Pila Historical Society Foundation Inc.
Epilogue. The Last Aspirants: Biñán and Santa Rosa (1898)
The elevation of Lipá as a villa rekindled the fascination for villas of hispanophile members of the elite elsewhere. The last two aspirants for the honor were Biñán and Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
The Dominicans had carved out the Hacienda de Biñán in three phases in the town of Tabuco (now Cabuyao) from 1641 to 1677. Sta. Rosa, originally called Bukol or Burol (hill), formed part of the bigger hacienda, comprising more than half of its total area. Named for the great banyan tree, the friar lands of Biñán were allotted for the support and maintenance of the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomás. As a new pueblo, the coveted estate was separated from its matrix in 1688 with the reorganization of the province of Laguna. Four years later, on August 30, the feast of its patroness, Sta. Rosa also became an independent town but maintained its close ties with Biñán. The people of these haciendas viewed their religious landlords as usurpers of their communal lands. In their grievances, they even gained the support of the fiscal of the royal audiencia in the early 18th century. The simmering conflict broke out into the widespread Agrarian Revolt of 1745 in Central Luzón with Biñán as a major site of the unrest. But the friar estates continued to prevail. xxxviii
In the first phase of the Philippine Revolution in 1896-97, Biñán and Sta. Rosa together with Cabuyao and Calamba, hosted the Spanish counter-insurgency troops in stockpiling and transporting military and food supplies. They also organized provisional hospitals for the Spanish wounded in the battle against the Filipino revolutionaries in neighboring Cavite. The temporary Spanish victory led to the signing of the Peace Treaty of Biac-na-Bató on December 14, 1897. xxxix
By January 19, 1898, the provincial board of Laguna, supported by the head of the Dominican order, submitted a formal recommendation to the governor-general to reward the pueblos of Biñán and Sta. Rosa jointly with the lofty status of a villa with the title “siempre fiel y leal” (ever faithful and loyal). They obviously demonstrated these civic virtues to the colonial government. The Laguna council further cited the twin towns’ “agricultural, commercial and industrial importance” in the province. But too late the loyalists. The final act in the upheaval was soon set in motion. The Spanish-American War was declared in April 1898 and the following month, Aguinaldo rose up in arms again. The Spanish crown tumbled down into the tropical dust and ashes of the Second Phase of the Revolution. Under the circumstances, the application of Biñán and Sta. Rosa that had been duly noted was permanently shelved in the archives where it can still be found at present. xl
The Dominicans had carved out the Hacienda de Biñán in three phases in the town of Tabuco (now Cabuyao) from 1641 to 1677. Sta. Rosa, originally called Bukol or Burol (hill), formed part of the bigger hacienda, comprising more than half of its total area. Named for the great banyan tree, the friar lands of Biñán were allotted for the support and maintenance of the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomás. As a new pueblo, the coveted estate was separated from its matrix in 1688 with the reorganization of the province of Laguna. Four years later, on August 30, the feast of its patroness, Sta. Rosa also became an independent town but maintained its close ties with Biñán. The people of these haciendas viewed their religious landlords as usurpers of their communal lands. In their grievances, they even gained the support of the fiscal of the royal audiencia in the early 18th century. The simmering conflict broke out into the widespread Agrarian Revolt of 1745 in Central Luzón with Biñán as a major site of the unrest. But the friar estates continued to prevail. xxxviii
In the first phase of the Philippine Revolution in 1896-97, Biñán and Sta. Rosa together with Cabuyao and Calamba, hosted the Spanish counter-insurgency troops in stockpiling and transporting military and food supplies. They also organized provisional hospitals for the Spanish wounded in the battle against the Filipino revolutionaries in neighboring Cavite. The temporary Spanish victory led to the signing of the Peace Treaty of Biac-na-Bató on December 14, 1897. xxxix
By January 19, 1898, the provincial board of Laguna, supported by the head of the Dominican order, submitted a formal recommendation to the governor-general to reward the pueblos of Biñán and Sta. Rosa jointly with the lofty status of a villa with the title “siempre fiel y leal” (ever faithful and loyal). They obviously demonstrated these civic virtues to the colonial government. The Laguna council further cited the twin towns’ “agricultural, commercial and industrial importance” in the province. But too late the loyalists. The final act in the upheaval was soon set in motion. The Spanish-American War was declared in April 1898 and the following month, Aguinaldo rose up in arms again. The Spanish crown tumbled down into the tropical dust and ashes of the Second Phase of the Revolution. Under the circumstances, the application of Biñán and Sta. Rosa that had been duly noted was permanently shelved in the archives where it can still be found at present. xl