Ang Alamat ng Ilog Pasig (The Legend of Pasig River)

(Pasig, Manila)

Pasig River, Manila Philippines

Ilog Pasig is one of the most famous rivers in the Philippines. It can be found in the city of Manila. At present, this river is notorious for being filthy and murky, but there was a time when Pasig River is pristine and is a romantic place for lovers…

Long ago, there were two young lovers. The girl was a Filipina named Paz and the gentleman was Spanish.  One night, they decided to boat along a quiet and deep river. The boy was the one paddling the boat while Paz was calmly seated in front of him. The two romantically sailed the length of the river under the moonlight and along the cool breeze.

As they passed along floating water lilies, Paz extended her am and reached for a flower. The guy, not noticing what Paz was up to, got off-balanced and fell into the waters. The guy doesn’t know how to swim so every time his head will pop above the water, he shouts, “Paz, sigueme! Paz, sigueme!” which means, “Paz, rescue me!” Paz tried hard to reach for her lover but she did not succeed. At the last time the boy emerged, all he managed to say was, “Paz, sig…”

The tragic incident spread among the people and from then on, this river was called Pasig. 

Translated from Rene Alba's "Mga Alamat Pilipino (Para sa Mag-aaral)", published 1914 by Century Publications.