The history of the municipality of Santa Barbara covers four centuries. The Agustinian Archives, Vols. 17-18, which records achievements of Agustinian missionaries in the Philippines, bares a historical note that as early as 1617, the missionaries attended to the spiritual ministration of a community or “pueblo” then known as Catmon.

Santa Barbara Church

The name was derived from a fruit-bearing tree that served as an imposing landmark in the vicinity. The place was a rich and fertile plain traversed by the Salug (now Tigum and Aganan Rivers) producing rice, corn, sugar, mongo and tobacco. During that time Catmon was only a “Visita Catmon” of the Jaro vicariate.

In 1760, Catmon was economically established as an independent parish, whose patroness was Santa Barbara, and the settlement, which was constituted into a “pueblo” was named after her. Its total population at that time was 15,094. In 1845, its inhabitants reached a total of 19,719 and covering an area, which are now the municipalities of Zarraga, New Lucena and a part Leganes and Pavia.

When revolution broke out in Luzon 1896, it did not spread immediately to Iloilo.  The Spanish authorities thought that they could keep the Ilonggos loyal to Spain. Governor-General Basilio Agustin organized the Volunteer Militia in Iloilo to enlist Ilonggos to fight the Tagalog rebels.

Being a “mestizo” and having occupied the highest office in this town, Martin T. Delgado was appointed commander of the “voluntaries” in Santa Barbara.  He and his men were given firearms.

Cry of Santa Barbara Marker

Unknown to the Spaniards, Delgado had already become a “revolucionario”.  On October 28, 1898 he publicly declared himself for the revolution and took the municipal building.  The Revolutionary Government of the Visayas was organized and on November 17, 1898 was formally inaugurated at the town plaza of Santa Barbara. A large crowd of people gathered from many places in Iloilo for the historic occasion.

The Filipino flag was raised for the first time outside Luzon. The Revolutionary Government Officials were inducted into office and presented to the people who loudly hailed them.

The officials of the Revolutionary Government were Roque Lopez, President; Vicente Franco, Vice President and Secretary of Interior; Venancio Concepcion, Secretary of Finance; Ramon Avanceña, Secretary of State; Jovito Yusay,  Secretary of Justice; Julio Hernandez, Secretary of War, Fernando Salas,  Secretary General. General Delgado was chosen General-In-Chief of the Revolutionary Forces.

Santa Barbara became the base of the Revolutionary Forces and from here Gen. Delgado launched the campaign to liberate the whole province that culminated in the surrender of Iloilo City by Governor-General de los Rios on December 24, 1898.

The victory against Spain was short-lived for the Filipino-American War followed. General Delgado led the same army against the Americans from 1899 to 1901. Because of the superiority of the enemy, Delgado was forced to surrender on February 2, 1901 at Jaro.

At the establishment of the civil government, Martin Delgado was appointed the first provincial governor of Iloilo and was elected to the same position in the first election held in 1903.  Santa Barbara became a town under the American regime and was incorporated into a municipality by the Commonwealth Government. 

The town began to progress.  Better roads and bridges were built that linked Santa Barbara to the city and other neighboring towns. The railway line between Iloilo and Capiz built in 1906 passes through the poblacion. The Santa Barbara Golf Course, the first in Asia, was established in 1907 by a group of Scott, English and American expatriates working in Iloilo City businesses.

Elementary education was enhanced with the establishment of the Santa Barbara Central School.  Later, this was made available to the barrio children with the construction of elementary schools in strategically located barrios. 

The Santa Barbara reservoir was finished in 1925. The two-irrigation system, the Tigum and Aganan irrigation systems gave boost to rice production. These were constructed in 1926.

World War II brought destruction to whatever little progress that was achieved during the Commonwealth period in Santa Barbara. Almost all of the buildings in the poblacion, both public and private were razed and leveled to the ground.

Only the Roman Catholic church and convent, the elementary school, the public market and a few residential houses were spared.  The Japanese utilized the elementary school building as garrison.

Life was hard for the residents of the poblacion.  The men were forced to work in the repair and maintenance of the Tiring Airfield in Barangay Tiring in the neighboring town of Cabatuan and the women and children at the cotton plantations along the riverbank. 

Able-bodied men and youths who escaped the forced-labor joined the Guerilla Movement and engaged the enemy in a hit-and-run warfare. The town was finally liberated from the Japanese in 1945 with the help of the Americans. Civil Government was restored. Soon after the war, Santa Barbara began rebuilding their homes and their lives. Being an agricultural area, concentration were on rice, corn, mongo, vegetables and tobacco production.

With the creation of the municipalities of Zarraga and New Lucena and the repossession by the municipalities of Leganes and Pavia of their former territories, its land area was further reduced to 7,750 hectares. Progress was quite slow.

Secondary education was given a boost with establishment of Santa Barbara High School in 1946. Barangay high schools were established in five strategically located barangays in the 1970s. Santa Barbara also became the pilot area in the experimental projects or programs of the government.  Notable among these are the community school concept, the experimentation on new and high yielding rice varieties and the Kabsaka (Kabusugan sa Kaumahan).

The period from 1960 to 1990 brought about some progress to the municipality. The network of barangay roads was constructed linking the barangays to poblacion. The national highway was asphalted and concreted during the mid-1980s. Transportation of farm products to marketing outlets in the poblacion and city was made easier.  The town was energized in March 20, 1977.

In agriculture, high yielding and early maturing rice varieties were introduced to the farmers.  Rain-fed areas realized two cropping of rice annually.  Irrigated areas enjoy three to four cropping.  But these rice varieties are very dependent on inorganic fertilizers and farm chemicals.

Due to the uncontrolled use of these farm chemicals, the native hito, mudfish, perch and snails, which were abundantly found in rice paddies and creeks before, are now vanishing.  Infestations of the Giant African Snails and kuhol were also experienced, hampering local rice production.

The sugar industry enjoyed a short period boom in the early 1970s and then as a result of the cut in the country’s sugar quota to the United States, it began to decline in the late 1970s and then faded out in the early 1980s.

Tight economic situation prevailed during and even continued up to the present years. Local professionals, maritime workers, skilled workers, domestic helpers and other workers seek employment in the U.S. and other countries to make life easier for their families.

The population of the municipality gradually increased during the period.  From its population of 23,458 in 1960, it grew to 37,730 in 1990 or an increase of 14,272 (60.84%) in the span of 30 years.

The last decade of the 20th century ushered in a new form of government units. The Local Government Code of 1991 or Republic Act 7160 took effect January 1992.  As a result of its implementation, the municipal government absorbed the devolved personnel of the departments of agriculture, health and social welfare assigned in the municipality and the other devolved functions of other national government agencies. The barangays and the municipality have their individual shares of the Internal Revenue Allotments from the National Government.

Together with the initiative and resourcefulness of the local government units, this local autonomy law envisions total development and progress to the nation starting from the barangays, municipalities and provinces.

Source:  Municipal Profile MPDO, Santa Barbara, Iloilo