The History of Towns in Region VIII, Philippines
These histories were taken from the book Leyte Towns, Histories/Legends by Francisco S. Tantuico Jr of Tacloban City. Click on a town and view the history below the menu.
La Paz
The legend of La Paz, bordering on fiction and history, is an
interesting one.
It is said that long ago, a fisherman from Samar named
Capuyong came to Abuyog to market his
catch. There he met and fell in love with Casinas and they were
married according to pre-Spanish customs. After marriage, they
left Abuyog to look for a place in which to live.
Coming to a river that is now called Gibuga, they followed its
source until they reached a tributary that was named Cabadyangan
River where they decided to stay. They had three children:
Garcia, Gabic and Badol. Gabic left for Hindang, while Badol
settled in Dagami. Garcia, the eldest,
stayed home. He married a certain Agustina of Abuyog with whom he
had 18 children.
Meanwhile, the Spaniards had settled in Abuyog.
They found it difficult to convert Casinal and Capuyong to
Christianity. The couple clung obstinately to their religion.
Condemned to die for refusing to embrace the new religion, they
were tied to a jar full of stones and flung off the coast of Dulag.
Only a few families, descendants of Capuyong and Casinas,
inhabited Cabadyangan until 1876. Criminals from the neighboring
town of Burauen found a perfect haven in the forests of
Cabadyangan. Teniente Paulino (Pauk) Camasin of Burauen heard
that the culprits hid in the forest of Cabadyangan and he decided
to pursue them.
While he was there, he noticed the fertility of the soil and
was attracted by the virgin forests of the region. When he
returned to Burauen, he told the people
there about the "land of promise" that he saw. The Burauen people were fascinated by the
prospect of the new land that they decided to settle there. A
sitio was born and among those who settled there was Capitan
Estefanio de Paz of Dulag.
A chapel was built in the sitio before 1886. The chapel was
called "rosaryohan." Spanish missionaries visited this
place to teach the natives the doctrine. However, the people had
to go to Dulag for the Holy Week and days
of obligation in order to attend mass.
Teniente Pauk Camasin in the meantime had married Fermina, a
descendant of Capulong and Casinas. They were childless for nine
years. They prayed hard for a child and promised that they would
secure an image for "rosaryohan" if their prayers were
answered. Fermina dreamt of our Lady of Peace (Nuestra Señora de
la Paz y Buen Viaje). In that dream, their prayers were answered.
A few months later, a child was born to a very happy couple.
True to their promise, they sailed to Manila to secure an
image of Our Lady of Peace. When the parish priest of Burauen heard of the incident, he ordered
that the image be brought to his church immediately. But the
people of Cabadyangan had learned to love the image that they
believed to be miraculous. Upon the orders of the Burauen parish priest, the image was
brought to the church there but after a few days the image
disappeared. The next day, after it was believed stolen, the
image was found in her rightful place at the Chapel of
Cabadyangan.
As often as the image was ordered back to Burauen, so often did the people of
Cabadyangan steal the image and return their beloved Lady of
Peace to their chapel.
One day, the presence of "amor seco" at the hem of
the dress of Our Lady caused a stir in the sitio. Our Lady had
not been brought to the chapel by human hands. She had come to
the barrio chapel by herself. At the same time, the parish priest
of Burauen dreamt that should the image
be ordered back to Burauen, some
mysterious punishment would be brought upon him. From that time
on, Our Lady of Peace remained in her chapel.
Until then, the sitio was named Cabadyangan. When the question
of official name came up, the people unanimously selected the
name "La Paz" -in honor of their beloved patroness.
The first hermana mayor was Victoriano Relano in 1908 when the
first celebration of the fiesta in honor of the "Nuestra
Senora de la Paz y Buen Viaje" was held.
At first, La Paz was made a barrio of Burauen
in 1903. Capitan Estefanio de Paz was the first teniente del
barrio. Three leaders went to Manila to petition to the central
government to raise La Paz to the status of a municipality. With
the help of provincial leaders, La Paz was declared a fourth
class town in 1918.
On July 14, 1942, the Japanese forces invaded La Paz. A
company of soldiers occupied the town with their garrison at the
central school building. Because guerrillas constantly harassed
them, the troops stayed in La Paz for only three weeks. However,
one month later, more troops came. They constructed strong
trenches around the school site. The Japanese abolished existing
political parties and formed the "Kalibapi." They
organized the local government and appointed a puppet mayor.
The Japanese tried to control the whole population of La Paz
and organized the neighborhood associations in the poblacion as
well as in the barrios.
Schools were opened with emphasis on Nippongo, the Japanese
language and the Asiatic ideologies.
Guerrillas infiltrated the town to learn about the enemy
strength that was considered important information for the coming
liberation. Many La Paznons risked their lives on these dangerous
missions.
In 1945, La Paz was liberated. Guided by their patroness, the
people of La Paz expanded to its present status. It now
encompasses 28 barrios in a total land area of 13,200 hectares.
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