Bay, Laguna

Bay (/baɪ/) (officially the Municipality of Bay; Tagalog: Bayan ng Bay; and colloquially known as Bae; Tagalog pronunciation: [bɐˈʔɛ]) is a municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 69,802 people.^[7]

The patron saint of Bay is Augustine of Hippo, whose feast day is celebrated during August 28. The adjacent Laguna de Bay, the country's largest freshwater lake, is named after the town.

In the old Tagalog language, the name Bay derives from the same phonetic roots as "baybay" (shore) and as "babae" (woman) and "babaylan" (priestess). The name can thus be thought of either as a reference to the shore of the lake, or to a great lady (cf. Sanskrit bai). In the case of the latter, it has been suggested that the great lady might be the same as Maria Makiling, as her mountain was within the scope of Bay's original territory.^[8]

The municipality was first inhabited by settlers under Datu Gat Pangil. R.P. Martin de Rada's mission resulted with Gat Pangil and his three daughters converting to the Catholic faith. The colloquial name of Bay, Bae is the old name of the town which came from three daughters of Datu Gat Pangil—Basilisa, Angela and Elena. For the modern or official name (Bay), it became Basilisa, Angela and Y'llena.^[9]

Just like the rest of the archipelago, the town of Bay has no extant records before the coming of Spanish conquistadors despite having existed long before. The Chinese must have come to the lakeshore towns to trade as early as the 9th century. The earliest account of Bay appeared in the conquest of island of Luzon published in April 20, 1572. It was described a great freshwater lake, 12 leguas wide and very deep. The villages around the lake had about 25,000 inhabitants when Captain Juan de Salcedo arrived in the area.

Bay is one of the oldest towns in Laguna province, and was the province's first capital. Its original territory covered the areas that are now known as Los Baños, Calauan, Alaminos and San Pablo (in addition to its current territory). The Spaniards pronounced the name of the town "Bah-ee" while the natives called it "Bah-eh."^[10] The similarity in spelling has led to the misconception that the town was named after Laguna de Bay,^[11] even as the Spaniards named the lake after this ancient Tagalog community.^[10]

The "official" recorded history of Bay, may be gleaned from the Augustinian Gaspar de San Agustín's Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas (1565- 1615) and Fr. Joaquín Mártines de Zúñiga’s Status of the Philippine Islands in 1800. Miguel López de Legaspi, after having established the City of Manila on June 24, 1571, ordered the exploration and pacification of the surrounding villages and settlements. Martín de Goiti led a contingent northwards to Pampanga while Juan de Salcedo, Legaspi's 22-year-old grandson, led his own party eastward up the Pasig River towards Laguna de Bay.

With him was Fr. Alonzo Alvarado, an Augustinian very zealous in converting the natives. From what are now Taytay and Cainta, Salcedo proceeded to Bay, Liliw, Nagcarlan, and Majayjay and other towns, where upon Fr. Alvarado's intercession, the natives surrendered peacefully to them with Fray Diego de Espinar and 60 men. He followed the rugged trails of the mountainous village of Sampaloc (now San Pablo) southeast towards the Bicol Region to find gold which was in mines along the Bicol River in Camarines Sur.

In 1571, Fr. Martín de Rada, superior of the Augustinians who came with the Legazpi expedition in 1565, started to build a bamboo and nipa church under the patronage of Saint Augustine of Hippo, along the lakeshore of Bay in Aplaya (now San Antonio). He became the first parish priest of Bay. On April 30, 1578, Fr. Joaquín de Zúñiga stated in the Historical View of the Philippine Islands that Bay was organized both as a town and a parish with Fr. Juan Gallegos as parish priest. On the same day, the village of Sampaloc was made a visita of the lakeside village where it was believed that the tribunal of ecclesiastical visitors of Bay was held. San Agustín further wrote that in 1586, the Augustinians organized the visita into a convento with a priest. The provincial, Fr. Diego Álvarez, handled the administration of Christianised natives, making Sampaloc into San Pablo de los Montes, and separate from Bay parish.

The powerful Gat Pangil was datu of this already thriving community in 1571 when Salcedo arrived with Alvarado and Espinar. It was Salcedo who took the name of the town and named the lake after it – Laguna de Bay ("Lake of [the town of] Bay"). Eventually, the Spanish called the whole province "La Provincia de la Laguna de Bay."

In 1581, San Antonio de Bay became the capital of the Province of Laguna de Bay, and remained so until 1688 when the capital was moved to Pagsanjan.^[12]

Bay is situated 20 kilometers (12 mi) from Santa Cruz and 67 kilometers (42 mi) southeast of Manila. It is also located at the east of Los Baños, west of Calauan, northeast of Santo Tomas and northwest of Alaminos.

Bay is politically subdivided into 15 barangays, as indicated below. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Bitin

Bitin is in the boundary of the provinces of Laguna and Batangas. The word "bitín" is the Tagalog translation of the English word "short." It is also known for its contribution to the harnessing of geothermal energy as a source of electricity in the Philippines, being the site of the Mak-Ban Geothermal Power Plant.

Calo

Barangay Calo was formed in the Spanish era, where the native Filipinos lived in the jungle. The area is known for its abundance of kalaw (Philippine hornbill, Buceros hydrocorax), the Spanish transcribing the bird’s name as "calo".

Dila

Its name came from Tagalog word "dilà" meaning "tongue" as it looks like a tongue if viewed on a map of Bay. It is the easternmost part of the town.

Maitim

The name from the Spanish colonial era refers to the area’s dark soil, hence people calling it "maitím" ("black"). Another folk etymology is the area was a forest burnt black in a fire, with only charred wood and ashes left.

Masaya

The barangay’s name masayá means "happy". The upper part from the railway was part of Tranca, while the lower part towards town was part of Puypuy. When the railway was built in the early 20th century, a train station was built there, making it a commercial center for five barangays of upland Bay. Grocery stores, dress shops, hardware and sari-sari stores sprouted around the train station, and the festive air had those leaving home for the place to say they were heading "doón sa masayá" ("where it is happy").

Paciano Rizal

Formerly known as Mainit ("hot"), and renamed after Paciano Rizal, the eldest brother of national hero Dr. José Rizal, who was said to have owned and lived on a farm in this barangay.

Puypuy

It was said a big meteor once fell in the area and natives reported a falling "fire" (Tagalog: apóy), which Spaniards mispronounced as "puypuy".

In 2010, a team of experts unearthed precolonial jars in the Barangay. University of the Philippines Los Baños anthropologist and marine biologist Dr. Bonifacio Comandante, Jr, who led the team, suggested the objects indicate "there was a community here and they used the pots and jars for jar-burial", highly suggesting human habitation of the area as early as circa 800 B.C.^[14]

San Antonio

Named after St. Anthony of Padua, it is where the original and first church of the town was situated. Folklore holds the church was submerged by Laguna de Bay when a super typhoon caused severe floods. The village celebrates the saint’s feast day on June 13.

San Isidro

Named after St. Isidore the Labourer, the patron of farmworkers known for his piety toward the poor and animals. His feast day is on May 15.

Santa Cruz

Named after the Holy Cross.

Santo Domingo

Name after Saint Dominic Guzmán and Don Domingo Ordoveza, who once owned a large part of what was then sitio Tabon. The name was given by Donato Ople, a longtime school principal in the town.

The town holds two fiestas: one for its patron saint, Isidore the Labourer, on his feast of May 15; as well as its foundation day and Tilapia Festival to celebrate the local tilapia industry.

It has one of the fast-growing economies in Bay as it has commercial buildings and subdivisions. It is also site of the first mall in town, CityMall Bay.^[15]

San Agustín (Población)

Named after the town’s patron, Saint Augustine of Hippo, it is one of the barangays that make up the town proper. It is the location of Saint Augustine of Hippo Parish, the Municipal Hall, and is among the busiest barangays given its convenience stores. It is near the town's new public market, "Pamilihang Bayan ng Bay".

It is the home of the Tenorio's Bakery, widely famous for their Monay Bay (also Monay Bae).

San Nicolás (Población)

Named after Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, it is one of the barangay that makes up the town proper.

Tagumpay

Located in the shores of Laguna de Bay, the barangay was formerly part of San Antonio, which became a separate barangay the moment it became independent. Tagumpay is one of the barangays in town which does not have a school that offers secondary education. It retains the Tagumpay the same patron saint as San Antonio, Saint Anthony of Padua.

Tranca

The population of Tranca grew from 2,017 in 1990 to 3,388 in 2020, an increase of 1,371 people over the course of 30 years. The latest census figures in 2020 denote a positive growth rate of 0.19%, or an increase of 30 people, from the previous population of 3,358 in 2015.

In the 2024 census, the population of Bay, Laguna, was 69,802 people,^[21] with a density of 1,600 inhabitants per square kilometer or 4,100 inhabitants per square mile. Voter population as of 2016 is estimated to be 34,195, according to the COMELEC.^[22]

Like other local government units in Laguna, the town of Bay holds election every three years.

Tricycles and jeepneys are popular modes of transportation in Bay. Buses are available to Santa Cruz, Calamba, and Metro Manila.

The Bay Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[23]

• CARD-MRI Development Institute
• Science and Technology School of Los Baños

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• 1995 Philippine Census Information
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System