A BRIEF HISTORY OF MALOLOS

The statue of the Triumvirate, Dr. Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. Del Pilar and Mariano Ponce at the Provincial Administrative Compound

Malolos, once the capital of the short-lived Philippine Republic, is linked to many patriots and heroes in the country's history. Names such as General Emilio Aguinaldo, Pedro A. Paterno, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Pio del Pilar, Gregorio del Pilar, Apolinario Mabini, Antonio Luna, Felipe Calderón, General Isidro D. Torres and a host of others are forever engraved and enshrined in the annals of Philippine History, all of whom share one commonality.

An allegory to the History and Development of Bulacan as a province

According to Blair and Robertson, the name "Li-han" or "Li Han" was the ancient Chinese name for Malolos, whose leaders bore the title of "Gat-Salihan" or Gatchalian (derived from "Gat sa Li-Han"). It was in 1225 that a "Li Han in the country of Mai" was mentioned in the account of Chao Ju Kua titled Chu-Fan-Chi.The richness of the soil and the convenience of its location made Malolos an important trading post for the native inhabitants and the traders from Cathay. Ferdinand Blumentritt, a Czech Filipinologist and Jose Rizal's friend, and Wang Teh-Ming, a Chinese scholar, supported this historic development of commercial activities which continued undisturbed until the advent of the Spanish era in 1572. This centuries-long trade relations must have resulted in many generations of Sino-Tagalogs, whose descendants are still omni-present in Malolos. The innumerable Malolos families who bear Chinese-sounding surnames attest to these inter-marriages.

The Museo ng Bulacan now named, Gat. Blas Ople Sentro ng Kasaysayan, Sining at Kultura

In 1580, eight years after the Kingdom of Maynila (present day Manila) was captured by the Spaniards from Rajah Soliman and Rajah Matanda, Spanish missionaries discovered a small settlement called Li Han, with 4,000 unbaptized souls. The settlement was named and founded as "Malolos" by the Augustinians under the direction of Fray Diego Ordoñez de Vivar. Later, after clearing forests and virgin lands, the settlement grew, and the population increased. After the construction of a big church, the place was made into a town. From the very beginning, Tagalog made up the majority of the Malolos populace. They were led by prominent families, among them the Gatsalians (Gatchalian), and the Manahans.

The Malolos Cathedral, Seat of the Diocese of Malolos

The name of Malolos was presumably derived from the Tagalog word "Paluslos", meaning " downwards". But many claim that it was originally derived from Kapampangan word "Luslos" meaning many rivers toward the bay (which is the Manila Bay).The name resulted from a misunderstanding among the first Spanish missionaries who reached the place. Searching for inhabited places along the Calumpit River, these priests came upon some natives of a riverside barrio (now Kanalate or Canalate). They asked for the name of the place. The natives, not knowing the Spanish tongue, answered that the flow of the river in that part was downstream "paluslos", which the Spaniards pronounced "Malolos" or "Malulos". Corruption of the word through the years led to present "Malolos".

The newly constructed Hiyas ng Bulacan Convention Center

Malolos was once a part of the old pueblo or town of Bulakan, and then became an independent pueblo in 1673.On August 31, 1859, the town was divided into three districts; "Malolos", "Barasoain, and "Santa Isabel" with respective capitanes municipales and parish priests. With the beginning of American rule in 1903, these towns were again reunited into a single municipality. The two other districts became barangays under the political jurisdiction of Malolos..

To cite all the historical events that transpired in Malolos, one could very well fill a good-sized book. The major events especially those that revolved around the first Republic, cannot be left unmentioned. Some of these are the petition of the women of Malolos, the establishment of the Constitutional Convention, drafting and ratification of the Malolos Constitution, and the inauguration of the first Philippine Republic.

The wealth of Malolos lies not only in its more than four thousand hectares of fertile rice lands and more than two thousand hectares of fishponds, but in the character of its people as well. Its people have long been known for their diligence and ingenuity. In early days, farming and fishing were the town's main sources of livelihood. Later, they went into poultry and pigeon raising, carpentry and woodwork, and other profitable cottage industries and handicrafts. A major factor in Malolos' growth and development was the opening of the Manila–Dagupan railways or Ferrocaril de Manila-Dagupan (Spanish) in April 1892. With the advent of the railroad came new ideas from Manila and other places. Another factor is Malolos proximity to industrial and business centers. Only 42 kilometers from Manila, the town and its people are inevitably subjected to an influx of metropolitan thoughts and commerce.

Under the Centennial Tree

In work methods and tools, it is not rare to find Malolos folk using a combination of the old and the new. Ramshackle shops shake to the whirl of modern electric-powered machines. Fishermen go out to sea in the same kind of dugouts or bancas their ancestors used. Many of these wooden bancas are now equipped with outboard motors. Handicraftsmen, woodworkers and weavers still follow the ageless artistic techniques of their forefathers.

The interior of the Malolos Cathedral. The Immaculate Conception is the Patroness of the Diocese

By virtue of Public Law No. 88 of the Philippine Commission, Malolos became the capital of the province of Bulacan on February 27, 1901.

Malolos was the site of the inauguration of Joseph Estrada on June 30, 1998 in Barasoain Church as the President of the Republic of the Philippines. Estrada, whose real surname is Ejercito, traced his ancestry to the Ejercitos who were prominent in the history of Malolos

The newly constructed Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium

It was in summer of 2004, the construction of the Malolos flyover marks a new milestone in their flourishing history being the first in the city. The structure, part of the former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's Bridge Program, the construction was undertaken in a record-breaking 60 days only according to the Department of Public Works and Highways. The structure was built to solve the daily traffic jam at the place, which have become a bane to motorist and also to employees in both private and government offices in this city. This remarkable feat hastened not only the city's development in commerce and trade but its neighboring municipalities as well.

The Aguas Potables de Malolos with the monument of the Katipunero, Isidoro Torres on the foreground

During 28–30 July 2008, the city was chosen to host the first National Conference for Philippine-Spanish Relations. The conference's theme was "Philippine-Spanish Relations: Sharing Common History and Culture." This is a project both of the Province of Bulacan's research arm, Center for Bulacan Studies of Bulacan State University and by the Samahang Pangkasaysayan ng Bulacan, Incorporated.