:: Municipality of Laua-an ::
There is no written record or history of the origin as well as the name given to this municipality of Laua�an, but the data supplied herein were gathered from reliable sources. They were handed down from generation to generation in the form of traditional stories from forefathers who pioneered in this part of Antique. Here's how the legendary settlement of Laua-an took place.
Alejo Baldestamon, the last Capitan del Pueblo of the Spanish regime has revealed this history of Laua�an. He said that in the early days of man, there were already inhabitants in what is now the Laua-an Poblacion. From the source of a deep brook, found in the northern part of the poblacion, is the giant tree called LAWA-AN. This deep brook was navigable by sailboats at that time. Seafarers, who wanted to take shelter from the strong winds and storms that usually hit the province during the rainy season, always sail up the river to anchor along its quiet and calm banks. These seafarers, who came from the nearby islands of Caluya, Semirara, Maningning and Batbatan were the first persons to call the place Laua-an after the name of that lawa-an tree found in that brook.
In those early days, a strong-intensity earthquake struck this place. The resulting tremors caused the church bells to ring and the household furnitures to move from side to side. When the rainy season began that year, the people were greatly amazed at the sight of a waist-deep silt that gradually covered the river basin until the once famous inland harbor could not even be passable by a banca (native canoe). From that time on, the brook could no longer be used for navigation but the name of the brook stuck in the minds of the people up to this day.
Likewise, in those early days, this settlement was frequently raided by moro pirates. To defend themselves the people constructed stone towers they called �KOTA� from which a lookout could watch for oncoming raids. The �RONDAS� also used trenches to defend themselves. Most of the stone-tower trenches were built near the shore which offered a commanding view of the sea lanes.
During the early days of the Spanish colonization of the islands, the first recorded local executives were called Teniente Encargados. Records of the Teniente Encargado started from the year 1702 up to 1855. Later on, the Local Chief Executive was called Capitanes del Pueblo. These were likewise recorded from the year 1865 until the year 1898 when the Spanish Regime ended. Unfortunately, however, at the close of the Spanish era, another Western colonizer took over and the Philippines, once again, became a colony of a western power.
Before the Spanish-American war, Laua-an was already a Pueblo. Barbaza, like Laua-an, had also an independent seat of government but when the Filipino-American war ensued, the American Army burned the Municipal Building (Casa) and Barbaza lost its identity as a municipality. Therefore, when the first Census was taken, Barbaza, accidentally, became an integral part of Laua-an.
TAN LUIS SARMIENTO became the first Municipal President of Laua-an. When he sought reelection, he was defeated by TAN JUSTIANO BARRIENTOS of Barbaza. The majority of winning officials also came from Barbaza. The winning officials then passed a resolution to transfer the seat of municipal government from the poblacion of Laua-an to the arrabal of Barbaza. It was agreed among the winning and losing participants in the election that the seat of government would be transferred back to Laua-an should a candidate from Laua-an win the next election.
Consequently, during that period the famous Gabaldon Law was approved by the U.S. Congress and the U.S. aid in the form of building materials intended for the municipality of Laua�an were instead constructed in Barbaza rather than in Laua-an. This was due to the passage of the Municipal Council of a resolution to construct the building in the arrabal of Barbaza. This tyranny of numbers was disliked by the residents of Guisijan and Laua-an. They filed a petition before the Governor General Wood to separate Barbaza from Laua-an to avoid further political turmoil.
Upon proper representation by TAN LUIS SARMIENTO before the Governor General, Barbaza was separated immediately from Laua-an when he returned from Manila. During the same year, TAN LUIS SARMIENTO was elected again as Municipal President and assumed office in 1912 for the second time.
(Reprinted from the Binirayan 2000 Souvenir Magazine)
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