ITBAYAT, MUNICIPALITY OF, History and Cultural Life
[Cover page]
BUREAU OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS
DIVISION OF BATANES
Itbayat Elementary School
Itbayat
HISTORY AND CULTURAL LIFE OF
THE TOWN OF ITBAYAT
- - - - -
[p. 1]
BUREAU OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS
DIVISION OF BATANES
Itbayat Elementary School
Itbayat
HISTORY AND CULTURAL LIFE OF THE TOWN
19. Present Official Name - Itbayat
20. Former names and their meanings or derivations:
Mayan or Santa Maria de Mayan. Mayan is derived from the word "Mahayan" which, in the Itbayat dialect, means the center of the middle. Thus, when the people from the barrio like Raele come to centro, they usually say, "Let us go to Mayan," which in the dialect is, "Ay chamo ta maay du mahayan" or centro. Mayan also connotes "abundance." In the Ivatan dialect, "mayan" means there is plenty. People from the mainland (Batan Island) know Itbayat to be the land of plenty, where everything, especially food, is raised, like ubi, camote, dueay, fruits like pineapples, coconuts, oranges, bananas, "marila" or snails, cattle and hogs, etc. Santa Maria is the patron saint of the town, given by the early Spanish Friars.
21. Dates of Estblishment: According to information from the oldest folks, the town was formally established about the second quarter (1830) of the nineteenth century.
22. Names and social status of the founders. There is no available record or sources to give the names of the natives who founded the town, but according to information, the early missionaries (Spanish friars) were the ones, who by their influence as religious teachers, caused the people from the different nooks or regions of the island to gather into one community, thus forming the town. The early friars were the ones who chose or selected the site for founding the town, which is situated just about the middle of the island. The site was accessible to water source and to the coast. It was also a valley, almost a plain. The friars had to do this in order to facilitate the work of baptizing the natives into Christianity (Roman Catholic).
23. Names of persons who held leading official positions in the community:
Capitan Municipal
2) Domingo Gonzales
3) Emeterio de Borja
4) Domingo Hoeriondo
5. Vicente Blanca
[p. 2]
Municipal Presidents or Municipal Mayors
2) Simplecio Gordo - 1909-1910
3) Pedro Gonzales - 1911-1913
4) Candelario Dona - 1914-1918
5) Antonio Castillo - 1919-1922
6) Pedro Gonzales - 1923-1925
7) Isidoro Gavilan - 1926-1928; 1929-1931
8) Diego Blanca - 1932-1934; 1935-1937
9) Domingo Dita - 1938-1941
10) Gavino Horiondo - 1941-1946
11) Domingo Dita - 1947-1941
12) Claudion Salamagos - 1952-
2) Pascual Garcia - 1910-1913
3) Catalino Horiondo - 1914-1916
4)
5) Isidoro Gavilan - 1919-1923
6) Francisco Camacho - 1923-1925
7) Antonio Castillo - 1926-1928
8) Victor Gordo - 1929-1931
9) Claro Loor - 1932-1934
10) Florencio Slamagos - 1935-1937
11) Mariano Castillo - 1938-1940
12) Florentino Horlina - 1941-1946
13) Antonio Valiente - 1947-1951
14) Florentino Horlina - 1952-
2) Sebastian Villanueva - Feb. 1, 1910-Sept. 30, 1910
3) Mariano Dacocinos - Oct. 1, 1910-Nov. 9, 1911
4) Manuel Abad - Nov. 10, 1911-Jan. 12, 1913
5) Mariano Barsana - Jan. 13, 1913-April 24, 1925
6) Valerio Valones - April 25, 1925-April 29, 1929
7) Valentin Adami - April 30, 1929-April 11, 1934
8) Domingo Gonzales - April 12, 1934-Sept. 30, 1935
9) Antonio Soler - Oct. 1, 1935-April 30, 1947
10) Antonio Ponce - May 1, 1947-May 3, 1947
11) Domingo Gonzales - June 1, 1947-
2) Rev. Fr. Nicolas Gonzales - 1845
3) Rev. Fr. Vicente Araujo - 1855
4) Rev. Fr. Antonio Vicente - 1855
5) Rev. Fr. Jose Ma. Velades - 1860
6) Rev. Fr. Cresencio Polo - 1867
7) Rev. Fr. Manuel Blasco - 1871
8) Rev. Fr. Felix Serrano - 1881
[p. 3]
10) Rev. Fr. Mariano Gomez - 1890
11) Rev. Fr. Manuel Blasco - 1896
12) Rev. Fr. Joaquin Camblar - 1902
13) Rev. Fr. Jose Serroz - 1913
14) Rev. Fr. Jesus Fernandez - 1915-1925
15) Rev. Fr. Emilio Ramos - 1921
16) Rev. Fr. Florentino Casta¤on - 1938-1949
17) Rev. Fr. Pedro Tarquiña - 1950-
2) Ambrocio Gato
3) Mariano Dacocinois
2) Candelario Dona - Oct. 22, 1925-Sept. 23, 1926; June 25, 1928-Aug. 31, 1928; Mar. 19, 1929-Mar. 24, 1929
3) Miguel Castillejos - May 3, 1927-June 18, 1928; Nov. 2, 1928-Nov. 19, 1928; April 18, 1929-April 23, 1929
4) Isidoro Gavilan (Ex-officio) - Sept. 30, 1929-Nov. 23, 1929
5) Jorge Magguddatu - June 13, 1930-Nov. 16, 1934
6) Diego G. Blanca (Ex-officio) - April 25, 1935-Mar. 29,1937
7) Domingo Dita (Ex-officio) - Feb. 14, 1938-Aug. 25, 1942
8) Simeon J. Tolentino - Nov. 2, 1938-May 25, 1946
9) Domingo Dita (Ex officio) - May 26, 1946-Aug. 19, 1948
10) Mariano E. Villalba - April 1948-
2) Domingo Gato
3) Rafael Garcia
4) Francisco Rico
[p. 4]
6) Vicente Blanca
7) Juan Castillo
8) Tomas Manzo
9) Faustino Villa - 1898-1899
10) Simeon Cano - 1900-1902
11) Sandalio Salengua - 1903-1906
12) Ramon Villa - 1907-1911
13) Hermogenes Garcia - 1912-1916
14) Sixto Manzo - 1917-1920
15) Francisco Cano - 1921-1925
16) Pedro Gonzales - 1926-1930
17) Hermogenes Gonzales - 1931-1935
18) Moises Alcazar - 1936-1946
19) Santos Villa - 1947-1947
20) Roque Cano - 1947-1951
21) Raymundo Castillo - 1952-
2) Florencio Salamagos - 1905-1907
3) Isidoro Gavilan - 1908-1910
4) Antonio Castillo - 1911-1913
5) Moises Alcazar - 1913-1920
6) Clodualdo Balanoba - 1921-1925
7) Gaspar Gato - 1926-1929
8) Emilio Gavilan - 1930-1931
9) Mariano Castillo - 1932-1934
10) Valentina A. Elarde - 1936-1946
11) Aurelia A. Ponce - 1947-1951
12) Francisca S. Garcia - 1952-
2) Felix Horlina - 1902-1902
3) Vicente Ballada - 1903-1904
4) Eladio Valdesancho - 1905-1908
5) Simplicio Gordo - 1908-1908
6) Hermogenes Ponce - 1909-1912
7) Pedro Labrador - 1913-1916
8) Tiburcio Castro - 1917-1920
9) Gabriel Horlina - 1921-1924
10) Pedro Castro - 1925-1928
11) Sixto Manzo - 1929-1932
12) Segundo Mirabueno - 1933-1936
13) Clodualdo Balanoba - 1937-1940
14) Pablo Gordo - 1941-1941
15) Ildefonso Castillo - 1941-1946
16) Leoncio Pana - 1947-1948
17) Julian Mirabueno - 1948-1951
18) Lucas Malupa - 1952-
[p. 5]
2) Jose Mino - 1905-1906
3) Mateo Pana - 1907-1908
4) Luis Bata - 1909-1912
5) Domingo Camacho - 1913-1916
6) Mariano Nobleza - 1917-1920
7) Alfonso Camacho - 1921-1923
8) Salvador Horbino - 1924-1927
9) Francisco Camacho - 1928-1928
10) Claro Loor - 1929-1931
11) Eulogio Antas - 1932-1936
12) Fermin Pana - 1937-1946
13) Ricardo Antas - 1947-1951
14) Nazario Dierra - 1952-
2) Felix Camba - 1917-1920
3) Samuel Gordo - 1921-1924
4) Pastor Cangas - 1925-1928
5) Leonardo Balanoba - 1929-1930
6) Gaspar Gato - 1931-1934
7) Cirilo Montenegro - 1935-1938
8) Gaudencio Noblejas - 1939-1940
9) Ambrocio Balanoba - 1941-1946
2) Francisco Camacho - 1914
3) Candelario Dona - 1915
4) Carlos Gonzales - 1925-1927
5) Cornelio Salengua - June 19, 1929-June 21, 1929
6) Emilio Gavilan - June 22, 1929-July 15, 1929
7) Lupo Gonzales
8) Clemento Patimo - July 16, 1929-1930
9) Isidro Patimo -1931-1932
10) Bonifacio Valdesancho - 1932-1943
11) Joaquin Labrador - 1941-1944
12) Fausto Salengua - 1945-1946
13) Victor Gaza - 1946-1952
14) Alfredo Malupa - June 1952-July 1952
15) Bonifacio Valdesancho - Aug. 1 1952-September 30, 1953
16) Claudio Blanca - Oct. 1, 1953-
[p. 6]
Important Facts, Incidents or Events that Took Place
(1) Christening of the people or introduction of the Roman Catholic religion by the Spanish friars. All the people were compelled to embrace the Catholic religion. Within a year after the arrival of the first missionaries in the island, a church was built. Later, a stone house was built.
(2) Opening of Religious Schools - Soon after, a school was opened to teach the Doctrina Cristiana, as well as to introduce Reading, writing, and of course, speaking of the Spanish language. Everybody was compelled to memorize the Catechism.
(3) Founding of the Town - To facilitate the baptizing and government control, the people from different points of the island were ordered to gather in the middle of the island. A site was chosen by the early friars and prominent men, representatives from the different tribes. The place selected was accessible to a water source and to the coast. According to the earliest available record, the people assembled into one community the early part of the nineteenth century.
(4) Giving Names - Before the friars arrived, the people had queer names. Some were named after animals, trees, or were called by their common characteristic, either physical or distinct peculiarities and habits. As soon as the friars arrived and began baptizing, they introduced names taken from the calendar, and also the family name.
(5) Dividing the town into districts, each district with a patron saint. When all the people had assembled, the town was divided into four districts. Each district had its own local as well as patron saint's name. Thus, there is the District of Kayñatuan or Sta. Rosa, District of Kaymarapuyan or Sta. Maria, District of Kauhauhasan or Sta. Lucia, District of Kayhigiangan or San Rafael, and this barrio of Raele or San Jose.
[p. 7]
(1) Opening of Schools - As soon as the Americans took over, the public schools were opened. The people were taught to speak, read, and write in the English language. In the beginning, only the primary grade was opened. The first school building was a one room house made of cogon material. The first concrete or stonewall school building was constructed in 1915-1916. Later, other buildings were constructed, so that the primary grade is now separated from the intermediate. The primary school building was constructed in 1931, and the Home Economics building in 1938. Today, Itbayat has a complete elementary school, and is now a district, with one central school and one barrio school.
(2) Itbayat Made a Separate Municipality - In 1909, Itbayat became an independent or separate municipality. Formerly, it was a township of Cagayan.
(3) Much Improvement in Health - Itbayat has its own dispensary. In 1938, the public dispensary was built. Since then, the government has established a
[p. 8]
(4) Itbayat is proud of its efficient means of communications - It has its own radio and post office which connect it with the other parts of the Philippines. This radio station was established in 1936. The post office department became separate from the telecom only recently. Transportation by steamer is regular and the ports and roads have been improved.
(5) Itbayat is one of the lucky towns in Batanes to have its own justice of the peace. Since 1925, Itbayat has always been a separate judicial division.
(6) Free Choice of Religion - While up to 1938, the people were a hundred per cent Roman Catholics, now, about 7% of the people are Protestants. The local Protestant sects are gradually increasing their flocks. The Roman Catholic population has its own parish priest permanently assigned here.
(7) Miscellaneous Changes -
(a) Construction of better houses, better water system, etc. - Since the American regime, better houses have been built. About 90% of all the houses are constructed of strong or concrete materials. All public buildings are made of concrete. Likewise, the people are rapidly replacing and remodeling their houses by using stone and lime as well as cement which are more durable and beautiful.
(b) Safe Water Supply - Safe water is being piped to the town to supply the town with sufficient water for drinking and for other uses. Many houses have their private faucets.
(c) Through the initiative of some interested individuals, better stocks of animals such as cattle, hogs, chickens, and goats have been brought in, thus improving the local or native stocks.
[p. 9]
The first act of the Japanese invaders on their arrival on December 8, 1941 was the destruction of the radio, thus, totally disconnecting the island from the rest of the Philippines or outside the world.
Probably in the whole archipelageo, Itbayat was the least affected during the Japanese occupation. Of course, the Japanese invaders came to this island town, but they came not so much to invade but to seek food, and probably to find shelter first.
When the Japanese garrison arrived, their main concern was to gather foodstuffs to eat and to send their comrades in other parts who might as much or more hungry than themselves. People were required to supply the garrison with meat, ubi, vegetables, and fruits which they bought and ate and transported to other islands, not to say, to Japan or Taiwan. They hired the natives to work in their tunnels or shelters and in other projects. Every able-bodied man and woman was required to go to labor without pay.
At the beginning, the garrison attempted to open a school conducted in the Nippon language, but with little success. The natives had very little liking for the Nippon languag\e.
During the Japanese occupation, many fled to the fields and stayed there until liberation. Practically all had their house sin the fields.
The people suffered little from food and hunger, but clothing and other necessities as soap and petroleum.
One of the greatest facts of the Japanese occupation was the closing of public schools. As the garrison used the school buildings for their headquarters, and as pupils and parents could not concentrate their minds on educational matters, the public schools were temporarily closed. Of course, there was the school opened by the Japanese garrison as mentioned above, but it had little appeal to the children and the public in general; besides, no building was big enough was big enough all those that might want to attend school. Furthermore, the Japanese either took or burned all schoolbooks, especially American publications. School equipment like blackboards, tables, chairs, and cabinets, as well as carpentry tools were all taken or destroyed. Even the school buildings were partly damaged.
[p. 10]
Immediately upon liberation, the schools were reopened which had been closed or inactive for six years or more. The school buildings which were destroyed by the Japs were repaired. School equipment and supplies were partly rehabilitated, although it will take time before all the school losses in equipment and supplies can entirely be rehabilitated to enablet the school to return to normal. School library books, shop tools, and other equipment like tables, chairs, blackboards, and aparadors, are far from being totally replaced.
Elective municipal officials who, by reason of the circumstances, at the time had to prolong their terms. Thus, the municipal mayor and his councilors served for about six years or throughout the occupation until their successors were duly elected by the first election of 1947.
Local commerce became reactivated. More cattle was exported and importation of various merchandise goods, especially cloth, or textiles, soap, petroleum, and even foodstuffs (canned goods) doubled the pre-war importation of goods.
Transportation and communication resumed its normal course. Communication by radio was reopened after six years of total isoilation from the outside world. Transportation by steamer became more frequent.
Resource Persons
2) Mr. Moises Alcazar
3) Mr. Mariano Gato
4) Mr. Maximo Cano
5) Mr. Mariano Nobleza
6) Mayor Claudio Salamagos
Local Committee
3) Mr. Candido Faeldon
4) Mr. Felix Horbino