Place:Lucena City, Quezon, CALABARZON, Philippines

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source: Family History Library Catalog

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Lucena, officially known as the City of Lucena, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines. It is the capital city of the province of Quezon where it is geographically situated but, in terms of government and administration, the city is politically independent from the province. For statistical and geographical purposes, Lucena is grouped with the province of Quezon. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 278,924 people.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Early history

In the 1570s, Captain Juan de Salcedo first explored what was the province of Tayabas. The Franciscan priests Juan de Plasencia and Diego de Oropesa between 1580 and 1583 founded its town, also named Tayabas. Tayabas was organized by the Spaniards through the Franciscan missionaries and Lucena was just one of its barrios.

The Spaniards of the 16th century called the area "Buenavista" because of its scenic beauty; several years later, the barrio was renamed "Oroquieta". A century later, Muslim pirates began terrorizing the entire Philippine coastline, and Oroquieta was not spared from the notorious raids. The barrio folks built forts along the seashores to defend it against the attacking pirates along the coast, particularly in the present-day Cotta and in Barangay Mayao, though these structures are no longer extant. Hence, the place became known as 'Cotta', the Spanish form of the Tagalog "kuta" ("fort"). The growth of local maritime trade facilitated in the Cotta port and the final defeat of Moro pirates plying the Luzon and Visayan waters, afforded the growth of Lucena as a town which eventually led to its being the capital of Tayabas, Quezon province in 1901.

Finally on November 3, 1879, A royal decree was issued and the Orden Superior Civil officially adopted the name "Lucena" in honor of a Spanish friar by the name of Father Mariano Granja in Andalucia, Spain. Fr. Granja was responsible for the development of the barrio that became a Parish in 1881. Lucena became an independent municipality on June 1, 1882.

During the 1896 Philippine Revolution, the people of Lucena showed their brand of patriotism. José Zaballero led the local revolutionists who were under the barrage of Spanish muskets. Later, Miguel Arguilles with Jose Barcelona as president formed a revolutionary government in Lucena.

After Aguinaldo proclaimed the nation's independence on June 12, 1898, in Kawit, Cavite, Gen. Miguel Malvar, as Commanding General for Southern Luzon, took over Tayabas Province on August 15, 1898. Don Crisanto Marquez became Lucena's first elected Municipal president during the first Philippine Republic.

Filipino-American War

Lucena's fertile soil became soaked with the blood of many Filipinos and Americans at the outbreak of the Filipino-American War in 1899. The foreigners established a civil government in the country, and on March 12, 1901, the provincial capital was transferred from Tayabas to Lucena.

World War II

On December 27, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Forces overran the city of Lucena (referred to by the locals as 'The Fall of Lucena'), just 19 days after they set foot on Philippine soil. The Japanese wanted to strengthen their military presence in the region, sending units to capture key points in the town. The invasion was initially successful however the Japanese Imperial Forces would soon encounter stiff resistance from members of the local resistance and members of the Hunters ROTC.

The underground resistance movement was tenacious. Japanese Forces would be caught off-guard with surprise assaults which often resulted in fierce close-quarters combat. Constant assaults and logistical issues would take its toll on the Japanese forces.

By January 25, 1945, the Hunters ROTC guerrillas had penetrated into the town. Using their knowledge of the local surroundings to their advantage, they moved quickly in order prevent Japanese forces from organizing a proper defense. After a hard-fought offensive, the Filipino forces had successfully driven the Japanese out of Lucena. The people of Lucena would fortify their defenses in preparation for another assault. Attempts by the Japanese to re-establish their occupation of Lucena failed.

Quezon Province stood by and waited for the American Liberation forces and the Philippine Commonwealth troops, who would soon hand them their freedom on April 4, 1945.

Cityhood

Lucena was made into a chartered city through the efforts of then Congressman Manuel S. Enverga. Republic Act No. 3271 lapsed into law on June 17, 1961, without the sign of then president Carlos P. Garcia. The induction of its city officials led by then Mayor Castro Profugo, as well as its formal inauguration took place on August 20, 1961, as formally stated on Section 90 of Republic Act No. 3271. On July 1, 1991, Lucena became a highly urbanized city, thereby making the city independent from the province.

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