Balayan is a 1st class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 67,170 people in 13,843 households.
Part of Balayan’s beauty is its close affinity to history. The town was one of the first settlements in the Philippines, with existing records of local residents exchanging barter goods with Chinese traders dating back to the mid-14th century. The area of Balayan figured greatly in Chinese records as the center of the country they called Mai-I, which was derived from the ancient word “Bai,” meaning “house.” Over time, the name shifted to “Balay,” after the Visayan, until the final name of Balayan was coined. Despite the presence of Spanish forces in the Philippines, a number of areas around the archipelago were often plagued by attacks from Muslims. In the mid-18th century, Muslims were able to take over the town, keeping it under their control for two months. When they left, they burned the whole town. The event prompted local officials to set up a fort to prevent further Muslim attacks. With much of the town’s life steeped in Spanish colonial culture, starting with the coming of Franciscan friars in 1572, it is not surprising that it values this part of its past.