Tanay, Rizal

Tanay was settled by early Austronesian people. Shortly after the conquest and subjugation of Manila by the Spaniards and the surrounding lake areas by Juan de Salcedo in 1570–1574, Franciscan missionaries arrived to Christianize the inhabitants of what is now the Morong-Pililla area. In 1583, both Morong and Pililla were created as separate towns with Tanay forming part of Pililla.

Tanay was founded as a separate pueblo (town) in 1606 under the name "Monte de Tan-ay". In 1620, administration was moved to San Antonio (now called Inalsan or Pantay) and Tandang Kutyo. In 1638, the town was burned during an uprising of Chinese living in the area, and the town was rebuilt in 1640 at its present location.^[7]

In 1747, the town of Tanay consisted of only eight barangays, namely Nuestra Senora del Rosario, Sa Josep, San Ildefonso de Tanay, San Francisco de Maytubig, San Pedro de Alcantara, San Lucas y San Antonio, San Apostol, and San Agustin de Balugbog.

In 1853, a new political subdivision was formed. The town of Tanay together with Morong, Baras, Pililla, Angono, Binangonan and Jalajala formed the Province of La Laguna, with the capital at Morong. This district was later changed to Distrito Politico-Militar de Morong in 1857. Tanay's present-day eastern portion was also claimed as part of Bulacan.^[8]

Tanay became a Municipality in 1894 as an effect of the Spanish Maura Law. The first election of Public Office took place in 1895–1898 and 1898–1900 under the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines.

Tanay members of the Katipunan fought valiantly during the Revolution against Spain. The town was the headquarters of the second military area of the Philippine Revolutionary Government under Emilio Aguinaldo. Between 1899 and 1900, Tanay served as the capital of the then Morong Province after the Philippine–American War broke out and the American forces invaded the lake towns and captured Antipolo.^[9]

In 1900–1901, Tanay was under the Government appointed by the American Military under the Taft Commission. From 1903 to 1934 the town leadership was under American rule then in 1934 Tanay was under the Commonwealth of the Philippines as the Tydings–McDuffie Act was approved on March 24, 1934, until the Philippines fell to the hands of the Japanese during the Second World War in 1942.

In 1942–1945 the mountains of Tanay served as the base for 'Marking's Fil-American Guerrillas, beginning the Liberation of Tanay in March 1945.

On June 19, 1959, Republic Act No. 2336, also known as "An Act Establishing a Summer Resort in Sampaloc, Municipality of Tanay, Province of Rizal" was approved whereas there is hereby established a summer resort in Sampaloc.

In October 2003, deposed Philippine president Joseph Estrada was transferred to a rest home in Sampaloc, a mountain barangay. He remained under house arrest until he was given executive clemency by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

During Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) on September 26, 2009, Tanay was one of the hardest hit towns due to overflowing of Laguna de Bay and the Tanay River.

Tanay is located 37 kilometers (23 mi) from Antipolo and 54 kilometers (34 mi) from Manila. It contains portions of the Sierra Madre Mountains and is bordered by Rodriguez in the north, Antipolo in the north-west, Baras, Morong and Teresa in the west, General Nakar (Quezon) in the east, and Pililla, Santa Maria (Laguna) as well as the lake Laguna de Bay in the south.

Tanay is politically subdivided into 20 barangays (10 urban, 10 rural), as indicated below and in the image herein. ^[10] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

In 2018, barangay Madilaydilay was created after receiving the required number of votes in a plebiscite for its creation which then increased the number of barangays in Tanay from 19 to 20. ^[12]

In the 2024 census, the population of Tanay was 145,597 people,^[20] with a density of 730 inhabitants per square kilometer or 1,900 inhabitants per square mile.

The majority of the population consists of Tagalogs who live near Laguna de Bay, though there is also a significant percentage of mountain-dwelling people living in the northern portions of the municipality. The town's major trades consist of fishing, agriculture and regional commerce.

The roots of the Sambalic languages can be traced back to Tanay, where the etymologically similar Sinauna (erroneously labeled before as a dialect of Tagalog) or Remontado Dumagat is still spoken in villages in the Sierra Madre mountains between Sampaloc and General Nakar, Quezon.^[21]

Poverty incidence of Tanay

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]}

To promote and market the town's cattle and agri-eco tourism not only within the municipality but also in the Calabarzon region, the Municipal Government of Tanay holds Tanay Rodeo every third week of January each year. The festival is also in line with the celebration of Tanay Town Fiesta. It is participated by professionals and rodeo enthusiasts, and veterinary/animal science students from renowned universities in the country.^[30]