SENIOR BYAHERO
I came across the town of Longos while looking at an old map of Laguna. On the map, there were several lakeshore towns such as Longos, San Juan and San Antonio in Laguna that today no longer exist. Further research showed old photos of Longos showing an imposing Spanish era church, with a beautiful convento. As a traveler who enjoys searching things of the past, this discovery had me wondering what happened to the old town of Longos.
CHURCH INTERIOR.
History has taught us that towns and cities are created because of progress, migration, or simply, political decisions. When the Philippine independence was declared 125 years ago, cities like Baguio, Tagaytay and Quezon City never existed. Manila and Morong were provinces before they were unified to form the newly-created province of Rizal in 1901. Laguna was one of the most progressive provinces in the country because it was easily accessible from Manila by boat via Pasig River and Laguna de Bay. And those towns by the lake were the ones enjoying the fruits of the active trade with the capital city, and one of them was Longos.
The history of Longos started in 1577, when the Franciscan missionaries arrived in Laguna. Two priests, Father P. San Juan de Placencia and Father Diego Oropesa, started their mission to Christianize the Filipinos via establishment of a church in Lumban that covered the visitas of Babaye (now Longos), Abacao (now San Juan) and San Pablo (now San Antonio). Then in 1600, the three visitas were incorporated with Paete.
CENTURY-OLD Acasia at Longos Plaza.
In 1669, after the long and ardous work of its local officials and priest, the town of Longos, composed of Babaye, Abacao and half of San Pablo was established. With its good location, the town prospered doing trade with the provinces surrounding Laguna de Bay. For several centuries, Longos enjoyed the status of a full town, complete with a church, a presidencia and huge plaza where the local residents could watch the boats coming in and out of the lake.
When the Americans came and roads were built, Longos was relegated to the backdoor. In 1903, 30 towns of Laguna were narrowed down to 19. In 1908, Longos successfully campaigned to re-gain its municipal status, only to lose it again in 1956, when Longos, together with the two other towns of San Antonio and San Juan became barangays of the newly created municipality of Kalayaan.
My first visit to Longos was in 2018, and at that time the San Juan Bautista Church was undergoing repair. I read somewhere that the convent was destroyed by earthquake, and the church itself was badly damaged by several typhoons. I was not able to explore much of the church due to ongoing construction. I went to the old plaza instead, where I saw a monument of Jose Rizal marked with “El Pueblo de Longos.”
I recently returned to Longos with a group of heritage enthusiasts. We saw that the church restoration is almost completed, and a new convent and a fountain were recently added. The front canopy on the front door is gone, the colorful paint on the images of saints were scraped off to reveal the original wood color.
BAPTISTRY WITH St. John the Baptist image baptizing Jesus.
A sacristan allowed us to go inside the church, where we saw how the restoration project progressed. The roof that was previously damaged by typhoon is now replaced with galvanized ones. But other than that, the interior looks like it has been carefully restored to its original Spanish era condition. We saw the retablos holding the images of St. John the Baptist and Mama Mary. We also saw the altar wrapped in silver plates and adorned with tall candelabras.
CHURCH main door.
We went to the baptistry and saw the centuries old stone that has been used for years to baptize the people of Longos. Hanging on the back of the stone is a carved wooden panel showing the image of St. John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. According to the sacristan, it was made by a Paete artist over a century ago.
OLD EL PUEBLO DE LONGOS Monument.
After my visit to Longos, I shared my discoveries on social media. I was surprised to read that most have not heard about Longos and its history. But for those who know about Longos, I received many important details that I did not notice during the visit, such as: “the belfry contains the bell which was one of the last ever manufactured by Fundicion Sunico,” “Longos still executes the tradition of Botafumeiro, you even walked underneath it,” “the painting on the wall was by Paete painter Josef Luciano Dans showing how hell is filled only with women.”
Reading about these feedbacks makes me want to go back to Longos for the third time. Longos is not lost after all. It lives in the minds and the hearts of people who wish to preserve its history and heritage.
(The author is a senior who recently retired from work as an engineer in an auto manufacturing company. He used to be a regular contributor to MB's Cruising Magazine. His taste for adventure has not kept him from travelling, usually via not-so-usual routes.)