Igbaras, officially the Municipality of Igbaras ( krj, Banwa kang Igbaras; hil, Banwa sang Igbaras, tgl, Bayan ng Igbaras), is a 3rd 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 ...

Iloilo Iloilo (), officially the Province of Iloilo ( hil, Kapuoran sang Iloilo; krj, Kapuoran kang Iloilo; tl, Lalawigan ng Iloilo), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the City of Iloilo, the ...

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 32,197 people. Igbaras celebrates its town fiesta annually on May 22 in honor of Santa Rita de Cascia. The town has many points of interest including the ruins of the church belfry, Mount Napulak, Bahi-Bahi, Nadsadjan Falls, Lagsakan Falls, Timapok Falls, Guiritsan Falls, Sampanan Falls, Bat Cave, Igcabugao Cave, Bais Cave and the Pakuyang sa Tangyan Festival. A species of Rafflesia, the world's largest flower, can also be found here.

Etymology

The name Igbaras comes from a combination of two words, "''ig''" or "''tig''" which means "plenty of" or "season of", and "''baras''" which means "sand". Thus Igbaras means "plenty of sand" which alludes to the nearby sandy river. Igbaras is most commonly mistaken with the similar-sounding and more widely known province of Guimaras.

History

As a result of the implementation of Spanish Governor-General Narciso Claveria's decree on giving Filipinos with Spanish surnames in 1849, inhabitants of Igbaras during that time were apportioned with surnames starting mostly with the letter E. Igbaras was fused with

Guimbal Guimbal, officially the Municipality of Guimbal ( krj, Banwa kang Guimbal; hil, Banwa sang Guimbal; tl, Bayan ng Guimbal), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...

in 1902 until the American regime made it a separate town on January 1, 1919. Don Flor Evidente became the first municipal mayor. American soldiers

water torture Water torture encompasses a variety of techniques using water to inflict physical or psychological harm on a victim as a form of torture or execution. Forced ingestion In this form of water torture, water is forced down the throat and into the sto ...

d Igbaras leaders then burned the village to the ground during the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

Igbaras has the distinction of having the first congressman elected to Congress in 1925–1928 in the person of Don Eugenio Ealdama, and the delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention, Don Mariano Ezpeleta who later served as Consul-General and ambassador to several countries.

Geography

Igbaras is located at the south-western part of

. It is situated between the coordinates of 122.2650’ longitude, and 10.7167’ latitude. It is from

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo ( hil, Siyudad/Dakbanwa sang Iloilo; fil, Lungsod ng Iloilo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines on the island of Panay. It is the capital city of t ...

Barangays

Igbaras is politically subdivided into 46

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. Alameda was formerly known as Bukaw.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Igbaras was 32,197 people, with a density of . People from Igbaras speak Kinaray-a, a language associated with Antique province. However, Hiligaynon, a vernacular commonly used in Iloilo City is understood by everyone and used mostly by students or those staying in the city.

Economy

Education

Secondary: * Igbaras National High School * Igtalongon National High School * Alameda National High School Elementary and Primary:

Government

The Mayor is the chief executive of the town. He is elected to serve a three-year term, with a maximum of three terms. The incumbent Municipal Mayor is Atty. Vicente E. Escorpion Jr. The Vice Mayor is the Presiding Officer of the Sangguniang Bayan. He is also the chief executive of the town whenever the mayor is out of the town. He is elected to serve a three-year term, with a maximum of three terms. The incumbent vice mayor is Atty. Sherwin Paul E. Quidato. The Sangguniang Bayan of Igbaras is composed of 8 members with 2 ex-officio members which are the town's Liga ng mga Barangay President and Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President. The municipal councilors are elected to serve a three-year term, with a maximum of three terms. The town officials from June 30, 2022, to June 30, 2025. They were elected last May 9, 2022 Philippine General Elections

List of former chief executive

*Don Flor Evidente (1919–1922) *Lucas Gentica (1922–1925) *Julian Bucoy Saavedra (1925–1931) *Justo Estrella (1931–1938) *Gerardo Escala (1938–1941) *Toribio Melliza (1941–1945, 1961–1964) *Perfecto Saavedra (1945–1955) *Ricardo Ealdama (1955–1961) *Atty. Daniel Esmeralda (1964–1977) *Vicente E. Perez (1977–1985) *Wilfredo C. Uy (1986–1992) *Fruto J. Saavedra (1992–2001) *Jaime Esmeralda, MD (2001–2010) *Atty. Vicente E. Escorpion Jr. (2010–2019) *Jaime Esmeralda, MD (2019–2022) *Atty. Vicente E. Escorpion Jr. (2022–Present)

References

External links

Igbaras Website
*

Philippine Standard Geographic Code 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 ...

Philippine Census Information

Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Iloilo