Kasaysayan ng Lipa

12/06/2026

When General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine Independence in Cavite on June 12, 1898, Filipino revolutionary forces were still engaged in battle against the last major Spanish military force in Southern Luzon, led by Colonel Juan Rodríguez Navas. The conflict, which began on June 7, 1898, in Lipa, involved approximately 500 Spanish soldiers entrenched in the town. Fighting continued even after the declaration of independence, including house-to-house combat, until the Spanish forces made an honorable and bloodless surrender to General Eleuterio Marasigan on June 18, 1898.

Sources:
Recuerdos de un Prisionero de los Tagalos by Dr. Santos Rubiano Herrera (Eng. Trans. Memoirs of a Prisoner of the Tagalogs - Notes and Translation by R. Katigbak and M. Pajarillo, FSC, 2024].
Diario de Guerra y Cautiverio by Juan Verd Sastre.
Una Fecha Gloriosa (18 de Junio 1898) by Pedro Laygo Macasaet published in Columnas Volantes de la Federación Malaya, 18 June 1899.

[Research and Historical Creatives by Renz Katigbak]

03/04/2026

The late 19th-century Santo Entierro of Lipa.

13/03/2026

Don Manuel Luz (1858–1942) was a prominent Lipeño coffee planter, civic leader, and revolutionary whose life reflected the economic rise and trials of Batangas during the late 19th century. Son of the pioneering planter José Luz, he inherited one of Lipa’s major coffee estates and was recognized at the 1887 Batangas fair as a leading coffee producer. Though often remembered in connection with his wife, Segunda Katigbak, and the youthful romance of José Rizal, his life extended far beyond that episode. During the Revolution and the Philippine-American War, he supported the nationalist cause and served as a "comandante" under General Miguel Malvar while also writing political commentary in the Lipeño newspaper "Columnas Volantes de la Federación Malaya". In later years he remained active in agriculture and public life, leaving behind the legacy of a planter, patriot, and public intellectual rooted in the history of Lipa.

05/02/2026

Nuestra Señora del Carmen de Lipa, an early 20th-century image venerated at the Carmel church. (Photos by Renz Katigbak).

31/01/2026

Dr. Baldomero Luz Roxas: Doctor of the Revolution and Pioneer of Philippine Medicine

Dr. Baldomero Roxas y Luz (1869–1965) was a significant figure in Philippine medicine, known as the "Doctor of the Revolution." He balanced a career as a physician with roles as an educator and writer, actively participating in the Philippine struggle for independence. Roxas profoundly impacted obstetrics and gynecology and influenced generations of doctors....

Dr. Baldomero Roxas y Luz (1869–1965) was a significant figure in Philippine medicine, known as the “Doctor of the Revolution.” He balanced a career as a physician with roles as an educ…

19/01/2026

To celebrate the feast of San Sebastian, our city’s patron saint, we share a 1913 novenario dedicated to him, from the Luz–Katigbak family collection.

02/11/2025

We feature the headstones of some prominent and illustrious Lipeños found in the old Campo Santo de Lipa:

Don Benito Reyes y Katigbak (1871-1925): A true Reformist and Revolutionary Figure, Reyes was a key municipal figure and an Assemblyman, known for his political service and his rank of Major in the Philippine Republican army during the war against American sovereignty.

Don Valerio Inciong Kalaw (1858-1937): A distinguished Lipa Presidente Municipal and Revolutionary Figure, whose life spanned the late Spanish colonial era into the Commonwealth period, embodying the spirit of local leadership and resistance.

Familia Roxas-Luz: These headstones represent a prominent clan of Lipeños who held important civic and religious roles, like Don Sixto Roxas y Panganiban and Doña Alejandra Luz y Mitra, both Presidents of the Apostolado de la Oración de Lipa. It was also the resting place of their highly educated grandson, José Leyesa Roxas, an aspiring physician who attended Johns Hopkins University in America, but he passed away while studying there.

24/10/2025

Did you know that the remains of a beloved Lipeño priest rest inside the sacristy of the Lipa Cathedral?