Santa Catalina Ilocos Sur Philippines

History of Santa Catalina

Fragmentary reports on written and unrecorded information regarding the origin and founding of the town, dating back from early Spanish domination over the islands to the present, have been gleamed from all available sources. It is gathered that the Spanish Expeditionary Forces having landed at Ciudad Fernandina, now known as Vigan, the Capital Town of Nueva Segovia, sought for further conquest.

Going westward, they came upon the San Dunes of Mindoro and Pantay (Vigan), overlooking the Govantes River that serves as the natural boundary of Vigan and Sta. Catalina. From there they noticed a small island lying across the river. Crossing then the river with rafts, they landed at a place called “CABITTAOGAN”, so called because of the abundance and luxuriant growth of a certain of specie of tree called PALOMARIA, OR “BITAOG” in the Local Dialect.

Tired from their arduous journey, the Spanish Forces rested a while. When they were rested, they planted a big wooden cross, the symbol of Christianity. They marked the Christianization of the inhabitants of the place. No documentary material could be found to show the exact date as to when the Cross was planted. However, the fact remains that the cross still stands at exactly the same spot where it was originally planted centuries ago, and this can be seen right in front of the main gate of the Cabittaogan Elementary School. Continuing their journey, the Spanish Expeditionary Forces proceeded northward, and came upon a spring just west of the place where the present Catholic Church of the town now stands. The Spanish soldiers took turns in drinking the water from the spring. Just as their leader was about to drink, there was an apparition, whom the oldest soldier among the group recognized to be that of Saint Catherine of Alexandria.

From that time on, the place was named STA. CATALINA, in honor of St. Catherine who had been chosen the Patron Saint, and has remained up to the present. The water from the above-mentioned spring, so it was told from generation to generation, had some kind of a miraculous healing power.

The Spaniards and the inhabitants as well, valued the spring so much that they erected the Catholic Church, one of the remaining vestiges of the Spanish Rule in the country. Up to latter part of the 16th century, 1795, Sta. Catalina was a part of Vigan, then called Ciudad Fernandina, founded by Juan Salcedo, the Grandson of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. The other towns were part of Vigan were San Vicente and Caoayan. These informations were gathered from the archives at the Archbishop’s Palace at Vigan.

The Holy Cross, planted in barangay Cabittaogan attests that Sta. Catalina was the mooring place for boats (rafts), thus, a very impertinent of Vigan. But it was only in 1795 that the late Bishop Juan Ruiz made Sta. Catalina a Parish. There was no assigned Parish Priest then, so the clergy of Vigan did the administration. Seeing that the Parish could well stand on its own, the next Bishop, Most Rev. Pedro Blacquier, appointed the Parish Priest in 1800, in the person of Rev. Fr. Manuel de los Reyes.

At the start there were only 3,000 inhabitants. By nature a devoted community, these people were fond of remembering their dead. So in 1837, during the incumbency of Rev. Vicente Villanueva, the “Gofradiade las Almas Benditas del Purgatorio” was establish. The people have, since then, always devoted to the God. Although there was no written record as to the exact founding of Sta. Catalina, it can be calculated from reports, verbal and written, that the town was founded sometime in the latter art of the 16th century.

Fr. Pedro Torrices started the new church in 1849-1855 and Fr. Luis Lagar finished it in 1875.

In 1905, another destructive flood, “Layos Nawnaw” motivated the people to transfer the poblacion to Pasungol in the southern part of the town in 1907.

Don Domingo Bueno y Ramirez, the Presidente Municipal, transferred the new government and the new poblacion was laid out. Circumferencial roads were constructed. An hermita, made of bamboo and cogon, was put up and a one-storey primary school building was laid out.

The guerilla activities of Gen. Manuel Tinio dominated the Philippine-American War in Ilocos. The civil government of Ilocos Sur began to function in 1889 with Don Mena Crisologo; former Ilocos Sur delegate to the Malolos Congress as the first Civil Governor.

On the resumption of the Commonwealth Government, Pres. Osmeña appointed Hon. Sixto Brillantes after being elected assemblyman of the second district of Ilocos Sur.

On December 19,1941, the Japanese soldiers landed in Santa. The people fled to the mountains where they suffered from privations, hunger and diseases. The Japanese soldiers held a garrison at the south of Quirino Bridge and massacred seventy (70) civilians in Barrio Rizal on January 26, 1954.

These turn of events, no matter how depressing and destructive they were, brought back the residents together to restore the present site of the local government.