HISTORY OF MAGALLANES
Magallanes
began its history as a barrio called Panitan, then a
part of the
The first inhabitants of Panitan were Isidro Baltao, Glicerio Manalo, Florentino Mojica, and Ignacio Arat. Time came when the people, tired of travelling the long distance to the poblacion
of Maragondon, decided to seek the separation of the
barrio and its conversion into an independent municipality. Isidro Balto headed a three-man delegation to
While still in Manila Baltao and his companions were walking along the paved
streets of Intramuros when they came upon
As in most towns in the
Barrio Panitan,
renamed Magallanes, became an independent
municipality on
In 1904 the town of
TOWN HEADS OF MAGALLANES
The following is a list of town heads
of Magallanes since it became a municipality:
GOBERNADORCILLOS: (1) Anastacio Diones,
1880-1881; (2) Ciriaco Rillo,
1881-1882; (3) Braulio Mendoza (teniente
primero), 1882; (4) Benito Bello,
1883-1884; (5) ----------------------; (6) Juan Bello,
1887-1888; (7) Luis Rillo, 1888-1889; (8) Modesto Cuajunco, 1890-1891; and (9) Juan Bello,
1892-1893.
CAPITANES MUNICIPAL: (1) Juan Bello, 1894-1897; (2) Pastor Bilugan,
1897-1898; and (3) Juan Bello, 1898-1900.
MUNICIPAL PRESIDENTS: (1)
MUNICIPAL MAYORS: (1) Maximo Linantud, 1935-1937; (2)
Felipe Espineli, 1938-1940; (3) Felipe Espineli, 1941-1943, (4) Benvenuto
Espineli (acting), 1944-1945; (5) Gregorio Asuncion, ditto,
1946; (6) Calixto Espineli,
ditto, 1947; (7) Benvenuto Espineli
(elected), 1948-1950; (8) Benvenuto Espineli, 1951-1955; (9) Mariano de Raya,
1956-1959; (10) Mariano de Raya, (1960-1962; (11)
Juan Ramos (Acting), 1962-1963; (12) Anatolio Reyes
(elected), 1964-1967; (13) Felipe Custodio (Acting),
(1967); (14) Anatolio Reyes (elected), 1967-1969,
(15) Napoleon Beratio (acting), 1969-1970; (16) Anatolio Reyes (elected), 1970-1972; (17) Efinito Beltran, 1972-1980; and (18) Napoleon Beratio (elected), 1980
SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE
Although the main source of livelihood
in Magallanes is agriculture, it is evident that
there has been a shift in emphasis from rice farming to coffee production
because of the growing market demand for coffee. This is revealed in a study
made by the Provincial Development Staff at
However, there is a large deficit in
livestock and poultry production, which has been relegated to a backyard
industry. To solve this problem there is need to encourage the establishment of
livestock and poultry farms on a commercial scale. The local development plan
calls for the introduction of high-yielding breeds and the conversion of idle
lands into grazing pastures.
Magallanes
has a potential labor force of 5,066 or 52.3 per cent of the total population.
However, only 2,725 or 54 per cent of this number are economically active. The
town has also a low unemployment rate of 3.7 per cent with only 100 of this
labor force listed a unemployed. The existence of
large and productive agricultural lands offers a wide variety of economic
activities. The agricultural sector absorbs as much as 82 per cent of the labor
force, while the service sector comprising teachers and government employees
and workers account for only 15.6 per cent. A negligible 2.4 per cent are
absorbed by the manufacturing, transportation and other commercial industries.
In 1980 the municipality’s 2,250
families with an average of four members per family, earned a total of P
17,992,882, showing an average family income of P 7,997.00. About 71.9 per cent
of the number belonged to the low group while 24.1 per cent comprised the
middle class group. Only about 4 per cent of the population constituted the
high income group. About 54 per cent or 1,223 families fall below the food
threshold of P 5,272.86 and 1,781 or 79 per cent were below the total threshold
of P 9,895.87.
The 1980 economic survey shows that
the municipality had 2,043 households occupying 2,015 dwelling units, or a
slight shortage of 28 housing units. Majority of the dwellings were of strong
materials, including wood, galvanized iron, and concrete. The large percentage
of houses using concrete may be due to the presence of a large gravel deposit
comprising more that 300 hectares located in barangays
Ramirez and Urdaneta. Plans for its
development is now under study by the provincial government coordination
with the Bureau of Mines.
In terms of health and sanitation Magallanes is deficient in health personnel and facilities.
It lacks one doctor, one nurse, one dentist and two barangay
health stations. The low awareness of proper sanitation and nutrition among the
people, especially those of the lower class, aggravates the present health
condition in the municipality.
Transportation within and outside the
town is mainly by buses and jeepneys. The road
network is quite poor. It has approximately 77.639 kilometers of road, 43.922
kilometers being classified as primary, 19.217 secondary, and 15.500 tertiary road. It has one national road with a length of 22.35
kilometers, one provincial road extending 0.263 kilometer, eight municipal
roads with a total length of 3.026 kilometers, and 18 barangay
roads totalling 52 kilometers.
Only the poblacion
is served with electricity by the CEDA (Communications and Electricity
Development Authority), and the barrios depend on oil, gas, and kerosene lamps.
There is no piped water system in the municipality. In the poblacion
water supply comes from deep wells driven by electric pumps. Artesian wells,
open wells, and springs comprise the common source of potable water for the
rural areas.
Population growth is relatively low in
Magallanes due to outmigration.
The lack of employment and educational opportunities has caused the skilled
workers to settle elsewhere.