San Vicente, officially the Municipality of San Vicente (; ), is a

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

in the

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

Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur (), officially the Province of Ilocos Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital of Vigan, while Candon is ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 13,118 people.

Etymology

The municipality's name came from the name of Saint Vincent Ferrer, whose winged statue was found inside a box entangled in fishing nets. The fishermen consulted this matter to the friars in Villa Fernandina (now

Vigan Vigan, officially the City of Vigan (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

), who identified the person depicted by the statue. The statue was carried to the town's center, where a church was built. From then on, the town formerly known as ''Tuanong'' (sometimes called ''Taonan'') was renamed ''San Vicente.''

History

In tracing the history of San Vicente, one always has to start from Vigan. Vigan was established by the Spanish conquistador, Juan de Salcedo on June 13, 1573. Upon Salcedo's return in 1574, he brought with them the Augustinian friars in order to proselytize Christianity among the inhabitants. After Salcedo's death on March 11, 1576, Franciscan friars replaced the Augustinians in 1579. These same friars spread up to San Vicente to convert the people to the Catholic faith. Up until 1582, there were only about 800 residents in Vigan. In 1591, Vigan began to organize its government, which included the barrios of Tuanong, Santa Catalina de Baba, and Caoayan. There were then a population numbering about 4,000 inhabitants at this time. Between the years 1720 and 1737, the first chapel of Barrio Tuanong was erected. Later in 1748, the Confraternity of Jesus of Nazareth was organized. In one record of the Vigan Convent archives, a funeral that took place on January 29, 1748 in the chapel of Barrio Tuanong was recorded. Two chaplains, Don Agustin de la Encarnacion and Don Pedro Geronimo de Barba, were the priests of the chapel in that year. It is believed that the chapel is the first stone building that one sees upon entering the San Vicente Central School from the main road. On June 16, 1751, the chaplain was Don Miguel de Montanez. He was the first priest there and also in the then newly constructed chapel of San Sebastian. Difficulties in reaching Barrio Tuanong and Barrio Santa Catalina de Baba from Vigan especially during the months of June to October were experienced due to the absence of a dike or bridge. Priests from Vigan reached these areas by means of a raft. The problem prompted the separation of these two barrios from Vigan in 1793. In 1795, the seat of the municipality and the church in Barrio Tuanong were inaugurated, and the town became known as ''San Vicente''. Don Pedro de Leon was the first parish priest and he was believed as the initiator of the construction of the Church of San Vicente.

Geography

San Vicente is situated from the provincial capital

, and from the country's capital city of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Barangays

San Vicente is politically subdivided into 7

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, 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 bar ...

. * Bantaoay * Bayubay Norte * Bayubay Sur * Lubong *

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

* Pudoc * San Sebastian

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, San Vicente had a population of 13,118. The population density was .

Economy

The municipality is known for its production of beautiful furniture made from narra and other tropical hardwoods, even from old wood previously used in wooden sugarcane crushers and old houses to make reproduction antiques.

Government

Local government

San Vicente, belonging to the first 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

Education

The San Vicente Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality.

Primary and elementary schools

* Bayubay Elementary School * Mindoro Primary School * Nagtupacan Elementary School * Pudoc Elementary School * San Sebastian Elementary School * San Vicente Baptist Bible Academy (Elementary) * San Vicente Integrated School (Elementary) * St. Paul College (Elementary)

Secondary schools

* San Sebastian National High School * San Vicente Baptist Bible Academy * San Vicente Integrated School * St. Paul College (High school)

References

External links

Pasyalang Ilocos SurPhilippine Standard Geographic CodePhilippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Ilocos Sur