SKULAKOG

Monday, January 05, 2009

Iriga Historical Timeline

5 million years ago during the Pleistocene, the present Philippine archipelagic formation took shape after million years of tectonic processes like subduction, continental collision and strike-slip faulting, where the Bicol volcanic arc that includes Mt. Iriga is an example.

10,000 years ago or around 8,00 B.C. Mt. Iriga erupted, that is during the Holocene or last ice age.

5,000 years ago, the "Ibalon," a 240-line "fragment of a certain manuscript in verse,"recorded by Fr. Jose Castano in his account of the origin, superstitions and beliefs of the ancient Bicols, and published in Wenceslao E. Retana's Archivo de Bibliofilo Filipino, mentions the tribes of Panicuason and Asog, thus showing the existence of a pre-Spanish community in what is now Iriga. Asog, which eventually referred to the mountain, is a pre-Spanish kind of transgender priest who presides in the cult to Asuang centered in what is now Mt. Iriga. The word Iriga must have originally came from Yrago, the other name of the daughter of Asuang, Oryol, an animist shape-shifting snake goddess called naga or naguini by the Sundaland natives, that is, Borneo, from where the original inhabitants of Iriga, Nabua and the present Naga came from.

1578 Nabua was formed as a pueblo from five rancherias or villages, namely Lupa, Caobnan ruled by Bonayog, Bua, ruled by Tongdo, Binoyoan and Sabang ruled by Magpaano and Caayao respectively. Huertas mentioned that Panga, the ruler of the rancheria in Lupa came from Borneo. He said that Iriga came from Iraga, which means "poseedores de mucho terreno," or possessors or owners of much terrain, that is, land. He did not mention about villagers being enjoined to relocate to Iriga because of the flooding in Nabua; hence, this long-accepted account of the origin of the name of the town does not have a historical basis at all.

1583 Iriga was established as a doctrina, an ecclesiastical term synonymous with the word "convent." As a doctrina, residents received regular religious indoctrination from the pioneering Franciscan missionaries, Fray Pablo de Jesus and Fray Bartolome Ruiz, as initial strategies for conversion.

1610 Death in a Manila Franciscan convent of Fray Pablo de Jesus, who along with Fray Bartolome Ruiz are credited for the conversion to Christianity of much of the population of the Bicol region, including Iriga.

1637 Fr. Andres del Sacramento was assigned in Iriga, and later in December, in Buhi. He died in Manila in 1644.

1649 Fr. Juan Bautista Marza was assigned in Iriga after his stint as administrator in Bacon and Nabua. Thereafter, he was re-assigned in Nabua, Tabaco, Camalig and Polangui in 1666. He died in Cavite in 1677.

1679 (December) Fr. Francisco de San Juan Evangelista, who came to the Philippines in 1674, was assigned in Iriga, after his return to Manila from Siam. He had also been previously assigned in Libmanan and Nabua.

1683 Iriga became a separate pueblo.

1710 Don Bonifacio de los Angeles organized the first four barrios of the pueblo, namely: San Agustin, San Isidro, San Nicolas Tolentino and San Antonio Abad

1727 A new church made of bricks was built by Fr. Diego de la Cruz.

1763 Treasures amounting to 1.304.147 pesos in silver and other goods on board the patache Filipino from Acapulco Mexico were unloaded in Palapat in Samar near the coast of Albay on orders of Simeon Anda to save them from falling into the hands of the British who had invaded Manila and had demanded the payment of the deficiency in the P4-million ransom from the cargo of the patache. From Palapat, the cargo were transported to Polangui then to Iriga where the party rested at the Franciscan convent. From Iriga, the cargoes were transported along the Bicol river in Nabua, then Bula, Minalabac, Milaor, Nueva Caceres and to Cabusao along the San Miguel Bay where it was taken to Mauban passing Lamon Bay in the Province of Tayabas, until it was eventually hauled to Nueva Ecija and presented to Sr. Anda.

1823 San Roque, San Francisco de Asis, San Juan Bautista, Sto. Domingo de Guzman, San Miguel Arcangel, Sto. Nino, Santiago de Galicia became new barrios.

1828 (September 18) Fr. Manuel Royo died in the convent of Iriga at the age of 69 and after 51 years as a Franciscan priest. He came to the Philippines in 1787 and had served the mission in Lupi, as parish priest of Ligao, secretary and commissary of the Camarines province, and as a minister in Naga.


1830
Rafael Diaz Aranas in his Memorias Historicas y Estadisticas de Filipinas called the cimmarones as those inhabiting Mt. Isarog and as Negritos those in Iriga, Buhi and the mountains of Caramoan. He also placed the number of "infieles reducidos" to a total of 500.

1838 (December 18-19) A typhoon struck Camarines and Albay.

1841 Fr. Tomas de Alfafara built a new church after a fire gutted it.

1845 French Seismologist Alexis Perrey noted the "conical mountain of Yriga...including a dozen small cones, between the villages of Yriga and Buhi, south and southeast of Lake Buhi."

1846 A famine swept the Bicol region during the administration of Don Juan Lomaad.

1857 A cholera epidemic broke out in the Camarines province.

1859 Feodor Jagor came to Iriga and wrote: "I found the highest points of the Yriga to be 1,212 meters, 1,120 meters above the surface of the Buhi Lake." He also expressed doubt as to the veracity of the report made in Huerta's Estado Geografico of the supposed eruption of Mt. Iriga. "It is not improbable that the eruptions of 1641 when a mountain fell in Northern Luzon and a lake took its place, has been transfered on the Iriga," he wrote in Reisen en den Phiilppinen.

1861 A fruit bat discovered in Iriga was listed as Cynopterus Luzoniensis and is commonly known as Peters' Fruit Bat. Some authors however, include the fruit bat under brachyotis.

1865 Iriga's population was recorded at 8,909 by Fray Felix Huertas in his Estado Geografico.


1870 (March 11) Birth of Eulogio Mirando, Municipal Mayor 1923-28.
(August 3) Birth of Felipe Monponbanua, Iriga's first municipal presidente.

1871 A smallpox epidemic and locusts invaded crops in Iriga during the time of Don Lucas Caayao.
(June, September 29) Typhoons hit Camarines.

1875 An earthquake "muy fuerrte" or very strong shook Iriga between the East, Northeast up to the Southeast part of the town, lasting about 50 seconds. The tremor recurred seconds later but on a lesser intensity and duration. In the neighboring town of Buhi, the wall of the church suffered cracks, according to a seismological report of Padre Miguel Sadera Maso published in 1895.

1876 Agustin de la Cavada reported seeing "nueve piramides," which were apparently the shape of the chapels which bear the images of "S. Juan Bautista, S. Francisco de Asis, S. Roque, S. Domingo de Guzman, S. Miguel, S. Agustin, S. Isidro, S. Nicolas Tolentino y S. Antonio." He also noted the presence in Iriga and Libmanan, of a church, parish, school, municipal hall and factories.

1877 The Annuario Filipino issued in this year cited Ramon Feced and Joaquin Llorens as residents of the town dedicated to agriculture and commerce. It listed the population of the town at 10,445.

1880. Bureau of Forestry Inspector General Sebastian Vidal y Soler climbed Mt. Iriga to gather local species of flora.

1881 * Fr. Manuel Crespo in his Memoria Sobre La Reduccion de Monteses del Isarog en Camarines Sur mentioned the two reducido villages of Novelda and Feced in Iriga, the early model of hamletting that the Americans later used in its war in the Philippines and Vietnam.

* (February 18) Alfred Marche, a French traveller and explorer who visited the hacienda of Ramon Feced, noted that the local Negroes in Mt. Iriga, apart from planting abaca, extract oil from ilang-ilang trees which grow abundantly in the mountain. "Ylang-ylang is an expensive perfume well-known in elegant society; in Paris it currently costs five hundred francs a kilogramme, and at one time it costs twice this amount. The flower which provides the essence grows in a very tall tree only found at altitudes of five or six hundred metres."


1887 * Jose Rizal's bodyguard, Jose Taviel de Andrade, visited Iriga and drew the village of "Novelda,'' showing a row of houses and a group of natives about to dance to the accompaniment of local musicians.

* (May 23) Birth of Santiago Ibarrientos Gonzales,who served as Municipal Mayor from 1929 to 1937. He began the construction of what is now the local Rizal Park and monument, the Cuyasao Bridge in Sto. Nino and donated the land in what is now the Santiago Elementary School, which used to be the site of the Spanish-time village of reducido natives called Novelda.

* Population of the town was 15,229.

1890 Pedro Paterno in his Los Itas, published in Madrid in this year, noted that the Negritos in Tarlac and Iriga cultivates rice, corn, abaca and the flowers of ilang-ilang; that they look up to the sky to synchronize their planting, their labor and their travels according to the movements of the stars.

1891 P. Marcellino da Civezza Prato in Storia Delle Missioni Francescane, recorded the population of the town at 10,732.

1892 The Iriga church tower was built with wood and iron.

1898 *(October 21) Dean C. Worcester wrote of the election for municipal officials held on this day in Iriga under the supervision of the military commander of Camarines who announced the victory of his friend who was a candidate for the position. The voting was oral and the military official did not say how many votes his friend garnered.

* The Military Notes on the Philippines recorded the town's population at 17,094, the second highest in the province following the neighboring Nabua town with 17,789.

1899 (September 19) Genaro Saavedra was born to Fabian Saavedra and Benita Sarza.

1900 * (February 25) Some Filipino troops headed by Col. Elias Angeles and Col. Ludovico Arejola, retreated to Iriga and Buhi after advancing American forces belonging to Co. K of the 45th U.S. Volunteer Regiment defeated them in their trenches in Agdangan, Baao.

* (May 5) 24 Spanish friars and 25 Spanish prisoners were abandoned at the Iriga Franciscan convent by Filipino revolutionaries, mostly Tagalog natives, headed by a certain Col. Pena, who made them march from Daet. Pena, apparently heeding the advise of the Spanish friars to proceed to Buhi and blow-up the bridge at Santiago so the Americans cannot get them. Among those who met the troopers of the 45th Infantry upon their arrival in Iriga were the local Chinese population.


*(October 19) A gruesome massacre was committed by Jose Avila and Paulino Casio, who with 25 other companions, "boloed to death five natives, including a child 3 years of age and young girl 11; cut and wounded, and tortured three women, one small girl and one man, with intent to kill them" in a ranch called Quisquisan, now Tubigan in Sta. Maria. For this, Brigadier General Thomas H. Barry, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Volunteers sentenced the pair to die by hanging in Nueva Caceres on July 26, 1901.

* (December 14) Col. James Parker commanding officer of the 45th Infantry was assigned as military administrator of Iriga. He introduced the installation of sanitary toilets, assigned his men to teach in the public schools in the town, summoned the residents to paint their houses in time for the visit of Gen. James M. Bell, constructed the road from Bato to Polangui; and enjoyed with local belles in the bailes he loved so much.

1901 * (June 29) Lt. Col.Chance M. of the 26th Inf. became the military administrator of Iriga.

* Santiago Guevarra is elected presidente municipal and served until 1903. Guevarra led local officials during the 1901 consultation with the Philippine Commission in Nueva Caceres. William B. Freer, who would later become the superintendent of public schools in Camarines, credited him for having established public schools in six barrios of Iriga, the first one to have done so in the province. In 1907, he was appointed as a member of the provincial board of tax appeals.

* (August 5) Felipe Monponbanua was appointed by Civil Govenor William H. Taft as Justice of the Peace of Iriga with Gil Nagrampa as his Auxiliary.

* (September 1) Anna K. Donaldson, a Thomasite, was assigned initially in Naga and later in Iriga as teacher.

* ( Dec. 31) Iriga was organized as a municipal government under the American regime.

* Horace Shelton was appointed as Supervising Teacher of Iriga and later on, as Postmaster of the town. Mails from Iriga and Nabua were brought to Naga through the launch, Vicol.

1902 * A total of 14.49 kilometer of telegraph line was laid up to Buhi, according to the Census of the Philippine Islands conducted in this year.

* Husband and wife, Herbert Ingram and Bessie B. Priestley from Pompona, California, were assigned as teachers in Iriga.

* (March 3) Basque planter and plaintiff Ramon Feced lost his abaca hacienda at Mt. Iriga to the defendant, Mariano Abella, when the Supreme Court rejected his prayer for a summary writ of recovery of his property that was attached by the Malolos government. In his ruling, Chief Justice Arellano said "1. that the summary writ of recovery lies only against the ousting party and not against a third person who has received the realty fro the former; and, 2. that the evidence in this case discloses that the defendant is not the ousting party."


1903 * Act No. 959, an Act Reducing the 43 Municipalities of Camarines Sur to 35, stated that "The Municipality of Iriga shall preserve its present boundary." The Act was enacted on October 23 of this year.

*(June 20-22) Johann Gottfried Hallier climbed and collected floral samples at Mt. Iriga. Hallier was born in Jena, Germany in 1868. As a botanist, he is credited for having proposed several original systems of angiosperm.

* Under Act No. 110, which is An Act appropriating one million, two hundred and sixty-three thousand, seven hundred eleven dollars and fifty-nine cents($1,263,711.59) in money of the United States, for the payment of sundry expenses incurred for the benefit of the Insular Government for the second quarter of the year 1901 and other designated periods; $75 was appropriated for the pay of native doctors of Iriga; $21 for street lamps and chimneys; and $83 for the pay of engineer and foreman of the repairs of the roads in the town.

* In his annual report, Governor Juan Pimentel of Ambos Camarines said that "...Few cases of cholera accompanied by deaths" have been recorded in Nueva Caceres, Nabua, Baao and Iriga for this year. He reported that a local board of health was organized in Nueva Caceres, Daet, Tigaon, Goa, Buhi and Iriga. In Iriga the head of the local health board was a medical undergraduate, Epifanio Villafuerte. He also reported the construction of 25,970 feet ditching and repair of two bridges, measuring 8 and 10 feet between Nueva Caceres and Iriga, costing $2,761 that was charged to provincial funds; the repair of 5,280 feet road between Nabua and Iriga amounting to $428.18, charged to congressional fund; and similar repairs of road between Iriga and Buhi, 1,500 feet in distance, also charged to congressional fund.

* William E. Boling was appointed Supervising Teacher for Iriga and Buhi.

* The Encyclopedia Britanica, published in 1910, listed the population of the town at 19,107. On the other hand, the 4th Annual Report of the Philippine Commission for this year, recorded it at 19,338.

1904 * Iriga's exhibit for the General Collective Exhibits, and for Education won Honorable Mention at the St. Louis Exposition.

*Lucas Mendez is elected municipal alcalde until 1905.

1905 * An intermediate school was established in Iriga with 1,231 pupils, according to the report of Governor Juan Pimentel, published in the Sixth Annual Report of the Philippine Commission of this year.
* Fr. Jose Algue, S.J. reported a "better rice" harvest for Iriga and Nabua, which along with Buhi, "produce the greatest amount of abaca."

1906 * Manuel Crescini elected alcalde municipal till 1909.

* (February) William B. Freer, Superintendent of Public Schools in Ambos Camarines, wrote that "Because of the production of abaca the town of Iriga ranks third in importance in Camarines, being outclassed only by Nueva Caceres and Daet. Numerous springs of pure water pour out from the base of the mountain; there the people go to bathe, and thence they fetch the water for household use in great, hollow sections of bamboo. Trees of the sweet ilang-ilang grow in the forests of the mountain side, from the blossoms of which perfume is distilled for commerce."

1907 (November 24) An earthquake hits Iriga. "The towns which suffered most are those to the south of Iriga volcano and along Quinali river. Within this area, nearly all the stone buildings which had successfully withstood the earthquakes during April came to the ground this time. Many fissures opened in the ground and huge landslides occurred on the mountain sides," according to the Monthly Bulletin of the Weather Bureau under the Department of the Interior.

1908 Raymond F. Bacon of the Chemical Division of the Bureau of Science rated the ilang-ilang oil produced in Iriga as nearing "first-grade oil in quality"

1909 * (January 2) Domingo M. Guevarra, founder of Radiowealth and DMG, was born in Iriga.

* Wilson Gilbert Rhoads was appointed Supervising Teacher of Iriga up to 1913.

1910 *Mariano Alanis served as alcalde for a year.

1911 *(May) Birth of Felix Ordas Alfelor to Ciriaco M. Alfelor and Josefa A. Ordas.

*Casiano Tagum is elected alcalde municipal and served for a one-year term.

* E. L. Miller, chief of the Division of Ethnology, Philippine Museum, in a study of the Agta in Mt. Iriga and Isarog, opined that the Agta and Dumagat probably belong together, that they may have been remnants of a pre-Bicol and pre-Tagal Malayan element, and a cross between Negritos and Malayan peoples.

* Albert Louis Ammen, a former U.S. Quartermaster Corps soldier, started his transportation business in Iriga with a steam launch or batel that ply the Barit river up to Nueva Caceres.

1912 * The Americana: A Universal Reference Library and written by Frederick Beach, recorded the population of the town at 17,100.

* (June 12) The Quarterly Bulletin of the Bureau of Public Works reported the inauguration of the 150-foot steel span Balos Bridge, as the "main feature of the town fiesta". The bridge which was finished a month earlier was contracted to Atlantic Gulf and Pacific for P3,100.

1913 * Manuel Crescini is elected anew as alcalde.

1914 * (July 1) ALATCO was incorporated with Albert L. Ammen as president, Lot Dean Lockwood as vice president, William Leslie A. Bowler as Manager, and R.F. Rawson as Assistant Manager and Treasurer. From a single-cylinder Grabowski truck, the ALATCO grew to be what the National Historical Institute noted to be the "country's first organized bus transportation company" and established Iriga as the birthplace of the bus transportation industry in the Philippines.

* (Sept. 9) Birth of Gilda Gales in Iriga. When she joined the movies, she was called the "Greta Garbo of the Philippines." Gales was the daughter of an agent of the Smith Bell Company which had an abaca trading post in the Bicol region. She died on June 16, 2003 in Monrovia, California.

1915 * Genaro Saavedra hauled four gold medals in 100 Yards, High Jump, Pole Vault and Decathlon in the Far East Championships held in Shanghai, China.

* (October ) A typhoon struck Camarines province, as recorded by Mack Cretcher in his memoir, A Tenderfoot in the Tropics, published in 1918.

1916 * (January 10) Governor Leonard Wood in battling for the purchase by the Philippine government of the outstanding stocks of the Manila Railroad Compay, told the Third Philippine Legislature that "It will only be upon completion of the line between Hondagua and Iriga that its operation through Ambos Camarines and Albay will pay fixed charges upon that section, I am confident, however, that upon the completion of that line the through traffic from the southern provinces will produce revenue more than sufficient to pay the fixed charges, and that the completed system of railways will prove to be profitable investment in the way of dividends upon the stock acquired by this government."

* (October 13); birth of fiction writer Socorro Federis Tate to Esteban Federis and Eulalia Madara.

1917 * Raymundo Angeles is elected alcalde.

1918 * (March 3) Birth of Jose C. Villanueva, eventual first Mayor of the City of Iriga, to Tomas M. Villanueva and Genoveva Cailao.

* (August 22) The Supreme Court sustained the election protest of Andres Garchitorena against Manuel Crescini for massive cheating during the election for governor of the Province of Ambos Camarines, thus voiding the latter's victory.

1920 * Zacarias Guevarra is elected alcalde municipal.

1921 Juan K. Taduran wins the gold in the Decathlon in the Far East Championships held in Shanghai, China. In this same year, he was awarded the World Trophy for Track and Field by the Amateur Athletic Federation, the first of only two Filipinos, the other being Simeon Toribio for Track and Field in 1930, who was given the award which was discontinued in 2000.

1923 * Juan K. Taduran wins the gold in the Decathlon in the Far East Championships held in Osaka, Japan.
* Eulogio Mirando is elected alcalde mayor, serving until 1928.

1924 Miguel R. Ibana founded the Camarines Sur Institute which would later become the Apolinario Mabini Institute, the forerunner of the present Mabini Colleges in Daet, Camarines Norte where Ibana and his wife, Flora, transferred in June 1949 after selling the rights to the school to a local group of educators headed by lawyer, Felix O. Alfelor.

1925 Juan K. Taduran wins gold in the Decathlon in the Far East Championships held in Manila, Philippines.

1929 Santiago Gonzales is elected alcalde and served until 1937.

1934 *Lawyer Luis de Leon was elected representative of the 2nd District of Camarines Sur in the 10th Philippine Congress, composed of the towns of Bombon, Calabanga, Camaligan, Canaman, Gainza, Magarao, Milaor, Ocampo and Pili.

*(August 25) Birth of Eddie Ilarde in Iriga.

1935 Ronald Kookooritchkin, son of Russian emigre' Eremes Kookooritchkin and Conchita Segovia was born. He would later join the movies and assume the screen name, Ronald Remy.

1938 Felix O. Alfelor is elected municipal mayor and served until 1940.

1941 *(December 14) Japanese forces entered and occupied Iriga two days after landing in Legazpi and Caramoan.

* Elias Corporal is elected municipal mayor, serving until 1946.

* Francisco Mirando (a.k.a. Iskong Itom), a local toughie in the 40's, became the first victim of the Japanese invading army which had for a long-time stationed their men in the town in the person of Taguchi, owner of the Iriga Bazaar and his employees named Sakudo and Sakamoto. Filipino jazz master and maestro, Angel Pena, who played with the Iriga-based Bicol Masters Orchestra in the 40's, in his autobiography published by the Ateneo de Manila titled A Man and His Music recalled that Mirando, whom he erroneously called Pacifico, "was caught by the Japanese and killed."


1942 * (April 19) Local guerrilas raided the town, killing some Japanese and burning their position at Alatco.

* (May 9) The so-called Waras Ambush.

1943 (October 17) A Japanese courier en route to Naga from Iriga, was waylaid by local residents and resulted in Japanese retaliation in what is now called the Agdangan Massacre.

1945 *(January 15) Four U.S. planes bombed Iriga, Baao, Pili and Naga.
*( April 1) 158th Infantry takes Legazpi, advances Northward.
*(April 11) The Combat Chronology: 1941-1945-U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II
recorded that: "At Iriga, defenses are hit with napalm."
* (April 16) 158th RCT cleared Iriga
*(June 30) Luzon and Bicol campaign terminated.

1946 Iriga had a succession of three municipal mayors under the Japanese government, namely, Filomeno Parpan, Tito Lagrimas and Juan Morallo.

1947* (August 18) St. Anthony Academy was founded by a group of professionals headed by Dr. Santiago Ortega. In 1963, it was renamed St. Anthony College and in 1972, the University of St. Anthony.

* Felix Monte is elected municipal mayor, serving until 1951. During his term, the Iriga Municipal Council donated the lot where the Iriga Puericulture Center now stands.

1948 Mabini Memorial School was founded, retaining the name till 1952 when it became the Mabini Memorial College.

1949 La Consolacion Academy was established.

1950 * (February 28) Award-winning actor and Musical Scorer, Jaime Garcia Fabregas, was born in Iriga.

* Cora Garcia (nee Margallo) appeared with Fernando Poe Sr. in Kami ang Sugatan; and with Alfonso Carvajal in Dayang-Dayang, directed by her eventual husband, writer Nemesio Caravana.

1951 The Guy Jesters Fraternity was organized and made "guy" a popular word in Iriga.

1952 * Santiago G. Ortega Sr. is elected municipal mayor serving until 1955.
* (October 16-23) Typhoon Trix, with the highest wind speed of 215 kph recorded in Legazpi, hit the Bicol region, leaving 995 dead and P0.88 billions in damages.

1953 *(May 21) Maria Leonora Teresa Villamayor was born in Iriga.
* Our Lady of Fatima Parish was established in San Isidro.
1955 * (February 5) Construction of Barit Hydroelectric Plant started in Sta. Justina, Buhi.
* Perfecto I. Taduran is elected municipal mayor, serving until 1959.

1957 * (September 10) Barit Hydroelectric Plant started operation.

* Zaldy Zhornack (Dec. 30, 1940-November 18, 2002) appeared in his first starring role, Barumbado. He was in the cast of the first Lo' Waist Gang along with lead star, Fernando Poe Jr.

* The Annotated Bibliography of Philippine Sciences reported that "a farmer in Sta.Cruz, Iriga, Camarines Sur, unearthed an artistic nicely covered small jar approximately 2 feet high containing human bones believed to be more than two centuries old."

1958 (February 22) The Julian Ocampo Memorial Lodge No. 146 of Free and Accepted Masons based in Iriga was constituted. It is named after the former Camarines Sur governor.

1959 Milagros Sumayao won the Miss Philippine Press Photography title. In the movie industry, she used the screen name Mila Ocampo and is the mother of Snooky.

1960 Jose C.Villanueva is elected as municipal mayor, serving as Iriga's first City Mayor in 1968 until 1986.

1962 (June) The Iriga Association of America, based in California, which later became the Iriga Bicol Association of America, was founded by Philippine Scout veterans Alfeo Antang and Glenn Olea, and retired U.S. Army Mateo Magistrado.

1966 * Nora Villamayor emerged as Champion in the Tawag ng Tanghalan Grand National Finals.
* Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal was established in Santiago.
* Sagrada High School (which became the Sagrada National High School in 1988) was opened through the efforts of Felix Guevara and the support of Barrio Captain Francisco F. Llagas.

1967 Nora Villamayor, now known as Nora Aunor, appears in her debut movie, "All Over The World." Nora's entry in the film industry changed the "mestizo/a" standard for actors, brought the so-called "bakya" crowd into the national consciousness; and created a following unheard of and unsurpassed to this day in the country.

1968 * (June 15) R.A. 5261 was signed by President Ferdinand Marcos converting the municipality of Iriga as Bicol's third city.

*(September 3) Iriga was inaugurated as Bicol's third city, after Naga and Legazpi.

1969 (May 22) Iriga Telephone Company (IRIGATEL), incorporated in February 23, 1968, was granted a legislative franchise under R.A. 5974 to install, operate and maintain a telephone system in the City of Iriga.

1970 (October 11-15) Typhoon Sening (Joan), the strongest typhoon in the Philippines till 2006, 275 kph. 768 dead, P1.89 damages, hit the Bicol region.

1971 *(June 19) Sta. Maria was created as a new barrio of Iriga under RA. 6228. The barrio is composed of the sitios of Tubigan, Katungdulan, Bagacay, Sabang, Sampaga, Rao and Cawayan.

* Eddie Alanis, Felix R. Alfelor Jr., Lilia de Lima and Domingo Guevara secured four of the five slots for delegates to the 2nd District of Camarines Sur to the 1971 Constitutional Convention called under R.A. 6132, with former Senator Edmundo B. Cea completing the list.

* (August 26) A fire fight between soldiers of the Philippine Constabulary and members of the New People's Army in San Pedro, resulted in the death of one PC soldier and 2 Kabataaang Makabayan members. The incident was one of the reasons cited by Marcos for declaring Martial Law in the country the following year in September 21, 1972.
* (December 15), operation of the IRIGATEL started after it was granted a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity by the erstwhile Public Service Commission.

1972 (September 21) President Ferdinand E. Marcos issued Proclamation 1081, placing the entire country under Martial Law.

1973 St. Anthony College converted into the University of St. Anthony.
1974 The Mabini Memorial University was renamed the University of Northeastern Philippines.
1980 Glenn Olea elected mayor of Seaside City in California, becoming the first Filipino-American to have been elected as mayor in a U.S. city.

Most Rev. Benjamin J. Almoneda is named Parish Priest of St. Anthony of Padua Parish.
Most Rev. Prospero N. Arellano named Parish Priest of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, San Isidro, serving until the following year.
(August 10) Teresita Andalis was drowned by her purported fiancee, David Mathieson in Australia for a AU$3-million insurance.

1982 *November 14 - City High School at the South Central School in Sto. Domingo was converted as the Rinconada National Technical Vocational School under Batas Pambansa Blg. 294.

* Golden Kuhol (Pomacea caniculata Lamarck) was introduced to the country from South America (Brazil and Argentina) via Taiwan, by some local unwitting businessmen who wanted to cash in on its potential as an additional food source. The mollusk, however, turned out a national pest that in 1989, the Food and Agriculture Organization placed the losses incurred by the country due to this pest from 1 to 40% of ricelands in the country.


1983 Lilia de Lima was named one of the Ten Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service (TOWNS).

1984 Diomedes Panton competed in cycling in the 23rd Summer Olympiad in Los Angeles, becoming the first Irigueno Olympian.

1986 * People Power Revolution.
* Politico Corporal is appointed Acting City Mayor, but he was eventually replaced by Salvador de Lima who served until 1987.

1987 (November 23-27) Supertyphoon Sisang (Nina) hit the Bicol region at 240 kph. leaving 979 dead, P1.119 billion in damage.

1988 * Jose C. Villanueva regained his office, serving until 1995.
* Typhoon Unsang (Ruby) with a wind velocity of 215 kph, hit the Bicol region and Central and Northern Luzon, leaving 157 dead and 5.636 in billions of pesos in damages.

1990 (March 9) San Ramon Municipal Hospital was established as a ten-bed hospital by virtue of R.A. 6920.

1993 *(July 1) Former Camarines Sur Polytechnic College President Dr. Lylia Corporal Sena was installed as the fourth president of the Bicol University by Secretary Armand V. Fabella of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports.
* Teddy Rigoroso, former president of Ibalon and SAMASA, was elected Chair of the U.P. Diliman University Student Council.

*Lucio Margallo, a bio-flick of an Iriga-born PInspector Lucio Margallo IV was shown starring actor Philip Salvador.

1994 Our Lady of Salvation Parish was established in Salvacion.

1995 * Nora Aunor wins the Princess Pataten Statue as Best Actress in the 19th Cairo International Film Festival for her role in "The Flor Contemplacion Story."

* Emilia T. Boncodin named one of the Ten Outstanding the Women in Nation's Service (TOWNS).
* Emmanuel Alfelor defeats the septuagenarian incumbent city mayor Jose C. Villanueva to end his more than thirty year reign. He would serve for a full three term until 2005 when he was replaced by his niece, Madelaine Alfelor Gazmen.

* R.A. 7916, also known as the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995, has included Iriga as an ECOZONE, one of the special areas so identified in the said law intended for technology intensive and export-oriented industries.

*Janet Vargas Johnson is crowned Miss Bicolandia 1995.

* (October 30-Nov. 4) Typhoon Rosing(Angela), with a speed of 260 kph, hit the Bicol region, Calabarzon and NCR, leaving 936 dead and P10.829-billion in damages. The typhoon left the central business district and several urban barangays inundated by flood. Rosing is considered one of the strongest and intense typhoons in the history of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean because of its unusually maintained speed of 240 kph for 60 hours, mostly on land.


1997 * Nora Aunor wins the Golden Pearl Award as Best Actress for her role in "Bakit May Kahapon Pa?", in the 1st Malaysia International Film Festival in Penang, Malaysia.

* (October 29) R.A. 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 was signed by President Fidel V. Ramos. The law protects the rights of the so-called Indigenous Peoples like the Agta in Iriga.

* San Diego, California-based McKing Alanis is named one of The Outstanding Filipinos Abroad awardees given by the Filipino Image Magazine.

1998 * Emilia T. Boncodin was appointed Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management, serving till July 2005 when she joined the so-called Hyatt 10 in calling for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for election fraud.
In this same year, she was awarded the Presidential Golden Heart Award, given by the President of the Philippines for exemplary performance in government service.

*(October 15-24) Massive flooding hit the Bicol river basin area due to rains brought by Super Typhoon Loleng (Babs), 250 kph.,leaving 330 dead and P6.787 billion in damages.

1999 *Nora Aunor is conferred by the Cultural Center of the Philippines with its Centennial Honors for the Arts.

*Abicel Lowel N. Filio named one of the Ten Outstanding Boy Scouts of the Philippines.

* (March 12) The Medical Mission Group Hospital and Health Services Cooperative of Camarines Sur (MMG Cam. Sur) took over the management of the former Our Lady of Mediatrix Hospital established by the couple Dr. Andres Gonzales.

2000 Vina Rosana Catangui was crowned Ms.Tourism in the Kaogma Festival.

2001 * Corazon E. Malaya is named Pag-Asa Awardee by the Civil Service Commission which bestowed on her the Gantimpala Award "for honesty and efficiency in the delivery of services to the people" the previous year.

* (March 5) President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed R.A. 9031 which declared "May 27 of every year a special nonworking public holiday in the Province of Camarines Sur and the cities of Naga and Iriga." The day marks the foundation of Camarines Sur as a province.

* Tsomlee Go wins silver in the Taekwando World Cup Championship in Vietnam.

* Jaime Patiam of the Police Community Relations of the Iriga City PNP Police Station was named one of the Ten Outstanding Policeman of the Philippines.

* Mary Joy Therese Taduran crowned Ms. Camarines Sur; while Aprille Maninang was Ms. Kaogma.

2002 Ma. Angeline Tucio was crowned Ms Iriga, Ms. Cam. Sur and Ms. Bicolandia.

2003. * Ma. Angeline Tucio wins First Runner-Up in the Mutya ng Pilipinas.
* St.Therese of the Child Jesus Parish was established in Sta. Teresita.

* Aprille Maninang is crowned Miss Bicolandia.
* Marie Anne Malapo was chosen Ms. Kaogma.

2004 * SPED Teacher Anabelle Catimbang named Metrobank Outstanding Teacher of the Philippines.

* (August 9) PO2 Liza Jane Alteza of the Iriga City PNP Station was named one of the Ten Outstanding Policewomen of the Philippines.

* Ms. Iriga, Kristine Alpapara named Ms. Kaogma after reigning Ms. Karen Ortua was dethroned.

2005 (January 24) The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation(PSALM) turned over to the People's Energy Services Inc. (PESI) headed by the late former Buhi Mayor Ramon Constancio the Barit Mini-Hydro facility when it won the bidding for the 1.8 megawatt Hydroelectric Power Plant for $0.48- million last year.

(March 31) The Supreme Court in Flor vs. People of the Philippines(G.R. 139987) reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals finding petitioner Salvador D. Flor and Nick Ramos, editor and managing editor respectively of Bicol Forum, for libel filed by then Minister of Presidential Commission on Government Reorganization Luis R. Villafuerte.

*Madelaine Alfelor Gazmen, the daughter of the late Camarines Sur 4th District congressman, Ciriaco R. Alfelor, is elected as the first woman city mayor of Iriga.

*Annabelle Catimbang named Pag-Asa Awardee by the Civil Service Commission.

* (July 7) PO3 Liza Jane Alteza, investigator of the Women's and Children's Concern Desk of the Iriga City Police Station was named one of the awardees in the search for the Country's Outstanding Policemen in Service (COPS) given by the Metrobank Foundation, the Zonta Club of Makati and the DILG.

* Kharlyn Gayle Caroche was crowned Ms.Tourism in the Kaogma Festival.

2006 * (April 29) Philippine Economic Zone Authority Director-General Lilia de Lima was conferred a decoration of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star by the Japanese government for her role in strengthening bilateral relationships between the Philippines and Japan.
* (September 25-30) Typhoon Milenyo (Xangsane) with a wind speed of 180 kph, hit the Bicol region, NCR and Calabarzon, leaving 110 dead and P6.610 in damages.
* (November 26-December 1) Typhoon Reming (Durian) with a speed of 320 kph. battered the Bicol region, leaving 734 confirmed dead and P5.086 billion in damages. The worst typhoon the country has experienced. Officials however estimate the death toll reached 1,200 as landslides hit villages at the foot of Mt. Mayon in Albay.

* P/Supt. Tomasito T. Clet, Chief of Police of the Iriga City PNP Station was named one of the Country's Outstanding Policemen in Service.

* Kristian Cordero wins Madrigal Gonzales Best First Book Award for his poetry collection, Mga Tulang Tulala: Piling Tula sa Filipino, Bikol and Rinconada.

2007 * (April 3) Barangay San Agustin placed second runner-up in the National search for the Most Outstanding Lupong Tagapamayapa in Component Cities.

* Linda Buckland was crowned Ms. Camarines Sur.
* (May 14) Madelaine Alfelor-Gazmen wins second term as city mayor, winning by 21,000 votes over her opponent or 80% of the total voting population.

* (June 7) Death of retired Major General Efren Orbon, former commanding general of the 2nd Infantry Division, Philippine Army.

* (October 25) Dr. Marietta Nagrampa-Almazan was named one of 100 Top Fil-American Women.

* (October 27) landslide occurred in Perpetual Help and the central business district was hit by massive flooding.

2008 *(March 3) A 6.5 magnitude earthquake, tectonic in origin, hits a maritime area 184 km northeast of Catarman, Northern Samar but the tremor was felt in Iriga and Legazpi City.

* (May 7) Laila de Lima named Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights.

* (July 7) Ruben F. Ciron was appointed Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, which replaced the Air Transport Office.

* Tsomlee Go competed in Tae-Kwan-Do in the Beijing Olympics.

* (November) The Supreme Court, in an en banc resolution, ruled the unconstitutionality of several Cityhood Laws which converted as much number of municipalities into cities, citing among other reasons that the P100 million income requirement for municipalities to be converted into cities under R.A. 9009 cannot be applied retroactively to the cityhood bills, that the criteria for the creation of a city shall be prescribed in the Local Government Code and not in any other special laws like the Cityhood Laws; and that the Cityhood Law violate Section 6, Article X "because they prevent a fair and just distribution of the national taxes to local government units."

* (November 11) Himala, National Artist for Film Ishmael Bernal's masterpiece which starred Nora Aunor is voted by CNN viewers as the Best Asia-Pacific Film of All Time, announced at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

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10 Comments:

  • Good PM Sir:

    How about JOSEPH V. PRIMA who himself received an award from Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Order of the Knights of Rizal as 1999 Jose Rizal Model Student of the Philippines - National Level. He is now a CPA and own the Joseph V. Prima & Associates - Makati City. He is now a successful Businessman and consultant of more than 80 Corporation here and abroad including AMA Computer University. He is just 28 Years old from Iriga.

    By Blogger pmtiriga, at 4:24 AM  

  • Hi Sir, may alam pa po ba kayo about Mauban? Nakita ko po kasing nabanggit niyo above eh. Just in case may alam po kayo about anything about Mauban's history, I hope you can share me what you know kasi mahilig po kami ng mom ko about the history of Mauban :)

    By Blogger bien, at 5:57 AM  

  • Hello Sir:
    I am researching for a paper about the Ibalon legend and I would like to know the basis of your statement: "Sundaland natives, that is, Borneo, from where the original inhabitants of Iriga, Nabua and the present Naga came from."
    Presently I have not found any basis that the inhabitants of Iriga, Nabua and Naga came from. Your blog is the only one that mentioned this. It seemed plausible that the inhabitants of the Philippines would come from Sundaland and even as far as China and India, using the so-called 'land bridges' when the whole of the Sunda Shelf was exposed during the last ice age.
    I would appreciate your enlightening answer. Please email me at budji_tresvalles@yahoo.com

    By Blogger budji, at 9:37 AM  

  • fantastic blog to sharing.
    Thanks
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    By Blogger Unknown, at 11:26 PM  

  • Padi, i have read this article several times already and have posted my comment sometime ago. The comment has not been registered, however. Anyway, when the late Fr. mariano Largo was the Parish Priest of Our Lady of Fatima Parish,San Isidro, Iriga, he gave our family a newsletter of the Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Parish, Santiago, Iriga. Therein mentioned were Datus Panga and Caayao of Borneo and their famillies being the first settlers of Yriga. They were with a group of royal families that travelled by boat. One family settled in Manila, while Panga and Caayao's entourage continued in their journey until they reached the Barit River and decided to settle in what is now Santiago. We have lost our copy of the newsletter. You may, I suggest, request for a Copy from the Parish, if one is still extant.

    In the first comment that I posted, i also stated that my brother Aloysius was awarded one of the 10 outstanding student leaders of the Philippines. I think this was in 1982 or thereabouts. This feat was duplicated several years later by Ms. Monte. both came from UNEP. joaquin Aubrey or Jorey, another brother was the Regional representative of Bicol in the same competition in 1987, I think, but he forewent with the national finals because the school would not support him financially. (he is now a CPA, also a graduate of UNEP).

    You did not also mention the fact that we have had Palanca awardees from Iriga, yourself included.

    i hope this article will be updated so as to include scholastic achievers.

    ATTY. LEO ARNEL M. CAAYAO
    (leoarnelmcaayao@yahoo.com.ph)

    By Blogger Leo's Den, at 3:33 AM  

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    By Blogger Paul Smith, at 9:25 AM  

  • I'm amazed, I have to say. Really hardly at any time do I experience a site that's the two educative and entertaining, and allow me tell you, you might have strike the nail on the head. Your concept is fantastic the issue is anything that not ample men and women are speaking intelligently about. I am very joyful that I stumbled across this in my find for anything referring to this.
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    By Blogger Paul Smith, at 11:05 AM  

  • Thank you sir for posting this article. We are now having our new curriculum, the K+12. One of the subject areas is the ARALPAN. I'm so glad to have this reading material in my grade 3-2 pupils for them to know more about Iriga City. This is ERWIN from San Antonio Elementary School, Iriga City.

    By Blogger The Triumphant Child, at 5:44 AM  

  • Sir,

    I find your article really helpful with the thesis that I'm currently working on. But, it seems that you have not mentioned anything about the Aetas, considering that the timeline started from 5 million years ago. It was always said that they are the first settlers of the City and that they were those people from Nabua who found the "high" land, probably Mt. Iriga. Tinagba Festival taught me that; "Y- raga sa Sumagang". I don't have enough data about it, and I'm on the process of looking for a version of Iriga City's History that focus on the Aeta Tribes. I'm JOHN from Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Department of Journalism.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 7:22 AM  

  • Hi sir. thank you for the timeline. It will help me a lot in teaching AralPan.. very educational... Hoping for the inclusion of Iriga Central School in your Writings.. Im Eda P.Dato.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 12:54 AM  

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