The Guinayangan Republic

Villa Hiwasayan is almost mountainous and about one third of the land is plain. Before the year 1925, the mountains and the plains were covered by virgin forest where wild pigs, deers, monkeys and poisonous snakes roamed.

The Hiwasayan river, some brooks and hills with some clear and beautiful spring drain the place. Tayabigan and Danlig are the largest springs near the Hiwasayan river.

Among the pioneers of the place was the family of Bonifacio Villareal who settled near the Hiwasayan river. Years passed by and the population increased. They wanted to have a name given to the place. When they came the river was called by its present name. To honor the first family who settled in the place, the people took the first syllable of Villareal "Villa" and coined it with the river Hiwasayan, hence the name Villa Hiwasayan.

The settlers of Villa Hiwasayan were industrious. They cleared their homesteads and planted them with grains and citrus.

At first, it became a sitio of Dancalan, Its population increased rapidly. Believing that they could live as an independent Barangay, they petitioned the Municipal Council of Guinayangan under the leadership of the Rural  Barrio Lieutenant to be an independent barrio and to have its own barrio Lieutenant. The petition was handed to Mr. Leodegario Cambronero the then Councilor of the barrio of Dancalan. He sponsored a resolution to this effect in the meeting of the Municipal Council and was indorsed to the Provincial Board of Quezon. It was acted favorably by the provincial board so that on January 1,1932 Villa Hiwasayan was proclaimed an independent barrio. The first Barrio Lieutenant appointed was Mr. Rustico Desembrana, a former teacher in the Bureau of Public Schools.

After a year of service as barrio lieutenant, Mr. Desembrana resigned but the name of his successor could not be recalled. The third barrio lieutenant was Mr. Indalecio Odoño. He held the position for several years with success. It was during his incumbency when the school of Villa Hiwasayan was thrown open to the children in that place. The first teacher appointed was a lady by the name of Miss Juana Jugueta.
The outbreak of the World War II forced the people to leave their already flourishing farms. This inevitable circumstaces greatly ruined their economic and educational progress.

When the Philippines was liberated in 1945 by the American forces from the hand of the ferocious Japanese Imperial Army, the people returned to their homes. The people of Villa Hiwasayan was not an exemption to this. The school was reopened in 1948 and everything was returned to normalcy, had it not been for the people's  fear of the dessidents. But for the lack of children the school was closed again which obliged the parents of some children to send them to Dancalan, the former mother barrio of Villa Hiwasayan.




Compiled by: 
Mrs. Virginia Paraiso

Excerpt from the manuscript: 
Collection And Compilation Of Historical Data And Cultural Life Of The
Municipality Of Guinayangan Including Its Barrios And Sitios, 
Province of Quezon, Philippines
Philippine (Republic) Bureau Of Public Schools
Division Of Quezon

The present official name of this barangay is Tikay. In the olden time the place was known as Ilog. This term Ilog, is the Tagalog word for river which passes this barrio and originates from the nearby Danlagan. At that time, Tikay was only a sitio of Danlagan inhabited by five families.

The name of Tikay was derived from the name of a woman, Escolastica. Said to be possessed of a fairy’s charm notwithstanding the fact that her body was bent by ages and her hair silvered by years. This old woman was believed to be the first human being who trotted her feet on the ground of Tikay and never left the barrio till her death. A few years after, another family came and met this old woman, Escolastica. Her kindness, hospitality and generosity attracted the new family who became very attached to her. They called this old woman in the nickname Tikay and upon her death; they named the barangay Tikay to serve as a memory of this benevolent woman.

Another derivation of its name run this way. The barrio of Danlagan during that time was under the Municipality of Apad, the present Municipality of Calauag. The Moro bandits roamed in Apad in pursuit of wealth and hostage. In one of the raids done by the Moros in the neighboring barrios of Apad, Danlagan had become a sanctuary for those who took flight to save their necks from their blood thirsty “Kampilan” and “Kris”. Some of the people gathers whatever weapon the can avail of and fight for the defense of the barrio and its inhabitants. For fear of another raid, one of the people was forced to retreat by the river and reached the sitio of the “Ilog” which is now called Tikay. They decided to live in this place permanently because the soil is fertile. The barrio’s transportation was extremely hard and irregular as the place is hilly with deep ravines, cliffs and brooks. With these discouraging factors other families transferred to a nearby barrio. From that time on the name Ilog was changed to Tikay, from the word “tikang”, meaning separate. Due to the separation of some families in order to settle in other barrio, the place was named Tikay, corrupted word of Tikang.

This barrio was established in 1870, with the following original families: The families of Nicolas Villafuerte, Vicente Molines, Abdon Cawa, Domingo Rofuli, Fernando Fabio, and Jose Vasquez.
The following headed the barrio as “Teniente del Barrio”: Pedro Cerilla, Felipe Villafuerte, Felino San Jose, Nicolas Villafuerte, Jesus Millar, and Edilberto Ragenil.

There was no depopulated barrio as it was a sitio before. There were no historical sites, structures, buildings or old ruins. There were no important facts or incidents that took place during the Spanish time.
During the American this barrio became very prosperous especially during the incumbency of Pedro Cerilla as Barrio Lieutenant. The World War II took place during this period. There were destructions of lives and property, both from the Japanese and the Guerillas. Most of the people joined the underground movement and became members of the famous Matta’s Unit.

The destruction of property was rehabilitated with the help of the PCAU and the PWDC (Philippine War Damage Commission).











Compiled by: 
Miss Arceli Hernandez

Excerpt from the manuscript: 
Collection And Compilation Of Historical Data And Cultural Life Of The
Municipality Of Guinayangan Including Its Barrios And Sitios, 
Province of Quezon, Philippines
Philippine (Republic) Bureau Of Public Schools
Division Of Quezon

In the year 1932 Dungawan Central -one of the progressive sitios of Himbubulo, requested a separation from the mother barrio. This sitio is about eight kilometer from the poblacion. Rufo de Jusay was the first Barrio Lieutenant and followed by Angel Abellada and then Diego Cabral who became the Teniente Del Barrio of the new sitio of Dungawan Paalyunan. It was during the incumbency of the Municipal Mayor Antonio Marquez that the separation of Dungawan from Himbubulo took place.

It was so called Dungawan, meaning window because by standing on the hilltop, you have before you the clear panorama of the immense surrounding of the sitio and long Hiwasayan River winding below like a serpent. So the people became so accustomed of calling the place Dungawan.

In the course of time, as civilization progressed and population increased



Dungawan Paalyunan

Six kilometers southwest from the poblacion of Guinayangan lies a flourishing barangay of Dungawan Paalyunan. Its topographical surface is rolling with numerous creeks. It was once entirely covered with forest dotted with thickets. These thickets were the result of the rampant “kaingin” made by the Aetas for their root crops.

In the year 1915 there was an exodus of people to this place from Batangas looking for homesteads. The place was simply called Dungawan. It is a big area so the immigrants have occupied only a portion. The natives of Guinayangan did not mind the place because they preferred to cultivate the land along the coasts.

At the beginning of 1920, sturdy pioneers from Batangas settled the place. This was the big families of Diego Cabral and Maximo de Guzman. They settled the place which now called Dungawan Paalyuna. They were successful farmers and now stand as the leaders of the barrio.

The place being dense forests before was inhabited by Aetas.  They were the aborigines of the region. Wild pigs and deer abound in the place so the aboriginal inhabitants called the place “paalyunan”, meaning roving place for wild animals. The later inhabitants coined the new name Dungawan Paalyunan to distinguish it from the original barrio of Dungawan and at the same time maintain the old name of Paalyunan. During its early years, there are about thirty seven families inhabiting the place.

In 1945 immediately after liberation, the place decided to stand as a separate barrio. Through the initiative of the Cabral Family and with the aid of the then Mayor Timoteo Ramos, the first barrio lieutenant was appointed. This was made in recognition of his leadership in the place and his success as a pioneer. The auxiliary lieutenant was Francisco de Gala.

During the Japanese Occupation many people from the neighboring barrios and even from the poblacion took refuge in Dungawan Paalyunan because of the food supply. Its important products are bananas, root crops, lumber and other forest products. Today this barangay is so progressive that it contributes much to the economic stability of the whole municipality.



 Compiled by:
Mr. Eutiquio Lorbes

Excerpt from the manuscript: 
Collection And Compilation Of Historical Data And Cultural Life Of The
Municipality Of Guinayangan Including Its Barrios And Sitios, 
Province of Quezon, Philippines
Philippine (Republic) Bureau Of Public Schools
Division Of Quezon