Bay, Laguna

Bay ( ), officially the Municipality of Bay () and colloquially known as Bae (), is a municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the , it has a population of people.

The patron saint of Bay is Augustine of Hippo, whose feast day is celebrated on August 28. The adjacent Laguna de Bay, the country's largest freshwater lake, is named after the town.

Etymology

In the old Tagalog language, the name Bay derives from the same phonetic roots as "baybay" (shore) and as "babae" (woman) and "babaylan" (priestess). The name can thus be thought of either as a reference to the shore of the lake or to a great lady (cf. Sanskrit bai). In the case of the latter, it has been suggested that the great lady might be the same as Maria Makiling, as her mountain was within the scope of Bay's original territory.

The municipality was first inhabited by settlers led by Datu Gat Pangil. The mission of Fr. Martín de Rada resulted in the conversion of Gat Pangil and his three daughters to the Catholic faith. The town's colloquial name, Bae, an earlier form of Bay, is said to have been derived from the names of his daughters: Basilisa, Angela, and Elena. Over time, the name evolved into the present official name, Bay.

History

thumb|right|Statue of [[José Rizal in Dila, between two roads going to neighboring San Pablo and the provincial capital of Santa Cruz]]

thumb|right|Statue of [[Annibale Maria di Francia|Saint Annibale Maria di Francia, erected by the Rogationists at Bay Junction

]]

Like much of the Philippine archipelago, the town of Bay has no surviving records from before the arrival of Spanish conquistadors, despite having existed earlier. It is believed that Chinese traders were already visiting lakeshore settlements as early as the 9th century. The earliest recorded account of Bay appears in a document on the conquest of Luzon dated April 20, 1572. It described a large and very deep freshwater lake, about 12 leguas wide, with surrounding villages inhabited by approximately 25,000 people at the time Captain Juan de Salcedo arrived in the area.

Bay is one of the oldest towns in Laguna province and was its first capital. Its original territory covered the areas that are now known as Los Baños, Calauan, Alaminos and San Pablo (in addition to its current territory). The Spaniards pronounced the name of the town "Bah-ee" while the natives called it "Bah-eh." The similarity in spelling has led to the misconception that the town was named after Laguna de Bay, even as the Spaniards named the lake after this ancient Tagalog community.

Geography

Bay is situated from Santa Cruz and southeast of Manila. It is also located east of Los Baños, west of Calauan, northeast of Santo Tomas and northwest of Alaminos.

Climate

Barangays

Bay is politically subdivided into 15 barangays, as indicated below. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

thumb|Barangay map of Bay (barangays highlighted in red are urban)

Bitin
Calo
Dila
Maitim
Masaya
Paciano Rizal
Puypuy
San Antonio
San Isidro
Santa Cruz
Santo Domingo
Tagumpay
Tranca
San Agustin (Poblacion)
San Nicolas (Poblacion)

;Bitin

Bitin () is located along the border between Laguna and Batangas. It is known for its contribution to the harnessing of geothermal energy as a source of electricity in the Philippines, being the site of the Mak–Ban Geothermal Power Plant.

;Calo

Barangay Calo was formed in the Spanish era, where the native Filipinos lived in the jungle. The area is known for its abundance of (Philippine hornbill, Buceros hydrocorax), which the Spanish transcribed as "calo".

;Dila

Its name came from Tagalog word "dilà" () as it looks like a tongue if viewed on a map of Bay. It is the easternmost part of the town.

thumb|A BDO Network Bank branch in Dila, captured at night

;Maitim

The name from the Spanish colonial era refers to the area's dark soil, hence people calling it "maitím" (). Another folk etymology is that the area was a forest burnt black in a fire, with only charred wood and ashes left.

thumb|Global Care Medical Center in Maitim

;Masaya

The barangay's name masayá means "happy". The upper part from the railway was part of Tranca, while the lower part towards town was part of Puypuy. When the railway was built in the early 20th century, a train station was built there, making it a commercial center for the five barangays of upland Bay. Grocery stores, dress shops, hardware stores and sari-sari stores sprouted around the train station, and the festive air had those leaving home for the place to say they were heading "doón sa masayá" ().

;Paciano Rizal

Formerly known as Mainit (), and renamed after Paciano Rizal, the eldest brother of national hero Dr. José Rizal, who was said to have owned and lived on a farm in this barangay.

;Puypuy

It was said a big meteor once fell in the area and natives reported a falling "fire" (), which the Spaniards mispronounced as "puypuy".

In 2010, a team of experts unearthed precolonial jars in the Barangay. University of the Philippines Los Baños anthropologist and marine biologist Dr. Bonifacio Comandante, Jr, who led the team, suggested the objects indicate "there was a community here and they used the pots and jars for jar-burial", highly suggesting human habitation of the area as early as circa 800 B.C.

thumb|Arch of Santo Domingo, one of the barangays in Bay. Santo Domingo was once part of the later Barangay Mainit (now [[Los Baños, Laguna|Los Baños).]]

;San Antonio

Named after St. Anthony of Padua, it is where the original and first church of the town was situated. Folklore holds that the church was submerged by Laguna de Bay when a super typhoon caused severe floods. The village celebrates the saint's feast day on June 13.

;San Isidro

Named after St. Isidore the Laborer, the patron of farmworkers known for his piety toward the poor and animals. His feast day is on May 15.

;Santa Cruz

Named after the Holy Cross.

;Santo Domingo

Name after Saint Dominic Guzmán and Don Domingo Ordoveza, who once owned a large part of what was then sitio Tabon. The name was given by Donato Ople, a longtime school principal in the town.

The town holds two fiestas: one for its patron saint, Isidore the Labourer, on his feast of May 15; as well as its foundation day and Tilapia Festival to celebrate the local tilapia industry.

It has one of the fast-growing economies in Bay as it has commercial buildings and subdivisions. It is also site of the first mall in the municipality, CityMall Bay.

;San Agustín (Población)

thumb|Bay Public Market

Named after the town's patron, Saint Augustine of Hippo, it is one of the barangays that make up the town proper. It is the location of the Saint Augustine of Hippo Parish, the Municipal Hall, and is among the busiest barangays given its convenience stores. It is near the town's new public market, "Pamilihang Bayan ng Bay".

It is the home of the Tenorio's Bakery, widely famous for their Monay Bay (also Monay Bae).

;San Nicolás (Población)

Named after Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, it is one of the barangays that make up the town proper.

;Tagumpay

Located along the shores of Laguna de Bay, the barangay was formerly part of San Antonio. Tagumpay is one of the barangays in town which does not have a school that offers secondary education. It retains the same patron saint as San Antonio, Saint Anthony of Padua.

;Tranca

The population of Tranca grew from 2,017 in 1990 to 3,388 in 2020, an increase of 1,371 people over the course of 30 years. The latest census figures in 2020 denote a positive growth rate of 0.19%, or an increase of 30 people, from the previous population of 3,358 in 2015.

Demographics

In the 2024 census, the population of Bay, Laguna, was 69,802 people, with a density of . Voter population as of 2016 is estimated to be 34,195, according to the COMELEC.

Government

Local government

Like other local government units in Laguna, the town of Bay holds elections every three years.

{|class=wikitable

|+ Members of Bay Council (2022–2025) It oversees the management and operations of all private and public schools from the primary to the secondary levels. The district consists of 24 elementary schools, 9 high schools, and 2 higher educational institutions. Separately, the University of the Philippines Rural High School (UPRHS) operates under the UP System and is regulated by neither DepEd nor CHED.

Primary and elementary schools

Bay Central School (Brgy. Dila)
Bitin Elementary School
Calo Elementary School
Diamond Learning Center (Brgy. Masaya)
Escuela de Brigada Montessori (Brgy. San Agustin)
Fr. Angelico Lipani School (Brgy. Masaya)
Jehovah Shammah Christian Community School - Main (Brgy. San Nicolas)
Jehovah Shammah Christian Community School - Annex (Brgy. San Nicolas)
Jehovah Shammah Christian Community School - Punzalan St. (Brgy. San Nicolas)
Kabaritan Elementary School (Brgy. Sto. Domingo)
Liceo de Bay (Brgy. San Agustin)
Maitim Elementary School
Maranatha Christian Academy (Brgy. Calo)
Masaya Elementary School
Meaningful Minds Center for Learning (Brgy. Sto. Domingo)
Paciano Rizal Elementary School
Puypuy Elementary School
Saint James Christian Learning Center (Brgy. San Antonio)
San Antonio Elementary School
San Isidro Elementary School
Sta. Cruz Elementary School
Sto. Domingo Elementary School
Tagumpay Elementary School
Tranca Elementary School

Secondary schools

Bitin Integrated National High School
CARD-MRI Development Institute (Brgy. Tranca)
CITI GLOBAL COLLEGE-Bay Campus (Brgy. San Agustin)
Liceo de Bay (Brgy. San Agustin)
Maranatha Christian Academy (Brgy. Calo)
Masaya Integrated National High School
Nicolas L. Galvez Memorial Integrated National High School (Brgy. San Antonio)
Laguna Science Integrated National High School (Brgy. Puypuy)
University of the Philippines Rural High School (Brgy. Paciano Rizal)