Guimaras

Guimaras, considered one of the exotic islands in the Philippines; believed to have been once part of the Panay group of islands. Once a sub-province of Iloilo, Guimaras was proclaimed as a regular and full- fledged province on May 22, 1992. It has 5 towns, with Jordan town as the capital. Located southwest of Panay Island and northwest of Negros Island, it has a land area of 604.65 sq. km. It has dry and wet season and population is estimated at 117,990. Hiligaynon is the native dialect but the residents also write and speak English and Pilipino, the national language.

Best time of year: March – May

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Brief History

For chroniclers who have intimate knowledge of its past, notably prominent Ilonggos who made written accounts of the province, Guimaras is known to have had a unique history.

According to Luhan, the island was formerly known as HIMAL-US. A prevailing legend has it that two of its inhabitants called Guima and Aras, who were lovers, went swimming and never returned. Thus, in their honor, Himal-us was changed to Guimaras by the pre-Spanish Ilonggos.

The beauty of the island attracted the attention of the colonizers. As related by Sonza and Gonzales:

The Spaniards headed by Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa who established the first Spanish settlement in Arevalo were struck by the beautiful sceneries in the island. They noticed that its verdant mountains abounded with the forest timbers, limestone for building purposes, and excellent hunting and fishing grounds.

During the 19th century, two outstanding foreigners visiting Iloilo made favorable comments about Guimaras. One was Sir John Bowring, the British Governor of Hong Kong, scholar, and author of the famous book, “A Visit to the Philippines.” Bowring came in 1859 and noted that Guimaras was a blessing to the newly opened port of Iloilo by making it safe to navigation.

The second foreign visitor was Dean C. Worcester who later became a member of the Philippine Commission during the American regime. Worcester came in 1887 while a zoology professor at the University of Michigan to collect specimens of Philippine fauna. He wrote, “Guimaras is extremely beautiful. During the month we remained in Salag Dako, we not only regained our health but also gathered much valuable materials.”

The Christianization of the people of Guimaras was started almost simultaneously with those of Iloilo. For this purpose, the Spaniards organized pueblocitos (villages) of Nayup, with San Pedro Apostol as patron saint was Santa Ana. For a long time these small villages formed a “visita” of Oton. Governor General Dasmariñas reported to the King of Spain on June 20, 1591 that Oton had two friars, one of whom was assigned to visit Guimaras from time to time. In the 18th century, it was annexed to the parish of Iloilo. During this period, the island was frequently raided by pirates and the growth of population was slow.

In 1742, the island fell under the jurisdiction of Dumangas up to 1751 when the Augustian Order gave way to the Jesuits. In 1768, the Dominicans took over from the Jesuits the spiritual jurisdiction over Guimaras. Then in 1775, it was organized into the regular parish with Iloilo. Still later, the three villages mentioned earlier were formed into a single parish. Finally, when the population had increased considerably, the island was given its municipal status with the seat of government in Tilad, now, Buenavista, and the old townsite was in what is now called Old Poblacion.

When Guimaras became a municipality before the turn of the century, the first captain del pueblo was Eugenio Tarrazona. Those who succeeded him as chief executive of Buenavista, the mother town of the three municipalities in the Sub-province were Manuel Garganera, Pedro Zaldivar, Marcelino Gabiazon, Jacinto Gabinete, Mariano Martir, and Sergio Consing.

The American Regime brought faster progress to the island. In 1908, the Guimarasnons were given the right to elect their municipal president and Manuel Garganera was the first elected president. One great American military genius, General Douglas MacArthur left an indelible mark in Guimaras. Fresh from West Point as a 2nd Lieutenant at the age of 23, he came to Iloilo as the head of the company of the Corps of Engineers. In Iloilo, he constructed roads and the wharf along Muelle Loney from Arroyo Street to the place of the Compania Maritima Building. He had his headquarters in Guimaras at Camp Jossman in Bario Supang Buenavista. The monuments of his stay in the island are the Sto. Rosario wharf and the road from Sto. Rosario to Supang. In constructing these public works, MacArthur utilized the labor of native laborers in addition to that of army engineers. The wharf is still in use after more than seventy years. Last December 29, 1992, a resolution was passed by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan changing the name Sto. Rosario Wharf to Gen. MacArthur Wharf in memory of Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

The development of Guimaras and the steady growth of its population necessitated the splitting of the island town into municipalities in 1918. Barrio Nagaba became the Municipality of Jordan with Valeriano Villanueva as the first Municipal Mayor and Licerio Segovia as Vice Mayor. The third municipality, Nueva Valencia, was created in 1941 with Florentino Gallopa as the first town executive.

These three municipalities remained integral parts of the province of Iloilo until the creation of Guimaras into a Sub- Province, thereby giving the island more governmental autonomy, under the initiative and leadership of Senator Rodolfo Ganzon and Congressman Fermin Caram, Jr.

Governor Antonio G. Ortiz was the first appointed and eventually elected governor of the Sub-province. His original designation was Lieutenant-Governor but was later changed to Governor by virtue of republic Act No. 5682 which was approved on June 21, 1969.

On July 1, 1984, Governor Antonio G. Ortiz filed a leave of absence and designated Atty. Gualterio B. Gelvezon as Officer-in-Charge of Guimaras. The designation was officially concurred by Minister Jose A. Roño of the Ministry of Local Government. Unfortunately, Governor Ortiz succumbed to his lingering illness and died on July 17, 1984. Clouds of doubt as to who would become the legal successor of the governor arose in as much as the Sub-province has no Vice Governor and has a lone member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. However, this problem was solved when Governor Conrado J. Norada, by virtue of Section 2140 of the Revised Administrative Code assumed the power and function as Governor of Guimaras, at the same time Governor of the Province of Iloilo. On October 1, 1984, Governor Leopoldo H. Locsin, by virtue of an appointment issued by President Marcos assumed the post as Governor of Guimaras until October 23, 1986 when Dr. Catalino G. Nava acting on the designation issued by Minister Aquilino Pimentel assumed the position of OIC Governor. On November 3, 1986, a new OIC Gonernor was designated in the person of Abelardo D. Javellana, the former Buenavista mayor who served the people of Guimaras until February 1, 1988.

The second and eventually last elected Governor of the Sub-province was Dr. Catalino G. Nava. It was on May 22, 1992 during his term when the Sub-province was converted into a full-fledged and regular province. He served his fellow Guimarasnons until June 30, 1992.

The euphoria that the Guimarasnons have felt on the conversion of the island into a Province following the overwhelming “YES” vote in the plebiscite conducted for the purpose simultaneous with the national election on May 11, 1992 has barely subsided when the new set of Provincial Officials appointed by the President to help steer the development of the place have bucked down to work on July 17, 1992. This new autonomous political status of the island with the able leadership of its first appointed governor, Emily R. Lopez is believed to usher an era of better progress and prosperity to the place.

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