settlement

The history of the province of Laguna, and that of the Southern Tagalog region, dates as far back as 900 AD. The Laguna Copperplate Inscription is the oldest known written document found in the Philippines, which talks of its subject being released from a debt to the King of Tondo. Pre-Hispanic settlement in the area can be dated to prehistoric times, as evidenced in the names of towns such as Pila, Laguna, whose name can be traced to the straight mounds of dirt that form the boundaries of the rice paddy, or Pilapil. A prominent figure during the time of pre-Hispanic contact is Gat Pangil, a chieftain in the area. The towns of Bay, Pangil and Pakil were reputed to have once been a part of his domain, although accounts vary on who exactly Gat Pangil was. The Province of Laguna, which was fo...