Ever Wonder HOW THE DIFFERENT BARANGAYS OF IBAJAY GOT THEIR NAMES?

by: Mrs. Diva Agustin

 

 

AGBAGO

It was said that the barangay got its name from the name of a creek that could be found before reaching the barangay proper.

According to the story handed down, a group of Spanish soldiers in patrol operation, passed by the Agbago Creek and upon seeing a group of farmers bathing their carabaos, asked the name of the barangay. Unlettered farmers of course, did not understand the Spanish language, but they came to think that they might be asking the name of the creek, so one of them answered, “Agbago.” From that time till now, the barangay is officially known as Agbago.

 

AGDUGAYAN

Barangay Agdugayan reportedly got its unusual name from the word “dugay” which literally means long time.

During the Spanish time in the Philippine Islands, Spaniards on “Fragata” occasionally visited the town of Ibajay for trade. At times, they had gone as far as the deep south for hunting purposes. The place was an ideal ground for hunting deer, wild pigs, wild ducks, wild chicken and birds. Due to inadequacy of roads and transportation facilities, the hunting party took a long time or “dugay” to return to town to their companions. When asked, the party guides who were usually Ilongos replied. “Didto kami nadugayan,” pointing to the direction of the places where they were delayed. Later on, the creek in that direction where they usually crossed was called AGDUGAYAN. Then the natives formed a barangay in this place, which they finally named AGDUGAYAN.

 

ANTIPOLO

It was said that before the Spaniards came to our shores in Panay, the people of this barangay lived happily in scattered huts in the farthest side of the mountains where they could have their kaingin. However, as time went by, a group of bandits came and ransacked their belongings so they thought of establishing a settlement down under where they formed their houses in a circle fenced with sharpened bamboos and wood. At the main gate of the Minoro, as they called their settlement, was a big tree known locally as Antipolo where they hung a gong which they sounded whenever enemies were at sight. It was from the name of the tree where they got the official name of their barangay.

 

APARICIO

The original name of Barangay Aparicio was Tabu-an for it was the meeting place of traders and merchants from barangay Malindog, Mina-a, Yawan, Monlaque, all of Ibajay and Napu-id and Maadyos of Pandan, Antique. It was also the place where the bandits converged to share their loot or settled down some differences, hence, the name “Tabu-an” which means meeting place in English.

During the American Regime, a certain Mr. Tranquilino Aparicio of Poblacion, Ibajay, a quite big and brave man was able to convince the bandits who were then in Tabu-an for a scheduled duel to settle their differences to lay their arms and cooperate with him in forming a community. Mr. Tranquilino Aparicio was very successful in this regard and he also became the first teacher to teach in this barangay.

In full recognition of his efforts and good deeds, the people changed the name of their barangay from Tabu-an to Aparicio.

 

AQUINO

In the far-away past, there lived in the mountain of this town of Ibajay, a man of unknown origin. He was a total stranger to all the inhabitants of this municipality. Tracing back to the olden days, nobody could tell about the parentage, place of birth, and everything about such peculiar personality. His origin was a puzzling story. No one could point out his definite dwelling place in the wilderness of this locality, then scarcely inhabited part of the western Ibajay. All that was heard of this stranger was that his name was Aquino.

The poor popularly knew him as a philanthropist, a friend and a provider. But to the rich mostly Spaniards and of Spanish descent, he was a terror, a dreadful foe and a frightening personality. He was a Robin Hood of the wilderness in this part of Aklan. His devotion was to avenge the cause of the poor and the downtrodden. His hunts were the ill-gotten treasures and wealth of the rich. In all his most opportune time, he drenched the rich of their pockets and even their lives, if they persisted. After Aquino could empty their pockets of money and treasures, he would flee to the mountains for a temporal rest and safety. Then after sometime, he sent out and gathered the humble families in a certain nook and shared equally among them all of his monetary alms.

In that gathering, he would convince these humble folks to live together in a definite place where they could join all their forces and defend themselves in the event of any threatening danger affecting their lives and safety. In his mind, he became the beneficiary and recipient of the would-be-hunted treasures until a strong and self-sustaining community could be put up. For him, people lived in a definite place together and joined all their efforts to put up a community. Thus, the plan of Aquino was realized. Everyone in the community looked up to him as their friend.

Long after such event, Aquino was never heard of. It was rumored that he might have braved the seas from Panay to Luzon and there he settled himself somewhere in the Tagalog region. But his noble deeds served as an epic in the history of Barangay Aquino. Thus, barangay Aquino was founded and named in honor of that great man.

 

ASLUM

Camia, a tree, abundantly grows in this place and bears a fruit which is very sour or “maaslum.” According to a story, a Spanish soldier who happened to pass by the barangay asked a resident as to what is the name of the place. Not understanding Spanish, the native thought the stranger was asking about the tree since he was standing under a camia tree laden with fruits. He answered, “maaslum” meaning “tastes sour.” The Spanish soldier misheard and recorded in his logbook “Aslum.”

 

BAGACAY

It is said, Barangay Bagacay, derived its name from two groups of bagacay plants belonging to a bamboo family which grows along the side of the trail leading to Poblacion. Because of its fertile lands, people began to migrate to this place and collectively named it Bagacay.

 

BATUAN

There was once a very big “batuan” tree that grew at the bank of a pond where the people of the barangay used to take a bath and to launder their clothes. The tree had very big branches which provided an invigorating shades to visitors. The word “batuan” became a by-word to both young and old especially during the weekends when they were to take a bath and wash dirty clothes at the pond under the batuan tree. “ Musto maligos ag maeaba sa Batuan.”

This is how the place got its name.

 

BUENAVISTA

When the Spaniards came over to Ibajay, they passed by this place in the early morning and found it to be very panoramic and scenic considering that it was located at the foot of the mountains. Because of the good sight that they behold, they called the place “Buenavista.”

BUGTONGBATO

According to information gathered in and out of the barangay, the Sacapano family founded this barangay after a single huge rock located at the center of the place was discovered. Thus, it became to be called “Bugtongbato.”

 

CABUGAO

A stream passed through the area and at the upper part of the stream grew a cabugao tree, a type of an orange tree noted for its bitter taste. Anyone who happened to taste it won’t ever forget the unpleasant experience. Although it didn’t agree with everyone’s palate, people still picked the tree as the name of their place.

CAPILIJAN

It was told that Pili trees could be found abundantly in the barangay. These trees yielded nuts besides supplying timber and lumber. Perhaps attracted to the huge sizes of the trees and their delicious nuts, one of the foreigners asked the native for the name of the place. Not understanding their language but picking up some cues, the native replied “Capilijan.” Till this day the barangay retained its name.

 

COLONG-COLONG

Long time ago there used to grow at the foothills situated at the corners of the barangay, bushes in groups, which the natives called “nagacoeongcoeong” which means curly. This place is also noted for its pottery, locally known as “coeon.” Since the word coeongcoeong is impossible for others to pronounce, it was decided later to change it to “colongcolong.”

 

LAGUINBANUA

Adiango was its former name but in the year 1792 it became a town established by Gobernadorcillo Josef Garcia. She retained her prominence until 1811, when she became a barangay. Laguinbanua literally means old town.

 

MABUSAO

During the American occupation of the island of Panay, a group of American soldiers perhaps in search of Filipino rebels who had not yet surrendered, happened to pass by this barangay and asked a farmer who was then refreshing his carabao in the mabusao creek, the name of the place. Not understanding what was said, he thought that they were asking for the name of the creek, so he answered, “Mabusao” which was recorded and hence became the official name of this barangay.

 

MALINDOG

It got its name from a creek which was very beneficial to the natives.

 

MALOCO

Maloco was founded in the year 1867 A.D. It comprises of several sitios with the barangay proper located conveniently at the center. It was told that a Spanish soldier passed by the Moloco river where a farmer was bathing a carabao. The soldier asked the farmer the name of the place. Not understanding the language, the farmer replied “eoco” the command he used to tame the carabao. Upon hearing it, the soldier uttered, “Ah Estado Maloco.” When the soldier crossed the Moloco river he saw clustered houses surrounded with casoy trees. “El Estado Maloco,” he concluded, for in Spain, casoy (cashew) tree is known as Maloco.

 

MINA-A

Mina-a derived its name from the term “Mina it Bueawan” which means mine of gold. During the 18 th century when the barangay has very few inhabitants, a group of treasure hunters happened to pass by the place. They saw strange glittering rocks, which they believed were coated with gold dust and stretched through the Kabutos creek, a tributary of Ibajay River. It is believed that the gold mine was buried under the rushing water of the creek and this belief was reinforced when they found gold nuggets the size of corn kernel along its banks. Thus the hunters referred to it as Mina-a.

Others believed that there were sightings of a golden calf that vanished at the Kabutos creek when chased by the hunters. Although there were no concrete evidence of the golden calf and no mines were actually discovered, the residents named their place Mina-a because the land is rich for agricultural purposes.

A different story is told that Spanish soldiers asked for the name of the place. It happened when the chief ruler of the barangay was a woman named Mina Asturis. The natives thought the soldiers were asking for the name of their chieftain and thus they replied, Mina Asturis. The soldiers misheard the word and recorded Mina-a and thus remained to be the name of the barangay.

 

MONLAQUE

One night when the moon was its fullest, a group of American soldiers were promenading and saw the moon reflected in a pool of water. They admired the sight and wondered what it was called by the natives. After so many repeated questions, every time the moon was mentioned, the replies were always laki. The American soldiers then thought that perhaps the name of the place was Monlaki. Since then it became to be its name and later was changed to Monlaque.

 

NAILE

Barangay Naile is the oldest barangay in Ibajay, even older than Poblacion, the town proper.

In the middle of the 15 th century the whole Municipality of Ibajay was called Boboc-on.

When the Spaniards arrived in the island of Panay in the middle part of the 16 th century, some of them settled in a place called Boboc-on. The first settlement became the first set-up of the town of what is now called Ibajay. These colonization brought about a lot changes in the lives of the villagers or the inhabitants. These changes called for a need to transfer for a bigger and better place. So they settled in a place named, Maganhop. The progress was inevitable and population expanded. So they moved again to an area where they saw signs of prosperity and development and this place is no other than Naile, which got its name from a small river called “Nailigan.” This river separates Naile from San Jose and for convenience the villagers crossed the river to shorten the distance of travel.

The Spaniards decided to settle permanently in Naile. In 1850, Christianity started to spread and flourished since many of the villagers were converted to Christian faith. The first church was constructed in Naile and named it after Sta. Rita de Cascia, the Patroness of Cascia in Italy. The popularity of Sta. Rita de Cascia gave the place its second name. One can interchangeably call it Naile or Cascia but for the old folks the word Cascia is venerably preferred.

 

NAISUD

Naisud was established on February 01, 1850 according to official records. Its first settlers came from Antique in search for greener opportunities. Intending to stay permanently in this place full of big tress, the settlers built makeshift dwellings, cleared the surroundings and made them ready for farming. Their ventures were difficult and to ventilate the hardships they were undergoing, they expressed it by saying “ Ay Malisud.” Since the place was unnamed, the settlers called their clearings and place of abode “Nalisud.”

Many migrated to the place lured by the rich natural resources. People have learned the value of organization and cooperation and in unity agreed to change the name of their place to “Naisud” echoing the hardships of the pioneers and the difficulties encountered by travelers and merchants alike.

 

NALIGUSAN

There was a place near the bank of the river called Kubay. A Spanish official came to Kubay. He passed by a man bathing his carabao in the river. He asked the man the name of the place but the man misunderstood him and he thought the officer was asking what he was doing thus he answered “Naligusan.” The officer recorded it and became the name of the barangay.

Other residents called the place “Taeaptap.” One of the sitios of Naligusan is located at the foot of the mountain with its stream passing along rotten rocks which when mashed by the flood leaves powder-like elements, the inhabitants called “taeaptap.”

 

ONDOY

A group of Spaniards passing by this barangay wanted to know its name, happened to be at the doorsteps of a house where a child was crying bitterly. To appease the child, the mother tried to give him a small portion of locally made candy saying, “Om-om Doy,” which means open your mouth and take this, my child. Hearing what the mother had said, the Spaniards took record of it and named the place “Om-om Doy.” People were not happy and demanded a change. The name was shortened to Ondoy.

 

POLO

Barangay Polo is surrounded by a river and a creek which looks like a pulo (island.) Undoubtedly, this has been the reason why it was called pulo by the old folks and later was changed to Polo.

REGADOR

Farming was a way of life and as farmers were busy making drainage or a passageway for the water to reach the farms from the river, Spanish soldiers asked the farmers the name of the place. Not fully understanding what was asked, a native who had a minute training of the Spanish language volunteered and answered “Irregado Senor” meaning irrigated Sir. The person who recorded misheard the farmer and wrote “Irregador.” The residents were not satisfied with the name given to their place and later was changed to Regador.

 

RIZAL

Before the Spaniards came to Panay Island, this place was already called “Bubog” named after a tree thriving locally in abundance. After Jose Rizal, the national hero died at Bagumbayan, now Rizal Park, the people changed the name of their barangay from Bubog to Rizal in honor of him.

 

SAN ISIDRO

At one time in the past the place has no name and when the inhabitants were asked they could only give a description of the breath-taking beauty they saw as the morning sun shining brightly on the horizon and its radiance reflected on the water. It was described as “Nagabusiag.” In the passing of time the first three syllables were omitted and the word Si-ag remained.

Most of the residents were farmers and they needed a spiritual protector from bad elements. St. Isidore the Laborer, is the patron saint of farmers and annually the residents celebrates in honor of San Isidro as he is locally known. Both Si-ag and San Isidro are used interchangeably and they refer to only one place we now fondly called, San Isidro.

 

SAN JOSE

Before the coming of the Spaniards settlers from southern barangay came to settle in a fertile called “Nabisaya,” a word taken from the creek that runs through one of its present sitios. Nabisaya used to be the seat of the barangay. It retained its name and prominence during the Spanish colonization. During the Spanish-American war, the barangay was burned down and was later called “Nasunugan.” In 1938, the Americans constructed a road to penetrate the hinterlands of Ibajay. The residents of the barangay volunteered to guard the road. Because of this the seat of the barangay shifted to its present site. As time went on, the place became populated in the same way that Catholicism was spreading because of the Naile Parish of Sta. Rita de Cascia.

In 1940, a chapel was constructed in the barangay in honor of St. Joseph, their chosen patron saint. Due to its popularity, the place became known as San Jose.

 

STA. CRUZ

During the early times, houses in this place were far apart. They found it hard to defend themselves and their families from bandits and robbers. The areas where they lived were called Suepo, Monangon and Capueao. Later the inhabitants decided to organize themselves into minuros and converged around a hilly place. The people headed by the eldest and respected member of the minuro agreed to build a chapel with a big cross in front of it believing that the cross will protect them from hostile elements. When a Spaniard came to the place and saw the big cross, he called the place Sta. Cruz.

 

TAGBAYA

The place was named after a bird known locally as “Managbaya.” A group of Spanish soldiers asked the natives of the name of the place. At that time a bird was flying very low over them and the natives thought that the soldiers were asking the name of the bird and so the reply was, “Managbaya.” The place was then named after the bird but later on was changed to Tagbaya.

 

TUL-ANG

Long time ago there was an old man walking on the road. On the way there were some Spanish people asking him the name of the place. Not understanding what were spoken, he thought they were asking for the name of the tree of which the place is noted for, he answered “Tue-ang.” By virtue of Spanish R.A. dated 1521, the name became to be called Tue-ang or Tul-ang for those who can’t pronounce the former.

 

UNAT

During the early times prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, Barangay Unat was covered with thick trees likened to a forest. The first settlers agreed to clear the place and got rid of towering trees that seemed to cover the sky. One day the people saw a young tree growing in the center of the place after so many tiring long days of clearing the forest on which they planned to build their dwellings. Attempts had been made to cut it down but to their dismay, the tree continued to grow. Day in and day out, people would watch this tree growing as they passed by its site and uttered in disbelief. They described it like a rubber band that stretched endlessly. The local word for it was “Unat” meaning stretch. Since then the people referred to the tree as Unat and later was applied to the very place where it grew.

 

YAWAN

It got its name from the fact that one couldn’t reach the place without encountering tremendous difficulties. It is the farthest barangay of Ibajay and because of its distance, mountains to climb, thick forest and slippery way, the natives described the experience as “maayawan” meaning wearisome. Yawan is the shortened word of “maayawan” and became the official name of the barangay.

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