Leganes, Iloilo - History

History

The town of Leganes sprang from a small settlement in the early part of 1840 in the site now known as Barangay Guihaman. The word guihaman originated from the presence of wild boars or guiham which inhabited and foraged the place.

The early founders of the municipality named the place Valencia in honor of its patron saint, San Vicente Ferrer of Valencia, a town in Spain. Learning the existence of the settlement, Don Ysidro A. Brudit, the Spanish Governor of Iloilo at that time, decreed sometime in 1856, that the settlement be registered as a pueblo otherwise a fine of P 600.00 will be levied on its inhabitants. In compliance with the decree, the place was registered as a pueblo in 1858.

The little pueblo at that time had grown into a thriving community with the influx of settlers from the adjacent towns of Jaro and Sta. Barbara. One of its founders, Don Miguel Valencia, seemed to enjoy unmerited, if not unusual honor after the settlement was named Valencia, while other founders protested and moved to have the name changed through a petition to the Alta Mar in Spain. The Spanish authorities, annoyed by the complaint, named the pueblo Leganes, the name of another town somewhere in Spain which is of little significance, just to settle the seemingly heedless dispute. The other originators, Don Angel Gustilo, Don Mariano Gustilo, Don Jacinto Sandoval, Don Lorenzo Gustilo, Don Juan Hilado and Don Fulgencio Espino fought hard for the autonomy and independence of the little pueblo.

After having been administered by kapitanes since 1860 up to the close of the Spanish rule in 1899, the town under the Americans appointed its first president, Zacarias Jaen who led from 1900 to 1902. He was succeeded by Tomas Gustilo who headed the pueblo from 1902 to 1904. Because of slow progress and lack of harmony among the leaders, the pueblo was annexed as an arrabal of Sta. Barbara by order of Governor Martin Delgado in 1905.

Leaders like Councilors Tomas Gustilo and Macario Jagunap who represented the pueblo from 1907 to 1908, and Arsenio Guillergan and Eugenio Marañon from 1914 to 1915 gave their best not only in working for autonomy and infrastructure projects like building of school houses, police station, wells, and roads among others; they also put up a fight in wrestling the revenue of Leganes’ fishpond from Sta. Barbara, with the aid of Jaro Councilors Petrinilo Gumban and Valentin Jordan. The fishpond’s revenue was eventually moved from Sta. Barbara to Leganes. This was used in the improvement of roads around the plaza and telephone connections to Jaro.

Through the efforts of then Jaro President Petronilo Gumban and his successor Valentin Jordan, Leganes was transferred as an arrabal of Jaro on January 1, 1916. Under these two successive presidents of Jaro who were in sympathy with the cause of the Leganesnons, the arrabal progressed steadily. Philanthropic landowners, notably Florencio S. Jagunap and Melencio Espinosa donated lots for school sites on which the school buildings of Leganes Primary School (now Leganes Central Elementary School) were constructed.

The Sta. Barbara Irrigation System was constructed in 1919 and was completed on July 4, 1922. A monument for Dr. Jose Rizal was erected in the school site of Leganes Primary School and completed on October 21, 1927 from funds raised by the people and donations from the wealthy family of spouses Modesto Jinon and Capitana Anding Espino. A concrete Gabaldon type school building was built and finished in 1929 from insular funds through the efforts of Assemblyman Vicente Ybiernas.

A new era of peace and progress began when Leganes finally gained its autonomy from Jaro and became a full pledge town through the efforts of the late Congressman Tomas Confesor, then Governor of Iloilo Province. Leganes was created a Municipality pursuant to Executive Order No. 241 of then Commonwealth President Manuel Luis Quezon on January 1, 1940. Marcos Espino was appointed mayor; Martin Jaen as vice mayor, while Constantino Gulmatico, Vicente Guinalon, Severino Quidato, Simplicio H. Griño, Primitivo Gustilo and Marcial Jacildo were appointed councilors. Their tenure of office lasted only for one year because of the election that followed in November 1940. In that election, the following candidates were elected: Mayor Marcos Espino; Vice Mayor Marcial Jacildo; and Councilors Felix Trespeces, Primitivo Gustilo, Simplicio H. Griño, Valencia Solinap, and Fausto Espinosa.

The emergence of a new town tuned in the era of peace. The people’s consciousness as to where their taxes go was answered to some degree by continuous town development. They became aware that the money they paid for the taxes returned to them in the form of public improvements.

First mayor, Marcos Espino had to his credit the promotion of goodwill among the people and was starting to implement his plans for the improvement of the municipality when the Second World War broke out. The Japanese Imperial Forces landed in Panay on April 16, 1942 on the shores of Oton. Mayor Espino assumed his function as leader of the local Civil Resistance Movement in the marshland of Cari Mayor at the junction of Janipa-an and Buntatala Rivers.

Life during the Japanese occupation became critical. People were always in the state of fear due to the series of battles and ambushes between local guerillas and Japanese forces. The civilians evacuated to safe places, others fled to the mountains. The people’s apprehensions was abated when Delfin Guinalon was made the puppet mayor of the town in compliance with the Japanese Propaganda Movement of Co-prosperity Sphere for Asia. Through his coordination with the Japanese Kempetais who turned the old Municipal Building, which was once located opposite the Fiesta Pavilion, into a Japanese garrison, many lives were saved. The reign of Guinalon ended when the 40th Infantry Division of the US 8th Army Division forces landed in Parara Beach, Tigbauan, Iloilo on March 18, 1945 to liberate the island of Panay. When the war ended, the town of Leganes painstakingly rehabilitated the damages brought about by the massive ravages brought by the Japanese Imperial Army.

Right after the liberation, Martin Jaen who had been an old timer in the field of politics was appointed mayor in 1945. In 1946, he was elected to the position as town head, up to 1951.

Mayor Jaen was no less enterprising than his predecessor. In spite of limited funds of the municipality, he was able to put up a number of public improvements. The concrete tennis court at the northern end of the town plaza and the Cry of Balintawak monument alongside the court were among the permanent improvements made. Later, he was able to secure additional funds from the Provincial Government to pave the Leganes Beach Road up to Sitio Bulangan. Through his influence, a sum of P 7,000.00 from the pork barrel of Congressman Pascual Espinosa was used to start the construction of the Leganes Municipal Building (its ruins now the site of the Graciano Lopez-Jaena Ecological Park). It was during Mayor Jaen’s administration that the usufructuary rights of Leganes over the fishpond were extended for another thirty years pursuant to Republic Act 366 sponsored by Congressman Oscar Ledesma. In the last days of his term, the Supreme Court decision turning over the possession of the fishpond to Leganes materialized.

Mayor Jaen’s successor, Pablo Jinon (1952-1955), carried on with the previous administrations work by completing the Leganes Municipal Building funded by Congressman Espinosa. Eventually, more funds came when the newly acquired fishponds were leased to the public through open bidding and netted an annual income of P 31,000.00. Municipal employees and policemen’s salaries were increased and construction of the Leganes Public Market was started.

The election of Mayor Espiridion J. Jagunap in 1956 to 1959, and re-elected in 1960 to 1963, ushered an era of progress in the history of Leganes. In the years that followed, the town was transformed into a beautiful municipality. Among the highlights of his administration were the edifices that will live for posterity such as the triumphal arch, the throne stage, and the fiesta pavilion. Multipurpose basketball courts, construction of health centers in Cagamutan Norte and Napnud and the construction of modified base type Leganes Town Hall were among the landmarks of progress during his incumbency.

In the local election of 1963, the people of Leganes voted into office a young lawyer and a neophyte politician (considered the youngest elected Mayor in the Visayas region) Atty. Adolfo E. Jaen, who expanded the development program of the municipality. During his administration, Mayor Adolfo E. Jaen, the 7th child of former Mayor Martin Jaen, had constructed various school buildings in Barangays Guihaman, Napnud, Nabitasan, Cari Mayor, Guinobatan and Cagamutan Norte. During his term, he became active in scouting movement that placed Leganes ahead of other municipalities in the whole Council of Iloilo.

It was noted that in spite of the strong opposition from the members of the Municipal Council (majority of whom belonged to the political camp of former Mayor Jagunap), Mayor Jaen was able to extend the Leganes Town Hall, the construction of the Post Office, and the well-furnished Session Hall. He likewise improved the town plaza. Through the assistance of the Peace Corps Volunteer David Ross, the municipality received a grant in the amount of $ 1,200.00 which was used for the construction of a two-classroom building at the Nabitasan Elementary School. With the help of Finance Secretary Rufino G. Hechanova, the municipality received a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Tax Allotment Share amounting to P 42,000.00 which was used for the purchase of generator set and electrical wirings that provided cheap power and electricity to the town proper. It was during his first term when the streets around the town plaza were cemented.

The Leganes Barangay High School (now Leganes National High School) was opened in the school year 1966-67. Jorge P. Landoy, Principal of the Leganes Elementary School, was the first Assistant Principal of the said municipal high school. The school successfully turned out its first graduates in 1969 and had continued to absorb more students every year.

In the election of 1967, the mandate of the people gave incumbent Mayor Jaen his second term (1968-71). During his second term, the University of the Philippines (UP) and the National Science Development Board (NSDB) was granted the use of the portion of the Leganes Fishponds for the establishment of the UP Brackishwater Aquaculture Center. A beautiful lagoon with fountain was constructed in front of the Municipal Hall. The first if its kind outside the City of Iloilo, the said structure was funded through the help of then Congressman Fermin Carram, Jr., who gave financial support in the construction of the Leganes Maternity Clinic and Children’s Hospital, and the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) Center at the Leganes Public Market. Nabitasan Barangay High School was opened at the start of the school year 1970-71 with Dorotea Gaverza as the first assistant principal.

In the election of 1971, after a respite of eight years, Mayor Esperidion J. Jagunap (1972-75) was again voted to administer the municipality for the third time, with a solid group of municipal councilors, barangay captains and councilmen. Under his leadership, the municipality has come up with a Comprehensive Urban Development Plan. The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC), Aquaculture Department, a well known institution in Marine Fishery Technology was granted the use of a portion of the Leganes Fishpond for research.

During that time, there was an upsurge in the implementation of vital infrastructure projects. The public plaza was renovated, a coliseum-like sports complex was constructed resulting in the transfer of the Bonifacio Monument (Cry of Balintawak) to the opposite portion of the plaza facing the national road, and the Guihaman Waterworks System (Imelda Waterworks) became a reality. Barangay roads, with the help of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), link almost all barangays to Poblacion.

The declaration of Martial Law on September 21, 1972, vested Mayor Jagunap with authority to act as local executive, with a hold-over Municipal Council and an additional eight members to compose the Sangguniang Bayan (from the sectors of agricultural labor, industrial labor, capitalist, professional, ABC President and two ranking Barangay Captains).

Under Martial Law, the incumbency of Mayor Jagunap was highlighted by projects in accordance with the National Government’s mandate to promote the New Society Program of then President Ferdinand Marcos. Leganes became famous for its implementation of New Society Nutrition Program.

Lapayon Barangay High School was opened in 1979 with Rosalina Berguia as first assistant principal.

Infrastructure programs were implemented in full swing. Selected schools in the western side of the municipality were recipients of the Bagong Lipunan Building. The Leganes Central School was renovated into a two-storey building composed of ten rooms replacing the ten-room semi-permanent intermediate building; three-room building of Calaboa Elementary School; the three-room building of Lapayon Barangay High School, and also the three-room building of Lapayon Elementary School.

When Martial Law was lifted in January 1980, a local election was held. Two strong contending parties were vying for leadership in the Municipality of Leganes, the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) under the leadership of incumbent Mayor Jagunap, and the Nacionalista Party under the leadership of former Mayor Adolfo E. Jaen. The election result was marred by charges and countercharges from both camps. However, by virtue of the Supreme Court’s decision, Mayor Adolfo E. Jaen won the electoral squabble and officially assumed his post as town mayor sixteen months later on May 16, 1981.

Mayor Adolfo E. Jaen regained the goodwill and cooperation of the people through project implementation. The concreting of the Pajo-Napnud road was completed creating a steady flow of transportation from Poblacion to Nabitasan. The conversion of Leganes Municipal High School to Leganes National High School was approved by authorities concerned, giving additional benefits to the school and its faculties. The construction of 1.40 million BLISS housing project in Cari Mayor gave added improvement to the municipality.

Leganes under the leadership of Mayor Adolfo E. Jaen continued to progress because of the trilateral interaction and cooperation between schools, the church, and the local government.

In 1986, when President Corazon C. Aquino assumed power, there was reorganization in all government posts. In 1987, the term if local executives expired under the old constitution and the National Government then appointed officers-in-charge (OIC) to manage local affairs. Leganes was lucky to have an OIC who by nature is pro-people, a person who in his young age has learned the rudiments of politics as a street parliamentarian. Josil P. Jaen succeeded his uncle Mayor Adolfo E. Jaen to become the sixth Mayor of the Municipality of Leganes.

After his term as OIC, Josil P. Jaen run for mayor and won in the 1989 election. In his first term of office, his program of government gave emphasis to people’s empowerment through the Institutionalization of People’s Participation for an Integrated Development (IPPID) who is in-charge with the multi-sectoral group training on specific programs and projects like the Gua-an multipurpose cooperative and bakery. With its participative approach, it gained popularity nationwide and won the 1991 KABISIG Award.

The program of government developed to become a foundation of all the developmental strategies being implemented in the Municipality of Leganes.

Mayor Josil P. Jaen also visualized Leganes to become an Industrial Growth Center in the province. Additional infrastructure development projects were implemented not only in the Poblacion but almost in the entire municipality. Efforts to invite investors were also prioritized leading to the gradual realization of this vision. Apparently, all the efforts of Mayor Josil Jaen stemmed from his innate philanthropic character of helping uplift the economic condition of his constituents.

His other notable projects during his term were the Jalaur flood control and the covered gymnasium with electronic score board.

The local election of 1998 ushered in an administration of another Jaen, this time the return of Atty. Adolfo E. Jaen. Now a veteran in politics, Mayor Adop has served his kasimanwas since 1963 for a total of three consecutive terms. Now on his 4th term, Mayor Adop continues the vision of the preceding administration. Also to his credit are the various programs and projects aimed for the advancement and betterment of all Leganesnons. He constructed additional stalls at the second floor of the existing public market structure. Before his term ended, he was also able to facilitate the improvement of San Vicente Road, the Lapayon-Calaboa-Cagamutan Norte Road, and the 3CL at Leganes National High School.

In the May 14, 2001 election, Leganes elected Enrique Rojas as mayor. Among his projects were the rehabilitation of Hilado Street, beautification of the Ecology Park, conversion of Leganes Rural Health Unit into a Sentrong Sigla, and construction of additional farm to market roads, among others.

With his ardor to public service, Mayor Adop again ran for mayor in the May 10, 2004 election. Once again, he captured the trust and love of his kasimanwa. Now on his fifth (5th) term, Mayor Adop is endeared to his kasimanwa the way he used to be. Among his projects are the construction of a police station building and municipal jail, restoration of the lagoon, established the Saad Park, and launched the Saad Festival which won the top spot in the 2008 Kasadyan Festival and competed in the Aliwan Festival.

He also constructed the Leganes Livelihood Resource Center building, and activated linkages with national agencies like the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA), thus opening the floodgates of valuable livelihood training programs like food processing, and entrepreneurial and technical skills training for Leganes residents. He also put up of the Leganes Garden Center, through the Municipal Agriculture Office, and created the Leganes Garden Club and the Leganes Cutflower Association. Diversified farming was also introduced to farmers to encourage them to plant high value crops to augment their income.

In addition, more than 5,000 Leganesnons benefited in the free medical mission conducted by the municipal government, Rotary Club of Iloilo Inc and by the United Airlines American Employees Association through the initiative of Orfa Jaen-Lagman. As part of the LGU’s health program, the coverage of the PHIC was increased to accommodate more indigent families from different barangays.

In 2007, the Leganes Commercial Complex was constructed, replacing the old public market, funded by a P 25,000,000.00 loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines. Jointly, the Local Economic Development Office was created to manage all economic enterprises owned by the municipal government.

With Mayor Adolfo E. Jaen’s strong sense of commitment and dedication to public service, many projects would still be realized that would redound to the best interest of his kasimanwa.