MUN. OF CALINOG

Mayor: ALEX A.CENTINA
Vice Mayor: RENE A. HURTADA
Planning Officer: HONORIO C. CARISMA JR

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BRIEF HISTORY 

Calinog had its humble beginning from the time Marikudo, that vain-glorious and pleasure-loving Negrito Chieftain of Panay, had left abode on the coastal plains of San Joaquin, then a part of Hamtic, after having bartered his domain for a "saduk" of gold and along necklace to sea-faring and intrepid Malays from Borneo. The Maragtas placed the year 1200 or thereabout. Of course, the Neuritis' retreat towards the inland areas was gradual and consistent with the nomadic habit and natural propensity of that race. By founding one new settlement and abandoning such place for another, Tuan Marikudo and his men in their slow retreat, had finally stumbled and reached the wide area midway between the two big rivers, the Jalaur and Ulian. On the top of a chain of strategic hills mounted in the middle of that area, Tuan Marikudo chose to live where be pondered in deep solitude and tranquility the last reminiscences of his ebbing days. That chain of strategic hills which had served as a citadel and vanguard for Marikudo and his followers is now known as Marikudo Hills, the promontory over-looking the present Poblacion of Calinog and serving as a sort of Guardian Angel to the inhabitants residing therein. 

As fast as the Negriteos vacated the area, the Malays immediately followed them. To avoid conflict among his men in the occupancy of new areas. Datu Sumakwel, the most senior of the Malay headmen, assigned his henchman Lumakad to all the plains and hills along the Jalaur River, while to his warrior Dumara-ug was entrusted all the plains and hills along the Ulian River. However, due to the difficulties of communications and other natural hindrances, after an appreciable lapse of time, the followers and descendants of these two henchmen became rivals. The rivalry resulted in sporadic warfare between the two groups. By a stroke of providential romantic fortune, however, the two sons of Lumakad named Berlin and Lubos got enamored with and eventually married the two daughters of Dumara-ug bearing the indigenous but lovely names of  Maputing Dalaga and Ampaw. Thus, the Malays were once more unified to face formidable newcomers, the Spaniards. 

In the latter part of 1569, his top aides to transfer the Spanish stronghold from Cebu to Panay prevailed upon Legaspi. In fact, Legaspi himself visited the island (Panay) in 1570 and he indeed found it abound with abundant supply of provisions and favored with a strategic position to resisting the Portuguese invaders and other piratical marauders. He then formally established the second Spanish settlement and eventually started colonizing the island. It should be noted that there were about 250,000 people scattered among the different settlements when the Spaniards first came to Panay, and Hamtik (Antique) was already a flourishing settlement. Then Legaspi introduced the encomienda system, which was a system of land grants. The land grants were bestowed to the mercenary Spaniards and to some natives who cooperated to colonizing the new territories. Thus, the barangay system established by the Malays were supplemented, if not altogether modified, by the encomienda system and this system continued till the end of the Spanish regime. The Spaniards annexed settlements after settlements and one of the settlements falling into the hands of the new conquerors was Calinog. 

When the Spaniards first stepped in Calinog, they were amazed by its incomparable peacefulness. They asked the natives about the equivalent of "pacifico" (Spanish term for peaceful) in the local dialect. The answer of the natives was "Calinong". The Spaniards found it hard to articulate and pronounce the word "Calinong": so they started imitating the name in its abbreviated from and Castillan intonation. Hence the derivative name "Calinog" became the historical and official nomenclature of the locality. As soon as Calinog fell into the hands of the Spaniards, they organized the settlement by laying down the standard town planning in accordance with the Laws of the Indies. As prescribe in said laws, there must be a town plaza and around it is a site for the church, municipal tribunal, the public market, the school building and the common pasturelands. Besides the Catholic faith, the aesthetic and architectural ingenuity of the Spaniards is justifiably acknowledged for having laid out the pain of the present town site of Calinog quite unique to other towns.

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[ brief history ] [ location and accessibility ] [ political subdivision ] [ resource profile ]
[ demographic profile ] [ economic profile ] [ tourist facilities ]
[ infrastructure and utilities ]