PLACES: Bagong Kalsada, Sucol, Masile

Bagong Kalsada was woodland. It used to be a part of Barangay Sucol that remained uninhabited during the most part of the American period. Soon after the Pacific War in 1945, to gain easy public access to the village centers of Barangay Sucol and Masile from the National Highway, then Calamba Mayor Severino Q. Arambulo, during his first term (1946-1947), expropriated lands from obliging owners to build a new road. The local residents called this road Bagong Kalsada (New road).

Soon, Bagong Kalsada was populated by migrants from other parts of the province and elsewhere. To provide residents’ needs, a water supply system, drawing water from a spring at the foot of nearby Mount Makiling was established. Water pipes were laid on Bagong Kalsada, onward to Sucol and Masile supplying the community with clean mountain spring water.

In October, 1966 Bagong Kalsada seceded from Sucol and became an independent barangay. It kept the name local residents call it− Barangay Bagong Kalsada.

Myth or legend, it is said that Sucol was originally named Palo Maria (Mary’s Tree). The tree served as a reference point for local residents of this small community by the lake Southeast of Calamba proper. A tale told from one generation to the other is a story of Telesforo de Dios a.k.a. Kabesang Tales, a main character in Dr. Jose P. Rizal’s novel El Filibusterismo. Kabesang Tales was an epitome of a Christian “Indio,” conscientious, humble, and obedient. He tended his family’s ancestral land through decades until Spanish officials claimed it was theirs, supporting their claim with a Torrens title. Kabesang Tales’ woes and oppression consequently led him to go underground to be a rebel. Spanish authorities pursued him until he was cornered at the Palo Maria. Local residents would say he was cornered (“Nasukol siya,”) to an awful end, and since then his ghost may be heard as one passes by the Palo Maria. Before long the village was called “Sucol.”

On the other hand, Masile’s old name was Sumile. It was derived from the word Sumilang (Born) or Bagong Silang (New Born) after it seceded from Sucol to become an independent barangay. When the then Manila Railway Co. extended its train service from Calamba to Sta. Cruz, residents of Sumile petitioned for their own train station. The station chief came to discuss the petition. Not long, a railroad station building was constructed, but when the station sign board was hanged, it says “Masile.” No one bothered to change the signboard. Thus, from then on the barangay was called Masile.

From 1950 to 1951, schooling in Masile for the first and second graders was provided in a big private house under the tutorship of Leticia dela Vega and Josefina Rodriguez, together with Priscila Joano. After around 4 years, through the support of the Parent Teachers Association, it was transferred to a school built on a lot donated by Nemesio Hizon, a former councilor of Calamba. It became the “Mababang Paaralan ng Masili.” The name did not sit well with the residents of Sucol. To solve the issue, during the term of School Principal, Taciano Bantatua, it was renamed “Mababang Paaralan ng Tiyani.” Tiyani was the name Rizal used in his novel Noli Me Tangere to describe the lake shaped like a pincer (Tiyani) between Masile and Tadlak. The new school name was accepted by the residents of all three barangays, Bagong Kalsada, Sucol and Masile.

Reference: Calamba Book Project by Antonia SL. Santos, Ph. D