Pila is a 4th class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 37,427 people in 7,750 households. Pila has a total land area of 3,120 hectares. Image File history File links Ph_locator_laguna_pila. ... A municipality (bayan in Filipino) is a local government unit in the Philippines. ... Map of the Philippines showing all the regions and their provinces. ... For other uses, see Laguna (disambiguation). ... Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the year 2000. ...

The town of Pila is site for some well-preserved houses dating back to the Spanish period as well as the old Saint Anthony of Padua Parish Church, the first Antonine church in the Philippines. Jump to: navigation, search Saint Anthony of Padua Saint Anthony of Padua, also venerated as Anthony of Lisbon, particularly in Portugal (August 15, 1195 - June 13, 1231) is a Catholic saint who was born in Lisbon as Fernando de Bulhões, to a wealthy family. ...

Barangays

Pila is politically subdivided into 17 barangays namely: Bulilan Norte, Bulilan Sur, Santa Clara Norte, Santa Clara Sur, Aplaya, Linga, Pinagbayanan, Labuin, Pook, Tubuan, San Antonio, Pansol, Masico, San Miguel, Bukal, Mojon and Concepcion. A barangay (Filipino: baranggay) is the smallest local government unit in the Philippines and is very similar to a village. ...

History

Pila and adjacent towns along the shores of Laguna de Bay are considered by archaeologists as one of the oldest settlements in the Philippines. The community is one of three such concentrations of population known archaeologically to have been in place before A.D. 1000. Archaeologists recovered in Pinagbayanan potteries and artifacts that indicate considerable settlement in the area during the Late Tang Dynasty (900 A.D.). Archaeologists also recovered ancient horse bones ending the debate on whether the Spaniards brought them or not. The scientists were able to uncover Philippines’ oldest crematorium in the same area. It is worthwhile to note that the oldest Philippine document, the 900 A.D. Laguna Copperplate Inscription, mentioned Pila twice. Laguna de Bay is the largest lake in the Philippines and the largest indland freshwater lake in South-East Asia. ... Jump to: navigation, search Also the name of a rock band. ... The Laguna Copperplate inscription, found 1989 in Laguna de Bay, in the metroplex of Manila, Philippines, has inscribed on it a date of Saka era 822, corresponding to April 21st, 900CE according to Vedic astronomy, containing words from Sanskrit, old Javanese, old Malay and old Tagalog, releasing its bearer, Namwaran...

The Franciscans arrived in 1578 to evangelize the people of Pila and soon afterwards built a church dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua, the first Antonine house of worship in the Philippines. Due to the nobleness and mildness of the character of its inhabitants, the Spanish leadership honored the town with an exceptional title La Noble Villa de Pila, one of five villas named by the Spaniards in the 16th and 17th century in the Philippines. During this period, the demesne of Pila includes Victoria, Laguna, and Jala-Jala, Rizal. Victoria is a 4th class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. ...

The Franciscans established in Pila the second printing press in the Philippines and printed in 1613, Philippines’ oldest dictionary and the first book printed using the movable type, the Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala. The book was written and compiled by Fray Pedro de San Buenaventura and printed by Tomas Pinpin, the Prince of Filipino printers. The book is twenty seven years older than the Bay Psalm Book, the first book printed in the United States in 1640. Movable Type is a proprietary weblog publishing system developed by California-based Six Apart. ... The Bay Psalm Book was the first book printed in British North America. ...

At the beginning of the 19th century the town was transferred from Pagalangan to the present site of Santa Clara because of perennial flooding.

The National Historical Institute of the Philippines declared the town plaza and surrounding ancestral houses a National Historical Landmark on 17 May 2000. Two years later, on July 9, 2002, the Diocese of San Pablo proclaimed the parish church of San Antonio de Padua de Pila as the Diocesan Shrine of St. Anthony. According to Philippine historian, Dr. Luciano Santiago, it is the only town in the Philippines that is formally recognized as a historical site by both the church and the state. --Jafiti 05:09, 2 October 2005 (UTC) Image File history File links Pila1931. ...

External links

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• 2000 Philippine Census Information
• History of Pila: A Secular and Spiritual History of the Town 900 A.D. to Present
• Pila:Bayang Pinagpala