ORIGIN OF THE WORD "PAETE"

Paete derived its name from "paet", Tagalog word for chisel, the principal tool used in woodcarving. The proper pronunciation of the town's name is probably "Pa-e-te", but natives call it "Pay-ti" (Pi-tè) with the guttural "e" sound at the end. Only when conversing with people not from the place do Paetenians use the tri-syllabic pronunciation, or they would not be understood even by fellow Filipinos. When the American Maryknoll Missioners came to Paete in the late 1950s, they called our town "Piety." We laughed, understood, and loved it!

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