History of Panganiban (Payo) On January 1, 1921, Gov. Gen. Francis B. Harrison signed Law Executive Order no. 55 officially segregating the municipality from Viga; thenceforth was called Panganiban in honor of Jose Blanca Panganiban, who stood as sponsor during the inauguration. And is also known as Payo, after a native herb Hamapayo and due to its brevity, the name Payo is more commonly used. About 9,500 inhabitants populate her 7,772 km area of vast plains and valleys painted gold with rice, of hills verdant with abaca and coconuts, and of rugged coastlines thick with mangroves. Deep within her bowels lies the richest coal deposits in the island, untapped as yet. The pioneers were navigators and traders on commercial expeditions, descendants of the first wave settlers from Borneo, Malay and China. In the early 13th century, another wave seafarers, coming from southern Luzon mainlands, got lost in storm, ventured inward into the mouth of Payo River and there found an Eden. And so they stayed and called this home. The Spanish colonizers who came around 1573 indelibly left their thumbprint in Christianity of Payonhon such that save for a few Christian sect. Catholicism remains the predominant religion. The church of St. James the Greater whose massive edifice built in the 18th century still stands, loading it over the other institutions series. As a testament to the peoples ingenuity and perseverance; they who fashioned the building out of limestone and local materials using their own hands. A labor that took them 15-25 years to finish. Only a people of remarkably deep and unwavering faith could do such a feat. And this faith did not fall them through a series of crisis during the Japanese occupation. Miraculously, while the rest of the country reeled under atrocities comitted by the Japanese, the Payonhon were relatively treated with civility by their captors until the aliens were driven out of town and annihilated by the guerillas in Banquerohan in the ruthless ambush on April 19, 1945. Since separation from Viga in 1921, Panganiban occupied one half of the northern chunk of the province with the other half left to Viga in 1952, when its biggest barrio of Bagamanoc became separate municipality of Panganiban shrunk into other slice of territory as it is now. When the certeza survey came up in the 1970s, its territory was trampled upon the impunity as some of the sitios were transferred to the jurisdiction of its mother or daughter municipalities. The remaining 6,000 hectares of land are of Panganiban, 400 hectares are rice lands; and 300 hectares swamp and the rest are forest of varying denudations. Its church, built in 1720- 25 has never been substantially rebuilt. It succumbed to the earthquake of January 11, 1928, its east wall was ripped beyond repair and ugly cracks were opened in several places. The end and side walls were torn apart at the northeast corner leaving an eight- inch opening from top to bottom. A stronger earthquake may send the wall a crumbling and the church goers including the priest scamper in panic out of church at the slightest tremor. Tenacious and reselient as the typical Catandunganon, the town folks depend much their livelihood on fishing and agriculture. The intermittent devastation of their money crops- abaca and copra and the inadequate facilities of irrigation system had been the main causes of economic depression of the residents. The livelihood projects being undertaken by the government on the case-to-case basis are the only means, which people pin their hope to bail out their miseries. The town population of about 8,000 as of 1975 eventually decreased as a result of migration to the mainland Bicol and the other part of the country and abroad, as well as, to seek for economic opportunities. The literacy of the people is quite high due to presence of a National Vocational College in town since 1948. Political Background: Payo had been a barrio of Viga up to January 1, 1921, when it became Panganiban and ceased to be a part of Viga per Executive Order. Pedro Urgel was appointed as president. In the ensuing election of 1922 the electorate repudiated the administration that gave Panganiban its Independence and voted into office a political maverick who implanted the nucleus of a political opposition that was to hold sway throughout the northeastern part, if not the whole of Catanduanes. Ignacio Aquino was the name of the first elected local executive. Most outstanding accomplishment by local executives is the contruction of the diversion canal that by-passed the local cemetery and saved it from scouring flood waters of the Payo River.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 18:46:33 +0000
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