Lobo, officially the Municipality of Lobo (Tagalog: Bayan ng Lobo), is a municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 40,736 people.[4]
The town was proclaimed as the "Atis Capital of the Philippines" through Resolution 2011-61 in September 2011.[1]
History
Legend of Datu Kumintang and Gat Bahaghari
According to legend, Lobo was first inhabited by the followers of Datu Kumintang of Borneo, along with Gat Bahaghari and his family. They traveled to Rosario and trailing along the Rosario-Lobo River, they reached the “Wawa of Lobo” (now Fabrica) which his followers named Bahaghari in honor of Gat Bahaghari. Attracted by the panoramic view and soil fertility of this place, Gat Bahaghari and his followers decided to establish a permanent settlement in this area.
Some followers of Gat Bahaghari thought that in order to detect approaching pirates, they built their houses on the top of a hill overlooking the sea which is now the Municipal Cemetery of Lobo.
Beneath this hill on the west side is low land treasured with sumasagitsit or running tiny streams of water which they utilized to irrigate their farms. With the help of the streams, their farms became very productive that enabled them to transport their excess products to their bountiful harvests, they replied that they came from sumasagitsit. The term sumasagitsit was later on changed to Masagitsit until it was changed as Barangay Masaguitsit.[6]
Foreign rule
Lobo's history is related with that of Rosario. Rosario was founded by Augustinian friars in 1687 that originated from the southeastern coast of Batangas which is Lobo. When Rosario was founded, Lobo became a barrio of Rosario with the present municipalities of Taysan, San Juan, and Padre Garcia.
The inhabitants were forced to flee the coast of Lobo to avoid the Moros. While fleeing, the inhabitants recited the rosary that gave Rosario its name. The settlement was reestablished at the north-west bank of Kansahayan River in Hilerang Kawayan, now a barangay called Pinagbayanan of Taysan. However, at the height of the Moro Wars in the second half of the 18th century, the Moro raids reached Hilerang Kawayan.[7][8]
Most Holy Rosary Parish Church, first stone church of Rosario in Lumang Bayan
Rosario was moved again by the Dominican priests fearing that the Moros will attack them. They headed north holding a novena and praying the rosary while fleeing from Hilerang Kawayan. On the last day of the novena, the inhabitants settled at the river bank of Tubig ng Bayan ( lit.'Water of Town', a river from Lipa now known as Balintawak River/Creek), now Padre Garcia. They residents erected a stone church south of the river bank in honor of their saint, the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary (known as Nuestra Señora del Rosario in the municipality).[9] The town was named Santo Rosario. Rosario remained in the location for a long time until 1902.
On December 12, 1848, the barrio of Bolbok was separated from Rosario and was named San Juan de Bocboc, then in 1850, the barrio of Mercedes also became an independent municipality now known as Taysan. It was not until September 27, 1871 that the barrio of Lobo became an independent municipality. The Spaniards did not know what to name the place until they saw that a balloon that came from the people celebrating their fiesta in the Municipality of Batangas fly towards Mt. Banoi. They eagerly waited for the balloon to fall down. They were so amazed that they named the place "Lobo" to commemorate the incident.[10] The parish of Lobo was established on February 4, 1873. The parish was then named Parroquia de San Miguel Arcanghel meaning "Saint Michael the Archangel Parish" being the patron saint of Lobo. Don Cayetano Macarandang was the first parish priest of the church serving from 1871 until 1873.
Malabrigo Lighthouse in 1903 being finished
According to Manuel Sastron's publication of Batangas y su Provincia, he described Lobo as "the most remarkably isolated municipality in Batangas". Lobo's road was so narrow that horses could only barely pass through it. Travelling by sea was also seen as dangerous for small boats due to big waves. He also said that the Lobo's population in the 19th century was only 6,700 people. He referenced the Lobo River as being large and being fed by four or five tributaries. Sastron said that Lobo was peaceful and crimes rarely occur.[11] Before the end of the Spanish period, the Malabrigo Point Lighthouse was proposed to be made in barrio Malabrigo. It was one among the Spaniards built as part of the Plan General de Alumbrado de Maritimo de las Costas del Archipelago de Filipino which would make 55 lighthouses in the Philippines.[12]
1918 Map of Batangas with Lobo
When the American occupation began, Lobo was consolidated to Taysan through the Act No. 708 (An Act Reducing Thirteen of the Municipalities in the Province of Batangas into Five) but became independent again when Taysan was consolidated to Rosario in the same year through Act No. 958 (An Act Reducing The Twenty-two Municipalities of the Province of Batangas to Sixteen, and Repealing Act Numbered Seven Hundred and Eight, entitled "An Act Reducing Thirteen of the Municipalities in the Province of Batangas into Five.").[13][14] Lobo was commonly misspelled as Loboo by the Americans.
Lobo has white sand beaches and has protected mangrove forests and fish sanctuaries.[15]
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 175.03 square kilometres (67.58sqmi)[16] constituting 5.61% of the 3,119.75-square-kilometre- (1,204.54sqmi) total area of Batangas.
Barangays
Lobo is politically subdivided into 26 barangays, as shown in the matrix below.[17] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
According to the 2020 census, the most populated barangay in Lobo is Balibago with 3,454 residents living while the least populated barangay in Lobo is Malalim na Sanog with 306 residents living. Lobo originally had 7 barangays named as Masagitsit (now Masaguitsit), Bignay, Tayuman, Malapad na Parang, Mabilog na Bundok, Malabrigo, and Sabana (non-existent now).
In 1959, the sitio of Biga in Barangay Tayuman was converted into a barangay.
Saint Michael the Archangel Parish Church, commonly known as Lobo Church, is a Neo-classicparish church in the municipality of Lobo. The church is under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lipa. The parish is dedicated to Saint Michael and its feast day is celebrated every May 8. The church was founded in 1873 while the current building was built in 1980 to 1986.
History
Church marker installed at the entrance of the church
In March 1871, Lobo, a visita under the jurisdiction of Taysan, and its residents requested the Governor-General for the visita to be an independent town and its parish due to reasons of long walking distance and difficult travel to the mother town. On September 27, 1871, the visita with the barrios of Masagitsit, Tayuman, Bignay, Malapad na Parang, Mabilog na Bundok, Malabrigo, and Sabana was made into a town. Still, the request to the parish was temporarily suspended until the church, the convent, and a school were adequately built.
On November 20, 1872, the King of Spain approved the request to build the parish[32] and on February 4, 1873, the Governor, Viceroy of the Philippine Islands, enacted the king's order, formally founding the parish. The parish started as a tuklong made from bamboo and cogon in 1874, then it was built into a church and a convent made of wood and bamboo in 1886, initiated by Fr. Isidro Gamboa. The parish was administered by Augustinian Recollect friars until 1902.
When the Diocese of Lipa was made in 1910, the parish was given to a Belgian priest, Fr. Raymundo Esquinet, along with the parishes of San Jose, Ibaan, Bauan, Taysan, Cuenca, and Tombol. In 1915, the parish was given to the OSJ missionaries along with Taysan's parish, Nuestra Señora de la Merced Parish Church. The parish was under the guidance of the congregation until 1917.
In 1979, the church was renovated into a concrete building but was destroyed by Typhoon Yeyeng in 1981. A temporary chapel was made to continue parish activities. Five years later, the parish church was completely rebuilt and was blessed in 1987.[32]
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