Loon, Bohol - History - Historical Timeline

Historical Timeline

1610 (unconfirmed)- arrival from Butuan of the image of the Our Lady of Light (Birhen sa Kasilik) in Napo by Fray Pedro Lopez, SJ and company, patroness of the whole Mindanao; in 2010, the 'Kasilak' will be 400 years in Loon. It was warmly received and enthroned.

September 8, 1597 (unconfirmed) - the image of the Our Lady of Light was reportedly enthroned in a church in Butuan, Agusan del Norte before it was brought to Bohol, away from the marauding Moro bandits.

June 22, 1753 - establishment of Loon as a Spanish mission or "visita"; founding of the Parroquia de la Nuestra Señora de la Luz or Our Lady of Light Parish with Fray Manuel de Elizalde, a Jesuit, as the first parish priest;in 2003, Loon will celebrate its 250th annual fiesta.

1768 - the Jesuits ceded administration of the parish to the Recollects. Years later, the image of the Kasilak was permanently enthroned in the present church of Loon which was completed in around 1855.

1810 - assumption into office of Tomas Sevilla, the first town mayor, then called ‘cabeza de barangay’. He served for 15 years. In 2010, the LGU will be 200 years old.

1855 - completion of the construction of the Our Lady of Light (Birhen sa Kasilak) Church

About 1899-1900 - the burning of Loon by the Americans to subdue the alleged remaining members of an anti-American movement in Bohol.

March 14, 1900 - Major H.C. Hale and the B and C companies of the 44th Volunteer Infantry sailed for Bohol from Iloilo aboard the transport Elcano. With them was George Percival Scriven, who was particularly interested in the establishment of a Loon-Argao cable communications linkage, which was later accomplished.

April 2, 1900 - George Percival Scriven, in his diary, wrote that Loon was a fertile plateau planted with coconut, corn and tobacco, and a progressive town of 16,000 people. He took note of the imposing structures of the town like the church and convent, stone stairway or Inang-angan, and wharf; children going to school; an affluent community with well-kept environs; and a spring flowing from a cave on the northern edge of the town, after which the name Loon was coined.

1903 - the first official count of inhabitants was conducted nationwide. Loon’s population was described as fairly large at 18,114 residents. At that time, no other Bohol municipality, including Tagbilaran, registered more than 10,000 residents.

1914 - completion of the construction of the Gabaldon Building, the main structure of Catagbacan Elementary School, now Loon North Central Elementary School.

1915 - completion of the Gabaldon Building of the Loon Central Elementary School, now Loon South Central Elementary School.

1929 - completion of the American-style public plaza that features a monument dedicated to the national hero, the only Rizal monument topped by a replica of the Statue of Liberty; and a fountain that depicts the legend of Tubig-Loon.

June 1942 - arrival of Captain Francisco Salazar in Bohol (Catagbacan) from Mindanao via Leyte.

September 27, 1942 - Battle of Moalong, now jointly commemorated annually, since 2001, with the Municipal Day of Prayer for World Peace.

1946 - opening of Loon Institute (Rafael Palma College Branch), the town's first secondary school; now University of Bohol - Loon Institute Campus.

1948 - founding of Sacred Heart Academy, first sectarian high school, by Msgr. Felix Zafra.

1952 - establishment of the Loon Municipal Library during the incumbency of Mayor Juan ‘Aning’ M. Relampagos.

January 28, 1958 - Fr. Gorgonio C. Pueblos started serving the Mary Help of Christians (Auxilium Christianorum) Parish as its first parish priest.

1968 - Typhoon Reming destroyed most houses and damaged agricultural crops and livestock. It also destroyed the old municipal building, then used as Loon Central Annex in Moto Norte.

December 13, 1975 - energization of Loon by the Bohol Electric Cooperative (Boheco I); prior to this electric power was already available from the local power plant established by the municipal government in about 1968.

March 28–29, 1977 - The Loon Youth Team grabbed the grand championship of the first-ever Provincial Kabataang Barangay Sportsfest basketball finals that was participated in by all 47 municipalities previously competing in inter-town elimination rounds.

1979 - Loon hosted the annual National Science and Technology Fair which was participated in by high school students who won in the science fair (investigative projects) and quiz competitions in their respective regions.

February 20, 1988 - Canonical erection of San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila Parish. Its first parish priest, Fr. Bernardito T. Getigan officially reported on May 12, 1988.

June 8, 1988 - the Loon Waterworks System received the Gawad Galing Pook for 1997-98.

December 15, 1990 - establishment of the Holy Cross Parish with Fr. Gaudioso C. Zamora as first parish priest.

September 2000 - the SidlaKasilak or Festival of Lights was mounted for the first time, with sectoral representatives each bearing a decorated lantern that they floated on the pond below the fountain at the Loon Public Plaza. Sixty-seven teachers, each representing a barangay, also brought beautifully adorned and lighted baskets.

November 19, 2000 - establishment of the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Parish in Barangay Cuasi. Fr. Blair Lope M. Sabaricos, a Loonanon, was the first chaplain.

June 22, 2002 - Opening of the Loon South High School in Barangay Cuasi, the seventh secondary school in the town.

2002 - The Province of Bohol was conferred a Gawad Galing Pook for its coastal resource management program that includes the institutionalization of the Coastal Law Enforcement Council (CLEC). At that time, the CLEC of the First District was chaired by Mayor Cesar Tomas "Yul" M. Lopez, MD. Loon's efforts in enhancing heritage, culture and the arts also contributed much to another Galing Pook award received by the Province in recognition of its cultural renaissance program as a means to strengthen local governance.

2003 - Mayor Yul Lopez was conferred the Local Government Leadership Award as Outstanding Municipal Mayor of the Philippines, so far the first and only town mayor awardee from Bohol. The award was conferred on him by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University and other reputable institutions on the basis of his exemplary achievements and leadership in local governance.

June 2003 - Opening of the Loon South High School in Barangay Cuasi, the seventh secondary school in the town.

August 30 - September 8, 2005 - PaghiuSadya 2005, first global homecoming of Loonanons.

December 18, 2005 - inauguration of the 11.8-million-peso modular steel bridge on Tajang Pass which was constructed under the President's Bridge Program of the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Austrian government.

January 2007 - diarrhea outbreak in Loon, caused by Shigella flexneri, a water-borne bacterium. The epidemic claimed the lives of at least 11, mostly children.

June 2007 - dengue outbreak that left at least three children dead.

November 22, 2007 - the Commission on Audit conferred on the Local Government Unit the following four recognitions: first Municipality in the entire country to implement the electronic New Government Accounting System (e-NGAS), LGU with the shortest e-NGAS roll-out period; LGU with the most updated budget reports; and LGU with the most updated financial statements.

November 27, 2007 - a storm surge heavily damaged the causeway on Tajang Pass and Tulay, the fish port in Napo.

December 15–16, 2007 - The first Loon Creative Industry Festival was launched. According to Mr. Blair Panong, DTI - Bohol representative, Loon is the first LGU in the entire country to have sponsored an activity of such kind.

February 25–29, 2008 - In celebration of National Arts Month, the Local Government Unit mounted an exhibit on the works of Loonanon artists, particularly in the fields of painting, sculpture, literary arts, mat-weaving, film and television, photography, music, theater, and fashion.