Пила: Филиппин қаласының тарихы мен мәдениеті

Municipality in Laguna, Philippines

Pila, officially the Municipality of Pila , is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 54,613 people. The town of Pila is the site for some well preserved houses dating back to the Spanish period as well as the old Saint Anthony of Padua Parish Church, the first Antonine church in the Philippines. It was Don Felizardo Rivera, who donated his lands to the church and municipal government, the recognized founder of the town. He is the ancestor of one of the prominent families in Pila such as Rivera, Relova, Agra and Álava surnames.

Pila and adjacent towns along the shores of Laguna de Bay 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 dynasty (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 Inscription, mentioned Pila (as Pailah) twice and its ruler Jayadewa. Pre Hispanic Pila was one of the biggest barangay domains in Southern Luzon. Its leader was not only the local chief but also the regional datu. The bards of the shore towns of the Morong Peninsula across the lake from Pila sang of the exploits of Gat Salyan Maguinto, the “gold rich” datu of Pila who extended his kingdom far and wide into their settlements. In fact, the greater territory was also called Pila. Wary of concentrating power on a noble Indio, the conquistadors later dismantled his realm and to avoid confusion, they changed the name of the Pila dependencies to Pililla, which means “minor Pila.” The original territory had encompassed the present towns of Morong (from which the town of Pililla or Pilang Morong separated in 1583); Baras (separated from Morong in 1588); Tanay (separated from Pililla in 1606); Jala jala whose old name was also Pila (separated from Pililla in 1786) and Talim Island, which until now, has a sitio Pila. The descendants of Gat Salyan were also regarded as the founders of the other towns of the present province of Rizal. Around 1375, due to some calamity of weather most probably flooding, the original seat of Pila had to be abandoned and the barangay transferred to Pagalangan, which signifies “the place of Reverence”. The Franciscan chronicler, Fray Juan Plasencia gathered that the datu of Pila, “ with his own gold” purchased the new site from another chief who had owned it and who thus moved to another place. The datu then farmed out the arable land among the nobles and the freemen who, in return, paid him an annual rent of a hundred ganta of rice

Even before the coming of the Spaniards, Pila was already noted for its spiritual ambiance. The center of the town was known as Pagalangan, which means “The Place of Reverence.”

In 1571, the Spanish conquistadors, led by Don Juan de Salcedo, “discovered” Pila in Pagalangan after the “pacification” of Manila. On 14 November of the same year Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the first Spanish governor general, awarded the encomienda (tributes) of Pagalangan and other Laguna villages to Don Francisco de Herrera, a regidor (councilman) of Manila. With the reorganization of the encomiendas in 1575, the tributes of Pila were granted to Don Hernando Ramirez on 29 July. The Franciscans arrived in 1578 to evangelize the people of Pila and soon afterward 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, Laguna, and Jala Jala, Rizal. The Franciscans established in Pila the second printing press in the Philippines in 1611 under the auspices of Tomas Pinpin and Domingo Loag. The press printed in 1613, Philippines’ oldest dictionary and the first book printed using the movable type, 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 Book, 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.

In 1949, the barrios of Bancabanca, Daniw, Masapang, Nanhaya, San Benito, San Felix, San Francisco, and San Roque were excised from Pila to form the new independent municipality of Victoria, by virtue of Executive Order No. 282. In 1957, the sitio of Pinagbayanan was converted into a barrio, by virtue of Republic Act No. 1689.

Pila is from Santa Cruz and from Manila.

In the 2010 Philippine census, it has a population of 46,534 people with a total land area of In the 2020 census, the population of Pila, Laguna, was 54,613 people, with a density of .

Pila is a third class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines.

The National Historical Institute of the Philippines (now National Historical Commission of the Philippines) declared the town plaza and surrounding ancestral houses a National Historical Landmark on May 17, 2000, by NHI Resolution no. 2, series of 2002. It cited Pila as an early pre Hispanic center of culture and trade in Laguna known as La Noble Villa de Pila and has been recognized as one of the country's more important archeological sites where clay potteries were discovered in excavations made in Pinagbayanan in 1967. The historic town of Pila is bounded by General Luna Street in the north, M. H. del Pilar Street in the east, Mabini Street in the south, and Bonifacio Street in the west, and including the Pila Elementary School, and the Juan Fuentes and Santiago Fernandez house. Pila Church is among the Newest churches in Laguna. This is evident in its strong stone structure. Its red bell tower is one of its distinguishable features. The church is dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua and it was declared by the Pontificate of Pope John Paul II as the Diocesan Shrine of the said saint on July 9, 2002. Inside, wood is prominently seen as the material of choice for the chairs and altar. The altar is a massive structure that holds a relic of St. Anthony's garment.

In the popular culture, the town served as the location for the reality show, The Amazing Race Asia 2 of AXN, including daytime drama hit series Be Careful With My Heart, and primetime series Huwag Kang Mangamba both from the now defunct ABS CBN.

The Pila Municipal Hall is a small and quaint structure right in front of the Pila Church. It is distinguishable by its white paint scheme with red tiled roof and brown pillars. Outside is a statue of Rizal standing guard in memoriam to the national hero. The hall has been situated there since 1931 and has been renovated time and again. The open field in front of the hall serves as a waiting spots for those with appointments to the mayor or any public official. Parking space is adequate and tricycles parked near the hall can be easily hailed to go about town. As with any municipal hall, it houses the local post office, the assessor's office, the local internal revenue office, and health center. Unlike most municipal halls, the office of the Tourism officer is not located within but is stationed at the Pila Museum.

Esso Standard Philippines and Elizalde Family Project funded an archaeological project along Laguna de Bay. It was supervised by Dr. Robert Fox and Mr. Avelino Legaspi of the Anthropology Department of the National Museum. In total, there were ten excavations from May to October 1967. Talim Island, Balibago, and Rizal were the first to be excavated. It was followed by Pinagbayanan and Bagong Pook. Pila and Lumban were the last site to be excavated. Three of the four sites mentioned exposed 153 graves aging from the 12th to 15th century.