Story & photos by Karl Aguilar
I have a deep affection for heritage towns. Maybe this is borne out of this appreciation of mine for history and culture, especially that of our country. Or maybe I’m one of those “old souls” out there who has a thing for the old, at least in some aspects. Whatever the case may be, I relish the experiences of witnessing those sights of preserved edifices and elements, as well as the feeling of traveling back in time whenever I find myself in a heritage town.
Thus, when I found myself in one of those unplanned adventures at the eastern loop of Rizal and Laguna, with some time in the afternoon to spare, I thought it was an opportunity for me to go to a heritage town I’ve long wanted to visit, the heritage town of Pila in Laguna.
A glorious past
The town of Pila, in the central part of Laguna along the shores of the Laguna de Bay, takes pride in its rich and long-spanning history, a history that predates even the coming of the Spaniards to the country in the 16th century. It is actually considered as one of the oldest settlements in the Philippines, as archaeological diggings revealed that this settlement dates back to around the 1st century AD. Pila was noted as one of the biggest and most influential of the pre-Hispanic barangays; its territory extended to the land across the lake where Talim Island and the lakeside towns of Rizal province starting from Morong to Jala-Jala.
The Spanish forces under the command of Juan de Salcedo, nephew of conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, conquered the town in 1571. The Franciscan friars would arrive soon after to bring Christianity to the town. Apart from the faith, the Franciscans would also bring in to the town a new technology: the printing press. Pila would eventually become the home of the second printing press in the country. There, Tomas Pinpin would print in 1613 the oldest dictionary in the Philippines, the Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala.
With such a colorful past, Pila is an underrated gem of a town in the midst of the developments going on in Laguna these days. Then again, it has somehow helped preserve the town’s old charm and beauty that never fails to mesmerize visitors, even those who just pass by the town.
The afternoon trip
From Santa Cruz, Laguna’s provincial capital, I planned to take a jeepney or a bus that would at least pass by Pila. Unfortunately, it rained hard while I was waiting for the ride, not even my umbrella could handle the torrential rain that poured down. By the time the bus arrived, I was soaking wet and feared I might be stricken by a fever by the time I get home. Still, I carried on with my plan to visit Pila, with the hope there is a drugstore there for me to buy needed medication to ward off the sickness that may hit me.
As I learned along the way, buses from Santa Cruz passing through Pila either use the main road, which passes by the town proper, or the highway outside the town proper. The bus I rode used the highway so I had to get off at the merging of the main road and the highway, and walk along the main road.
In hindsight, it was a good thing that the bus went that route as I was able to explore the town proper better, walking along the whole length of the main town road. The view along the road does not disappoint, with rows of preserved heritage houses in sight to appreciate by today’s generation. Some of them have been adaptively reused as commercial establishments, blending old architecture with modern commerce in a harmonious manner.
The historic town center
Pila is fortunate to be one of the few towns in the country that has an active heritage community, the Pila Historical Society, which has worked in the preservation of the town’s heritage. As a result of these efforts, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines declared the town center of Pila as a National Historical Landmark on May 17, 2000, one of the few towns in the Philippines bearing this distinction.
With this declaration, the town center became known as the Pila Historic Town Center, a historic district within the town wherein lies about 35 heritage structures, most of them houses built during the Spanish and American periods. As such, these houses you see in this town are historical landmarks that are given the same degree of importance and protection as other historic sites in the country. These houses were built in various architectural styles and periods, providing a rich, visual architectural variety that can rival Vigan. As it was during the Spanish colonial period, the town’s center of activity is still the town plaza, a wide green space surrounded by towering trees. Most important, the plaza layout, including the structures that surround it, has remained unchanged, preserving the Spanish colonial town-planning system many towns in the country used to have. Thus, on one end of the plaza can be found the Pila Municipal Hall, which was built in 1931, and on the other end the Baroque-inspired Church of San Antonio de Padua that was completed in 1849.
After an hour or so roaming the town, it was time for me to head back home. Luckily, I managed to find a drugstore in the town to buy some needed medicine. Admittedly, it was too short of a trip for me. Nevertheless, it was a fulfilling trip that I was glad to have taken, despite the weather along the way and the threat of fever. I hope to go back to this town soon and explore it a bit more. But until then, the memory and charm of Pila will serve to inspire me and my love for Philippine heritage. May the example of Pila be emulated in other parts of the country as a way to preserve and promote our rich, yet endangered, heritage.