Gregorio del Pilar, officially the Municipality of Gregorio del Pilar ( ilo, Ili ti Gregorio del Pilar; tl, Bayan ng Gregorio del Pilar) is a 5th class

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur, officially the Province of Ilocos Sur ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ilocos Sur; tl, Lalawigan ng Ilocos Sur), is a province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital o ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 4,472 people. Formerly named Concepcion (in honor of its patron saint, ''Nuestra Senora de Concepcion''), it was renamed after general

Gregorio del Pilar Gregorio Hilario del Pilar y Sempio (; ; November 14, 1875 – December 2, 1899) was a Filipino general of the Philippine Revolutionary Army during the Philippine–American War. As one of the youngest generals in the Revolutionary Army, he ...

by virtue of Republic Act No. 1246 on June 10, 1955, sponsored by Congressman Ricardo Gacula. The municipality was the site of the

Battle of Tirad Pass The Battle of Tirad Pass ( es, Batalla de Paso Tirad; tgl, Labanan sa Pasong Tirad; ilo, Gubat ti Paso), sometimes referred to as the "Philippine Thermopylae", was a battle in the Philippine–American War fought on December 2, 1899, in north ...

where General del Pilar fought to the death against the Americans.

Etymology

The town got its name after general

History

Battle of Tirad Pass

On December 2, 1899, American forces, mostly of the 33rd Volunteer Infantry Regiment under Major

Peyton C. March General Peyton Conway March (December 27, 1864April 13, 1955) was a senior officer of the United States Army. He served in the Philippines, on the Mexican border, and World War I. March was the ninth Chief of Staff from 1918 to 1921, accomplish ...

, prepared for an assault of the Filipino forces fortification under the Command of General Gregorio del Pilar. On the narrow trail of Tirad Pass, the Filipino soldiers watched as the enemy began to move up the trail. On around a few hundreds yards above the pass, General

, with his staff and accompanied by two civilians from Sitio Mabatano, spotted the American forces through his spy glass as they were starting to move. But as he watched, he noticed that the American forces broke formation and instead sent a messenger on horse back with a white banner. As the messenger was coming near the fortification of Filipino forces, the sound of a gun was heard and the messenger fell. The American forces divided into three separate groups. One group followed the trail towards the pass. Another group ascended the hill facing the Filipino soldiers stationed in the pass. The third group, led by a Filipino from the lowlands named

Januario Galut Januario Galut was a Tingguian Igorot who led the 33rd Infantry Regiment of United States Volunteers under Major Peyton March so that they could surround and defeat 60 Filipinos led by General Gregorio del Pilar in the Battle of Tirad Pass. After ...

, made their way up unnoticed through the old trail which was hastily barricaded by felled trees a few days before the American forces arrived. This old path lead to the place where General del Pilar stood watching. As the American forces dispersed, the general ordered the two civilians, Tucdaden and Abeng to proceed to the trenches and deliver the breakfast of the Filipino soldiers. All of a sudden continuous gunshots were heard continuously and went unabated for several hours. General del Pilar was shot and killed.

Geography

The town lies among the western hills of the

Cordilleras A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly u ...

in the interior eastern portion of the province of Ilocos Sur. It is bounded in the north by the town of San Emilio, Quirino in the east, Sigay in the south and Salcedo in the west. Its 7 barangays and sitios are connected by winding foot trails and seasonal rugged roads. The town is likewise endowed with natural scenery and wonders such as the ''payoh'' or rice terraces, pristine waterfalls, and the distinctive peak of Mount Tirad. There are also trails crisscrossing Tirad Pass, which were built through ''polo y servicio'' (forced labor) during the Spanish Period.

Barangays

Gregorio del Pilar is politically subdivided into 7

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

s. These barangays are headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain,

Barangay Council The Sangguniang Barangay, also known as the Barangay Council, and formerly as the Rural Council and then the Barrio Council, is the legislative body of a barangay, the lowest form of government in the Philippines. The term is coined from the Tag ...

, whose members are called Barangay Councilors. All are elected every three years. * Alfonso (Tangaoan) * Bussot * Concepcion * Dapdappig (Mabatano) * Matue-Butarag *

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippine city or municipality, which may take up the ...

Norte * Poblacion Sur

Sitios

Gregorio del Pilar is politically subdivided into 5

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own barangay if its popul ...

. * Mabatano * Tangaoan * Ul-oling * Tubalina * Butarag

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, Gregorio del Pilar had a population of 4,472. The population density was . The inhabitants are

Igorots The indigenous peoples of the Cordillera Mountain Range of northern Luzon, Philippines are often referred to using the exonym Igorot people, or more recently, as the Cordilleran peoples. There are nine main ethnolinguistic groups whose domains ar ...

, but belong to the Bag-o ethno-linguistic group. This mixture of Ilocano and Igorot intermarriages speak the

Kankanaey language Kankanaey (also spelled Kankana-ey) is a South-Central Cordilleran language under the Austronesian family spoken on the island of Luzon in the Philippines primarily by the Kankanaey people. Alternate names for the language include Central Kank ...

but can speak and understand the dialects of their neighboring towns. Many have already acquired college education and some serve the government and private institutions.

Economy

Government

Gregorio del Pilar, belonging to the second congressional district of the province of

, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.

Elected officials

Tourist attractions

*Tirad Pass National Park and Shrine of Gen. Gregorio del Pilar (Barangay Dapdappig) *Sibol Hot Spring and Swimming area (Barangay Bussot) *Mt. Tirad Pass Summit and Mt. Peg-an Camping site (Barangay Bussot) *Tirad Pass Museum and handicraft center (Poblacion Sur)

References

External links

Act renaming the town of Concepcion to Gregorio del PilarPasyalang Ilocos SurPhilippine Standard Geographic CodePhilippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Ilocos Sur