Numerous stories and beliefs have been handed down through the years regarding how Caloocan came to be known by its present name.
The following stands out as the most popular: As a humble barrio of the town of Tondo located in a “libis” (lowland) it became known as “libis Espina” or Aromahan.
Another interesting story tells of the word Caloocan originating either from the Tagalog word “look” meaning bay, or “sulok” meaning corner. Caloocan might have meant “nasa sulok” (at the corner). Caloocan is located where the ends of the old town of Tondo and Tambombong (now Malabon) meet.
At the end of the 18th century, the fishermen of Aromahan climbed the hills to open homesteads in Caloocan. There the land being free of thorny plants that grew on the banks, although the hill was naturally stony, some form of agriculture was possible and the fishermen became farmers.
The first settlement in Libis Espina, established by oppressed people from Tondo, sought refuge in the thorny shores of Dagat-Dagatan. They climbed the hills for more arable lands only to find out these had titles under the name of Hacienda de Maysilo.
Caloocan was part of history, especially during the 1896 Philippine Revolution. The residents fought their landlords for a hundred years until Andres Bonifacio led them, the Katipuneros, to Balintawak on that fateful day of August 30, 1896.
The Filipino forces in Caloocan participated actively in the Intramuros siege of the Spanish forces in Manila until their surrender to the Americans on Aug. 13, 1898.
On Jan. 11, 1899 the people of Caloocan came to terms with the Americans, who were bent on extending their supremacy over the country.
When the Americans seized the railroads yards that stood between them and the fleeing Emilio Aguinaldo, the men of Caloocan fought the new invaders on Feb. 23, 1899, in a counter attack which, but for Gen. Antonio Luna’s rift with Aguinaldo’s loyalists could have turned the tide of war in favor of an independent Philippines.
