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Batangas

San Jose Founding Anniversary

San Jose Founding Anniversary is observed in the municipality of San Jose, Batangas, Philippines every December 11. In previous years, it was fixed at April 26. The change of date was finalized by virtue of the official confirmation on the founding of the pueblo according to a research released by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

In conjunction, the town also celebrates the Sinuam Festival, Eggstravaganza Festival, or Egg Festival as a way to highlight its layer industry and as an outward representation of being the Egg Capital of the Philippines.

The town also observes the Sagahulog Day for Elderly Filipino Week and World Egg Day every October and its religious fiesta in honor of St. Joseph every March.

History of San Jose, Batangas

Aetas dwelt along the shores of Taal Lake, but they were displaced upon the arrival of the Malays. Their settlements were the origin of the towns of Bauan, Taal, Lipa, and Tanauan. Afterwards, they were conquered with the coming of the Spanish colonizers led by Juan de Salcedo in 1571 and Christianized by Augustinian missionaries.

The settlement in Bauan, established in 1596, was situated at the foot of Mt. Makulot, and its people suffered from the floods caused by the eruption of the Taal Volcano in the 17th century.

By 1692, they retreated inland along the banks of the river called Malaquing Tubig that was a reliable source of food. Its watery depths were home to fishes feeding in its rich ecosystem. The settlers henceforth cleared the wilderness through kaingin system and began tilling the fertile lands.

The founding of the town of San Jose originates in 1765, as seen from the historical marker of the colonial-era parish church, and this is the year on which the previous founding anniversary celebrations were based. It is stated that this was the time that the leaders and people of the Malaquing Tubig, which included the present-day town of Cuenca, sent a petition to the Governor General to secede from Bauan. The petition was approved by the parish priest of Bauan, Fr. Jose Victoria, in 1766.

On April 26, 1767, the parish and town were inaugurated; this is the date that is observed for the founding anniversary. It was called San Jose de Malaquing Tubig after the patron and Fr. Jose Victoria. Eventually, it was shortened to San Jose. Ignacio de los Santos was its gobernadorcillo and its first parish priest was Fr. Agustin Hordegozo who was appointed during the Augustinian chapter on May 9, 1767.

The town of Cuenca seceded on April 7, 1877.

In 2024, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines clarified that San Jose’s founding date is December 11, 1766. The date was referenced from Erreccion de los Pueblos store at in the National Archives of the Philippines. The ancient document stated that San Jose attained municipal status by virtue of the a Superior Decreto issued by Governor General Jose Raon on December 11, 1766.

In connection with this, the LGU passed Ordinance No. 2024-03-054 that officially declared December 11, 1766 as the foundation Day of the municipality and “mandating the annual commemoration thereof” enacted on March 11, 2024 and approved on April 11, 2024.

Sinuam Festival

The foundation anniversary is at times dubbed as Sinuam Festival. Its name comes from sinuam, a salty broth with eggs as its main ingredient. It is often served to women who are pregnant.

Its cooking procedure is simple and straightforward. A pot of water is brought to a boil and seasoned with aromatics (such as ginger and garlic) and seasoned with peppercorn and salt. Whole eggs are then added as the heat is turned off, which allows the eggs to remain intact (similar to poached eggs). It can be seasoned further with the addition of fish sauce.

Sinuam Festival is established to focus the spotlight on the egg production of San Jose, Batangas. The town’s local economy is primarily driven by swine and layer industry according to a study conducted by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies in 2007.

These twin industries experienced fast growth due to local demand, improvements in livestock breeding, use of technology that aids in better outcome of animals and eggs, extensive capital investment, and availability of credit lines. More importantly, the town’s livestock growers have access to major markets such as Batangas, Lipa City, and Metro Manila. Its eggs are also sold to the wider Calabarzon region (consisting of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, and Rizal), Visayas, and Mindano.

The town is known as the Egg Basket of the Philippines. In an ABS CBN news article published in 2024, its egg production reached up to 10 million eggs daily.

The founding anniversary was also known as Egg Festival in 2015.

San Jose Founding Anniversary Activities

Activities for the founding anniversary in previous years included talent contests, booth fair, competitions, kite flying tournaments, sports, arts, health and wellness, street dance competitions, beauty pageant (Lakan and Mutya ng San Jose), float competition, parade, etc.

References

San Jose Founding Anniversary Summary

NameSan Jose Founding Anniversary
CelebrationFounding Anniversary
Contact0945 660 8059
CountryPhilippines
DateDecember 11
Emailmayorsoffice@sanjosebatangas.gov.ph
Facebookwww.facebook.com
Historical eventErection of the town of San Jose on December 11, 1766
LocationSan Jose, Batangas
OrganizerSan Jose, Batangas LGU
Websitesanjosebatangas.gov.ph