are plans to develop the Wawa fishing port as an ecotourism center, which would be patterned after Pier 39
Pier 39
Pier 39 is a shopping center and popular tourist attraction built on a pier in San Francisco, California. At Pier 39, there are shops, restaurants, a video arcade, street performances, an interpretive center for the Marine Mammal Center, the Aquarium of the Bay, virtual 3D rides, and views of...
in San Francisco.
While the government wants to turn Nasugbu into a viable investment area, they also wish to preserve the town's natural environment. Hiking in the mountains and virgin forests around Nasugbu is popular. One particular spot, Karakawa, is a series of multi-tiered naturally-formed rock pools hewn out of the mountain. The smallest pool is about the size of a jacuzzi while the biggest measures about 25 square meters. The pools are more than 6 meters deep, and one can catch fish in the pools.
At the moment, because of its rolling terrain and coastline location, agriculture (sugarcane, rice, corn, vegetables, coconut, fruits) and aquaculture are Nasugbu’s main industries. It is home to the Central Azucarera Don Pedro, one of the country's largest sugar producers.
Being home to one of the largest sugar milling companies of the country, the production of sweets is a significant portion of the local economy. Nasugbu is the only town in Luzon which hosts a bibingkahan (rice cake area) in its public market. There are at least 10 kinds of rice cakes that are found only in Nasugbu, in addition to the varieties that could be found elsewhere in the country. Many Nasugbugueños, even those who do not do much cooking, take pride in making a variety of sweets such as sweetened yam, sweetened coconut and similar products.
Education and Culture
The primary place for tertiary higher learning is the Western part of BatangasBatangas
Batangas is a first class province of the Philippines located on the southwestern part of Luzon in the CALABARZON region. Its capital is Batangas City and it is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and Laguna to the north and Quezon to the east. Across the Verde Island Passages to the south is the...
.
Nasugbu West Central School is the largest elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
in the Southern Tagalog
Southern Tagalog
Southern Tagalog, or Region IV, was a region of the Philippines that is now composed of Region IV-A and Region IV-B . Region IV was split into the two regions on May 17, 2002...
region. Other elementary schools in the town proper include Lourderette School, Pedagogia, St. Paul's and Creative Dreams School. Most barrios (or barangays, as they are now called) have their own grade schools, and some in recent years also have high schools, as in Bilaran and Kaylaway.
Nasugbu Institute, founded in 1932, is a private high school that has prided itself in producing some of the town's more successful natives. Nasugbu also hosts the high school campus of the|Batangas State University], known locally as the Apolinario R. Apacible School of Fisheries (or simply "Fisheries"). It was formerly a fishery school with courses including Fish Culture, Fish Capture, and Fish Preservation, but was later attached to the Batangas State University. Presently, aside from Fishery courses, the school also offers other courses like Education and Tourism. Other relatively new high schools are Nasugbu Christian Faith Academy and the RB Cordero Academy.
Despite improvements of the town's education system, the proximity to Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
makes well-off families send their children to the metropolis for college.
The town is home to the Nasugbu Auditorium, where many cultural activities regularly are held. It is the town's primary theatre and showcases not only plays but also concerts of popular artists and bands.
Cultural and Historical Significance
It never became a commercial centre since the town of Balayan was just very near, and the Chinese had long established it as a trade route. Neither did it become a religious centre like Lipa nor a centre of governance like Tanauan. Little was written about the area until the time of the revolution.
The first historical account about this humble town was when a native tribesman, known only as Matienza, led his fellow Nasugbugueños, together with some natives from the nearby Lian, in revolt against a large land grant to the Roxas
Roxas
Roxas various by language: Roahaas , Roahous , Rohan , Rohanna , Rojo , Roja Red , Rocksas , Rocksberry, Roxbury, Roxberry, Rowhous , Rosas , Roxburg , Roxburghe , Roxborough , Rocshire , Roxshire , Rochas and Rocha , Roach , Roashan Places in the Philippines:* Pres. Manuel A...
es. However, victory was not on their side. This happened in the end of the 19th century.
Nasugbu was not as much irrigated as the fields of nearby towns, making it one of the towns that suffered much when the town of Lipa was besieged on 18 June 1896. Ten days later the effects for the people of Nasugbu were so dire that the Gobernadorcillo authorised taking P1000 from the treasury of Lipa to provide a rice subsidy for the Nasugbugueños.
When the revolution officially started in Batangas in September 1896, an organised revolt also broke out in the town of Nasugbu, together with the towns of Balayan, Lian
Lian, Batangas
Lian is a second class municipality in the Province of Batangas, Philippines. According to thelatest census, it has a population of 44,925 people in 8,215 households.The patron of Lian is Saint John the Baptist.- Barangays :...
, Talisay and Lemery
Lemery, Batangas
Lemery is a 1st class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 76,090 people in 12,709 households.-Barangays:Lemery is politically subdivided into 46 barangays...
seven weeks later. The Revolt of Nasugbu was led by Luciano San Miguel and was one of the largest revolts in the province. However, on 12 December 1896, San Miguel unknowingly led his men into a trap, and Nasugbu suffered the greatest number of casualties in the revolution.
In September 1898, the town of Cawit (Cavite
Cavite
Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...
) officially declared independence from Spanish rule. This made the life of the Caviteños more tumultuous than before. Due to this, the people of the nearby town of Alfonso
Alfonso
Alfonso , Alfons , Afonso , Affonso , Alphonse, Alfonse , Αλφόνσος , Alphonsus , Alphons , Alfonsu in ,...
invaded the Roxas
Roxas
Roxas various by language: Roahaas , Roahous , Rohan , Rohanna , Rojo , Roja Red , Rocksas , Rocksberry, Roxbury, Roxberry, Rowhous , Rosas , Roxburg , Roxburghe , Roxborough , Rocshire , Roxshire , Rochas and Rocha , Roach , Roashan Places in the Philippines:* Pres. Manuel A...
estate and started to harass the tenants there. Although the municipal officials of Nasugbu responded quickly and complained to their counterparts in Cavite, the citizens were already defying authority.
During times of war, Batangas was administered by the Governor General and the right of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
was suspended, resulting in more casualties.
The Nasugbu Cow
The Dark Age of Nasugbu was compensated by a great archaeological discovery. According to the National Museum of the PhilippinesNational Museum of the Philippines
The Museum of the Filipino People is a department of the National Museum of the Philippines that houses the Anthropology and Archaeology Divisions of the National Museum. It is located in the Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park, Manila adjacent to the main National Museum building...
, a group of scientists found a wooden cow a year before the Second World War. Knowing that it was of great significance to the history of the country, the cow was immediately handed over the National Museum, but it did not survive the destruction of the war. However, a year after the war, a new archaeological artifact was excavated in the nearby town of Calatagan, which in turn became the most important prehistoric artifact of the country.
The San Diego Ship Wreck
Nasugbu's greatest contribution to the archaeological world is the San Diego Ship Wreck, discovered by a group of scientists in 1991 with the cooperation of the governments of FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
In his book, Los Succesos de las Islas Filipinas, Fr. Antonio de Morga wrote that being the Admiral of the Islands, he tried to defend the country from Dutch soldiers, who was then under the leadership of Admiral Oliver Van Noort. but since de Morga had very little experience in warfare, he led the San Diego to sink somewhere south of Manila Bay
Manila Bay
Manila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...
. It was the first ever recorded battle between two European powers in Asian waters.
This eventful sinking of the San Diego happened at the dawn of 14 December 1600. Although the fight resulted in a draw, the news of the sinking reached every main city of the Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
. According to the chronicles, the ship contained so much food and battle gear that there was no room for people that would operate them.
De Morga, however, failed to give the exact location of the wreck. The ship remained sunk in Nasugbu waters for almost 500 years until its 1991 discovery. To date, it remains the country's most important submarine archaeological finding. From it, the National Museum of the Filipino People was able to collect about 5000 artifacts representing a time capsule
Time capsule
A time capsule is an historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a method of communication with future people and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians...
of Asia, Europe and the Americas.
The artifacts include Asian jars and ceramics from Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, weaponry from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(like sabres) and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
(like cannons and gilded articles believed to come from Iberoamerica. According also to the National Museum, the wreckage contained some of the world's best preserved astrolabe
Astrolabe
An astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, determining local time given local latitude and longitude, surveying, triangulation, and to...
s.
The artifacts were also exhibited in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1995 and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1996, returning to Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
for the celebration of the centennial of Philippine independence in 1998. Today, the San Diego collection remains the most extensive collection in the National Museum, occupying a large portion of the building's first floor and the whole second floor.
Nasugbu is the site of the first recorded naval battle between European troops in Southeast Asia — at Fortune Island
Fortune Island (Philippines)
Fortune Island is a resort island in the Philippines. The 27-hectare island lies about off the coast of Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines...
to the west of the town.
The Nasugbu Landing
While the foundation date of the municipality is listed as 31 January, this is mainly a celebration of the foundation of modern Nasugbu, since the town existed long before the Second World War. It is presumed that the town was created by the same Royal Edict that created the province of BatangasBatangas
Batangas is a first class province of the Philippines located on the southwestern part of Luzon in the CALABARZON region. Its capital is Batangas City and it is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and Laguna to the north and Quezon to the east. Across the Verde Island Passages to the south is the...
and defined its composition and boundaries.
The Municipal Government chose 31 January as the town's foundation date to commemorate the date when the Americans landed on its shores after the famous Leyte Landing
Battle of Leyte
The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the invasion and conquest of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American and Filipino guerrilla forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fought against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines led by...
. This landing marked the beginning of the liberation of the island of Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
from the Japanese occupation.
Prelude to the Landing
January 17, 1945 was an auspicious day. That day, three American officers, one a captain and two lieutenants, of the U.S. Eighth Army HQ appeared at the First Battalion Hunters Regiment in Balaytigue. They came by PT boat, known then as the fastest in the world, with Lt. Domingo Angeles, battalion G2, who introduced the Americans to Maj. Calixto Gasilao, the battalion CO.The American officers had a crucial mission, the end goal of which was first kept secret from Gasilao. One could only guess that it had something to do with the planned landing operations in Southern Luzon, and that there was a need to measure the varying depths of the waters of Nasugbu Bay. Specifically, they wanted to gather information on the enemy forces, especially their radar positioning, searchlight installations and other shore fortifications. The American officers came in person because it was dangerous to convey all this via radio communications.
The captain, John Richmond, told Maj. Gasilao that they had only 24 hours to beat, and must return to Abra de Ilog off the northeastern coast of Mindoro, in twenty-four hours. So he asked the guerrilla major to assign at least two of his officers to do the job. Maj. Gasilao agreed to designate two of what he referred to as the best intelligence officers in his battalion, Lt. Romeo Gatan, assistant S2, and Lt. Domingo Angeles. Gatan was assigned to explore the shore line, and Angeles was sent out to find out the depth and bottom of the ocean including it surface contours.
The Lt. Angeles Mission
Lt. Domingo de Leon Angeles, together with two home guards, set out to the sea at dawn. His flimsy banca was loaded with fishing gear as camouflage to a daring mission of gathering information for the U.S. 8th Army. He had with him several pieces of rattan of similar dimensions for use in measuring the depths of Nasugbu Bay.But as the sun rose, the morning fog that had been Heaven-sent was swiftly blown away and as the Japanese patrol boat in the area noticed the banca soon gave warning shots. At the sound of the gunshots, Angeles's two companions darted out of the banca and escaped. Angeles was left alone, and also thought of escaping but it was too late.
While about four Japanese patrolmen chase after the two escapees, the rest rounded up Angeles and interrogated him. Insisting that he's just a simple fisherman which the Japanese didn't believe, Angeles was slapped across the mouth and kicked several times, and then brought to the Japanese Naval Commander at San Diego Point.
There he was continuously interrogated and tortured, and was forced to admit that he was doing espionage activity, which he denied until he passed out. Coming to his senses later, he found himself soaked in water. He was grilled again until he almost lost his senses again, but he never wavered and stuck to his original claim that he was a fisherman.
Wanting to prove if he was telling the truth, the Japanese brought him to the barrio of Bucana, where he said he lived at that time. Bucana used to be a marshy area very close to the river flowing onto Nasugbu Bay.
Angeles could speak some Japanese, which he learned being a POW (Bataan Death March). He became a construction foreman for some major installations and infrastructure that the Japanese Occupation Forces wanted to build on Corregidor after its fall (the Japanese used both American and Filipino POWs to build them).
The knowledge of some basic Japanese somehow helped since the Japanese guards accompanying him to Bucana were rather kinder to him. He was so thirsty and asked the guards if he could get a drink up the first house that they reached in the village. They allowed him to do so, and one of the guards left his rifle with the other and went up the house with Angeles.
As Angeles finished his glass of water, he went to the old houseowner and before the old man was able to get hold of the glass, Angeles jumped out of the window and ran as fast as hell through the thicket behind the house on to the marshland and mangroves that fill the area, all the time dodging the salvo of bullets fired by the Japanese guards. After running some distance away, he hid under the marshes breathless until dusk fell. He then cautiously pulled off a miraculous flight back to the battalion command post on the evening of January 18, 1945.
Angeles learned then that in the same breath, Romeo Gatan was also captured and pounded into a pulp by the Japanese but also made it back to the command post.
Oblivious of their pains from torture extracted by the Japanese and from extreme fatigue, Angeles and Gatan immediately engaged in writing up their respective reports composed of sketches and detailed maps. Before midnight of January 18, the American officers boarded their PT boat back to the U.S. Eighth Army HQ.
Lt. Col. Henry J. Muller, G2 of the 11th Airborne Division, declared later on the accuracy of the reports by the Hunters ROTC Guerrilas (where Angeles and Gatan belonged) in the zoning in Nasugbu Bay, and on the firepower of the Japanese enemy on the shore.
The mission of these daring men was to be one of the deciding factors in the ability of the American forces to successfully land in Nasugbu, and start ousting the Japanese Occupation forces from Southern Luzon towards liberating the country from the horrors of WWII.
Special tourism zone
On August 3, 2007, by Executive Order 647, President Gloria Macapagal-ArroyoGloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
declared Nasugbu, famous for its white sand beach resorts, a special tourism zone, mandating the formation of a private sector-led "Nasugbu eminent persons group" to oversee development. The Nasugbu Special Tourism Zone will cover areas included in the Nasugbu Tourism Development Plan prepared by the municipal government and validated by the Philippine Tourism Authority
Philippine Tourism Authority
The Philippine Tourism Authority , abbreviated as PTA, is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of Tourism responsible for implementing policies and programs of the department pertaining to the development, promotion, and supervision of tourism projects in the...
(PTA). SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) plans to construct a 59 km² resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
, the Hamilo Coast, at the NSTZ. Within the property is Mt. Pico de Loro, a national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
. SMIC will also establish a ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
service from the Manila Bay
Manila Bay
Manila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...
terminal of the SM Central Business Park in the Mall of Asia to Hamilo Coast, due to be operational by 2008.
Current officials as of 2007 elections
- Mayor: Antonio A. Barcelon
- Vice-Mayor: Apolo Villafania