Imus Municipality 4.36

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Like Cavite (originally called Cavite La Punta) and Noveleta (La Tierra Alta), the municipality of Imus used to be a part of Cavite el Viejo (now Kawit), whose parish church was built by the Jesuits during the administration of Manila Archbishop Garcia Serrano, 1618-1629. For more than a century and a half the people of Imus had to endure walking or traveling 4.5 kilometers of dirt road to attend religious services or transact official business in the town proper. The difficulty of communication between Imus and Cavite el Viejo was long-standing complaint of the Imuseños until another religious order, the Augustinian Recollects, as a consequence of the British occupation of Manila in 1762, established a parish church in Imus, in what is now known as Bayang Luma.

However, the church site was far from the estate house of the 27,500-acre hacienda (about 11,129 hectares, more or less) acquired in 1686 by the Recollect Corporation, and when the church was destroyed by the strong typhoon of September 1779, the Recollect Friars transferred it to barrio Toclong, and finally to sitio de Balangon, now the town plaza of Imus.

With the establishment of the Recollect parish the people of Imus gained their religious emancipation from the Jesuit-run parish of Cavite el Viejo. The Recollects, however, would not be content with little victory or achievement. In

1774, Recollect Fr. Pedro San Buenaventura petitioned the government to “separate the inquilinos of Imus from the political jurisdiction of the government of Cavite el Viejo”. After a considerable time of waiting, the petition was granted and Imus became an independent municipality on October 3, 1795.

There are at least four versions on the origin of the name of the municiplality. Imus is a Tagalog word meaning “piece of land cutting into the junction of two rivers.” Not two but three rivers pass through Imus and irrigate its lands. A second version is a rationalization of a geographical fact. Some intellectuals of the town theorized that the name “Imus” originated from the Latin word infimus, meaning lowland. The town of Imus is usually used as reference when one compares the altitudes of different places in Cavite province. For instance, Imus is described as lowland, and the neighboring towns of Silang, Indang, Amadeo, Mendez, Alfonzo and Gen. Aguinaldo as upland towns. Tagaytay City is at the peak of a mountain ridge, and Imus at the foot.

A third version is pure legend. The name Imus is said to be derived from the word centimos, the smallest unit of metal currency during the Spanish time. Once upon a time a detachment of Spanish soldiers was stationed at the Recollect estate house, and after they left a few natives scrounged the place for articles left behind. They found a number of coins-centimos-and went away exclaiming in utter delight, “Centimos! Centimos!”. The place has since been identified as Imus.

Still another legend is that of a young mother crooning her child to sleep with a plaintive Tagalog ditty called Limos. A group of Spanish soldiers, who had gone there for the first time, asked her name of the place, and the woman, thinking that they were asking her the name of the song, answered “Limos”. The Spaniards went away muttering the las syllable “imus”.

Imus has a total population of 243,811 as of 1998, from twenty one barangays, there are now a total of 97, but the principal barangays which have been divided into two or more each, are known still as Barangays 1, 2, 3 & 4 (Poblacion); Malagasang 1 & 2; Bucandala; Anabu 1 & 2; Pasong Buaya; Bayan Luma; Medicion 1 & 2; Carsadang Bago; Alapan 1 & 2; Tanzang Luma; Pag-asa (formerly Tinabunan); Buhay na Tubig; Toclong 1 & 2 and Palico.

Equally interesting are the origins of the names of some barrios of Imus. For instance, barrio Malagasang got its name from the fact that its numerous feuds with neighboring barangays it rarely suffered any loss of human life-di malagasan, in Tagalog. Barrio Bucandala, on the other hand, is descriptive of its configuration i.e., looking like an open fish net (bukang dala). The historic barrio of Alapan, where the first successful battle of the second phase of the Revolution took place on May 28, 1898, derived its name from an incident involving a Spanish officer, who being there for the first time, inquired about the name of the place were the people were busy sorting out, looking for something from a huge pile of farm implements. Thinking that he was asking what they were doing, one of the natives replied, “Hanapan po ng kasangkapan” (We are looking for farm implements). Though the story is not quite plausible, one can take it or leave it!

Legend has it that in barrio Anabu there lived a Chinaman who fell head over heel in love with a local lass. However, the maiden did not reciprocated his affection. One day the girl eloped with her lover, and learning about it, the Chinese broke down and ran about the village crying loudly, “Ana bo! Ana bo! (Ana is gone! Ana is gone!)

Not long afterwards the Chinese died, and to perpetuated the memory of the incident the place was called “Ana-bo”, which eventually evolved into Anabu.

The barrio of Karsadang Bago (meaning new road) lies along newly-built road linking barrio Tinabunan (covered) to the poblacion of Imus. Likewise, the barrio of Bayang Luma (old town) is descriptive of its name. The barrio of Medicion was named after two sisters, Medy and Sion, whose untimely death left their disconsolate mother crying, “Medy! Sion! Medy! Sion!’ The name of barrio Toclong, so goes another rlegend, was mimicking of the dull, hollow sound of the first church bell heard in that place, “To clong! To clong!”

Barrio Malagasang got its name from the fact that in its numerous feuds with neighboring barangays it rarely suffered any loss of human life-di malagasan, in Tagalog.

Origin of some Barriors of IMUS:

Barrio Bucandala, on the other hand, is descriptive of its configuration looking like an open fish net (bukang-dala).
Alapan, the historic barrio where the first successful battle of the second phase of the Revolution took place on May 28, 1898, derived its name from an incident involving a Spanish officer who, being there for the first time, inquired about the name of the place where the people were busy sorting out, looking for something from a huge pile of farm implements. Thinking that he was asking that they were doing, one of the natives replied, “Hanapan po ng kasangkapan” (We are looking for farm implements). Though the story is not quite plausible, one can take it or leave it!
Barrio Anabu - Legend has it that in barrio Anabu there lived a Chinaman who fell head over heels in love with a local lass. However, the maiden did not reciprocate his affection. One day the girl eloped with her lover, and learning about it, the Chinese broke down and ran about the village crying loudly, “Ana bo! Ana bo!” (Ana is gone! Ana is gone!). Not long afterwards the Chinese died, and to perpetuate the memory of the incident the place was called “Ana-bo,” which eventually evolved into Anabu.
Barrio of Carsadang Bago (meaning new road) lies along newly built rod linking barrio Tinabunan (covered) to the Poblacion of Imus.
Bayan Luma - Likewise, the barrio of Bayan Luma (old town) is descriptive of its name.
The barrio of Medicion was named after two sisters, Medy and Sion, whose untimely death left their disconsolate mother crying, “Medy! Sion! Medy! Sion!”
The barrio Toclong, goes another legend, was a mimicking of the dull, hollow sound of the first church bell heard in that place, “Toclong! Toclong!”