Name: Luijoy France C.

Salcedo
Year & Course: 1st Year, BSED Math
Subject & Class Code: Readings in Philippine History, 1126
Schedule: 9:30 am - 11:00 am | Wednesday, Saturday

Assignment Content

ACTIVITY 5

We are very familiar with this tag. Whenever we say ”throwback Thursday” we mean a picture, a topic, or a
memory from the past. Let us improve our knowledge and appreciation of our local history in this activity.
Interview three (3) elderly members of your community. You may do this thru face-to-face, phone
conversation, or video call. Let them tell about the history of your place by focusing on these topics:

a. Origin of the community

b. Notable events in the community
c. Notable persons in the community

After the interviews, try to “package” their stories by making one big story about your local history. Therefore,
you will have ONE “short story” of your local history. Try to make an interesting title for your story. You may
encode or write them in a separate sheet. Do not forget to cite your primary and secondary sources.

Notes:

❏ Naga City has roots from the early native settlers who were able to establish a thriving community
along two rivers
❏ It derives its name from the tough and robust Narra trees that were abundant in the area before the
city’s establishment. The early local Filipino settlers established a trading village here. The place was
well known for trade and the community’s advanced weaponry and technology at the time.
❏ In 1573 Juan de Salcedo led the Spanish expedition to what we know now as Naga City. Captain
Salcedo and the Spanish troops were quite surprised to find this flourishing village with such
technology of the day. The culture of the village was quite different and a bit sophisticated and
modern.
❏ In 1575, a new city was founded in the said location. Captain Pedro de Chaves of Spain and commander
of the Spanish garrison in Naga named the city as Ciudad de Caceres. It is presently located in Naga
City’s business center.
❏ The name of the city was in honor of the current governor-general who was a native of Caceres City in
Spain. It held the name for quite some time and was even mentioned at the 1595 papal bull.
❏ Life went on and the city and the town that the locals established became one community. The name
Nueva Caceres was used to identify the now merged community and became a city under Spanish law
and became one of the first few Spanish cities in the Philippines.
❏ With the advent of American rule, it was reduced to a municipality. In 1919, it lost its Spanish name,
when, by law, it became officially known as Naga. It acquired its present city charter in 1948, and its
city government was inaugurated on December 15 of the same year.
❏ In 1898 Elias Angeles and Felix Plazo led a successful revolt which resulted in the Spanish forces
retreating to Iloilo Province.
❏ A couple of years later, American forces invaded Camarines Sur in 1900 and entered Naga City. The
revolutionary soldiers of the Philippines in the area of Naga City were forced to surrender in 1901 due
to sickness among their forces.
❏ In 1941 Naga City was invaded by the Japanese Imperial Army. But the Japanese occupation of Naga
City didn’t last long. In 1945, the Japanese forces in Naga City were defeated by the American troops
and the local guerilla fighters. Naga City was officially declared as a city in 1948.
❏ Naga City, the former capital of Camarines Sur, was founded in 1573. It was then called Nueva Caceres,
the namesake of a province in Spain that belongs to the original five royal cities of the colony. Nueva
Caceres was designated as the province's capital by virtue of Philippine Legislative Act No. 2711
approved on March 10, 1917, until June 6, 1955. After this, Pili, the adjoining town, was declared the
provincial capital by virtue of Republic Act 1336. Presently, Pili remains the capital of Camarines Sur.
❏ Imagine two towns or villages and a river is in between them, the one on the left part was found and
discovered by Juan de Salcedo during one of his expeditions in 1573. The village on the right side of
the river, however, was found by Capt, Pedro de Chavez a commander of the garrison left by Salcedo.
Thus the left side which was found by Juan de Salcedo is the original location of Naga, while the one
on the right side was the current business center of the city was found by Capt. Pedro de Chavez in
1575. The one Juan de Salcedo found was the original location of Naga and the one Capt. Pedro de
Chavez was the one across the river which he named Ciudad de Caceres. It soon merged into one
earning the name Nueva Caceres and was later declared and named Naga City.
❏ Elias Angeles and Felix Plazo were revolutionary leaders who led the ousting of the Spaniards from
Camarines Sur, particularly from Nueva Caceres. Under their brave leadership, the Bicolanos in the
province fought back in a bloody yet triumphant war to free their land from the Spanish Regime.
❏ Jesse M. Robredo is one of the most notable persons in the history of Naga even until now. Together
with his wife Leni Robredo they lived a peaceful and simple life. A humble family who love to serve the
people. Jesse M. Robredo gained a lot of awards especially after his death that was caused by an
unfortunate plane crash.
❏ Jesse Robredo has brought about 112 awards to Naga City ranging from local to international awards
through his leadership and the people of Naga. Beyond this, he even received posthumous awards in
2012 such as the Philippine Legion of Honor (given by the President then, Noynoy Aquino, as Chief
Commander of the Order of Defense Merit of the Philippines), the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award
(given by the Civil Service Commission), and the prestigious Quezon Service Cross (given by former
President Noynoy to honor his exemplary service to the country).
STORY:

Title: Two Sides Of A Coin

TWO SIDES OF A COIN

There was once a pile of treasure hidden somewhere. A bunch of hunters went on a hunt to look for it.
In that pile of treasure, there was an estimate of 7, 107 boxes or containers, all of different sizes and colors.
Each one may relatively look related to the other but they also stand out in the crowd and has these unique
characteristics of their own. The bunch of hunters was able to find where the pile of treasure was. They came
across one of the containers, and the leader finds it quite interesting and fascinating.

The name of the troop’s leader is Juan de Salcedo, it was their second hunt when they found the said
location where the leader found the interesting container. Inside the container are a bunch of coins and other
treasures, all have made their presence known. And the leader finds this specific coin inside the container
peculiar and interesting. Despite how old the whole treasure is and the time period when they found it, it was
quite ahead of its time. The coin was actually only half, only the one side of the coin was what Juan de Salcedo
found in 1573 and he named that side of the coin Naga. Naga means narra because the place where they found
the treasure and container where the coin was found, have many Narra trees around, it was a place abundant
with Narra trees.

Two years later, in 1575, one of the members of Juan de Salcedo’s troop found the other side of the
coin. That one member’s name was Captain Pedro de Chavez, he’s a commander of the troop that was left by
Juan de Salcedo’s troop. Turns out that it was lying close to the other side of the coin that Juan de Salcedo
founded last 1573 which was called Naga. And this side of the coin was not that behind compared to the other
side, it survived and flourish on its own as well. Capt. Pedro de Chavez then named it Ciudad de Caceres, in
honor of Francisco de Sande, the governor-general and a native of the city of Caceres in Spain. Since Juan de
Salcedo’s troop was from Spain. The coin was a Spanish city as Capt. Pedro de Chavez found it and named it
Ciudad de Caceres.

The sides of the coin continued to flourish as time pass by. Those two sides of the coin were later
combined into one coin. Naga which Juan de Salcedo founded in 1573 and Ciudad de Caceres which Capt.
Pedro de Chavez found in 1575. The combined sides of the coin created a beautiful piece. It was then called
Nueva Caceres. In time, Spanish city and native village merged into one community and became popularly
known as Nueva Caceres, obviously to distinguish it from its namesake in Spain. It had a city government as
prescribed by Spanish law, with an ayuntamiento and cabildo of its own. At the beginning of the 17th century,
there were only five other Ciudades in that pile of treasure. The coin faced a lot of things, storms and
earthquakes tried to break the coin but survived it.

The coin which now contained the sides which Juan de Salcedo and Capt. Pedro de Chavez found was
passed down to a lot of people. There was this one time when the coin was taken by foreign people who tried
to seize the treasure by defeating the other foreign group. But before this, that defeated foreign group during
the advent of their rule, it was reduced to a municipality. In 1919, it lost its Spanish name, when, by law, it
became officially known as Naga. It acquired its present city charter in 1948, and its city government was
inaugurated on December 15 of the same year. A lot had taken the coin into custody but one of the most
notable ones was Jesse M. Robredo. He made the coin to flourish even more. The coin shined brighter and
seemed to catch up to the coins of the treasure that was actually more modern. He achieved and did many
things not only for the coin called Naga City but also for the whole pile of treasure where its container was
found. Sadly he died in a plane crash. Now the coin is under Nelson Legacion, now under his custody, the coin
still continues to flourish and catch up with the rest of the stuff that was found in the treasure and the
container where it was found.

SYMBOLISM/REPRESENTATION:
❏ Pile of treasure
❏ Philippines (Archipelago)
❏ Container
❏ Islands that can be found in the Philippines at that time
❏ Each side of the coin
❏ The two villages that can be found separately on the two sides of the river
❏ Coin (combined)
❏ Naga city
❏ Storm and Earthquakes
❏ The numerous challenges like conquerors and invaders
❏ Bunch/group of Hunters (the troop)
❏ A troop led by Juan de Salcedo
❏ Hunt
❏ The expedition that Juan de Salcedo led in 1573.
SOURCES:

Philippine Cities: History of Naga City (Quick scan and to check if the information or data is consistent with the ones from
the official site of the city)
Philippine Insider
https://www.philippinesinsider.com/luzon/philippine-cities-history-of-naga-city/

Camsur Brief History (Details about Elias Angeles and Felix Plazo)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
PROVINCE OF CAMARINES SUR
REGION V - BICOL (Official Site)
https://www.camsur.com/about/province-brief-history

Quick Facts About Naga City (some details for consistency’s sake and verification)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
NAGA CITY
CAMARINES SUR - REGION V (Official Site)
http://naga.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/CDP-2011-20-Final-Chapter-1-Quick-Facts-About-Naga-City.pdf

CITY PROFILE | HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (Most of the information that I got came from here since it’s in the official site
of the city)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
NAGA CITY
CAMARINES SUR - REGION V (Official Site)
https://naga.gov.ph/cityprofile/

Sites where I get the information about Jesse M. Robredo (I got this idea of him being one of the notable persons since I
am already in my elementary years when he died and my father really look up to him)

City Strategy and Governance: The Naga City Experience by Jesse M. Robredo (One of the proofs of Jesse M.
Robredo not only to the city but also to the nation)
A pdf file from ww1.worldbank.org that I found in google
http://www1.worldbank.org/publicsector/PoliticalEconomy/November3Seminar/NagaCityExperience.PDF (work of Jesse
M. Robredo)

Who is Jesse Robredo (where I got about the achievements of Jesse Robredo)
Jesse Robredo Foundation
https://jesserobredofoundation.com/Who-is-Jesse-Robredo/

Interviews: Jesse Robredo (some details like his achievements and an official interview with him by the people
who created the site)
Innovations for Successful Societies
Building Institutions, Escaping Development Traps
https://successfulsocieties.princeton.edu/interviews/jesse-robredo