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Visit the San Jose, Batangas page for all information on San Jose.
by Kwinee Villanueva
Once a wilderness bounded with wild animals and flora, the municipality of San Jose has reached a level of certain development from the past several years.
The Aetas were the first inhabitants of the place. They started clearing some portions of the wilderness especially in the areas near the riverbanks. Several groups of settlers then drove this Aetas to hinterlands and permanently occupied the place. They named it “Malaking Tubig”, referring to the big river that cuts through the central portion of their early settlement.
The Spaniards then colonized the Philippines. Bauan (a nearby town of the municipality of San Jose) was established in 1596 as an ecclesiastical unit administered by the order of Saint Agustin with “Malaking Tubig” as one of the barrios under its jurisdiction.
Human population of Malaking Tubig started to grow and in 1754, Taal Volcano erupted destroying the original Bauan. And before its actual site could have been selected, Malaking Tubig was separated from Bauan. The recognized leaders of Malaking Tubig the petitioned to the Spanish authorities for the creation of that place as a pueblo(town) which was granted to them on April 26, 1765.
Two years later, Malaking Tubig was inaugurated into a pueblo where Ignacio de los Santos (also known as Ignacio Ona) became the Gobernadorcillo. Included in the inaugural jurisdiction were the present administrative units, the Poblacion and the barrios of Labac, Dita, Ibabao, Dalipit and Makulot. The last six barrios were also separated through a petition which was approved on March 13, 1877 to become a new town of Cuenca.
Since the foundation of the town of San Jose on April 26, 1765 up to the present time, there are already One Hundred Forty (140) appointed or elected heads (Capitanes, Alcaldes, Gobernadorcillos and Presidentes) of this municipality.
Last Updated: September 6, 2013
