Jalajala (; also spelled as Jala-jala), officially the Municipality of Jalajala ( tgl, Bayan ng Jalajala), is a 4th class

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Rizal,

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,017 people.

Etymology

What is now the town's Barangay Punta was the seat of an earlier settlement later known as Halaán. During the summer from April to May, the shores of Laguna de Bay along Punta would be filled with small shellfish locally known as ''halaán''. As is typical with many modern Philippine

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

s, the town's name supposedly resulted from miscommunication between early Spanish visitors and natives. The Spaniards enquired of some natives along the shoreline, "''¿Como se llama este sitio?''" ("What is the name of this place?") to which the latter replied, "''halaán pò,''" thinking that the foreigners referred to the shells. The Spaniards accepted the response as the name of the place, and began calling it ''halaán'', later corrupting it into ''Jalajala''. Another folk etymology is that Jalajala stems from an

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

breed of boar called ''berk jala'', which is abundant in the wilds around the town and is depicted on its seal. As with the other story, a Spaniard asked the Tagalog-speaking natives the place's name, and the locals' interjection of "''hala-hala''” (possibly a hunting chant) was taken by the Spaniards to be their answer.

Geography

Jalajala is on a peninsula located southeast of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

in the largest freshwater lake in the Philippines, Laguna de Bay. It lies on the eastern part of the Rizal Province and has a land area of representing 3.77% of the total land area of the province. Jalajala's political boundary on the north is the Panguil River, wherein it shares the boundary with the town of Pakil in Laguna. On its southern, eastern, and western boundaries lies the Laguna de Bay. Mount Sembrano forms the boundary of Jalajala and Pililla.

Barangays

Jalajala is politically subdivided into eleven

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...

s (three urban, eight rural). Bayugo, Palay-Palay, and Sipsipin were elevated as barrios in 1956. * Bagumbong * Bayugo * Second District (

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippine city or municipality, which may take up the ...

) * Third District (

) * Lubo * Pagkalinawan * Palaypalay * Punta * Sipsipin * First (Special) District (

) * Paalaman

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Jala-jala, was 34,017 people, with a density of .

Economy

References

External links

Jalajala Profile at PhilAtlas.comJalajala official website
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Rizal Populated places on Laguna de Bay