Barangay Tuy

Barangay Tuy. Much to the attention of the passers by going to and the town of Nagcarlan is a very big aged tree at the boundary of Barrio Pook and Tuy.  The tree is none other tree the well known Tuy tree.  It was because of this tree that a barrio was born since its birth during the Spanish regime up to the present, it was called Tuy.  It was established very long time ago, earlier than the foundation and establishment of the town of Rizal where, at present it belongs.

It was at that time composed of families that came from other barrios, town and provinces especially Batangas, families went away from home and settled in Tuy to earn a living.  Their worked in kilns and “langisan” owned by a well to do families at that time as Claro Cuento, Arcadeo Sotelo from Nagcarlan, Laguna, Juan Urriquia and Romano Monterola of Tuy.  The oil and Copra were brought and sold to Sta Cruz and Bay.  They carried these on their shoulders for there were no good means of transportation as we have now.  Very few people owned good houses.  The people who were responsible for peace and prosperity of the barrio were the teniente del barrio namely “Kapitan Manuel Lucido, Kabesang Crispino Kollamos, from Taytay and Kabesang Pedro Viriña of Pook.  At  that time these barrio led to persons paying residence tax.  The people of  Tuy were not contented with their lives.  They were unhappy.  They did not enjoy the rights and privileges that man need to enjoy.  They were forced to  obey the likes and dislikes of the Spanish Administrators.  Their unhappiness then was overcome when the Americans came to the  Philippines and the Spanish power over the Filipinos was overthrown.  Again another group of able man were selected to serve as barrio  lieutenants.  They were Santiago Arcigal, the late Ceferino Chavez and Pantaleon Sutare, who served for quite a long time until 1918, when Rizal  town was first founded and during the time before the second global war was broke out.  After the Japanese occupation up to the present, a democratic as well as religion men in the person of Santos Formales is the barrio lieutenant.

Because war is considered as the most tragic thing in earth, its aims, means and fruit can never been debanned from our memories.  It was during World War II where the Japanese occupy the Philippines, people had to leave the town and retreat to the mountain  and spend their miserable livelihood.  Through the efforts of Jose Oro, one civic spirited man of Tuy’s populace at present a councilor of Rizal, the people of Tuy were able to meet their daily needs, though not sufficiently.  He made a “langisan and sabonan” and employed most of the young men and women and even the children while their parents tilled the soil and planted nut crops in order to live.

In 1942, there came one of the bitter inflections in the Life of the people of Rizal, the Japense burned the houses and by fortune sake left only few.  It began in these barrio Tuy westward to the town.  This lamentable ends of Tuy’s houses added much heartache to the people.  When they returned, they had to build small houses popularly known as “barong-barong”.  They were deprived of electric  current and faucets where they got their water supply.  Only one faucet was left and that was the one near the Tuy tree,  all people walk up and down carry their pale, water cans and long bamboo called “bombing” to get water to that distant place.

In the coming of the Americans lifted them from their sufferings.  Post war activities moved swirling.  One of those was the help of the war Damage Commission. Like other people in the whole archipelago, Tuy folks whose properties were destroyed during the war received war damage aids.  Thus, they were able to repair their homes.