PANGANIBAN, CATANDUANES THE HISTORY The municipality of Panganiban (formerly Payo) is a 5th class municipality in the province of Catanduanes, the Philippines. According to the MPDC of LGU Panganiban, at present the municipality has population of 10,639 souls. GEOGRAPHY It is situated on the northern part of Catanduanes, with its eastern part facing the Pacific Ocean. It is bounded on the north by the municipality of Bagamanoc, on the south by the municipality of Viga, and on the west by the municipality of Caramoran which is covered by a dense forest. The town proper has a distance of 56 kilometers from Virac, the capital town and commercial center of the province. Its distance from the adjacent towns of Viga and Bagamanoc are 5 and 4 kilometers, respectively. HISTORY Panganiban is a one-horse town nestled on the northeastern side of the island-province of Catanduanes. It has a land area of about 60 square kilometers, partly arable hemmed in by mountains. The pioneers were navigators and traders on commercial expeditions, descendants of the first wave of settlers from Borneo, Malay and China. In the early 13th century, another wave of seafarers, coming from southern Luzon mainland, 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. In time, the settlers set up their own governing body by electing one from among themselves as chief whom formally called “Payo”. In the vernacular, Payo means head or chief. As the original settlement further expanded and satellite settlement sprouted, it continued to be the seat of government where the tribal chief resided. As it was the seat of authority and residence of the chief it was likewise called Payo. The village headman, or Payo as he was called by the villagers was among the survivors. None of these survivors ever returned. They settled and formed a community of their own called barangay “Payo”. Before and during the Spanish regime there was not much movement or migration of people from one island or barangay to another. The country then was thinly populated by natives who lived and died in their respective places of abode. This to too came to pass in Panganiban. The town’s early settlement was originally located in the present barangay of Can-udang (now Mabini). It is no doubt true that Can-udang was the first settlement because even today there is a sitio called Can-banua (menaing near the town) which is located north of and adjacent to barrio Can-udang. Certainly, can-udang was considered by the settlers as their ‘hometown” where they gathered with their families to protect themselves from enemies or held social activities. In 1754 Moros attacked this place as they are defenseless, they carried away persons into slavery. Those who were left formed a settlement inland. The Moros came again and the people transferred to a safer place 3 kilometers away and named this new site Canbanua. After the Moro raids they established the present town Payo. (F. Mallari, Ibalon Under Storm and Siege p. 40) But due to the onward movement of Christianization after Miguel Lopez de Legaspi established in 1565 the permanent colonization of the country, the Spanish missionaries collected the scattered settlers together in a “ reduccion” (resettlement). Here, the church and convent were constructed. As new Christian converts, they built their residential houses within the vicinity of the church so they called easily hear the sound of the church bells. Such reduccion sometime in the latter part of the 17th century was a civilizing device to develop and destine the natives as law abiding citizens of the Spanish crowns. After proselyting campaign of the missionaries, they convinced the new converts to abandon Can-udang to settle at the present site of Panganiban. To maintain a hold on them, a Spanish missionary resided in the settlement area to supervise the construction of the church through enforced labor. Working and contributing to the construction of the church was part of community work. If laborers could nor work they paid sanctorium tax for church support. The factor of recalling the memory of big people by way of naming towns is worthy of consideration. There was a Spanish missionary by the name of Archbishop Pedro de Payo who was at the same time an architect engaged in designing and drawing up of plans for construction of churches. Archbishop Payo may not have visited the new settlement but doubtless his church designs and blueprints were signed by him. His name then influenced the missionary priest who supervised the construction to name the new parish as Paroquia de Payo which names stands today. It was not known however when the Civil Government was established but of course it came later. Since the church and state were one during that time, the new town was likewise called EL PUEBLO DE PAYO, Hence, the birth of the name PAYO. The origin of the word “Payo” the original name of the town is unclear. It is believed that it is named after the plant “Hamapayo” which is abundant in the place or after a headman or “Payo” of a group of villagers from the southern mainland of Luzon who settled in the place or as previously stated, after the Spanish missionary architect, Pedro de payo. Payo, the Pueblo, continued using such name as a municipality until the end of the Spanish rule but was demoted to a mere barrio of Viga at the start of the American Democratic Government, in 1898. After 20 years of being surrogate of Viga, the Payonhons clamored for their segregation. Indeed, it was exceedingly inconvenient for the Payonhons to go to Viga to register their births, marriages, deaths, pay taxes and other important matters. About the second decade of the 20th century, Mr. Sabino Cabangon, after serving as Chief of Police of Pandan, was appointed as councilor to represent the barrio of Payo. Heading the peoples demand, he spearheaded the movement for segregation. He was helped in this campaign by Senator Jose O. Vera from Pandan and Jose Maria Panganiban, a political leader from Camarines Norte. Panganiban was named after this Bicolano as Senator Vera declined to use his name for the new created municipality. Segregating Payo from Viga, Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison Promulgated Executive Order No. 55 dated December 23, 1920 creating the Municipality of Panganiban which took effect on January 1, 1921. However, before issuance of such Executive Order, the proposed municipality submitted reserved sites for public plaza, public school ground and cemetery of one hectare each. Weaned from its mother town, Panganiban’s first Presidente (now Mayor or Alcalde) was Pedro Urgel, (1921-1922) by appointment, who immediately opened the Local Executive Office to the public. After expiration of his term, the next president was chosen by popular election. The first President was Ignacio Aquino (1923-1928) followed in subsequent elections by Sabino Cabangon, (1929-1934) Feliciano de Leon (from the barrio of Bagamanoc), Don Sebastian Quintana (during his term President was changed to Mayor or Alcalde), elected Mariano Quintana, Santiago Urgel, Atty Angeles Velasco, Heracleo Reyes, Atty Miguel Concepcion, Manuel Aquino, Jose Velasco, Honesto Aquino, Dr. Artemio Valerio, Gregorio Angeles, Dra. Carmen S. Urgel and the present Mayor Robert A. Fernandez, the only unopposed Mayor who run for Executive Post. When Congressman Francisco Perfecto was elected in 1943, he changed the name of Panganiban to payo but was restored to Municipality of Panganiban by Congressman Jose M. Alberto after he was elected in 1957. The once sleepy town of Panganiban had awakened when it opened its windows to allow the fresh air of modernity. With its strategic location in a province, it hosted in school year 1937-1948,the First Provincial Athletic Meet outside of Virac. Then in school year 1947-1948, it opened the Panganiban Junior High School which later on metamorphosed into a school of tertiary level, that is, the Catnaduanes Agricultural and Industrial College (CAIC for short). It collects a tuition fee which is the lowest in the country. Prior to the integration, the college operates under the umbrella of the Department of Education from its founding date in 1946 to 1994, the date when the college was transferred under the supervision of the Commission on Higher Education. Pursuant to a Special Provision No. 2 of the CHED FY Budget under the General Appropriations Act of 1999 or better known as Republic Act 8745, mandating the integration of CHED supervised institutions (CSIs) to the State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), the Catanduanes Agricultural and Industrial College (CAIC) was shortly integrated to the CATANDUANES STATE COLLEGES, (CSC) Virac, Catanduanes effective October 31, 1999. With the passage of the Bill authored by the representative of the lone district of Catanduanes, Cong. Cesar V. Sarmiento, and subsequent approval of Republic Act No. 10229 on October 19, 2012, the institution was finally converted into a state university. It is interesting to note that all streets in the Poblacion are all paved with concrete and for this improvement it was awarded as the cleanest municipality in the whole Province of Catanduanes, Panganiban is not only peaceful but it is a place where nature cooperates for you can dig anywhere and produce a free-flowing artesian well. In time, despite the changes in the name of the municipality and the attitude of the people from sluggishness to alertness, the pristine name of Paroquia De payo remain as is. References: 1. Philippine National Historical Commission 2. St. James the Greater Parish Centennial Anniversary, 2005, pp. 36-37 3. MPDO, LGU Panganiban, Catanduanes 4. Dr. Rene V. Reyes M.D., Ranga 2012 Souvenir Program 5. csc.edu.ph/colleges.htm#cpc 6. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panganiban,_Catanduanes
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 10:55:01 +0000
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