History of Bagac
Bagac was found in the year 1578 by the Franciscan Fathers. Before Bataan was created as a province in 1754, Bagac used to be a part of Corrigemento de Mariveles.
During the Filipino-Spanish war, the natives of Bagac did their part to overthrow the Spanish Rule in this part of Bataan. Jose Noriega, the leader of the local insurrectos led his townmates in their fight for freedom. Among them were Juan Bantay, Ildefonso Lucas Gonzales, Juan Quiroz, Leoncio Marquez, Atanacio Paguio, Andres Mandocdoc, Sotero Palad, Epifanio Noriega, and Pablo Dilig, to mention a few. These brave men killed the Spanish authorities stationed in the town and offered their lives so that the next generations to follow may be free from foreign bondage.
In the ensuing Filipino-American war, General Mascardo, together with his men, evaded the pursuing American troops and found their way to Bagac by crossing the wilderness of the mountain range to the western part of the Bataan peninsula. In Bagac, General Mascardo, and his men, one of whom was the late Manuel L. Quezon, camped at Sitio Caragman. Manuel L. Quezon, then a major, met a Bagac lass whom he married under Katipunan rites in 1900 in the yard of Mrs. Florentina Banzon Gutierrez, a rich and influential woman of Bagac, who acted as sponsor.
Bagac played an important role in the defense of Bataan during World War II. The Bagac-Pilar defense line stretching about twenty-five kilometers was never broken, much less penetrated by the Japanese. Our army stood its ground despite tremendous odds and the defense line remained intact until the white flag was raised signaling the fall of Bataan.
Upon the surrender of Bataan, Bagac has become one of the starting points in the march of the USAFFE towards Capaz, Tarlac. The other one was Mariveles. Our soldiers who were hoarded to a concentration camp in Capaz walked the whole distance and along the way, they were stripped and beaten like animals by the invaders.
At the very spot where the infamous “Death March” started now stands a marker and a zero kilometer point post.
The history of Bagac also contributes to the growth environment. Bagac was the last stand of the Allied Forces in the Philippines against the Japanese during the Second World War. It was between the two points from where the Zero Kilometer Death March of the prisoners was started after they lost to Japan in the Battle of Bataan. As such. it is a major source of interest to the Americans and Japanese alike. The Japanese friendship tower symbolizes the peace and friendship between Japan and the Philippines. The Shrine of Valor in Mount Samat, only at a distance of 5 km. is a place of tremendous importance, commemorating as it does, the heroic deeds of the soldiers who fought for their country, and delayed the march of the Japanese, a factor that led to their eventual defeat in the war.
Bagac is the biggest town in terms of land area in Bataan. Established in 1873, one of the oldest churches in the Philippines may be found here in Bagac with St. Catherine of Alexandria as the patron saint.
Upon the arrival of the Spaniards in the Philippines some of them travelled along the seacoasts looking for a better place to live in. Travelling without any fixed direction, they happen to pass by this place that is partly hidden between two sharp points extending to the sea. The Spaniards asked the Aeta, who was travelling with them as their guide, for the name of that place. The Aeta answered that is called “lumbak” meaning lying between two hills. As their ship was crossing this place they sighted a flock of herons flying above them. When the Spaniards inquired about them to their guide, the Aeta replied, “Iyon po ay mga ibong tagak.” And so from “lumbak” and “tagak” came “bak” and “gak”, and soon it became Bagac.
