SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF

Nagcarlan City

Nagcarlan, officially the Municipality of Nagcarlan (Tagalog: Bayan ng Nagcarlan), is a 2nd class
municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a
population of 64,866 people.[5]
Nagcarlan
Municipality

Municipality of Nagcarlan

Mount San Cristobal and Nagcarlan Town Proper

Flag
Seal

Anthem: Martsa ng Nagcarlan[1]

 Map of Laguna with Nagcarlan highlighted
OpenStreetMaNagcap
.

Wikimedia |© OpenStreetMap
• Assets ₱456,484,564.12 (2020)
• Expenditure ₱210,465,899.15 (2020)
• Liabilities ₱111,121,610.84 (2020)
Service provider
• Electricity Manila Electric Company (Meralco) Time zone UTC+8 (PST)

ZIP code 4002

PSGC (https://psa.gov.ph/classification/psgc/) 043417000 (https://psa.gov.ph/classification/psg c/?
q=psgc/barangays/043417000&regcode=04&pr
ovcode=34)
IDD : area code +63 (0)49
Native languages Tagalog

It is 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) northeast of San Pablo City, or 103 kilometres (64 mi) south of Manila.
The town is home to the Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery, one of the most important cemeteries
in the Philippines which has been declared as a National Historical Landmark by virtue of
Presidential Decree no. 260, dated August 1, 1973 with amendments by Administrative Order 1505,
dated June 11, 1978. Since the declaration, no more burials were allowed in the cemetery. It
underwent renovations before it was again opened to the public during the unveiling of the marker
on november 24, 1981. The oldest tomb is dated 1887 while the last interment was in 1982 when it
was formally declared as a National Historical Landmark.
Etymology

According to origin, the name Nagcarlan came from the name of a famous rich and generous woman
by Ana Kalang or Ana Panalangin was a native woman who was known for her golden salakot and
cane which she always carried when walking around town. She was well-respected by the townfolk
not just for her wealth but also for the help she extends to those in need. One day, a Spaniard came
to her house and upon looking out of the window, he saw branches swaying and hitting one
another, and so he asked what was going on. Ana Kalang answered and said "nagkakalang sila". The
word was repeatedly mispronounced by the Spaniards until it became Nagcarlan, which is now the
name of the town.

History

Before the Spanish conquest of the area, it was headed by Gat Lakilaw. Christianity was
propagated to the area in 1578 through Fr. Juan de Plasencia and Fr. Diego Oropesa, both
missionaries of Franciscan Order. The area became a formal town in 1583 under Fr. Tomas de
Miranda, who brought and successfully cultivated in Nagcarlan the first wheat seeds ever on our
country's soil. The very first Gobernadorcillo was Gaspar Cahupa, a Nagcarleno who served until
1687. The first church was built in 1752 by Fr. Cristobal Torres. In 1851, Fr. Vicente Velloc, a
Franciscan Missionary built the Underground Cemetery, the first of its kind in the Philippines.
According to Historical records, this is where the historic Biac-Na-Bato pact was planned by Pedro
Paterno and General Severino Taino in 1897. It was also in Nagcarlan, where the Brain of the
Katipunan, General Emilio Jacinto , coming from Majayjay and wounded, was captured.

The Legend of the Hidden Tunnel of Nagcarlan

Nagcarlan was first colonized in 1571 by Juan de Salcedo, grandson of Miguel Ló pez de Legazpi. It
was founded by Franciscan priests Juan de Plasencia and Diego Oropesa in 1578. The church of
Nagcarlan was first built from light materials such as nipa and wood in 1583 under the chaplaincy of
its first priest, Father Tomas de Miranda who also pioneered the cultivation of wheat in the country
and was dedicated to Saint Bartholomew.Fr. Vicente Velloc supervised the establishment of a
cemetery in Nagcarlan in 1845 below Mt. San Cristobal. Unlike the traditional Spanish cemeteries at
that time, Fr. Velloc decided to build it away from the town's center. The cemetery is planned to
serve as a public resting place for the people of the town while the underground chamber below the
chapel of the cemetery will only house remains of Spanish friars and prominent people. It was built
together with the construction of the expanded St. Bartholomew Parish Church and rectory. The
cemetery is built with a chapel where funeral masses were held and directly below it is an
underground crypt. Pilgrims flock to the Nagcarlan Church to pray before the images of St.
Bartholomew and San Diego de Alcala known for their miraculous healing. However, there is also
one interesting belief among the locals about a hidden tunnel which is referred to as "the Jewel of
Nagcarlan" the stories about the existence of a "hidden tunnel of the Nagcarlan Underground
Cemetery" circulated and never ceased to depart from the minds of the believers. This legend has
been passed from generations after generations of Nagcarleñ os about the hidden tunnel somewhere
in the very heart of Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery that is believed to be connected behind the
church's Altar. Stories unendingly chronicled that the Franciscan Father Vicente Belloc who
supposedly had the first hand knowledge of the secret tunnel, protectively carried the secret of the
underground tunnel to his grave. To this date, many in Nagcarlan still believe and adhere to the
"hearsays" that if one can locate "the Jewel of Nagcarlan", "the Hidden Tunnel of Nagcarlan
Underground Cemetery that connects below the Altar of Nagcarlan Catholic Church, he might also be
tracking his way up to the summit of the Legendary Mount Banahaw.
Poverty Incidence of Nagcarlan

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

Transportation

Tricycles and jeepneys are popular modes of transportation in Nagcarlan.

Tourism
Spanish-era San Bartolome Apostol Parish Church

Nagcarlan has clean flowing rivers, gushing water falls, calm lakes and lush hills and mountains,
historic Spanish colonial sites, restaurants with competitive and affordable dishes, resorts and
vacation houses.
Along Rizal Avenue, leading from the market to the municipio still stands many old Art Deco
buildings built during the 1920s to the 1930s. The presence of many narrow three-story buildings
where the ground floors are rented out to commercial establishments in Nagcarlan is an indication
that the town may have played the role of the central trading center early in the previous century.

There are also many natural attractions within Nagcarlan. The little known Bunga Falls is a favorite
getaway among the locals, while the hidden Yambo Lake can be accessed through the back roads
going to Calauan. The "baby" mountains can be climbed in a day, the assistance of a local guide is
usually required, as the trails are usually covered with vegetation. Another interesting attraction is
the San Bartolome Apostol Church. Located on an elevated ground overlooking the rest of the town,
the 18th century church built by the Franciscans has an elegant stone and red clay façade with an
imposing bell-tower on the right and an attractive convento on the left. The parish officials still allow
visitors to climb up to the top of the bell tower to see where Anne Curtis shot most of her scenes in
the famous TV series Kampanerang Kuba.

Nagcarlan's best known attraction is Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery. This one of its kind
cemetery in the Philippines, where there are 240 niches laying above ground and 36 niches
underground. Members of the town's elite were buried underground below the funeral chapel. It is
said that the underground cemetery was used by the Katipuneros to hold their secret meetings.

Notable personalities

Esteban Baldivia - (September 2, 1928 – October 10, 1997), better known as Dencio Padilla or
Tata Dens, was a veteran Filipino actor and comedian.
Jak Roberto - Jan Rommel "Jak" Osuna Roberto (born December 2, 1993) is a Filipino actor, model
and singer. He was a member of the trio boy band 3LOGY alongside Jeric Gonzales and Abel
Estanislao. Roberto is currently working as an exclusive artist of GMA Network, and is known for
his role as Andres "Andoy" dela Cruz in the 2017 television series Meant to Be. Roberto is brother
to fellow GMA artist Sanya Lopez.

The Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery is a national historical landmark and museum in

Barangay Bambang, Nagcarlan, Laguna supervised by the National Historical Commission of
the Philippines. It was built in 1845 under the supervision of Franciscan priest, 

Although the name may sound awful, the lake is impressively beautiful for adventure. We
sailed around the lake using a bamboo raft and visited its neighbouring twin, Pandin lake.
Our teenage siblings enjoyed the experience. 

Yambo Lake 

Nagcarlan Forest Resort 

There are a lot of forest and cold spring resorts in Nagcarlan. During our ocular inspection,
we became much interested to Nagcarlan Forest Resort. It has a lot of big pools and has a
direct access to the natural cold spring of the forest. Some of the hotel rooms were also
designed like the traditional filipino houses. We would certainly come back to try the
accommodation experience. 

Ana Kalang floats 

The best time to go to Nagcarlan is from April 18 to April 22 when they celebrate their
town’s Ana Kalang Festival. Annually, they set up float contests where each baranggay
has to construct their creative versions of Ana Kalang. Ana Kalang is the name of the
native who founded the town in 1665. She is well known for her affluence and charity.
She funded the construction of the town’s first church and the Katipunero’s revolution
against the colonisers. 
Ana Kalang Festival Streetdance
During Ana Kalang Festival, apart from commemorating their founder Ana Kalang, they also
celebrate the good year of harvest of their baranggays/villages. They normally dance on the
streets showing their grateful smiles even under the heat of scorching summer and costumes
made of their local products. 

San Bartolome Apostol Parish Church 

The church was the film location of the 1974 hit-movie Kampanerang Kuba starring Vilma
Santos and its 2005 Teleseries remake starring Anne Curtis 

Nagcarlan, Laguna Famous and Delicious Pianono (Ocho Ocho) 

Menudo is a traditional spicy Mexican soup that is made with cow’s stomach (tripe) in
broth with a red chili pepper base. It was said that when the Spaniards colonized
Mexico, vegetables were added to this soup and it was introduced to the Philippines via
Galleon Trade (Manila – Acapulco, Mexico) by Spanish missionaries who brought this
dish to Nagcarlan, Laguna, a province of the Philippines.
References

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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nagcarlan.

Philippine Standard Geographic Code (https://psa.gov.ph/classification/psgc/?q=psgc/baran

gays/043417000&regcode=04&provcode=34)

Philippine Census Information (https://web.archive.org/web/20131004104825/http://census.

gov.ph/)

Local Governance Performance Management System (http://www.blgs.gov.ph/lgpmsv2/cmsh

ome/index.php?pageID=23&frmIdDcfCode=7&fLguType=CM&frmIdRegion=6&frmIdProvince=
36&frmIdLgu=694)