History of Barangay Pulong Balibaguhan

By: Trinidad A. Dolor

When Mabini

Mabini, Batangas

Mabini is a 1st class municipality in the Province of Batangas, Philippines. It is located on the Calumpang Peninisula between Batangas Bay to the east and Balayan Bay to the west. According to the latest census, Mabini has a population of 40,629 people in 7,025 households...

 was made a separate and distinct municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 in 1918, (Bauan

Bauan, Batangas

The Municipality of Bauan is a first class municipality in the Province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 79,831 people in 15,353 households.- Barangays :...

 - mother town) P. Balibaguhan was one of the twelve barrio

Barrio

Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...

s that then comprised the town.

Before 1918, P. Balibaguhan was a barrio of the Municipality of Bauan. The barrio was then inhabited by around fifty people. It is bounded on the north by P. Nioagan and Mainaga, on the east by Batangas Bay

Batangas Bay

Batangas Bay is a semi-enclosed body of water located in the Philippines. The municipalities of Mabini, Bauan, San Pascual, Tingloy on Maribacan Island and Batangas City are located on the coast of the bay. The water surface area of the bay is about 220 km² , and the coastline has an...

, on the south by Talaga and on the west by P. Anahao.

The Aplaya folks of Bauan called the place (Balibaguhan) Hanaw-Hanaw, but its name as a political subdivision of Bauan was P. Balibaguhan. Legend tells that it was so-called because constable

Constable

A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...

s while making surveys in the place found plenty of plants they called "balibago." Since then, the place was called Pulo ng Balibago.

The political setups and processes in the barrio before the effectivity of the Revised Administrative Code and Local Autonomy Act, and recently, the Bario Charter, were quite different. Its ruler was appointed by provincial leaders. Teniente del Barrio was the name given to a barrio executive. There were approximately five barrio executives who were not elected by the people. They were: Cornelio Maramot, Sergio Albania, Valentin Maramot, Mauricio Reyes and Juan Maramot. The first elected teniente del barrio was Elino del Mundo. Next to him were Gerardo Albania, Zoilo Basit, Mauro Maramot, Julian Manalo, Sabino Manalo and Tirso Maramot. The present barrio captain is Angel Albania.

It is worth noting that from the original territorial jurisdiction of the Barrio Balibaguhan, several barrios have been formed - Bulacan

Bulacan

Bulacan , officially called the Province of Bulacan or simply Bulacan Province, is a first class province of the Republic of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Region in the island of Luzon, north of Manila , and part of the Metro...

, a part of Poblacion, a part of Sampaguita, Sta. Mesa and a part of Talaga.

Before the first world war

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 the chief agricultural products were rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

, corn

Corn

Corn is the name used in the United States, Canada, and Australia for the grain maize.In much of the English-speaking world, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, such as* Barley* Oats* Wheat* Rye- Places :...

 and orange

Orange (fruit)

An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....

s - the only source of villagers' livelihood. The means of transportation was difficult. Two or three of the people in this place were able to study in Bauan and Batangas. Before the second world war

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, there were some notable changes. Many began to go to neighboring towns and provinces in search for sustenance. Some were merchants, a few were soldiers and several were roving businessmen. Agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 was gradually forgotten; fruit trees were neglected. Several young people became educationally and politics conscious.

The people of this barangay

Barangay

A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...

 are predominantly Catholic. About 97% are literate. The per capita of the people is P 270.00.

Despite problems with water and electricity supplies, the influx of civic and business-minded groups from the city is providing hope for the barrio's future. Several factories are intended to be built and installed in the barangay. The incumbent barangay officials, in particular, and the barangay people in general are just hoping that this bright prospect comes true. An increase of the income of the barangay, a school building, a water system and electricity

Electricity

Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

will perhaps settle and solve everything.