Alabat, officially the Municipality of Alabat (), is a municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the , it has a population of people.

The town is home to a few speakers of the critically endangered Inagta Alabat language, one of the most endangered languages in the world as listed by UNESCO.

It is founded in the year 1882 by a Spanish priest from Gumaca and built an ermita that honours Our Lady of Monte Carmelo. Its first name was Gordo, which means "fat", due to the island's shape. It was change to Gordon, Barcelona, and later on Alabat. The formal establishment of the town is in the year of 1900.

Etymology

Before Spanish colonization, the mountains were already inhabited by the “Baluga” (aborigines). Nomadic by nature, they would clean patches of land, plant rice and vegetables and hunt. After harvest, they would migrate to another part of the forest and repeat the cycle. The elder of the community was their leader and adviser. During drought, they made temporary houses near the shore and used fishing as their primary means of livelihood.

Local folklore says that a Spanish priest from the mainland saw the Island from across Lamon Bay. He was curious as to what lay in that island and its inhabitants. The Spanish priest crossed the bay on the boat and founded a church at what is today barangay Gordon. The church today is underwater, but the cross can still be seen.

The name Alabat which has been used as it is now, came from the word Alâbât (local Tagalog word for balustrade or balcony). The early inhabitants of this place made balustrades across their doors to prevent small children from walking out of the house or falling from the stairwells.

Local history says that a platoon of American soldiers came to Lupac after the Philippine independence to conduct a survey. They entered a native's hut and asked the person what the name of the place was. The owner of the house at that time was holding the balustrade that he was making. Unable to understand the English language, he thought they were asking what he was doing so the native replied alâbât! The leader took his diary and wrote the word "Alabat" without any accent.

Another local folklore says that the name 'Alabat' was from Muslim origins where Alabat comes from Allah-bat, and if the word is mixed up actually means bat-ala or bathala which is the local word for god.

History

The first inhabitants of the town were the indigenous Inagta Alabat people who are Negritos, the earliest settlers in the Philippines. The indigenous people spoke the Inagta Alabat language, one of the most endangered languages in the world.

During the Spanish colonial period, Alabat was inhabited by the family of Caparros because of its safe landing shore and overflowing natural resources. Other immigrants from Gumaca came pouring in upon hearing the suitability of this place from human habitation. They named the place "Camagong". Perhaps this name was taken from trees (Diospyros blancoi) which bore edible fruits called Camagong or Mabulo which grow abundantly in Camagong Mountain, the highest mountain in Alabat Island.

It was said that Rev. Father Jesus, in charge of the parish of Gumaca possessed a telescope. Almost every time he looked through his telescope to see whether Moro Vintas were coming. He reached out a focus on the sandy shore of Ilangin, the present sitio of the barrio of Gordon. It came to his mind that an Ermita should be built in that place. So he summoned the leaders of the settlers to congregate and encouraged them to settle at Ilangin in order to make a visita and build an Ermita in the year 1882.

The growth was so abrupt that a village sprang. Father Jesus called this village "Gordo" (meaning fat) and afterwards he named it Gordon in memory of his town in Spain.

Then came Don Pedro Pica and his brother Don Nicolas, who wanted to establish a home in Gorden. Upon reaching the place they found out that anchorage was difficult on account of the shallow coral reefs and absence of navigable river. Inquiries were made among the villagers and Don Pedro learned the suitability of Lupac, the present site of Alabat. He ordered Francisco Mercado, Modesto Arcaya, Casimero Caparros, Luciano Caparros, Cayetano Caparros, Pedro Caparros, Juan Caparros, Venancio Mascariña, Valentin Lisardo, Camilo Febrer, Antonio Montañez, Mariano Silva, Eusebio Baranta, Cayetano Olivares, Jose Canata and many others to clean a site in Lupac for a new village.

When Rev. Father Jesus heard about this act of Don Pedro Pica, he was neatly infuriated. He accused these two men and by the order of Capitang Totoy of Gumaca, they were taken to prison until Don Pedro Pica secured freedom from the gobernadorcillos of Tayabas. The Gobernadorcillo also pardoned his brother Don Nicolas Pica the following year. The interest of these two brothers in Lupac did not fade away so they returned to the place and established a lumber industry. The Gobernadorcillo learned of their success in their industry and their able leadership to settlers of the place so Don Pedro, the elder, gained influence from the Gobernadorcillo and was appointed sub-Captain of Lupac under Capitan Totoy of Gumaca. Through the order of Father Jesus, Don Pedro Pica changed the name Lupac to Barcelona in memory of the beautiful coastal town in Spain.

When the American Expeditionary forces occupied Tayabas Province and appointed Carpenter as Military Governor, the name Barcelona was changed to Alabat.

Townhood

According to the Republic Act No. 956, Alabat was founded on October 23, 1903. Meanwhile, the legal basis of creation is May 15, 1900.

The separation of Silangan (now Quezon, Quezon) as an independent municipality was declared in 1914. This municipality was named in honor of President Manuel L. Quezon. In 1929, the inhabitants of Sangirin (now Perez) clamored also for separation from Alabat. By the end of the same year, Sangirin was granted freedom and became an independent municipality named in honor of then Felimon Perez, who was the Governor of the Province.

Today, Alabat island is composed of 3 towns, Perez in the northern tip, Alabat town proper at the center and Quezon in the south. The town of Alabat saw new development in the early 21st century: a modern port was built to replace the old one, more paved roads are being constructed, telephone service, cellphone sites, wireless internet and local government projects to improve the lives of Alabateños.

Alabat, Quezon has been featured several times in various television programs in the country such as Tapatan Ni Tunying, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, Motorcycle Diaries and more, because of its natural beauty. In an article published in Inquirer and written by Lester Villegas, Alabat was dubbed as the "Hidden Paradise of Quezon Province".

Geography

Located centrally on the eponymous Alabat Island, it is between the Pacific Ocean and Lamon Bay.

Barangays

Alabat is politically subdivided into 19 barangays - as indicated below - 5 of which are urban and 14 rural. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

  • Angeles
  • Bacong
  • Balungay
  • Buenavista
  • Caglate
  • Camagong
  • Gordon
  • Pambilan Norte
  • Pambilan Sur
  • Barangay 1 (Poblacion)
  • Barangay 2 (Poblacion)
  • Barangay 3 (Poblacion)
  • Barangay 4 (Poblacion)
  • Barangay 5 (Poblacion)
  • Villa Esperanza
  • Villa Jesus Este
  • Villa Jesus Weste
  • Villa Norte
  • Villa Victoria

Climate

Alabat experiences tropical rainforest climate (Af) as rainfall in all months exceeds . There is a significant difference between the driest and the wettest month whereas the driest month is April with rainfall total , while the wettest month is December with rainfall total . If the remaining 30 people do not pass their native language to the next generation of Alabat Agta people, their indigenous language will be extinct within a period of 1 to 2 decades.

The Alabat Agta people live only on the island of Alabat in Quezon province. They are one of the original Negrito settlers in the entire Philippines. They belong to the Aeta people classification, but have distinct language and belief systems unique to their own culture and heritage.

The Inagta Alabat language has similarities with other Philippine languages over which it has 16 consonants and four vowels. It also has adverbial particles which add different meanings to a given clause similar to other Philippine languages. Here are some of the sample words and phrases from the language:

  • nu he-sâ dû a degéw - "the day before yesterday"

Healthcare

Alabat has a public hospital, the Alabat Island District Hospital, which provide healthcare services in the municipality.

Education

The Alabat 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.

Alabat has one tertiary school and numerous secondary and primary schools, including public and private. Southern Luzon State University- Alabat Campus - the only university in the island offers degree programs including education, information technology and fisheries.

Aside from tertiary school, the town also has pre-school, primary and secondary levels of education, both in private and public schools. There are numerous day-care centers found all over the town.

The Island Concept Dancers was founded in 2016, plays an important role on shaping the dance and performing arts scene of the municipality.

Primary and elementary schools

  • Alabat Central Elementary School
  • Angeles-Caglate Elementary School
  • C.B. Encarnado Elementary School
  • Liwanag United Methodist Christian School
  • Mater Carmelli Catholic School
  • Pambilan Elementary School
  • R.T. Camacho Elementary School

Secondary schools

  • Alabat Island National High School
  • Angeles Caglate Integrated School
  • RT Camacho Integrated School

Higher educational institution

  • Southern Luzon State University

Sister cities

  • Makati City
  • Valenzuela City

References

  • Alabat Profile at PhilAtlas.com
  • Alabat municipality official page
  • [ Philippine Standard Geographic Code]
  • Philippine Census Information
  • Local Governance Performance Management System
  • Alabat Island Tambayan Page