The first Spanish missionaries arrived in Batangas City since 1572 due to
group migration. Finally, in 1581, Spanish authorities governing the
Philippines created a pueblo in the area which included the hill (now Hilltop)
where the present Provincial Capitol of Batangas stands after the formal end of
the Coumintang Kingdom. The town was named "Batangan" because huge
logs, locally called "batang", abounded in the place. The Spanish
government appointed Don Agustin Casilao as Batangan's first gobernadorcillo.
Said title of "little governor" as head of the pueblo or municipio
was replaced in 1894 by "capital municipal." It
