¡SupereXtraordinarisimo!: Nueva Valencia, Philippines

Nueva Valencia is a 4th class municipality in the province of Guimaras, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 30,716 people in 6,043 households. This is the site of Guimaras oil spill since August 2006. The boat named MT Solar 1 sank a few kilometers from Nueva Valencia.

History:

The history of Nueva Valencia, just like that of other towns in the island of Guimaras, dates back to the time when Himal-us (Guimaras) was Christianized by the Spaniards in 1591.

The towns were known as pueblicitos (villages) of Nayup (Buenavista with San Pedro Apostol as patron saint; Nabilhan (Jordan) with San Juan Bautista as its patron saint; and Agang (Valencia) whose patroness was Santa Ana. Although during the Spanish regime there were separate powers between the church and the state, yet the church had much influence in the creation of pueblos (towns) and establishment of parishes.

It was also mentioned in the “History of Panay” by Regalado and Franco, that in Panay, the towns included under the jurisdiction of Ogtong (Oton) were the three towns in the Island of Himal-us, namely Nayup, Nabilhan and Agang.

In 1742, the island fell under the jurisdiction of Dumangas until 1751 when the Jesuits took over from the Augustinian Order. In 1768, the Dominicans had spiritual jurisdiction over Guimaras until 1775 when it was organized into a regular parish with Iloilo.

How Nueva Valencia got it's name:

With the coming of the Spaniards, trade and commerce also flourished as Spain opened markets to foreign countries. There was a “galleon trade” between Manila and Acapulco. Iloilo at that time was known as the “Fort of the Southern Archipelago.”

Just like at present, the sea route from Manila to Panay passed the western portion of Guimaras, through the Iloilo Strait and docked at Fort San Pedro. The Spaniards saw the need of a lighthouse to guide the incoming and outgoing vessels especially during dark nights and when typhoon occurred. The suitable place for a lighthouse was in Himal-us (Guimaras).

The group, with some engineers, landed in Puyu which at that time, the landing point of vessels. They went on foot until they reached a place which is now Sitio Guisi. Such place was ideal for a lighthouse since it could be seen far away from the sea. The Spaniards named the place as Punta Santa Ana in honor of the patroness of typhoon. A lighthouse was const ructed which operates until today.

The Spaniards had come to like the place of Santa Ana which extended from the lighthouse to Sitio Puyu. Eventually, population increased and the Spanish authority created Santa Ana as a town and named it Valencia after a town in Spain which patroness was Santa Ana. The first appointed “alcalde mayor” was Don Manuel Segovia. The municipal building called “Casa Real” was constructed and was located adjacent to the site of now Nueva Valencia National High School. Later, the seat of the municipal government was transferred to Barrio Igang when the Casa Real was razed by fire due to an unknown cause. Igang then became the Poblacion and the whole town was named Nueva Valencia or “New Valencia” after Valencia in Spain.

Profile:

DATE FOUNDED: January 1, 1941
CLASSIFICATION: 4th Class
AREA: 13,711 Has
NO. OF BARANGAYS: 22
NO. OF SITIOS: 133
POPULATION: 36,515
GROWTH RATE: 2.67%
NO. OF HOUSEHOLDS: 7,234
DIALECT: Kinaray-a, Hiligaynon
RELIGION: Roman Catholic (75.19%) Aglipayan (19.86%) Others (4.95%)
LITERACY RATE: 95.13%
LAND USE: Predominantly Agricultural
SOURCE OF LIVELIHOOD: Agriculture, Fishing and Services
MAJOR PRODUCTS: Mango, Rice, Coconut
GEOGRAPHICAL COORDINATES: 10 31′40.63″ N & 122 32′18.62″ E

Barangays: