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Polillo, officially the Municipality of Polillo (), is a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
in the
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Quezon Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon () and historically known as Tayabas, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon Regions of the Philippines, region on Luzon. Lucena, a highly urbanized ci ...
,
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 31,908 people.


Etymology

Padre Morga wrote that ''Polillo'' originated from the Chinese word "Pulilu," which means a beautiful island with plenty of food. It was home to a native barangay-state also known as Pulilu, recorded as such in Chinese chronicles. The island was mentioned as being politically connected to the nation of Sandao, itself a vassal state to the nation of Ma-i. Due to language difficulties, a Spanish friar by the name Padre Domingo eventually changed the name from Pu Li Lu to Polillo.


History


Pre-Spanish period

Trade relations between the natives of the Polillo Islands and Chinese merchants existed long before the Spanish conquerors came to the archipelago. Trade was a conglomeration of Malay-
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
- Chinese- Tagalog.


Spanish colonization and early settlement

When
Juan de Salcedo Juan de Salcedo (; 1549 – 11 March 1576) was a Spanish conquistador. He was the grandson of Spanish general Miguel López de Legazpi. Salcedo was one of the soldiers who accompanied the Spanish conquest to the Philippines in 1565. He joined th ...
, a Spanish conqueror, came to Polillo in 1567, he saw a central government fully organized through the
Balangay A balangay, or barangay, is a type of lashed-lug boat built by joining planks edge-to-edge using pins, dowels, and fiber lashings. They are found throughout the Philippines and were used largely as trading ships up until the colonial era. The ...
, with a datu who had a direct supervision and control over all the natives. The inhabitants lived in nipa huts. In 1571, the Spaniards took hold of the islands of Pu Li Lu. Through the leadership of Padre Domingo along with his son The church was constructed in 1577. Boulders, gravel and sand were mixed with lime produced out of seashells and coral stones. Padre Domingo instigated the planting of sugar cane in San Isidro, San Antonio and San Francisco. Production of molasses was put into full swing.


Foundation

Spanish conquistadores were assigned to the "pueblo" of Pu Li Lu to promote church construction. The church tower was constructed with priority, so that in 1587, in the early summer of May, two huge bronze bells rang atop. Due to language problems, Padre Domingo changed the name from Pu Li Lu to Polillo. However, there is inconsistency regarding Polillo's foundation, with some sources and the municipal government claiming it was established as a town in 1587 when the church bells were first rung, while others indicate that it was formally founded as an independent town in 1635 by
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
missionaries. In 1609, Polillo was part of the encomienda of Don Francisco Morante de Nueva. Initially, it served as a ''visita'' of Binangonan de Lampon (now
Infanta Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...
). In 1635, Polillo was officially separated from Binangonan de Lampon and established as an independent town by Franciscan missionaries, with Fray Jose S. de Bernardino appointed as its first leader. In 1658, the town was transferred to the Augustinian Recollects, who managed it until 1703, after which the Franciscan missionaries resumed administration. Polillo served as the seat of government under Spanish rule for the Polillo Islands, with the present-day towns of Burdeos, Panukulan, Patnanungan, and Jomalig once being part of Polillo as barrios.


World War II

In 1942, the occupied by the
Japanese Imperial forces The Imperial Japanese Armed Forces (IJAF, full or Nippon-gun () for short, meaning "Japanese Forces") were the unified forces of the Empire of Japan. Formed during the Meiji Restoration in 1868,"One can date the 'restoration' of imperial rul ...
landed in Polillo. In 1945, the liberation by the Philippine Commonwealth troops of the 5th and 52nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army landed in Polillo we fought the battles against the Japanese forces in the Battle of Polillo Island during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Contemporary history

On June 18, 1961, the barrios such as Bucal, Casuguran, Gango, and Talisoy on Jomalig Island were separated from Polillo to become a separate municipal district named Jumalig (Jomalig) by virtue of Republic Act No. 3372. In 1987, three weeks before the April 18 coup attempt against the national government, cadres of the
New People's Army The New People's Army (; abbreviated NPA or BHB) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aiming to consolidate political power from what it sees as the present "bourgeo ...
(NPA) attacked the Philippine Constabulary detachment in Polillo Island. In recent years, government-funded infrastructures were built and private investments in hotel, resorts, services and utilities increased. On March 26, 2021, two NPA members surrendered to government forces in Barangay Salipsip. On February 21, 2022, the Armed Forces of the Philippines fought an armed encounter with the New People's Army in Barangay Binitbitinan. The NPA eventually withdrew.


Geography

Polillo is located about off the eastern coast of
Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
. It is bounded by municipality of Panukulan in the northwest and the municipality of Burdeos in the northeastern side of the island. Lamon Bay bounds it at the south, east and west. It is east of the municipality of
Infanta Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...
and east of the municipality of Real. It can be reached by motorboats more or less three hours via Real-Polillo in the Ungos Port and a little bit shorter via, Infanta-Polillo through Infanta Municipal Fish Port. It is located on the southern part of the eponymous Polillo Island fronting the
Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a List of seas#Marginal seas by ocean, marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, Western Pacific Ocean east of the list of islands of the Philippines, Philippine Archipelago (hence the name) and the List of seas#Largest seas ...
and its jurisdiction also includes Balesin Island in Lamon Bay ().


Barangays

Polillo is politically subdivided into 20
barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...
s, as indicated below. Each barangay consists of
purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...
s and some have
sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...
. * Anawan * Atulayan * Balesin * Bañadero * Binibitinan * Bislian * Bucao * Canicanian * Kalubakis * Languyin * Libjo * Pamatdan * Pilion * Pinaglubayan * Poblacion * Sabang * Salipsip * Sibulan * Taluong * Tamulaya-Anibong


Climate


Demographics


Economy


Festivities

The town of Polillo is celebrating its founding anniversary every March 18 more than 400 years ago. The celebration last for at least three days. Starting from March 17, there are different celebrations held in the town proper including the "''Gabi ng Parangal''" (Coronation Night) of the Town's Beauty, Binibining Polillo and all the ladies representing different barangays. March 18 is the most awaited day of the celebration where a big parade can be seen by all the natives and guest. The "Parada" includes all the schools, non-government organizations, local government units, all the barangay participants and more. The most awaited groups in the parade are the "Banda" - School Bands - from different schools and school levels. Celebration will continue until night fall with the "Sayawan" at the town plaza. March 19 is the Feast of St. Joseph, the Patron Saint of the town. The celebration starts from a procession together with all the patron saints of all the sitios and barangays and all devotees of
Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...
. Including all the sitio's and barangay's patron saints in the procession is known as "dapit". Many believes that this celebration of the Feast of Saint Joseph plays big part from the town's safety against nature disaster specially typhoons. It has something to do with the church history where those saints served as protector along the region. Devotees of St. Joseph now turns the old "St. Joseph Parish" into "Prelature Shrine of St. Joseph" as ordered by
Infanta Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...
Bishop Rolando Tria Tirona in 2010.


Travel

Getting to Polillo from Manila takes around six hours of travel by land and by sea. The first segment of the trip involves travelling to Ungos Port in Real, Quezon via the Pililla-Famy-Real Road. Marikina-Infanta Highway is also another route to Ungos Port. Raymond Bus, with its terminal located along Legarda Street,
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, has regular scheduled trips to Real, Quezon. There are two regular boat trips from Real to Polillo. The first trip usually leaves at 7:30 AM PHT as the bus passengers coming from Lucena and Manila try to catch it up. The next boat leaves at 10:00 AM. The boats are outrigger types powered with a surplus truck engine. The return trips from Polillo are at 5:00 AM and 1:00 PM. The trip from Ungos Port to Polillo usually takes three hours. There are passenger ferries that depart from Dinahican Port in Infanta to Barangay Macnit in Polillo. There are also boat trips to Balesin Island and Polillo from Atimonan's port. There are also passenger ferries from Real, Quezon. These ferries are divided into two categories by the locals: “ Roros” and “fastcrafts”


See also

* Polillo Islands


References


External links


Polillo Profile at PhilAtlas.com
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management SystemQuezon Province Community and Web Portal
{{Authority control Municipalities of Quezon 1587 establishments in the Philippines