The Battle of Mabitac

The Battle of Mabitac was an engagement in the Philippine-American War, when on September 17, 1900, Filipinos under General Juan Cailles defeated an American force commanded by Colonel Benjamin F. Cheatham, Jr.

Mabitac was linked to the garrison town of Siniloan by a causeway which, on the day of the battle, was flooded with water (in many parts waist-deep). The water in the flanking rice fields was even deeper, making it impossible to properly deploy off the narrow road. Trenches occupied by Filipinos under Cailles cut across this causeway, blocking the path into Mabitac.

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Shrine of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

Founded in 1687. Father Agustin dela Magdalena was the first cura assigned at the Parish. It is originallly chapel of bamboo and nipa.

Reconstructed in 1960 with deep affection by the town postas (able-bodied men rendering the annual polo of forced labor) under the direction of Miguel Guanco and Alcuacil Mayor Alfonso Garcia. Improved in 1853 by Fr. Joaquin de Coria, a talented priest-engineer designed and built the high belfry and the gorgeous cupola, with the Pagsanjeños supplying the labor, materials and funds.

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Homma-Yamashita Shrine

Four years of war occupation destroyed many buildings, roads and bridges in and around Los Baños. In quick succession, the College of Agriculture became a Japanese camp for prisoners of war, an interment camp for allied nationals. A target of Kempetai punitive measures and the headquarters of a secret organization of guerillas. After the dramatic rescue of the American Internees by Filipino guerillas and United States paratroopers on February 23, 1945, the entire campus was sacked by the Japanese and razed to the ground.

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Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery

Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery is the only cemetery in the country that works as a meeting place for the rebel leaders of Laguna. Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery is located at an irregular terrain north of Mount San Cristobal. The cemetery facing the road has a vaulted entrance about 18 feet and two iron-grill gates.

Father Vicente Belloc, a Franciscan missionary, built the underground cemetery in 1851. Today, the new Nagcarlan partially restored was acknowledged as a national historical shrine, and the only one in the Philippines. Its’ baroque structure is being converted into a cultural enter where cultural, historical and religious presentation can be held. (more…)

Rizal Shrine in Calamba

Rizal Shrine in Calamba is a reconstruction of the ancestral home of Calamba’s greatest son, Dr. José P. Rizal. The original house was destroyed during World War II, and through Executive Order No. 145 by President Elpidio Quirino, the house was restored through the supervision of National Artist Juan Nakpil. The only thing original in the structure is the flooring, which was dug up completely during construction.  The shrine was then inaugurated in 1950.

Today, the shrine serves as a museum containing memorabilias of Rizal’s earlier childhood. On the grounds is a statue of the boy Rizal and his pet dog. The lot is also where Rizal’s parents remains were transferred.

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