| MUN. OF SAN MIGUEL |
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| MUN. OF SAN MIGUEL |
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The first seat of Poblacion of the municipality of San Miguel was in Fonda with its center of activities at Ermita. Ermita now becomes sitio Langca, Barangay San Jose. Wooden church was constructed for the people to gather on Sundays and holidays in this place. The church was halfway finished when the people decided to transfer the seat of poblacion at the ranch of Angoy. Here a little stone church was built and the plaza was laid out. When the church was completed the Archdiocese of Jaro decided to separate the parishes of Alimodian, Leon and San Miguel. So, three patron Saints were sent to three parish. They were St. Catherine de Aragon, St.. Thomas de Villanueva and St. Michael Archangel carried by carts drawn by carabaos. Upon arriving San Miguel, they decided to leave St. Thomas de Villanueva but the carabao carrying St. Michael Archangel will not continue his journey to Alimodian. No matter, how they beat and prod the animal to continue walking, St. Michael Archangel finally became its patron saint.
In 1805, a gang of sixty marauders and bandits under Maguaay ransacked the convent and the priest, Padre Nicholas de Concepcion was held at bay. Miraculously, Saint Michael, the patron Saint made an apparition who caused Magua-ay and his companion in state of terror and great commotion. Tan
Montoy from Alimodian saved the priest and eased the situation by filling Magua-ay and a number of his followers. Due to this happening, the place was tentatively named San Miguel instead of Angoy until in 1852 where it was officially named San Miguel under its first Capitan, Capitan Tiburcio Montaño.
San Miguel is strategically located in the western portion of Iloilo Province. It is bounded on the North by the Municipality of Maasin and Cabatuan, Sta. Barbara and Pavia on the Northeast: by the Municipality of Oton on the south, Iloilo City on the East; Alimodian on the West and Municipality of Leon and Tigbauan on the Southwest.San Miguel is seventeen (17) kilometers away from the City of Iloilo and it takes 25 minutes ride by car or private vehicles.
The municipality of San Miguel is composed of 24 barangays including 16 barangays in the poblacion created under PD 86 and 86 - A each headed by a barangay Captain. Every barangay has its own legislative body composed of six (6) councilmen, a secretary and a treasurer headed by barangay Captain himself.
Land Use
Topography
The Bureau of Coast and Geodetic survey topographic map of the municipality of San Miguel indicates very clearly the terrain of the town. The municipality of San Miguel topography is plain. It has no rolling hills. The whole terrain is plain with 28.6002 sq. km. of 0-3% slopes and only 1.5714 sw. km. of 3-8% slopes.
San Miguel has an irrigation system built in 1922 which diverts water from the Aganan River and distributed to irrigation canals which enable farmers to plant rice three times a year. The wide area, which is irrigated, is the whole barangay of San Jose.
Soil Types
Generally, soil texture of this municipality varies from heavy to light clay soils. Mostly all soil types have thicker top soil which favor the penetration of the roots of tropical crops. In the lowlands, especially areas near the Aganan River, which is flooded during heavy rains, contained great, quantities of fertile alluvial soil, which varies from clay to sandy loam. This soils can be found in barangay Igtambo, Sta. Cruz, Sto. Niño an parts of the Poblacion and barangay San Antonio.
Soils carried by the water from the highlands of Alimodian makes top soil of this area very fertile. There is no existing forest in the municipality of San Miguel and this is one of the causes of sudden flood during heavy rains and tropical storms.
Mostly, the soil consistency are usually sticky when wet. It absorbs and maintain plenty of moisture which favors lowland rice culture in the large area of the municipality. When dry season is long, cracks appear on the top soil. Soil color varies from light brown to black. Most of the soil in the municipality is clay loam soil.
The soil generally is suitable for agricultural crop and rice is the major product and root crops could be in some barangays where the Aganan River passes.
Agricultural
Rice is the priority crop planted followed by vegetables. Corn is the third priority crop. This includes white, ordinary yellow and green and other synthetic varieties like UPCA varieties DMR and BPI. These synthetic varieties was introduced in order to increase corn production in this municipality to met the demands for feeds and human consumption.
Tourist
Facilities
Sports
Utilities - At
present there's only one (1) existing sport facility in poblacion. That
is the basketball court located at the Plaza.