Quick History: Bayambang Through the
Years
It has been 411 years since the
founding of Bayambang in 1614. Known then as Malunguey and part of Binalatongan
town (now San Carlos City), the town started as a flourishing settlement of
native inhabitants. Largely an agricultural town to this day, it is a survivor
of the ravages of time: from economic woes and the impact of colonization and
war to natural calamities and man-made destruction. From being a typical sleepy
provincial town, Bayambang of today dares to dream big and soar high against
all odds.
TIMELINE
Pre-colonial times
According to the records obtained from
the awarans of our old folks, such as Bernardo Gutierrez and Honorato
Carungay, and also from the testimonies of some of their contemporaries,
Bayambang was founded in the early sixteenth century by an Aeta known as
Agalet.
In the early days, the Aeta founder led
in forming the town by organizing his own tribe. He formed barangays composed
of small villages. The town was first located in what is now barrio Inirangan
and Hermosa (or Hermoza) and later on moved to the barrio of Telbang and part
of southern Poblacion just at the old Spanish Catholic Cemetery which is better
known as the old Bayambang. The old Municipal building was found near the
public market until finally moved to its present location.
1614
Bayambang, known then as Malunguey or Balonguey,
became a visita (a settlement of families under the jurisdiction of the
motherhouse regularly visited by a religious functionary for its religious
needs) of the Vicar of Binalatongan (now City of San Carlos).
1619
Malunguey was accepted as one of the
vicariates of the Dominican Order at the Provincial Chapter of 1619 under the
patronage of Saint Vincent Ferrer. It became independent from its matrix
Binalatongan.
1660
In October, an uprising in Malunguey broke
out, though this was immediately quelled by Spanish forces. When the Malong
revolt broke out two months later, the people of Malunguey joined Andres Malong
in their disgust over the excesses of the Spanish authorities. Malunguey, along
with Binalatongan, were the two remaining rebel towns at the end of the revolt.
Telbang, a native settlement, was
placed under the jurisdiction of Malunguey.
1741
The original church and convent of
Malunguey was transferred from its original location to a more elevated place
called Bayambang, the present town, after the recurrence of destructive
flooding.
The name of the town, Bayambang, is
thought to be have come from the colibangbang tree (with culibangbang
and kulibangbang as variants), Bauhinia or Piliostigma
acuminata or malabarica, which used to thrive in the area. However,
this is contested since "colibangbang" is an Ilocano word for
"butterfly," and there exists another plant that is, in fact, called “bayambang”
in Tagalog, the Amaranthus spinosus (Linn.) or uray or kulitis,
and then another, Celosia or Deeringia polysperma, an ornamental
amaranth species. Then again, "balangabang" or “balangbang"
is also another local word for "colibangbang." Incidentally,
"bayangbang" is also a Tagalog term for the sword fern or Nephrolepis
hirsutula. To complicate matters, in Pangasinan, the word "bayambang"
is a native term that refers to a place that is "madanom"
(Pangasinan for "matubig" or "waterlogged"), which
exactly describes some flood-prone barangays of the town today lying along Agno
River. Furthermore, "balangbang" is the term for hip in the
Pangasinan language. What further complicates the origin story further is
another theory that Bayambang might have come from "bayang-bayang,"
an old native term for the scarecrows used to scare off the anuyais
birds from the rice fields.
1763
On March 1, rebels under the command of
Juan Dela Cruz Palaris, the leader of the Palaris revolt which started on 1762,
mounted captured cannons in a bridge in Bayambang towards the direction of the
Spaniards. In the said battle, the Spanish forces were able to capture the
staff of the rebels. However, they didn’t pursue the rebels but instead
returned to their home base on Bacolor, Pampanga.
1792
Under the Spanish regime, the first
chief executive of the town was Vicente Cayabyab who held office as gobernadorcillo.
This office was held from 1792 to 1891, with Julio Gloria as the last gobernadorcillo.
1813
The construction of the church and the
convent, made of bricks and stone, started this year.
1834
The Alcalde Mayor of Pangasinan
submitted a petition to acquire two big boats for use in the transport of mails
between Bayambang and Paniqui in Tarlac, and for use during floods.
1838
Camiling became independent of
Bayambang.
1855
Domingo Junio dela Cruz, then the
town’s gobernadorcillo or mayor, submitted a petition to construct a new
town hall to the office of the Alcalde Mayor of Pangasinan. He was supported by
the town’s parish priest, Fr. Raymundo Barcelo.
1865
Agapito Dison was the gobernadorcillo
del pueblo.
The first Pangasinan-Spanish dictionary
produced by Father Lorenzo Fernandez Cosgaya was compiled in Bayambang.
1875
On May 25, Catalina de Seña led a
petition where the people of Barrio Hermoza requests to separate from Bayambang
due to its immense distance to the town center. The petition forwarded to the
Alcalde Mayor of Pangasinan.
A petition from the people of Dangla, a
barrio of Bayambang, to become a separate town was granted with 11 cabecerias
or barrios composing the new town which was later named Alcala.
1877
The gobernadorcillo del pueblo
was Pedro Bautista.
1880
On March 6, the Alcalde Mayor of
Pangasinan elevated to the office of the Governor General the request of Doña
Modesta Leonarda Mendoza to operate public school for girls.
One of the first three rice mills in
Pangasinan was installed and operated in Bayambang by British firm Smith, Bell
and Company.
1892
The title of local chief executive was
changed to Capitan Municipal, with Mauricio de Guzman as the first capitan.
His successors were Honorato Carungay, Lorenzo Rodriguez, a Spaniard, and
Julian Mananzan, who was the last of the capitanes.
At the time of Capitan Municipal
Mauricio de Guzman, the Juez de Paz was Ramon de Castro, the Cura Parroco was
Padre Feliciano Fernandez Martin, and public education (instruccion publica)
was handled by Profesor Juan Sison and Profesora Francisca Navarrete, there
were rice milling machines, warehouses, and traders, and there were groceries
and shops. The one in charge of the rice mills (maquinas para mondar arroz)
was Mr. Bray of Smith Bell & Co. which was a British investor in rice
buying and exportation, and the grocery (comestibles) proprietor was
Manuel Espinosa.
1896
On April 6, Fr. Feliciano Martin
started the construction of the first stone-fenced cemetery, which was
completed under the leadership of secular priest Fr. Frangno Fernandez. (Today,
only its entrance arch remains, with Heritage Rd., Brgy. Cadre Site as its
address.)
On June 1, in the midst of the ongoing
revolution against Spain, an inventory of church properties was conducted with
the intent that whatever result the uncertain times might bring, the properties
were properly accounted for.
1897
"The Katipunan contingent
attempted to raid the town's Spanish detachment, to engage in an agaw-armas
activity, and the Spaniard's reaction may have affected the Katipunan's
activities in the province.”
"In retaliation, General Ricardo
Monet, the Spanish commander of the Bayambang detachment, put the town of
Bayambang under the juez de cuchillo (literally judge of the knife,
meaning justice of the sword). The Spanish army rounded up the suspected
Katipuneros of Bayambang and massacred them. Then they burned the poblacion
of Bayambang. Finally, General Monet issued a warning that he would place any
town [in Pangasinan] under the juez de cuchillo if the rebels attacked
any Spanish guardia civil. This must have tied the hands of the
Pangasinan Katipuneros."
“Bayambang thus became the first town in
Pangasinan to go through juez de cuchillo, with many of the prominent
men of the town executed and almost all their houses razed to the ground. The
rich and poor alike had to flee for their lives because of the cruelty of the
Spaniards. It was only through the intervention of a Spanish-Filipino general
that the juez de cuchillo ended.”
1898
Bayambang was a pueblo with 8,505
inhabitants, according to the "Anuario del Comercio de la Industria de la
Magistratura y de la Administracion" (1898). Local farmers produced rice,
corn, sweet potato, banana, sugar, tobacco, coffee, cocoa, coconut oil, indigo
dye, and mung beans.
During the Revolutionary period,
Saturnino Junio was appointed the Presidente (chief executive) of the town.
Julian Mananzan was Vice-Presidente,
Mateo Mananzan and Felix Tamondong were Komandante, and Juan Fajardo was Juez
Ynstructor.
1899
In June, General Antonio Luna had his
brief encampment in Bayambang to prepare the defense of General Emilio
Aguinaldo. Here, he received a telegram from General Aguinaldo ordering him to
report to Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija to see the General.
Gen. Gregorio del Pilar went to
Bayambang to search for Gen. Antonio Luna and his men.
Jose Palma, a staff member of the
Revolutionary Government’s newspaper “La Independencia,” wrote a Spanish poem,
“Filipinas,” that became the lyrics of “Marcha Nacional Filipina,” now the
Philippine National Anthem. He penned the poem in Bautista, then a sitio of
Bayambang.
On November 12, Bayambang became the
5th capital of the short-lived Philippine Republic when General Emilio
Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippine Republic, transferred the seat
of government here. At the same time, the regular army was disbanded and the
revolutionaries resorted to guerrilla warfare in dealing with the Krag-wielding
American army.
While Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and company
were on their way to Bayambang, his daughter Flora Victoria died of undisclosed
cause, and when they reached the town, she was buried at the local church.
Around this time, an equally historical
event was the stealthy publication of an issue or issues of "La
Independencia," the First Philippine Republic's newspaper. Originally
edited by General Antonio Luna, this issue must have been edited by
poet-soldier Jose Palma. Recounts historian Ricardo Jose in his book on the
history of local journalism, "As the Americans advanced, the press moved
northward (right inside the coach of the Ferrocarril de Manila-Dagupan): to
Angeles, Tarlac and finally to Bautista, Pangasinan."
"Due to the difficult conditions
and shortage of printing materials, the size of the paper shrank and the number
of pages dropped to two. Paper was never totally lacking, as loyal Filipinos
somehow were able to maintain the supply of newsprint, but the difficulties of
putting out the paper under siege conditions finally became so great that the
press and its materials were buried near the final office of the paper. Palma
and his compatriots then escaped to Camiling, Tarlac."
An account of General Elwell Stephen
Otis reveals that the American army was eventually able to retrieve the buried
printing press. How they were able to locate the printing press in its place of
concealment is a mystery.
Ricardo Jose also wrote that, apart
from "La Independencia" in Manila, "there were other
local nationalistic papers" published between 1899 to 1900 in the
Philippines, and "Bayambang, Pangasinan had Babasaey Ombaley, a
bilingual paper in Pangasinan and Ilocano."
1900?
When the military government was
inaugurated by the Americans, Evaristo E. Dimalanta was appointed president.
1900?
At the inauguration of the American-era
civil government, Laureano Roldan was appointed first president of the town.
The succeeding presidents according to their terms of office were Albino
Garcia, Gavino de Guzman, Mateo Mananzan, Marciano Fajardo, Agustin Carungay,
Emeterio Mananzan, and Eusebio Camacho.
“There was only one main street in the
Poblacion area. Lined up along the main street were the houses of the original
families, most of whom were attributed to as prominente or buenas
familias or considered affluent and belonging to the upper echelon of
society. They were looked upon as superior by those living in the barrios, who
usually were tenants of the prominente familias.”
“As years went by, the divide between
the prominente and non-prominente familias slowly diminished and
the Poblacion was peopled by families living on common grounds.”
1901
Bautista, a sitio of Bayambang, became
a separate town.
1903
On October 13, the US colonial
government declared 289 hectares of land in Bayambang as Camp Gregg Military
Reservation, covering 12 barangays. American forces established camps and
posts in different parts of Bayambang.
1906
Gavino de Guzman became Municipal
President up to 1907.
1908
The Philippine Postal Savings Bank
opened a branch in Bayambang two years after it opened for business in 1906.
1910s
“The main thoroughfare of the Poblacion
was always flooded at the onset of the rainy season. The townsfolk resorted to
using an outrigger boat (baluto or banca) as a means of
transport. In events like this, the ladies and bachelors enjoyed each other’s
company while riding boats. The ladies wore takuko (a wide-brimmed native
hat) on their heads to protect them from rain.”
“The wooden-bamboo bridge connecting
Bayambang and Bautista (now Calvo Bridge) was a favorite hang-out of the young
ladies and bachelors in the absence of parks and other recreational spots. Another hang-out was the pagoda with the bell
located at the old H.E. Building of the Bayambang Normal School.”
“In the absence of an auditorium, big
social events were held at the public market where a makeshift stage was built.
Some of these events were the coronation of beauty queens during the town
fiesta and Garden Day and holding of Costume Balls.”
1910
According to historian Ian Alfonso, on
July 17, “Major Eugene Randolph Whitmore, M.D. administered the first
anti-rabies vaccine shot to an American soldier, believed to have been bitten
by a rabid dog, at Camp Gregg in Bayambang. From then on, the Philippine government
began its quest to eradicate rabies through vaccination.”
1914
Bayambang Central School was built by
virtue of Act No. 1801 framed by Assemblyman Isauro Gabaldon of Nueva Ecija. It
was reportedly built on land donated by Don Apolonio Perez Mataban’s family. The
original building was the one that used to house the school library for the
longest time.
1916
“The Calvo Bridge, completed in 1916,
was a crucial infrastructure project that improved transportation and
connectivity in the region. Built at a cost of ₱87,779.51, it symbolized the
Philippine government's investment in modern road networks during the American
colonial period.”
1919
Dr. Raymundo O. Camacho became
Assemblyman of the third district of Pangasinan in 1919-1922 and 1922-1925. He
became the founder of the Pangasinan Medical Society and the first director of
the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital.
1920
Eusebio C. Camacho became Municipal
President up to 1925. He held office for two terms but died during the second
year of his second term. He was succeeded by his vice president, Eustaquio
Bautista.
1922
Gabaldon buildings were erected at the
old Bayambang Central School campus and the present site of Pangasinan State
University - Bayambang Campus. The Bayambang Normal School started operations
to produce much-needed public school teachers until it was temporarily closed
in 1935.
1926
Emeterio C. Camacho became Municipal
President up to 1928 when he won the election against Enrique M. Roldan.
Farmacia San Rafael, Bayambang’s first
drug store, was established.
1929
Enrique M. Roldan started his three
terms as Municipal President up to 1937.
1930
Victorina Cayabyab (Brillante) was
crowned as Miss Bayambang, possibly the earliest on record.
1933
On January 21, the Mangabul Fishery
Reservation was established by virtue of Republic Act 4041, with usufructuary
rights awarded by the national government to the Municipality of Bayambang.
In September 16, Bayambang Normal
School, through the the BNS Student Council headed by BNS Student Association
President Sixto Sanchez, served as a venue for the gathering of Pangasinan
secondary schools, resulting in the creation of the Secondary Students'
Federation. BNS Principal Richard Patterson enthusiastically lent his support
to the organization's aims. (The Tribune, 1933)
1930s
The local parish church was popularly
called a shrine of Saint Vincent Ferrer. Everyday, devotees from other towns
would visit the church because of what they believed was the saint’s miraculous
power. People who were suffering from
certain ailments would walk with their knees from the last pew up to the altar,
then up to the statue of the saint. The church was open wide daily, as devotees
came and went, with the devotees claiming they felt well after paying homage to
the saint.
Bubon nen San Vicente Ferrer near M.H.
Del Pilar St. became popular with devotees as a site in which to bathe or to procure
what they professed to be healing water.
In the latter part of the decade, the
original plaza was a vast uninterrupted expanse of open space extending to the
lot occupied by the old accessoria that included the lot
occupied by Royal Mall today right along the Agno River.
?1920s
The town’s Puericulture Center opened,
and it was managed by a private organization under Dr. Santos.
According to Perfector Beltran’s
recollection, Dr. Dimalanta was the first Puericulture Center physician, Dr.
Anselmo Gomez the first private medical practitioner, Dr. Pacia the first
dental practitioner and school dentist, Mrs. Felomena Ferrer the first
Puericulture Center nurse/midwife. Other doctors were Dr. Mateo Aguirre and Dr.
Lamberto Paragas, who both trained in the US and practiced in Bayambang.
1934
The public bandstand was erected, and
was fashioned to look like a giant crown. A gazebo or pavilion-like structure
in the middle of what is now the Public Auditorium, the bandstand was
constructed under the administration of Atty. Gerundio Umengan, Sr., then
Presidente (the old term for Mayor) from 1937 to 1940. The roofless structure
was designed by the renowned architect Juan Arellano in the Art Deco style.
Surrounding the gazebo are coconut-like concrete structures that once served as
posts of big white globular lights which illuminated the plaza at night.
1935
Mary Help of Christians Institution,
Bayambang’s first private Catholic school, was founded under the administration
of the RVM sisters. It is now known as Saint Vincent Catholic School of
Bayambang Inc.
1936
On October 27, more than 200 alleged Sakdalistas,
an anti-American, left-leaning group of discontented peasants and urban
workers, were arrested and locked up in the municipal jail then faced sedition
charges in connection with their frustrated attempt to attack several
municipalities in the province, with Bayambang as their “center of operation”
in the entire province. Pablo Penullar of Bayambang was revealed to be the head
of all Sakdals in Pangasinan. An attempt to bomb the Bayambang Municipal Hall
and burn the entire town was discovered and thus foiled. 24 of them were
eventually acquitted due to “insufficient evidence.”
1937
Bayambang’s municipal building was
built to serve as “abong na baley,” literally the town’s house. A fusion
of California Mission Revival style and bahay na bato features, the
architecture was based on a standard plan known as Narvacan Type by Juan
Arellano that was adopted for other similar edifices (called Presidencia at the
time) around the country. The structure was accented vertically by a mirador
(lookout room). Through the years, the municipal building has undergone
structural changes under different administrations. The most significant
changes had been made in its facade.
1938
Atty. Gerundio Umengan took over the
office of the president of Bayambang after winning over Valentin Caragan. There
was a time, however, when Faustino van Bosch was appointed Acting President.
Umengan’s term ended in 1940.
1940
Leopoldo de Aquino won the election as
municipal mayor and served up to the outbreak of the war in 1942.
1941
Japanese troops invaded Bayambang.
Residents fled to the barrios by walking at midnight.
“The 1940’s was marred by the events of
the Second World War. The Japanese atrocities left bitter memories among the
Bayambangueños. Big buildings like the church, the schools and the big houses
were the target of bombings as these were suspected to be the headquarters of
the enemy. Many Bayambangueños joined the guerrilla forces who fought
against the Japanese Imperial Army. Some of them were tortured, killed, and
forced to join the infamous Bataan Death March.”
?1941
During the Japanese regime, Bayambang
was made the capital of Pangasinan when Dr. Diaz was appointed Governor by the
Japanese Imperial Government. Dr. Diaz held his Provincial Administration
Office at the residence of Eulogio Dauz at the junction of Quezon Blvd. and
M.H. Del Pilar St.
1943
During World War II, noted American
military official, Col. Edwin Ramsey, set foot in Bayambang to organize
Filipino guerrillas against a common nemesis: the Japanese Imperial Army. In
the country's bitter struggle against Japanese imperialism, Bayambang had been
Lt. Edwin P. Ramsey's East Central Luzon Guerrilla Area (ECLGA) headquarters
for some time. ECLGA encompassed Manila, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac,
Pangasinan, Zambales and La Union. Ramsey's aide de camp was our very own Major
Claro J. Camacho of Barangay Nalsian.
(Major Claro J. Camacho became the
first pilot from Bayambang. He also served as Liaison Officer of the Philippine
Air Force.)
According to local lore, Col. Ramsey
evaded capture by the Japanese by hiding inside a taltagan (giant boat-shaped
wooden mortar) in the barrio of Inirangan.
When liberation came, American forces
bombed the big buildings including the church and Calvo Bridge. One bomb was
dropped in the church and fell right in the middle of the aisle but did not
explode, causing no damage – a miracle attributed to the patron, St. Vincent
Ferrer. Another bomb created a huge crater north of M.H. Del Pilar St. The
crater has since been filled up with assorted materials and converted into the present
barangay hall complex.
When the military government of the
Japanese Imperial Army relinquished its military rule, Leopoldo Aquino was
named municipal mayor and served up to mid-1944.
After the war, a huge part of Bayambang
became the site of the American colonial government’s Camp Gregg Military
Reservation.
1944
Mariano Fernandez took over as acting
municipal mayor up to Liberation time. He was appointed by Pangasinan governor
Santiago Estrada.
On December 27, former mayor Enrique
Roldan was executed over a fishpond (Mangabul?) dispute with a rival guerilla
unit but under the guise that he was a Japanese collaborator. The masterminds were
sentenced with reclusion perpetua. (People of the Philippines vs Bato; date of
decision: May 31, 1950)
Early 1940s
The Odon Rice Mill was put up in M.H.
Del Pilar. It burned down in the ‘60s.
1945
On January 7, the Pangasinan Normal
School (formerly Bayambang Normal School) started operations with 293 students.
During Liberation era, Ambrosio Gloria
became the next municipal mayor after he was appointed by the Philippine Civil
Affairs Unit of the United States Army. He served for about a year.
?1945
The Bayambang Public Cemetery was
transferred to Zone V.
The Wawa bridge was built as a wooden
bridge across Agno River to connect the barrios of Oaoa (now Wawa) and San
Vicente.
1946
Eligio Sagun became mayor up to 1947.
?Leopoldo Aquino reassumed the
mayorship of the town for several months, and later Bernardo Lagoy took over as
municipal mayor.
The Agno River Dike was constructed.
The Adam and Eve Chapel was constructed
in Sitio Bengal, Barangay Tanolong, as a private Roman Catholic chapel
originally owned by Simplicio Junio and wife Emelia Iglesias Junio. The
structure attracted curiosity because of its unusual dedication to humanity’s
purported first parents and its underground chapel.
1940s (postwar)
The first theater rose in Bayambang.
~1946-1948
A lawyer from this town, Atty. Onofre
Guevara, became president of the Malacañang Press Corps under the term of
President Manuel Roxas.
1948
Amado Cruz of BNHS class of 1948
entered the Philippine Military Academy just after graduation, but did not
complete the four-year cadetship.
1947
The Sagun Brothers' Rice Mill or E.T.
Sagun Rice Mill was established in what is now known as Zone VII.
Upon the assumption of President Manuel
Roxas, Eligio Sagun was appointed municipal mayor and held office up to the
time of election.
1948
Leopoldo Aquino became Municipal
President again up to 1950.
In the summertime, the construction of the
main building of Bayambang National High School began.
Bayambang National High School came out
with "The Torch," its school publication, with Felipe Santillan as
editor-in-chief.
BNS reopened as the Pangasinan Normal
School or PNS, becoming one of the first normal schools in the Philippines. It offered
a two-year teacher education program.
1949
Upon the return of US forces after the
war, the American colonial government returned the Camp Gregg military
reservation lands on March 27 to the Philippine government, particularly to the
Bureau of Lands. Today, surviving artifacts from this period include a flagpole
on the top of Cadre Site, which used to be a timberland, and a water tank
nearby, now reduced to a third of its original height and transferred to
PSU-Bayambang Campus ground.
1950
The Bayambang Municipal Library was
established and operated under the Mayor’s Office through the assistance of the
United States Information Service.
Mayor Eligio Sagun gave an opportunity
to several municipal councilors to act as acting municipal mayor while he was
on official business in Manila. Those appointed as acting mayor in succession
were Municipal Councilors Paulino Martinez, Miguel Matabang, Leonardo dela
Cruz, and Marcos Junio.
Engr./Lt.Cdr Rudolfo Martinez Ferrer,
PN, AFP was probably the first Bayambangueño to enter a U.S. Service Academy,
after he completed a 4-year scholarship for cadetship at the U.S. Merchant
Marine Academy (USMMA) in New York, under the RP-US Rehabilitation Act of 1946,
to train as naval officer and marine engineer.
1951
The term of Leopoldo Aquino would have
expired in December but he resigned to run for Provincial Board Member in
Pangasinan.
Numeriano de Castro was appointed
acting municipal mayor by then President Elpidio Quirino. He served until 1952.
Early 1950s
Plaza Theater owned reportedly by the
Sisons opened.
Val Theater, owned by the Guevara
family, opened at the Public Market.
Vista Theater, also owned by the
Guevara family, opened along Rizal Ave. (at the present site of Caragan grocery
store).
?1950s
Pangasinan Normal School came out with
"The Hilltop" as school publication.
1952
Eligio Sagun then won the election.
Luis Cancino was Vice Mayor.
The present-day Municipal Plaza was constructed
from a plot of land donated by the family of Dr. Ramon de Castro, the town's
first doctor and the father of former mayor, Atty. Numeriano de Castro Sr.
On October 23 to 25, Bayambang hosted
the solemn celebration of the grand feast of Christ the King in the whole
Pangasinan Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.
PNS expanded to offer a four-year
degree program in teacher education.
1953
On June 17, Bayambang became the first
pilot town in the Far East when the Pangasinan Normal School (PNS), together
with the elementary schools in the District of Bautista and the Bayambang
National High School, was chosen to be the seat of the Philippine-UNESCO
National Community Training Center (PUNCTC) by virtue of Republic Act No. 1142.
Waves of educational dignitaries from all over the country and other
countries arrived to attend conferences and visit model communities of the
municipality.
Salvador F. Quinto was municipal mayor,
and his term expired in 1959. Jose Lopez was Vice Mayor.
The first religious nun hailing from
Bayambang was Sr. Maria Anastasia T. Arenas, RVM, who made her final profession
on August 15.
1955
The first Child Study Center in the
country was put up at PNS in Bayambang. The Center made initial studies on the
Filipino child in order for the country to have its own data about Filipino
children.
In October, President Ramon Magsaysay
caused a stampede in Mangabul when he brought there with him his entire Cabinet
to meet out-of-town for the first time. Thousands of rural folk turned out and
mobbed the "champion of the masses," causing some disturbance at
the makeshift venue, as they freely sought his attention to their concerns.
Eschewing protocol and formalities, he addressed those concerns one by one,
including a big land dispute, among other grievances. Magsaysay is said to donate
a water pump as well for the barrio people. This little incident is
commemorated in the erection of a statue of Pres. Magsaysay years later at the
Municipal Plaza.
1956
Salvador Quinto became Municipal
President up to 1959.
Opportunity Class was organized at PNS
Bayambang ahead of any other school in the country to pay attention to
exceptional children.
The first kindergarten was also
established at Pangasinan Normal Laboratory School to provide a working
laboratory for the Child Study Center.
~1956-1958
Onion farming was introduced in
Bayambang in the then barrio of Manambong by a Chinese "boat person"
(a refugee from the Chinese communist government) named Ching Tong who married
a Filipina named Catalina Vinluan Sanchez of Manambong Norte. The farm was
located inside a hacienda owned by Mrs. Asuncion Palma Guevara which used to
encompass Manambong Norte, Manambong Sur, and Manambong Parte. (Today, a school
is named after her, the A.P. Guevara Integrated School, in the place that is
now called Barangay Manambong Norte.)
1957
Jing Abalos of Brgy. San Vicente became
one of Philippine show business's most bankable action stars. He top-billed
several movies during his prime, and was most active in the years 1957-1972.
1958
Bayambang’s first optical clinic and
store was established by the Urbi family.
On July 5 to August 3, Bayambang was
the venue of the First National Institute in Physical Education and Recreation
in the Philippines, being the seat of the PUNCTC.
On March 22, the first Bayambangueño to
become a priest was Rev. Fr. Gerardo R. Frias.
1959
Ex-Councilor Miguel C. Matabang won the
election in November and served his term of office from 1960 to 1963.
?1950s
Rustico Roldan, a Bayambangueño,
became a famous matinee idol as 'Carlos Salazar.' A grandchild of former town
mayor Leo Roldan, Carlos "Rusty" Salazar was discovered by Fernando
Poe, Sr. when he got the lead male role in a stage play at the Far Eastern
University where he was studying. Salazar became a bankable actor, making
numerous films in the '50s, '60s, and '70s, starring side by side the most
popular actors and actresses of his time.
~Late 1950s
Onofre Abalos was the first Court of
First Instance judge from Bayambang.
? (no estimated date) Atty. Guillermo
Aguirre became the first municipal judge from Bayambang.
1960
Bayambang's first cold storage rose up
in Bayambang.
In this decade, a water tower rose up at
the Municipal Hall compound and served as the office of the Bayambang
Waterworks and Sewerage System.
Vic Pacia of Roxas St. made it big as
an actor and TV personality in Manila from the 1960s to the early '70s. As a
mainstay of the TV show "Oras ng Ligaya" at ABS-CBN Channel 3,
he worked the same stage while sharing the limelight alongside some of the most
famous names of the day. From 1960 to 1973, Vic Pacia starred in about 30
TV shows and movies.
1961
On April 22, two orchestra stands
inside the Public Plaza Auditorium of Bayambang were inaugurated under the
charge of the Bayambang Civic Club, Inc.
~1962-1965
Atty. Onofre Guevara served as
Undersecretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor during the presidency of
Diosdado Macapagal.
1963
Atty. Jaime P. Junio was elected as
mayor. He would eventually earn the distinction of being the longest-serving
mayor in the Philippines in his prime. Serving from 1963 to 1986, Atty. Junio laid
the grounds for the long-term development of the town: asphalting of municipal
streets, opening of feeder roads, construction of the two public market
buildings, and improvement of the public plaza and auditorium.
The income of the municipality
increased annually until it was more than ₱35,000.00. Salaries of employees
were increased as provided by the Minimum Wage Law. Municipal Building Annex
No. 2 was constructed. A concrete fence was built for the municipal campus. A
monument of President Magsaysay was constructed. A children’s park and
fountains were constructed. Several equipment were acquired such as the
firetruck, siren, and many others.
A velodrome was constructed in Brgy.
Magsaysay, the first of its kind in the Philippines. It would be the starting
point for the famed Tour of Luzon cycling competition, which would earn
for its organizer, Atty. Geruncio 'Gerry' Lacuesta, the moniker
"father of Philippine cycling."
1965
Purificacion Angeles Terrado-Lalas put
up the Bayambang Fashion School, which lasted until 1979, before it became the
Makapuri Fashion from 1979 to 2014. Lalas was not just the owner, but also the
directress and instructor of the said fashion school. She taught Hundreds of
students graduated from said institution in vocational courses such as fashion
design, dressmaking, tailoring, hair and makeup arts, artificial flower making
and floral arrangement, crocheting, tatting, and embroidery.
1966
Pangasinan Normal School pioneered in
child nutrition studies in the Philippines, being the seat of the UNESCO's
Applied Nutrition Project or the Bayambang Applied Nutrition Project, with
Sylvia Manlungat as head.
1967
Mayor Jaime P. Junio ran for
re-election and won against ex-Mayor Miguel C. Matabang for the second time.
?1960s
Casingal Building was erected. It was
the first five-story building in town serving both as residence and commercial
space for rent.
1967
Manganaan Building was erected across
the Public Market and along M.H. Del Pilar St. It rented out spaces for merchants
of basic commodities, becoming the town’s first commercial complex.
1968
Marina Sabangan compiled Pangasinan
folk songs, tales, and sayings in her dissertation, “A Study of the Legends,
Customs, Superstitions, Proverbs, Folksongs, Folk Dances and Ballads of
Pangasinan-speaking Towns in Pangasinan” at the Pangasinan Normal School.
1969
Republic Act 5705 converted the PNS into
a chartered institution, the Central Luzon Teachers College or CLTC on June 21.
On December 27, Bayambang held its
first Inter-Color Basketball Tournament at the Bayambang Open Court.
?1960s
The town’s first gymnasium was built in
PNS (PSU) and named after prominent educator Benigno V. Aldana.
1970
Atty. Geruncio 'Gerry' Lacuesta
pioneered not just bicycle tours in the Philippines. Being a media man and the
editor of “Katas” (a local version of the “Reader’s Digest”), he also pioneered
Bayambang's community newspaper,
"Bayambang-Bautista Post," which first came out on February 15, and
later became the "Bayambang Post." Domingo Tagulao, a former school
teacher, was the editor-in chief of "Bayambang-Bautista Post."
On February 15, "the Wawa Timber
Bridge was inaugurated, and it was said to be the longest timber bridge in the
Philippines consisting of 38 spans measuring 1,160 feet."
The Philippine Police Commission
designated Bayambang as one of the screening centers in Pangasinan to approve
applicants to take Patrolman Civil Service Examination for municipal and
chartered cities. Atty. Ruperto de Guzman, the Chief of Police, chaired the
screening committee.
?1970s
Mayor Jaime Junio organized the
Bayambang Choral Group. The group, with The Brown Boys, once guested in a
popular late-night show by Joe Quirino.
Priscila de Vera became the first
female municipal councilor, and the number one councilor too at the young age
of 27, ending the era of “Dons” as exclusive rulers.
Norma Lomibao Cancino of Brgy. Alinggan
became the first barangay captain when she was all of 19.
1972
"The great flood of 1972,"
when it rained for 40 days straight, did not spare the town. The Wawa timber bridge
was destroyed by a great flood brought on by Typhoon 'Biring.'
Ms. Maria Venus A. Junio became the
first Ms. Pangasinan from Bayambang.
1973
The 3rd Congressional District Boy
Scout Camporal was held here on February 22-26.
The cornerstones of the parish church
belfry were laid on March 4.
1974
On April 5, the towering belfry beside
the church was blessed and inaugurated. It houses the old bells.
The first Kabataang Barangay (KB)
President of Bayambang was Filipinas Santillan. She also became the KB
Federation President of Pangasinan during her term, beating Conrado Estrella
III. The first KB Kagawads were Virgil R. Gomez, Anthony C. Antonio, Herminigildo
Iglesias, Prospero S. Poserio, Oggie Agas Taguiang, and Mario C. Camacho.
1975
The first community of Muslim traders
settled along Quezon Blvd. corner Burgos St.
On April 4, the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources disapproved a municipal ordinance granting
fishery privileges to Atty. Geruncio Lacuesta as administrator of Mangabul
Fishery Reservation because it was reportedly illegal since it was bereft of
public bidding.
1976
The [Central] Pangasinan Electric
Cooperative Inc. (CENPELCO), a non-stock electric cooperative, started its
operations and extended services to Bayambang.
In July, Typhoon Didang, a typhoon of
unusual ferocity, flooded the Poblacion area. The flood caused the Estacion
(train station) to cease operation, as the bridge connecting Bautista town was
washed away. The bridge would never be built again, and the train station would
soon go down the path of obsolescence.
Calvo Bridge, the other bridge running somewhat parallel to it, also
sustained considerable damage.
Construction of a new
concrete-and-steel bridge in Wawa began.
1977
Atty. Geruncio Lacuesta found himself
in a legal battle after the fishery privileges granted to him was declared null
and void and thus was challenged in court.
~1978
Homeowners Savings Bank became the
town’s first air-conditioned establishment and possibly one of the first local
banks.
1979
CLTC became incorporated into the Pangasinan
State University system when PSU was chartered through the issuance of
Presidential Decree No. 1497 and became operational on July 1. CLTC became
Pangasinan State University – College of Education or PSU-CE.
?1970s
A pretty local lass, Cecilia
Montecillo, won in a national singing contest, “Superwheel Singing Contest,”
aired on a popular TV show.
1980
Bayambang Water District (NAWASA)
started operations, and Digitel installed the first telephone system in
Bayambang and constructed a building for its office.
On July 16, the Bayambang Emergency
Hospital opened its doors to the public. It was temporarily housed at the then
Municipal Annex Building right on the left side of the Municipal Hall.
Music teacher Rufino Menor formed the
Pangkat Kawayan (bamboo instruments band) at PSU College of Education. The
bamboo instruments included angklung, bamboo xylophone, etc. The group
would eventually be invited to perform not just at home, but around also Pangasinan
and the Ilocos region.
Prof. Rufino Menor pioneered other
music bands, namely PSU Kitchenette Symphony Orchestra; Rhythm Band; Ukelele,
Harmonica, and Bottle Xylophone Ensemble; Elementary Rondalla; Children’s Choir;
Elementary Drum & Bugle Corps; Drum & Lyre Corps; and PSU Band. Menor would
be best known as the composer of the PSU Hymn.
Early 1980s
The present Iglesia ni Kristo church,
which started as a wooden structure in Burgos St. back in the 1950s, rose up in
Zone VII.
Under Mayor Calixto Camacho, Bayambang
was dubbed as "the corn belt of Central Pangasinan."
A new health center called RHU (Rural
Health Unit) I was built during Mayor Calixto Camacho's term in a new location:
at the left-most end of the Municipal Hall compound. It was first headed by Dr.
Amado Layog.
1980s
When PNS became CLTC and then PSU, the
Tambayo Choral Group was organized by Sr. Natividad Parin, with help from Prof.
Salome Malicdem Montemayor, thus perpetuating the rich legacy of Pangasinan
folk songs against the pervading modern aesthetics of the time. The group has
performed all over, including in well-known TV stations in Manila.
1981
Art and Science courses were also
offered in the College of Education in Bayambang. The Doctorate in Education
(Ed.D.) program was also offered for the first time to school managers and
teachers.
1982
While walking on the street, Atty.
Geruncio Lacuesta was hacked to death by an unidentified assailant.
PSU College of Education’s (Bayambang
Campus) Dr. Perla Nelmida defended her landmark thesis, "Pangasinan Folk
Literature," in the University of the Philippines-Diliman while on study
leave at PSU as professor. It was another comprehensive compilation of
Pangasinan folk songs, tales, riddles, and sayings.
1983
The construction of a large concrete
version of the Wawa bridge was finished by the Department of Public Works and
Highways and opened to the public with a new name, Carlos P. Romulo Bridge, in
honor of the former UN Secretary General, Foreign Affairs Secretary, and writer
Carlos P. Romulo, who had roots in both Camiling and Bayambang towns. Romulo
graced the event with his presence.
A scientist from this town, Dr. Carmen
Velasquez, received the title of National Scientist of the Philippines in
recognition of her discovery of 32 new species and one new genus of digenetic
trematodes from 13 Philippine food fishes, two from birds, and five from
mammals, and a new species of parasitic copepod in the goby fish, Glossogoblus
giurus. Further in her career, she received the following equally
prestigious awards and honors: Presidential Distinguished Service Medal and
Diploma of Honor (1965), Special Award of the Biology Teachers Association of
the Philippines, Inc. (1975), and Outstanding Woman in Science in the
Philippines (1975). Because of her discoveries, Dr. Carmen Velasquez also was
included in the registry of American Men and Women of Science, International
Who’s Who of Intellectuals, and the World Who’s Who of Women and International
Scholars Directory.
? Onion farming -- particularly of the
red onion variety -- would become a booming industry in the Manambong area and
would spread to the other barangays, during which time the farmers of Bayambang
abandoned tobacco farming and other less profitable pursuits and cleared their
land of coconuts and other native trees to give way to the growing of onions.
This caused Bayambang to be dubbed "the onion capital of Pangasinan"
and even of Region I.
Prof. Ben O. Romero founded “Banyuhay”
as school organ of PSU-Bayambang Laboratory High School.
?1980s
BNHS published its school organ under a
new name, “The Leader,” while PSU-Bayambang produced “Reflector” for college
students.
Elementary teachers also came out with
their own school publications. Bayambang District I had "In the Moulder's
Eye," while Bayambang District II had "Horizon."
1985
On July 1, the Bayambang District
Hospital, built at Brgy. Bical Norte, opened for medical services, with Dr.
Ernesto Matabang as its first director. The lot on which it was built was
donated by the family of Teofilo Matabang.
The Mother Goose Special School Systems
was established.
A big fire reduced the Public Market
into ashes.
The country's first Institute of
Women’s Studies was founded by Sr. Mary John Mananzan at St. Scholastica's
College. She is a descendant of one of the old prominent clans of this town.
1986
When the EDSA or ‘people power’
revolution toppled the Marcos regime, Feliciano Casingal Jr. was appointed by President
Corazon C. Aquino as OIC Municipal Mayor, followed by three others: Miguel
Matabang, Domingo Tagulao, and Danilo Bato.
On August 28, 454 Bayambangueños led by
Dr. Orlando M. de Guzman signed and addressed a petition to President Corazon
C. Aquino for the concreting (cementing) of the Bayambang-Camiling Road.
Dr. Orlando M. de Guzman was the first
Bayambangueño to become Board Member to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of
Pangasinan, serving from 1986 to 1988, after being appointed by President
Corazon C. Aquino right after the EDSA/'people power' revolution.
The Matalunggaring Dance Troupe was founded by Prof. Januario Cuchapin at PSU
to promote the cultural dances and songs of Pangasinan. Since then, the troupe
has performed, not only during special occasions in Bayambang, but also in big
gatherings in the province, region, and elsewhere.
1987
On March 17, the petition for
concreting the Bayambang-Camiling Road was approved and Phase I funding in the
amount of PhP2.04 million was released.
In October, the cementing of the Bayambang-Camiling Road started.
The present Mormon Church or Church of
Latter-Day Saints was inaugurated.
?Late 1980s
Sancagulis Rice Crackers started manufacturing
no-fish rice crackers.
1988
Dr. Orlando de Guzman was appointed
Provincial Board Member, the first time a Bayambangueño held a position in the
Provincial Board. He was in position from November 17, 1987 to February 1988.
The nationalization of barangay high
schools began, with the high school in Carungay being the first to be
nationalized.
1989
In January, Atty. Ferdinand Quintos, a
Bayambangueño, joined the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR). Earlier,
he was a columnist and crossword puzzle constructor of “Peryodiko Dabaw,” the
forerunner of Sun.Star Davao and the first daily in Davao City and Mindanao,
after which he became the paper’s second editor-in-chief.
Calixto Camacho became mayor up to
1998.
Mayor Camacho cut the ceremonial ribbon
for the formal opening of a Bayambang Mini-Museum established through a joint
venture of the municipality and the Pangasinan State University Bayambang
Campus. The Museum was housed at the former Municipal Jail.
1990
Ronald Tomas, a talented musician from
this town, started to make a name in Manila by playing the saxophone for jazz/acid
jazz band Artstart, and subsequently for Parliament Syndicate, then Wdouji, and
so on.
On February 28, the Sunbeam Methodist
School was founded.
The great earthquake of July 16
slightly damaged the parish church, causing cracks and the palitada of
its walls to peel off and crumble to the ground. Calvo Bridge also sustained
damage and had to be closed for a length of time for major repair works.
Commuters had to go back to using boats to cross Agno River. The upper half of
the NAWASA water tank had to be demolished for safety reasons.
The first appointed female department
head of the municipal government was Jesusa Menor of the Local Civil Registry
Office.
1991
Much of Mangabul Lake started to be
covered in lahar after the Mt. Pinatubo volcanic eruption. This unfortunate geologic
event transformed the once sprawling (2,059-hectare) water resource teeming
with aquatic life into a farmland today.
In line with the nationwide
implementation of Local Government Code of 1991, the Poblacion area was divided
into 11 barangays, namely Barangay Zone I, Barangay Zone II, Barangay Zone III,
Barangay Zone IV, Barangay Zone V, Barangay Zone VI, Barangay Zone VII,
Barangay Cadre Site, Barangay M.H. Del Pilar, Barangay Magsaysay, and Barangay
Poblacion Sur.
1992
GEO Farm was opened in Brgy. Mangayao,
an "eco-village concept” offering eco-youth camp training, holistic
healing modules, and climate change solutions. Originally the brainchild of the
Guevara clan in 1984, it was eventually managed by one of their own, environmentalist
and artist Edgard Guevara, one of the founders of EcoWaste Coalition or Zero
Waste Philippines, and his Swiss wife Yvonne. Among his products were the
culture of spirulina (blue green algae), bottled organic lemongrass
concentrate, and typhoon-resistant 'earth domes.'
A boy named Perfecto Ceralde became the
first runner-up of the ‘Bulilit Portion’ of a popular singing contest on TV,
"Tanghalan ng Kampeon."
On November 16-19, Dr. Clarita G.
Jimenez, having earned credentials as a national accreditor, did preliminary
work to get PSU-Bayambang accredited by the Accrediting Agency of Chartered
Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (AACCUP), Inc. For this reason,
Jimenez was dubbed as the “mother of accreditation” in PSU-Bayambang.
1993
Another fire badly damaged the Public
Market.
On April 18, the first Miss Bayambang
contest that featured a question-and-answer portion was won by Leilani S.
Balansay.
1994
Indonesia-based businessman Cezar T.
Quiambao went back to the Philippines for good and initiated, together with his
batch-mates from Bayambang National High School Class of 1965, a program called
“Baley Ko, Pawilen Ko, Aroen Ko, tan Tulungan Ko” (“My hometown – where
I shall come back to, to love and to help”) conceived out of a dream to create
a lasting legacy by bringing economic progress to their hometown.
In March, the Marianne College of
Science and Technology started operations.
1995
The Pangasinan State University (PSU)
Hymn was composed by Professor Rufino M. Menor. He penned the hymn while at the
PSU-Bayambang Campus. He collaborated with another faculty member, Natividad
Parin, who helped submit the song. The hymn was approved by the Board of
Regents and is now played in all PSU events.
1996
On September 25, the first private
hospital in Bayambang, the Señor Sto. Niño General Hospital, was established along
Juan Luna Street. It has a 25-bed capacity.
Big Thumb Bakeshop was popular for its
pan de sal and other bread products.
1997
Rehabilitation of the Bayambang town plaza
started.
A skating rink was put up at the corner
of the plaza nearest the parish church. (It is now a basketball court.)
1998
Mayor Leocadio (Leo Boy) Casingal de
Vera Jr. served the town of Bayambang for three consecutive terms, from 1998 to
2007. Mayor de Vera's accomplishments included the construction of the
two-story commercial complex at the Public Market, Rural Health Unit I,
Municipal Slaughterhouse/Abattoir, PNP Station, Municipal Sports Complex,
rehabilitation of the Public Plaza, and the improvement, concreting, and
asphalting of many Poblacion and barangay roads. He was able to increase the
LGU’s income by more than P10-million in 1999. He convinced Bayambangueño
businessmen outside of town to pay their business taxes in Bayambang. He also
held the first Business Forum to attract more investors in this town. He
granted scholarships, provided water supply facilities, conducted yearly
medical missions to 77 barangays for 9 years, and provided incentives to
municipal employees.
Located at Brgy. Telbang, the Municipal
Abattoir had a biogas system.
The town had the 8th highest revenue
collection among 48 municipalities in Pangasinan during an 8-month period.
Cezar Quiambao, a successful
Bayambangueño businessman based in Indonesia, was dubbed by President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo as the “local boy who made good” after he successfully helped
build the Metro Manila Skyway. Quiambao eventually would be the prime move of other
big-ticket projects such as the automation of the 2008 elections in the
Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, a project that eliminated electoral
fraud, Land Transportation Office computerization project, and Land
Registration Authority’s land titling computerization project.
1990s
The notorious Akyat Bahay criminal gang
victimized a number of well-to-do residents, terrorizing the entire town with
their modus operandi of knocking on doors in the dead of the night, trapping
unsuspecting residents into giving access to their homes.
The crown-shaped bandstand in the
middle of the public plaza was moved to the main gate of the auditorium, to
make way for a more spacious dancing hall.
Culibangbang trees were planted by
Councilor Gerry de Vera near the entrance of the plaza to remind people where
the name of Bayambang came from.
Bayambang became part of the annual
Heroes’ Trek organized by the Malolos, Bulacan-based Salinlahi heritage tour
group. Salinlahi stops over in Bayambang every December as part of retracing
the path that General Gregorio ‘Goyo’ del Pilar took leading to his martyrdom
at Tirad Pass in Concepcion (now Gregorio del Pilar) town, Ilocos Sur.
1999
On January 18, businessman Cezar
Quiambao put up the CSF Rural Bank of Bayambang to provide microfinancing
programs to help small entrepreneurs.
Bayambang held a month-long
“Sentenaryong Pagdiriwang” from October to November to commemorate its being
once the capital of the Philippines. Activities included the unveiling of a
historical marker at the municipal grounds by Dr. Pablo S. Trillana III,
director of the National Historical Institute.
Late 1990s
The ALD Caritas Building was built in
front of St. Vincent Catholic School as a commercial strip. It is now closed
and a part of the campus of St Vincent’s Catholic School of Bayambang Inc.
2000
The College of Information Technology was
established in PSU-Bayambang Campus.
The Saint Vincent Village or SVV was
established as a residential village in Brgy. Bical Norte.
2001
The Manganaan Cinema opened on the
second floor of Manganaan Bldg.
Gina Pareño (Bautista) was crowned as
Mrs. Bayambang.
2002
On April 26, Ariel & Fe Garden
Resort and Restaurant started operations in Brgy. Tambac.
The Muslim community’s first mosque
rose up in Zone VII right across the public cemetery and beside the Iglesia ni
Kristo church.
Pangasinan State University Prof. Elsa
F. Quinto compiled the surviving folk songs of Pangasinan, with the help of
several collaborators, in the book "Cancansion na Pangasinan"
(Mga Katutubong Awiting Pangasinan) published by the Komisyon sa Wikang
Filipino.
Businessman Cezar T. Quiambao sponsored
a major renovation of the town plaza.
2003
In March, Hands of Heaven, the first
private memorial park in Bayambang, started operations.
The Cojuangcos’ CAT Realty put up an
office near Hands of Heaven.
The Northern Plain Mansions was
established as a residential village in Brgy. Bical Norte.
On April 4, several buildings were
opened in time for the annual town fiesta: the Philippine National Police
building, the Bayambang Sports Complex, and the Bayambang Commercial Center.
Lita’s Grocery was the one and only
open-shelf grocery store in town.
Ariel and Fe Lechon House and
Restaurant was popular for its roast chicken.
2004
On
March 19, the first resort intown was opened, the Rock Island Nature Resort in
Brgy. Telbang.
The
Institute of Nursing was opened in PSU.
The
Kasama Kita sa Barangay Foundation Inc. was established by Cezar T. Quiambao in
Brgy. Amanperez offering a variety of livelihood training programs to tens of
thousands of residents, especially out-of-school youth and the unemployed. The
foundation would eventually win a string of awards from the National Literacy
Council for this feat.
Mayor
Leocadio C. de Vera Jr. ran unopposed in 2004 and won.
2005
Bayambang became a first-class
municipality under the term of Mayor Leocadio de Vera.
The PSU Himig Ensemble or PSU Bayambang
Chorale was organized by Maria Cristina C. Gamo and became the official singing
group of Pangasinan State University Bayambang Campus. Throughout the years,
the group has proved its mettle in competitions and performances around
Pangasinan and beyond.
Brgy. Dusoc almost became a dumpsite.
Councilor Gerry de Vera worked to prevent WIN Corp. from doing so. Strong
public outcry also worked against the proposal.
Special bodies we formed, comprising of
members of the public and private sector, to take active and collaborative
roles in local governance: Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council, Municipal Solid Waste Management Board, Municipal Management
Coordinating Committee, ATOMM Team, Municipal Multi-Sectoral Monitoring Team,
Gawad Pangulo sa Kapaligiran Committee, Municipal Physical Fitness and Sports
Development Council, Municipal Anti-Drug Abuse Council, Municipal Nutrition
Committee, Local Council for Culture and the Arts, Municipal Council for
Protection of Children, Municipal Crisis Management Committee, Local Price
Coordinating Council, Local Council of Women, Tourism Council, and Local
Poverty Reduction Action Team.
2006
A two-story Bayambang Commercial
Complex was constructed in front of the town plaza.
On March 19, Emmanuel’s Way started
operations.
PSU-Bayambang’s Prof. Januario Cuchapin
published his research on and compilation of notated local folk dances and song
lyrics, the “Bali-Balin Pangasinan,” a National Commission on Culture and Arts
grant. It served as the basis of cultural performances around the province.
2007
At
the tail-end of Mayor De Vera’s term, construction of the evacuation centers of
Bayambang began until 11 Evacuation Centers in different districts (Manambong
Parte – 2 buidings, Manambong Sur, Pantol, Paragos, Iton, San Gabriel I, San
Gabriel II – 2 buildings, Wawa, and Pugo) were finished.
Bayambang
received P5,000,000, a one-time payment by a single Bayambangueño taxpayer in
the person of Mr. Cezar T. Quiambao, President and CEO of Stradcom, an IT
company.
?CSI Mall and Grocery Store opened
together with a franchise of McDonald’s, Shakey’s, Goldilocks, St. Joseph
Drugstore, Siapno Tada Optical, and other shops. It was the first establishment
in town to have an escalator.
Engr. Ricardo Camacho was elected as
mayor and would finish his three terms up to 2016.
2008
Cezar T. Quiambao was honored as among
Computerworld’s honors laureates in Washington DC, USA in recognition of his
contributions in the world of information technology as IT project manager.
~2008? - Bayambang Central School’s
library building was demolished reportedly due to termite infestation.
2009
In April, a distinct and unique
festival called “Malangsi Fish-tival” was launched to celebrate the harvest of
freshwater fishes locally grown in Bayambang.
On June 30, Bayambang inked the
sisterhood pact with Guam, USA through the joint efforts of Mayor Ricardo
Camacho and businessman Cezar T. Quiambao.
Christopher Q. Gozum, a Bayambangueño,
made history by producing and directing the first full-length film in the
Pangasinan language. His "Anacbanua" ("The Child of the
Sun"), an experimental film about Pangasinan’s history, art, and culture,
received the Prix des Signes in the Cinema in Transgression section of the 10th
International Festival Signes de Nuit in Paris together with local
recognitions. He would go on to produce other award-winning films featuring
Pangasinan culture and history.
In December, an all-night rakrakan
(rock music) fest (concert-cum-contest) was held at the town plaza. Billed as
"Band-Natan" (a pun on 'banatan,' obviously), the battle of
the bands was sponsored by the local chapters of Alpha Phi Omega and Samahang
Kabataan.
?Bayambang launched an official
website, bayambang.gov.ph.
?Bayambang had a Wikipedia page.
Typhoon ‘Pepeng’ flooded the low-lying
parts of Bayambang. This event triggered the massive repair of the town’s
evacuation centers.
2010
?A blog site carrying the town’s news
was created: bayambangnewsletter.blogspot.com.
In June 29, the Bayambang municipal
hall annex was completed after construction began in August 2007.
Built at a cost of P28-million, it was
to be the new home of the Sangguniang Bayan ng Bayambang, LGU departments, the
Municipal Trial Court, and the DILG, among others. Today, it is called the
Legislative Building.
Bayambang was awarded the “Model LGU
with Best Practices in Solid Waste Management” by the Environmental Management
Bureau under the Regional Office I of the Department of Environment and natural
Resources in San Fernando City, La Union.
On August 9, the Sangguniang Bayan of
Bayambang passed a resolution creation a Research and study Committee to
determine the exact date of the foundation of the municipality.
Archbishop Socrates Villegas
canonically erected the San Lorenzo Ruiz Chaplaincy in Brgy. Wawa as a separate
parish on March 21, with Rev. Fr. Reydentor G. Mejia as the first parish
priest. First established as a chapel in 1970, the church was elevated to
chaplaincy in 2006.
The Sangguniang Bayan of Bayambang
headed by Vice-Mayor Mylvin. T. Junio unanimously adopted a resolution on
August 9, creating a Research and Study Committee to determine the exact date
of the foundation of the Municipality, and the resolution was approved by the
Mayor Ricardo M. Camacho. It later resulted in a Committee Report determining
the exact date of the town's foundation day to be April 5, 1614.
Guadalupe Germono-Zoller and Swiss
husband Christian Zoller's Alalay Foundation started donating truckloads of
top-quality school equipment and educational supplies to selected local schools
as well countless high-grade medical equipment and supplies to local public
hospitals. Among the Foundation’s biggest projects were the construction of the
more than P5-million worth of two-story Multi-Purpose Conference Hall and
school building in Idong-Inanlorenza Elementary School and a three-classroom
building in Brgy. Idong.
The one-story Rural Health Unit I was
demolished to give way to a new two-story structure under Mayor Ricardo
Camacho's second term (2010).
2011
On March 14, the National Historical
Commission of the Philippines formally established 5 April 1614 as Bayambang’s
foundation date.
On November 3, the Municipality of
Bayambang adopted a new Corporate Seal (Official Seal) as endorsed by the
Sangguniang Bayan and recommended by the National Historical Commission of the
Philippines.
The Telbang Mosque was built.
Oscar Ora recorded his Pangasinan song composition,
“Pinablin Bayambang.”
2012
On
February 27, Mayor Ricardo Camacho formally organized a committee in charge of
Bayambang’s quadricentennial celebration.
The
town’s first proper mall, Royal Mall, rose at a major corner. Owned by Cezar
Quiambao, it was also the first establishment to have an elevator. Locals also
got to have a taste of Jollibee fast-food products, shop for groceries at SM’s
Savemore (later replaced by Puregold), and buy any needs 24/7 at 7-Eleven right
in their hometown.
Quiambao then transferred the
headquarters of his Manila-based businesses -- Strategic Alliance Holdings Inc.
(SAHI), Land Registration Systems Inc. (LARES) Philippines, and Stradcom Corp.
(an IT firm) -- to Bayambang. The move became all the more a huge source of
funds for the local government through the taxes paid in millions of pesos by
said companies.
The town’s first ATM or automated teller
machine was installed by Landbank in front of the then Local Civil Registrar's
Office of the Municipal Hall.
In March, Liahona Learning Center was
founded.
In June, a huge fire gutted the biggest
Gabaldon building of Bayambang Central School at the opening of the school year
due to faulty electrical wiring, according to the Bureau of Fire and
Protection. This displaced some 500 first and second graders occupying the 13
classrooms of the Main Building.
Policeman Executive Master Sergeant
Eduardo G. Santiago was honored by Metrobank Foundation as one of the country’s
Most Outstanding Policemen, after heroically saving victims during a dramatic hostage-taking
incident at NLEX on May 30, 2011. He almost died after sustaining wounds and being
stabbed by the hostage-taker, which he was able to eventually neutralize after
a few grueling hours of volunteering to drive the bus on the road.
2013
?Mercury Drug set up a branch at the
Public Market.
The Department of Education was ordered
by the local court to transfer the Bayambang Central School campus to a private
lot in Brgy. Magsaysay, the site of the former velodrome, after the school head
petitioned the local government for the transfer reportedly due to dengue cases
at the often-flooded old school grounds. The move would be opposed by residents
led by the Parents-Teachers Association president, Filipinas Alcantara, who
would find herself alone in a protracted legal battle with the powers-that-be.
The Sto. Domingo Ybañez de Erquicia
Parish was established as a parish in Brgy. Sapang.
On August 1, Bishop Socrates Villegas
officially announced the elevation of San Isidro Labrador Chaplaincy,
established in 2011, in Brgy. Carungay into a parish, with Fr. Leovigildo
Acierto, CP, as the first parish priest.
On November 29, a bronze statue of
former Philippine president, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, was unveiled in front of
the Municipal Hall, as witnessed by Pangasinan Governor Amado T. Espino Jr.,
together with the relatives of Gen. Aguinaldo and municipal health officials
from Kawit, Cavite. A sisterhood pact with the said town was also signed.
The first battle of the bands contest
was launched by the municipal government.
The Paligsawit singing contest was
held, attracting young local singers.
2014
Bayambang held a series of special
week-long activities for its quadricentennial fiesta celebration, including a grand
commemoration of Aguinaldo’s visit to Bayambang.
On April 5, Bayambang was declared the
new holder of the Guinness World of Record for Longest Barbeque, after mounting
8,000 grills and 50,000 kilograms of fish spanning 8.16 kilometers.
On the same day, a bronze statue
representing Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo proudly was inaugurated by local officials,
with members of the Aguinaldo clan in attendance. The local government
commissioned no less than National Artist Napoleon Abueva to work on this
sculpture as part of the celebration of the town's quadricentennial.
The public market was expanded and
called the Bayambang Quadricentennial Public Market.
A caricature of the town center was
commissioned by Cezar T. Quiambao as part of the quadricentennial celebrations.
?With support from local leaders and
private citizens, a monograph on the history of the town was drafted by Dr.
Clarita Jimenez and her team with the intention of turning it into Bayambang’s
first coffee-table book. The research work for and publication of the book was
funded by Cezar T. Quiambao. This was a major development, after much earlier
attempts to write the history of Bayambang failed to see completion for the
following reasons: the research materials were destroyed by flood, in the case
of the efforts of Emiliano R. Santos's (an editor of the “Philippines Free
Press” and “Manila Times”) at the National Library, and the untimely demise of
the author, in the case of Atty. Felixberto Mataban.
As a result of the Quadricentennial
Committee’s efforts and local government support, a timeline of the town’s
history was published in the special quadricentennial issue of the Pista’y
Baley fiesta souvenir program.
The Little Mr. and Ms. Bayambang Quadricentennial
competition was held as part of the fiesta 400th celebrations.
A car show was also held as part of the
400th fiesta celebrations.
On May 23-24, LGU employees enjoyed a
memorable team-building activity at Tondol Beach, Anda, Pangasinan.
On April 4, Jess and Genevieve U.
Benebe's Highlands Golden Bean Cafe opened, thus becoming the proprietors of
the first full coffee shop brewery in a semi-formal dining setting.
Pook ni Urduja started operations as a
small resort. It would eventually expand into a hotel, restaurant and café.
Kuya Tiano's Place Ihaw-Ihaw and
Restaurant started operations, and its offerings of native Filipino dishes
earned them a loyal following.
Local boy Kirst Viray made a name in
the ramp modeling world. He would eventually enter the world of acting as well,
appearing in the most popular shows of the day. Locals would discover as well the
following show biz celebrities to be direct descendants of Bayambangueños:
actor Wendell Ramos and MTV Asia VJ and actress Donita Rose, grandchildren of
the Ramos clan, and deadpan comic Ramon Bautista.
2015
Cezar Quiambao initiated, through CS
First Green Agri-Industrial Development, Inc., the development of an extensive
bamboo farming industry in seven towns in Western Pangasinan, an ecologically
sustainable, inclusive growth project. For this, he set up a trial production
facility for bamboo products in Brgy. Amanperez.
The first Ms. Gay Barako contest was
held by the LGU, featuring non-gay men presenting themselves as women, to
hilarious effect.
An inter-school tourism quiz bee was
held for the first time by the municipal government.
2016
On February 18, Asiana Learning
Institute was founded.
In the 2016 Fiesta Souvenir Program,
Tourism Officer-Designate Emma I. Mula published rare photos of old Bayambang
from her museum collection.
A kite-flying competition was held by
the local government.
Successful businessman and
philanthropist Cezar T. Quiambao went home from abroad, ran for Mayor, and won.
He introduced new politics in town with the battlecry, “No to political
dynasty, corruption, poverty and criminality.”
His first year of public service together
with Vice-Mayor Raul R. Sabangan was marked by many firsts all at the same time.
The Municipal Councilors included Mylvin ‘Boying T. Junio, Benjamin Francisco S.
de Vera, Joseph Vincent R. Ramos, Philip R. Dumalanta, Amory M. Junio, Martin E.
Terrado II, and Dr. Ma. Catalina ‘Cathy’ de E. Vera, with Rogelio Dumalanta, Association
of Barangay Captains President, and Gabriel Tristan Fernandez, Sangguniang
Kabataan President, as ex-officio members. Rodelito Bautista eventually
replaced Dumalanta after the latter’s term ended, when the office was renamed
as Liga ng mga Barangay.
Atty. Rodelynn Rajini A. Sagarino, a
former Miss Bayambang, was appointed Municipal Administrator, thus becoming
Bayambang’s first female municipal administrator.
A CCTV Command Center with an emergency
hotline number (#4357) was opened.
The St. Vincent Dialysis Center, a
private enterprise, was opened.
An air-conditioned Events Center with Tarraflex
rubberized flooring was built, replacing the old multipurpose covered court.
Satellite markets (talipapas) were
built in eight barangays.
Municipal employees were provided with
free uniforms, enabling them to save their clothing allowance.
A registered nutritionist-dietician was
hired for the first time by the municipal government to head the nutrition
section of the Municipal Health Office, now called the Municipal Nutrition
Action Office, and to oversee a comprehensive program for malnourished children.
Additional police precincts were built,
to ensure strong police presence in all nine districts.
Barangay roads were concretized at a
fast pace like never before.
Operation Birthright was launched,
giving free late registration birth certificates from the Philippine Statistics
Authority to residents who did not possess such a basic legal document as proof
of identity and existence.
The annual municipal budget rose to
unprecedented levels.
Quiambao’s companies were among the
town’s top five taxpayers, and this feat would be repeated annually.
He also took up the fight to reclaim the
old Bayambang Central School campus. Among other things, he discovered the land
swap deal to be lopsided in favor of the private landowner.
He likewise asserted the local
government’s right to sell off government land in Magsaysay to long-time
occupants, knowing the political risks of such a move.
He also created the following new
offices: Public Order and Safety Office, General Services Office, Public
Information Office, Information and Communication Technology Office, Nutrition
Office, Public Employment Services Office, and Tourism Office.
He went all out on his tax education
campaign, despite its being an unpopular and politically risky cause, by
asserting that paying one’s taxes means good citizenship, one’s contribution to
community-building and not government’s instrument of oppression.
A new official website and the Balon
Bayambang Facebook page was launched by the ICT Office, and the official
newsletter, Balon Bayambang Newsletter, was published in September, edited by retired
PSU professor and now Media Affairs Officer, Dr. Leticia B. Ursua, and Public
Information Officer Resty S. Odon.
The ICT Office took the lead in the
computerization of all major LGU operations, making work processes more efficient
and unsusceptible to irregularities and paving the way for Bayambang to become
a ‘smart town.’
Quiambao was also behind the
digitization of the Land Registration Authority’s land title records, through
his company, Land Registration Systems Inc. (LARES), thus helping to quickly
resolve conflicting claims on parcels of real estate property, among other
benefits.
The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management Office was institutionalized through ordinance after its
creation in 2011.
A Local School Board was created with
its own office, and it handled, among others, the funding of grants for college
scholars selected from poor families.
Mayor Quiambao donated his annual
salary from the local government to the Local School Board, from the start of
his term until 2022, a gesture of generosity that his wife would emulate
herself as next mayor.
On October 13, after 20 long years of
litigation, the local government unit (LGU) of Bayambang demolished an illegal
structure built by Homeowners Savings & Loan Association Inc. on municipal
plaza grounds. The ceremonial demolition was led by Mayor Quiambao himself
together with all members of the Municipal Council and residents who had filed the
petition against the structure: Dr. Henry Fernandez, Feliciano Casingal Jr., et
al.
A proper bagsakan or drop-off
point for retail and wholesale produce was inaugurated.
The Tourism Office improved the
Municipal Public Plaza by creating a flower garden and erecting a giant ‘Balon
Bayambang’ signage, now a favorite spot of locals and visitors alike to take
selfies.
The town was actively promoted by
dubbing it as “the country’s 5th capital during the 1st
Philippine Republic,” “home of the binasuan dance,” “makers of the
best-tasting fish buro,” “corn belt of Pangasinan,” and “onion capital
of northern Luzon.”
The town's children were treated to an
annual animated Christmas display, the Paskuhan sa Bayambang, the
biggest in the country according to the Rosario family of the COD Mall
Christmas display fame in Cubao in the '70s. A personal gift of the mayor and
his family, this project was repeated annually with varying themes: Filipino traditions,
Rebolusyon Laban sa Kahirapan (poverty alleviation program), Disney World
characters.
It built a Mini-Amusement Park with fun
rides at the plaza through the public-private partnership mode of procurement.
The first official Bayambang Hymn, “Baley
Ko, Tawir Ko," (My Hometown My Heritage) was composed by Jane Frances
Ambat van Doorn of Brgy. Nalsian Sur and originally interpreted by the
composer's own mother, Gilconida Ambat van Doorn. (“Pinablin Baley,” (Beloved
Hometown) another hymn, had been composed earlier by Oscar Ora but it was not
institutionalized through legal or official recognition.)
“Lanceros na Bayambang” was declared the
town’s first official social dance, and it was choreographed by Prof. Januario
Cuchapin.
The UP Board of Regents elected Danilo
Lardizabal Concepcion as UP President. Concepcion has roots in Bayambang, for he
grew up spending summer vacations at his mother's house in Estacion.
A video of US-based Nephi Garcia, born
and raised in Bayambang, became viral in the US and beyond because it featured
his entire family (his wife and three kids) touring Disneyland in
'transformation' Disney costumes that he himself designed and made. He would
eventually put up a shop and a social media page with more than half-a-million
following called Designer Daddy.
A
local boy, Al Vincent Casela, became a finalist in “The Voice Kids
Philippines,” a popular singing competition on TV.
A Halloween party, “Anyanian ed
Bayambang,” was held at the Events Center, and it included a Halloween costume
competition.
2017
Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao continued to
bring Bayambang to greater heights with new feats.
He installed the town’s first traffic
lights.
He expanded the drainage system in
Poblacion area to address perennial flooding problems.
He built a proper tricycle terminal for
an estimated 2,000 tricycle drivers in the center of town.
On February 4, the ‘Komprehensibong
Serbisyo sa Bayan’ was launched in Brgy. Warding, a project that sent all
municipal government services for one day to a chosen barangay located far away
from the center, benefiting hundreds of thousands of residents since then.
The local government bought a fleet of
vehicles and rescue equipment, which would eventually include a coaster (small
bus) and aluminum rescue boats.
The Municipal Cooperative Development
Office was created to help develop local cooperatives as engines of local economic
growth.
SingKapital or the commemoration of
Bayambang as the country's fifth capital during the 1st Philippine Republic was
institutionalized through an ordinance.
Binasuan dance was adopted as Bayambang’s
official folk dance.
The first-ever official tourism jingle
was released.
In the week-long fiesta celebrations,
then first lady Niña Jose-Quiambao, with Mayor Quiambao's support, started to
organize a grand and glittering version of the Binibining Bayambang beauty
pageant, complete with professional training-workshops for the lucky ladies,
creative costumes, superb stage preparations, awe-inspiring performances, and a
star-studded list of judges and guest performers.
The first-ever official Binibining
Bayambang jingle was released.
A mural painting contest transformed
the Agno River dike into an elongated canvas.
The first-ever Cutest Baby Contest was
held.
Little Mr. and Ms. Balon Bayambang
competition was held.
The Quiambao family also began
sponsoring concerts of the day's biggest names in the local show biz industry
(rock stars, pop divas, balladeers, stand-up comics, etc.).
The first Matalunggaring Awards were
also held as part of the town fiesta in honor of Bayambangueños
who have brought pride and honor to the town. It would subsequently be held
yearly and eventually institutionalized. Among the distinguished individuals accorded
the town’s highest honor were the pioneering feminist and activist Sr. Mary
John Mananzan, OSB, Tour of Luzon organizer Atty. Geruncio Lacuesta, fashion
designer Rusty Lopez, actor Carlos Salazar (Rustico Roldan), national scientist
Carmen Velasquez, former Labor Secretary Onofre Guevara, and Commission on
Higher Education Chairman, Dr. Prospero ‘Popoy’ de Vera.
On September 16, the Balaybuaya
Footbridge was inaugurated.
On October 12, world-renowned urban
planner Felino Palafox Jr. and his staff from Palafox Associates were hired by
Dr. Quiambao to help the local government updated its Comprehensive Land Use
Plan.
On October 30, first lady Niña
Jose-Quiambao launched the Bayambangueña Pasalubong and Tourist Assistance
Center at the Mini-Bus and Van Terminal.
Niñas Café opened at SVV,
ushering in a café culture in town after dozens of cafés and restaurants
sprouted around not just the Poblacion area but even in the far-flung barangays
of Bayambang in the succeeding years.
A smart card called ‘Community Service
Card’ was issued to citizens as proof of being bona fide residents.
Louise Anne C. Calimlim was crowned as the
first Ms. Palarong Bayan.
The first color run or color fun run
was held, attracting hundreds of local youth dressed in white shirts that were
daubed along the designated route with rainbow-colored powder.
Pangasinan State University Bayambang
Campus (PSU-BC) programs first underwent AACCUP accreditation on November 27-28
for their flagship programs, Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd) and
Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd).
A municipal canteen, Kusina na Balon
Bayambang, was put up beside the NAWASA water tank. It was envisioned as a
self-sustaining facility that would provide funds in feeding the town’s
undernourished children. It stopped operations in 2019 due to challenges.
The 5S method for workplace
organization was introduced to the LGU by Dr. Nicolas Miguel as consultant on
good governance. This was eventually adopted in the succeeding years as the updated
7S method by the Human Resources Management Office and implemented by the
General Services Office.
Mayor Quiambao faced a series of legal
battles from political opponents, all of which turned out to be nuisance cases
and were promptly dismissed by the courts.
2018
Mayor Cezar Quiambao declared an
all-out war against poverty in the program called “Rebolusyon Laban sa
Kahirapan” (Revolution Against Poverty) and gave the marching order to
Municipal Administrator, Atty. Rodelynn Rajini Sagarino, who happened to be
formerly with the National Anti-Poverty Commission, to draft the Bayambang
Poverty Reduction Action Plan 2018-2028.
The Municipal Library, known for its
collection of rare Pangasinan books, got its own building using the repurposed
water tank beside the Municipal Hall.
ANCOP Ville, a free housing project
with at least 30 units for selected indigent families, rose in Brgy.
Sancagulis, sponsored by the Mojares family of Canada and Couples for Christ –
Answering the Cry of the Poor (CFC-ANCOP).
RHU III in Brgy. Carungay opened on
April 3, and was built on a lot donated by Punong Barangay Virgilio Romano's
family. It was first headed by Dr. Adrienne Estrada, then by Dr. Roland M.
Agbuya in 2020.
On August 11, the Pangasinan State
University-Department of Science and Technology Food Innovation Center was
inaugurated. Among its inventions were bottled odorless buro, vegetable
(okra, squash, onion) chips, and bagoong powder.
In August, St. Alexander M. Sauli
Catholic School started operations in Brgy. Sapang.
On September 10, the Bayambang Culture
Mapping Project commenced, through the collaboration between Tourism Office,
Bayambang National High School through Mr. Christopher Gozum, and Center for
Pangasinan Studies of the provincial government. The project, which was a
thorough inventory and cataloguing of the town’s cultural resources, won a
major award from the Department of Tourism and Association of Tourism Officers
of the Philippines.
On November 18, Mayor Quiambao’s
closest aide, Councilor Levin N. Uy, was murdered by unidentified gunmen while
jogging near his home in Zone II.
The Quiambao-Sabangan administration was
accorded with a long list of awards from all levels, including the highest form
of recognition from the national government, the Seal of Good Local Governance.
One by one, various towns held
benchmarking activities in LGU-Bayambang.
In December 20,
Local Council of Women President Mary Clare Judith Phyllis Jose-Quiambao opened
the Abong na Aro (House of Love) halfway house for abused women and children
and other individuals in need of special non-medical emergency assistance at
the Wawa Evacuation Center.
2019
The Quiambao family inaugurated the
Saint Vincent Ferrer Prayer Park in Brgy. Bani, by unveiling the engineered
bamboo statue of St. Vincent Ferrer, which earned for Bayambang its second
Guinness record: the tallest bamboo sculpture (supported) in the world.
Coinciding with the official opening of
St. Vincent Ferrer Prayer Park was the 2019 Cristo Rey celebration, with no
less than Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, the Apostolic Nuncio to the
Philippines, leading the rites in the SVF Prayer Park Chapel in Brgy. Bani,
with church and municipal officials and other dignitaries in attendance
together with devotees from 39 parishes, 17 municipalities, 15 Catholic
schools, 9 vicariates, 8 pastoral stations, 3 chaplaincies, and 3 seminaries.
On March 25, LGU Ville, a low-cost
housing development of the local government, broke ground in Brgy. Sancagulis.
On May 8, Fr. Fidelis Layog of
Bayambang was appointed by Pope Francis as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese
of Lingayen-Dagupan, the first priest from Bayambang to become a bishop.
Mayor Quiambao launched his farm
modernization program with a purchase of a suite of farm machineries (rice
planter, combine harvester, etc.) and other supporting activities.
Bayambang's first coffee-table book was
published, as part of the 400th year celebration of the town’s parish church.
Its title is "Parokya nen San Vicente Ferrer: Subol na Pananisia"
and was authored by former Pangasinan State University-Bayambang college dean,
Dr. Clarita D.G. Jimenez. “Subol” details the history of the St. Vincent
Ferrer Parish Church from the time it was founded in 1619.
Forest Lake offered an alternative to
Hands of Heaven as memorial park.
On October 4, the Bayambang Culture Mapping Project won the Association
of Tourism Officers of the Philippines – Department of Tourism (ATOP-DOT) Pearl
Awards.
The Land Transportation Office (LTO) opened its Bayambang Extension Office
in J.P. Rizal, Poblacion Sur on December 18.
Mayor Quiambao represented
LGU-Bayambang as he graced the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD)
Panata Ko sa Bayan Awards ceremony on February 15 at the Landbank Plaza,
Malate, Manila. LGU-Bayambang was chosen by the DSWD as GAPAS or Gawad sa
Paglilingkod sa Sambahayan awardee for being the country's Model LGU in the
Implementation of DSWD's Sustainable Livelihood Program (Microenterprise
Development Model).
In July, the construction of a mini-dam
in Telbang began.
Allan Michael Ibañez emerged as another
internationally multi-awarded indie filmmaker from Bayambang, having bagged
such awards as the Grand Jury Prize feature film at the San Diego International
Kids' Film Festival, the Best Feature Film award under the Debut Directors
category at the All Lights India International Film Festival, and Honorable
Mention for Best Feature Film at the 12th Buffalo Niagara Film Festival.
In a year-end assessment celebration of
the LGU, the mayor raffled off a brand-new car as the grand prize. It was won
by job order employee Macario Garcia.
2020
A survey by the Philippine Statistics
Authority reported that Bayambang had a population of 120,000.
On January 28, Commodore Luzviminda A.
Camacho, AFP, of Brgy. Cadre Site made history by being the Philippine Navy's
first female Skipper and Contingent Commander, thus becoming the first female
Commodore of the Philippine Navy, equivalent to Brigadier General or one-star
rank in the Army, Air Force, and Marines.
Horror, panic, and sadness gripped the
whole town during the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of its
earliest casualties were the town’s “duktor ng bayan” Dr. Henry
Fernandez and wife Julie. Mayor Cezar Quiambao and wife Niña
were among the thousands who were struck down by the disease and got hospitalized.
Lockdowns and community quarantine were
enforced. The town fiesta and other annual festivities were cancelled. Other
activities that resulted in crowding were regulated and monitored.
Work-from-home arrangement was enforced in many workplaces.
The San Gabriel I Evacuation Center was
converted into an isolation center for LSIs or locally stranded individuals. The
Pugo Evacuation Center was converted as quarantine facility (for infected
individuals and those showing suspicious signs and symptoms) and later became
the vaccination center. The Wawa Evacuation Center, which housed the Abong na
Aro, served as quarantine and isolation facility for frontliners. For these
purposes, the San Gabriel I, Pugo, and Wawa Evacuation Centers were renovated
by the MDRRMO.
The local government built the
Bayambang Commercial Strip in front of the parish church under a public-private
partnership scheme.
A new Municipal Annex Building was
inaugurated at the back of the Municipal Hall compound.
RHU I got its own Department of Health-certified
Animal Bite Treatment Center. This feat was replicated by RHU III and RHU II in
the following years.
Construction of the Municipal Warehouse
began in Telbang across the Municipal Motorpool.
RHU IV in Brgy. Macayocayo opened on
November 25, and was built on a lot donated by the Macayocayo Barangay Council
under Punong Barangay Mario Cariño.
Two local rock musicians, Richmond
Bancolita and Tom Patrick Cuison, became part of Nobita, a band that would have
a reach nationwide and beyond.
Dr. Jose 'Dong' DV. Camacho, Jr., a
Bayambang native, was elected by the Board of Regents as Chancellor of the
University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB).
On September 24, Dr. Jose Camacho, Jr.,
from this town, was elected by the University of the Philippines at Los Baños
Board of Regents as the 10th UPLB chancellor.
2021
Mayor Quiambao’s petition for the
Philippine government to convert Mangabul Lake into alienable and disposable
land reached Philippine Congress and Senate with the help of Congresswoman Rose
Marie ‘Baby’ Arenas and Senator Miguel Zubiri.
An attempt was also made to have
Bayambang declared as a city, but it lacked one major requirement: a population
of at least 150,000.
RHU V in Brgy. Pantol opened in
February. It was built using funds donated by 3rd District Congresswoman Rose
Marie 'Baby' Arenas.
“Beauty and the Beast: The Musical” was
staged for the first time in Region I. Sponsored by the town’s First Couple, it
was staged at the Balon Bayambang Events Center showcasing local talents.
On March 16, Mayor Quiambao launched
the Bayambang’s Best longanisa brand at the Public Market.
On April 14, 2021, a newly constructed
Bayambang Municipal Fire Station was opened at its old location in Brgy. Zone
VI.
On May 17,
P22.4-million worth of heavy equipment were purchased by the LGU to revive the
town's 8-km inland fishery. The equipment included one wheel loader, two chain
excavators, two dump trucks, one tractor head, and one 40-ft two-axle lowbed
trailer — all brand new.
Quiambao’s 1Food Corporation started
its food manufacturing operations in Brgy. Dusoc. Their initial products
included OKrantz assorted vegetable chips and tomato salsa using local farmers’
produce and employing the technology of the DOST-PSU Food Innovation Center
after Quiambao discovered its existence.
Silver Concha Wavepool Resort, a
water-based resort with artificial waves, was inaugurated in Brgy. Malimpec.
On May 15, Sta. Lucia Land Inc. broke
ground for its Centro Verde Bayambang residential estate development across the
St. Vincent Ferrer Prayer Park.
Sun Plaza Mall rose in Brgy. Telbang.
Forest Lake Memorial Park opened in
Brgy. Nalsian Sur.
Mayor Quiambao created two additional
departments: Municipal Legal Office and Internal Audit Unit/Service.
In November, the construction for a
building for a planned soil laboratory started in Brgy. Manambong Parte.
2022
Mayor Quiambao launched the E-Agro app,
a digital platform that addresses the various needs of farmers, especially
loans, at their fingertips—possibly the first of its kind in the country. Eight
agricultural warehouses were constructed per farming district as supporting
infrastructure.
On March 24, a tourism enterprise
proposal of the Sangguniang Kabataan of Brgy. Amancosiling Norte was the grand
prize winner of Mayor Quiambao's Bayambang Millennials’ Challenge. Patterned
after Bloomberg's Mayors Challenge, the competition sought to solicit and
reward the most innovative ideas from the youth that could solve one of their
own community's problems. The winning team experimented with transforming a
moribund river dike area into an Agno River cruise type of attraction.
On March 30, the biggest post-harvest facility
complex in Northern Luzon was inaugurated by the Jose-Quiambao family in Brgy. Amancosiling
Sur. It was operated by the Agricultural Infrastructure and Leasing Corporation
or AILC with office at St. Vincent Village, Brgy. Bical Norte.
The main output of the Bayambang
Culture Mapping Project was produced, the book “Say Nanlapuan.”
Mayor Cezar Quiambao ended his second
term with the release of a detailed LGU-Bayambang Annual Report.
In May, two women made history by being
the first women to get elected as Mayor and Vice-Mayor of the town: Mary Clare
Judith Phyllis ‘Niña’ Jose-Quiambao and Ian Camille ‘IC’ Castillo Sabangan. The
Municipal Councilors included former Vice-Mayor Mylvin ‘Boying T. Junio, former
Vice-Mayor Jose ‘By’ Ramos, Benjamin Francisco S. de Vera, Philip R. Dumalanta,
Amory M. Junio, Gerardo ‘Gerry’ Flores, Martin E. Terrado II, Levinson Nessus
M. Uy, with Rodelito Bautista, Liga ng mga Barangay President, and Marianne
Cheska Dulay, Sangguniang Kabataan President, as ex-officio members.
In May, a mini-dam funded by Senator
‘Koko’ Pimentel was built in Dusoc.
On June 10, the Bayambang Dairy Farm
started operations in Brgy. Mangayao.
The Bayambang Polytechnic College (BPC)
was established on June 27 by virtue of Municipal Ordinance No. 05, S-2022, later
on approved through Sangguniang Panlalawigan Resolution No. 586-2022. An
LGU-owned and operated college but initially funded privately by the
Jose-Quiambao family, it initially opened in 3F Royal Mall and offered a
ladderized program on tech-voc courses and four-year courses in
Entrepreneurship and Agribusiness in response to the town’s pressing needs.
On July 4, a groundbreaking ceremony
was held for the Pantol-to-San Gabriel Farm-to-Market Road with Bridge Project,
a grant worth P126,478,000.00 from the Department of Agriculture-Philippine
Rural Development Project-World Bank.
On August 3, the Municipal Bonery
beside the Bayambang Fire Station was constructed.
Angkong Noodle House opened at St.
Vincent Ferrer Prayer Park, bringing authentic Binondo-style/Chinoy food in
town.
On September 19, the Municipal Hatchery
opened in Brgy. Langiran.
On October 20, the northernmost span of
Wawa Bridge collapsed after two overloaded trucks drove through it at the same
time. On November 8, a bailey bridge was constructed by the DPWH to restore
traffic in the area.
In early March, PSU-BC received AACCUP
Institutional Accreditation Level IV Re-Accredited status.
In November, Kenneth Mejia, the son of
a Bayambangueña was elected as City of Los Angeles Controller or city
accountant, the first-ever Filipino and the first Asian to reach such a
milestone in the city's history.
A Seal of Good Local Governance for
Barangays was conceptualized by Mayor Quiambao long before the Department of
the Interior and Local Government introduced this form of recognition for
barangay local government units.
Joseph Anthony F. Quinto, General
Manager of San Fernando City Water District (La Union), was hired as the town’s
first Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer or MENRO. Under his watch,
the Municipal Nursery housed inside the PSU Bayambang Campus was transferred to
the Materials Recovery Facility in Brgy. Dusoc, Mayor Niña Jose-Quiambao’s intensive
clean-and-green campaign, Bali-Bali’n Bayambang, was launched, he was elected
as President of the Pangasinan Association of Environment and Natural Resources
Officers, and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Office received several
awards.
2023
On January 22, the Bayambang District
Hospital's operating room became the largest among district hospitals in the
province, after Kasama Kita sa Barangay Foundation, Inc., Niña Cares
Foundation, and the provincial government expanded and improved it together
with upgraded equipment.
On February 15, the Balon Bayambang
Museum: Home of Innovation was formally opened to the public after a soft
launch on October 14, 2022.
RHU VI was built in Brgy. Mangayao on a
lot donated by Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao and opened on February 22.
On May 5, former Mayor Quiambao,
through CS First Green Agri-Industrial Development Inc., entered into a
memorandum of agreement for two solar power plants worth $503-million with a
321-megawatt capacity to be built in Infanta and Dasol towns in western Pangasinan.
In the presence of Gov. Ramon Guico III, he signed the MOA in Lingayen together
with URIT Limited Philippines Corp., China Energy International Group Co., and
the China Energy International Group Co.
On May 8, CitiHardware opened in Brgy.
Buayaen.
A Sewage Treatment and Septage
Management System Plan was crafted, based on a nationwide directive from
President Rodrigo Duterte.
LGU-Bayambang accepted its hard-earned
ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management System) Certification from Certification
Partner Global - Philippines, at an awarding ceremony held August 16 at the
Balon Bayambang Events Center, with all LGU officials and employees in
attendance. Thus, the town became the only ISO-certified town/city LGU in
Pangasinan aside from LGU-Alaminos City.
On October 12, the local government won
the Bayambang Central School case and wasted no time in reclaiming possession
of the property.
On December 5, the first 3D LED screen in
the country outside of Metro Manila was inaugurated in Royal Mall.
After this, a Christmas attraction
inspired by Ghibli Studios’ anime films and characters at the Municipal Plaza
attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors and media attention.
LGU-Bayambang scored an
"Unmodified Opinion" from the Commission on Audit's Annual Audit
Report for the first time, it was announced on June 30.
A portion of the Wawa Evacuation Center
was converted into a satellite office of the MDRRMO.
Mayor Niña Jose-Quiambao donated
P1-milion for the raffle draw for the LGU’s year-end assessment program.
2024
On January 12, Former Vice-Mayor Raul
R. Sabangan was elected as President of the provincial Federation of Liga ng
mga Barangay, earning him a seat at the Pangasinan legislative body as an
ex-officio Board Member.
On May 15, the National Irrigation
Administration started digging in Brgy. Amancosiling Norte.
On June 6, the old Home Economics
Building in the old Bayambang Central School campus was renovated and turned
into temporary government offices. Soon, another surviving school building was
rehabilitated and turned into temporary classrooms of the Bayambang Polytechnic
College.
On June 24, BYB Metro broke ground in
Brgy. Bical Norte as a new and modern town center that is envisioned to be “the
BGC of the North.”
On July 29, Don Teofilo C. Mataban
Memorial School opened in Brgy. Ligue, a school constructed by the local
government on privately donated land.
On August 8, Bo’s Coffee opened a
branch in Brgy. Asin.
On October 18, the seven-story Julius
K. Quiambao Medical and Wellness Center was inaugurated in Brgy. Asin with
First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos leading the ceremony. The tertiary hospital
was managed by The Medical City group.
A Christmas attraction inspired by the “Star
Wars” film franchise at the Municipal Plaza attracted thousands of visitors.
Digital projection mapping technology and animatronics were used in this
attraction.
A cosplay competition was held for the
first time, and because of the huge prizes, attracted veteran cosplayers from
as far as Metro Manila.
The bougainvillea was declared as the
official municipal flower of Bayambang.
In November, a major amusement park
broke ground at the site of BYB Metro.
On December 13, a groundbreaking
ceremony was held in Brgy. Nalsian Norte for the Nalsian Norte Onion Cold
Storage, a grant from the Department of Agriculture worth ₱37,372,158.01.
During the year’s SingKapital
celebration in November, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines
unveiled a new marker in front of the Municipal Hall stating that Aguinaldo and
company were in Bayambang for several days and not just overnight as long
thought.
Susanna Rodriguez Evangelista, RN, of
Barangay Nalsian Sur, was the topnotcher of the June 2024 Philippine Nurses
Special Professional Licensure Examination, securing the top spot with a score
of 86.20%.
On May 15, LGU-Bayambang received the
Excellence Award from the Philippine Association of Local Government
Accountants at the CAP-John Hay Trade and Cultural Center, Baguio City, in recognition
of the LGU’s attainment of an “Unmodified or Unqualified Audit Opinion” based
on the 2022 COA Annual Audit Report of the Commission on Audit, a first in the
annals of the LGU.
On midnight of May 5, a portion of the
Public Market caught fire due to octopus wiring in some stalls. Affected stall
owners were immediately given financial assistance from the LGU’s fund and the
mayor’s personal fund.
In April, the parish church’s Museo de
San Vicente was first inaugurated as a parish exhibit.
The local government officially created
the positions of Local Youth Development Officer, PWD Affairs Development
Officer, Local Revenue Collection Officer, and Business Permits and Licensing
Officer and hired qualified personnel for the purpose.
A book, “220 Tula para sa Bayambang,”
was published which compiles all winning and non-winning poems about the town’s
history and culture from contests held since 2016. The compilation includes
entries about the ‘SingKapital’ celebration.
2025
On February 6, the groundbreaking
ceremony for the campus of Bayambang Polytechnic College was conducted in Brgy.
Bical Norte beside Bayambang District Hospital on a lot donated by Dr. Cezar T.
Quiambao. First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos and Commission on Higher Education
Chairman Prospero ‘Popoy’ de Vera led the ceremony together with Dr. Cezar T.
Quiambao, BPC President, Dr. Rafael L. Saygo, and other dignitaries.
On March 7, Governor Ramon 'Mon-Mon'
Guico III and other Pangasinan provincial government officials, together with
municipal officials, inaugurated the new CT scan, stationary and portable
ultrasound, and X-ray machines at the Bayambang District Hospital, and led the
groundbreaking ceremony for the new hemodialysis center there.
On April 5, the St. Vincent Ferrer Parish
Church was officially proclaimed by Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop, Most Reverend
Socrates Villegas, as an archdiocesan shrine.
This development coincided with the
ordination of a new priest from Bayambang, Fr. Alexander I. Martinez, OCarm.,
after 29 long years.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the
rehabilitation of Wawa Bridge was held as an opening activity for the town
fiesta.
‘Rhianna’ Cerezo Poquiz of Brgy. San
Gabriel 2nd was crowned as the first “Binibeking Bayambang.”
The local government won two other
major infrastructure projects from DA-PRDP Scale-up and WB: the Pantol-to-San
Gabriel Farm-to-Market Road with Bridge Project, a grant worth ₱319,180,000,
and the Nalsian Cold Storage Project, a grant worth ₱246,015,000.
Bayambang was recognized by the
National Nutrition Council with the CROWN or Consistent Regional Outstanding
Winner in Nutrition Award in the presence of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’
Marcos Jr.
A Central Terminal for big buses was
completed on the leftmost side of PSU-Bayambang Campus.
Kangaroo Hill Pavilion and Resort
opened in Brgy. Sancagulis.
On May 12, Mayor Niña
Jose-Quiambao was reelected on her second term after a close fight with Dr.
Cathy de Vera. The Municipal Councilors included Nazer Junio, former Vice-Mayor
Jose ‘Boy’ Ramos, Gerardo ‘Gerry’ Flores, Levinson Nessus M. Uy, Jocelyn S.
Espejo, Engr. Zerex Terrado, Raymund Camacho, and Rhyan de Vera, with Rodelito
Bautista, Liga ng mga Barangay President, and Marianne Cheska Dulay,
Sangguniang Kabataan President, remaining as ex-officio members.
However, not long after, in June, SK
Federation Chair Marianne Cheska Dulay resigned from her post, an unprecedented
move, citing protection of her mental health as reason. She was replaced by her
Vice-President, John Roy Jalac.
Regene ‘Seven’ Sendaydiego Odon, a
singer-actor born and raised in Bayambang, was cast in a Tony Award-winning
musical-play, “Kimberly Akimbo,” which toured 80 cities in the USA.
In June, Señor Ihaw, a chicken inasal
place, and Angkong Noodle House, a Chinese restaurant, opened at the Bayambang
Centro, which took over the commercial place formerly occupied by Magic
Supermarket at the public market.
Watsons health and beauty care shop
opened in Bayambang.
Compiled by: Resty S. Odon
References: Dr. Clarita Jimenez &
Bayambang Quadricentennial Research Team (for the period 1614-2014), Balon
Bayambang Facebook page, various official websites, LGU officials and
department heads
Contributors: Tessie Reyes, Gernalyn
Santos, Jonathan de Castro, Karla de Vera-Cristobal, Boyette Santillan Poserio,
Annie Seledio, Corazon Reyes, Jane Kristelle Domingo Macmod, Joel V. Camacho,
Bernabe Mercado Jr., Joey Ferrer
Researchers: JV Baltazar, Vernaliza
Ferrer, Camila Gatpo Garin, Geralyn Pagsolingan, Caryl Nikki Agdeppa, Mica
Flores, Sheina Mae U. Gravidez
