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Alfonso Town, Cavite Province, Region IV, Philippines
Formerly a Barrio called Alas-as, then a part of Indang, the town of Alfonso was established on May 16,1859 during the administration of Gobernadorcillo (little governor) Bonifacio Aveo. It was named after Spanish King Alfonso XII, son of Queen Isabel II, who abdicated her throne on January 25, 1870, following a tumultuous reign of 25 years climaxed by the revolution of 1868. The barrio got its name from a tree called Alas-as, which is used for house construction and bears sweet fruits.
Alfonso had seven barrios at the time of its establishment as a regular municipality; namely Taywanak, Pajo, Esperanza, Marahan, Matagbak, Sinaliw and Kaytitinga. Twenty-four years later, in 1883, during the administration of Gobernadorcillo Lucio Credo (1883-1884), a new barrio called Manggas was created. From the joint research conducted by the Cavite Public School teachers in 1953, brief histories of some of the barrios of Alfonso have been written and are now available to the public.
The name barrio Sinaliw, for instance, was derived from Salio or Sinaliw, a local corruption of the Spanish word Salir (to go out) because being out-of-the-way barrio, one had to go out there purposely to reach the place. The Sitios comprising this barrio are Pulyok, Bilog, Talipusngo, Dapadas, Kaytayo, Putok and Pinag-ardihan. The barrio of Matagbak, on the other hand, had derived its name from a wild plant tagbag. It has two sitios, Catiday and Putol.
Taywanak, another barrio of Alfonso, also got its name from a tree by that name. It has many Sitios, namely, Lomang Munti, Lomang Malaki or Santonisan, Katmon, Pulo Inga, Anagatli, Panalungtungang, Igos ng Sanggulo, and Panikihan.
The barrio of Luksuhin (sometimes called Pansin) used to be a vast forest abounding in wild pigs, deers, monkeys and wild birds. Now it is a blooming barrio and a source of income for the municipality of Alfonso. Formerly known as Tigas, it is now called barrio Esperanza, the name called by a Spanish priest who gave the barrio a patron saint, San Vicente de Ferrer.
Upli is the smallest and youngest barrio of Alfonso. It was established in 1946 after the country's liberation from the Japanese. Its name was derived from Asis Upli, a tree growing on the banks of a small stream from which people from far and near draw their drinking water. It is also known by two other names, Hawilian and Swanggi.
Pajo is another barrio named after a fruit. The original families that settled here were those of Salamat, Bagor, Herminio, Jimeno and Rosanes. Marahan is a barrio near the Poblacion. Barrio folks used to come to town on horseback. horses started the long journey galloping, but upon entering this barrio, a lot of energy must have been spent and the riders allowed them to go on a trot-Marahan (meaning slowly), to be sure that they will have the energy to reach the town.
Kaytitinga is the forested barrio mentioned by General Emilio Aguinaldo in his book"Mga Gunita Ng Himagsikan" (Memoirs of the Revolution). It was here where General Artemio Ricarte and his troops fled when Aguinaldo surprised Andres Bonifacio and his followers in a secret meeting at the Naic estate house where they concluded the treasonous and counter-revolutionary Naic Military Agreement proposing to establish a separate government and army after the ill fated Tejeros Convention of March 22,1897.
-- according to the source, contributed by Boy Fermin
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