Town History

Minglanilla's recorded history began with the founding of the Parish in 1858 by Fr. Fernando Lopez. Prior to that it was part, first, of San Nicolas; then of Naga and finally, of Talisay before becoming a separate town itself.

Writing the town history before 1858 would be documenting the histories of the settlements in the place which preceded the town and that would eventually comprise the place.

Its history is entertwined with that of Talisay especialy in the areas that would later form part of the towns’ boundaries which is in the barrio of Linao.


Linao
Linao used to be just one barrio under Talisay before it was split into two. One under Minglanilla and another under Talisay. It was so huge that it reached even the elevated part in Pinggan river, far from the low lying center of the barrio where a body of water must had existed before from which the place draws its name.

During heavy rains these low-lying areas are inundated even until today. Water is a major presence that defined the history of the place. The Talisay portion of the barrio has plenty of water catchments and waterways to ensure that water would flow freely and gets diverted from the more heavily settled areas.

The town’s boundaries lie in the middle of rice paddies that for centuries didn’t know of any demarcation lines. There is a big structure to mark that boundary.

Various springs abound in Linao especially at the part  nearer to the sea. These springs make possible the irrigation of rice fields for centuries. Even in summer the rice paddies remain irrigated by the Kandayo spring, belonging to the Talisay portion of the area.

Agriculture was the major economic activity in Linao. Farming defined the people’s way of life for centuries. From farming rice and other crops, farmers were able to send their children to school becoming professionals. One family became known as family of contractors, a big leap from the family’s beginnings in farming.

Linao via Google Earth. The green area is the uninhabited part,
right side of a creek where floodwater flows when it rains .

Linao is more popularly known for this story of a Chinese frigate that sank there. It seems, from oral tradition, that the frigate navigated its way from the sea and into the inner waterways of Linao in order to make contact and trade with the natives. Tragedy struck the frigate as it was unable to navigate back into the sea. Unable to set sail as it was a windless day, the captain made his dog do a rain dance of sorts which for the natives was an act of sacrilege. Instead of wind alone, lightning, thunder and heavy rains came, inundating the place and sunked the frigate.

The barrio of Linao under Minglanilla was split into two barrios. In the early 1990s a small isolated coastal sitio named Tungkil became a barrio to step up its development and end years of isolation. All of Tungkil used to be land owned by the Alinos of Talisay. An Alino married Agustina who was a single mother when they married. Not blessed with any children, Agustina’s child before marriage became sole heir. From her descended the barangay’s present chief executive and Minglanilla ABC President, Manolo Delgado.

Agustina’s daughter married a lawyer, Atty. Delgado whose brainchild it was to subdivide the big property of the Alinos and sell it to the public. The subdivision, named Agustina Village was Tungkil’s first real estate development before it became home to the 8990 Corporation’s Deca Homes Subdivision and other real estate developments.

The hilly portion of Linao became more known as Lipata but the barangay council opted to stick to the old name Linao owing to the historical significance of the name.

A brackish pond in Calajoan

Tungkop
Another major settlement in Minglanilla was in Tungkop where the Spanish colonialists built a Bantayan sa Hari. Tungkop took its name from "tungko", a sitting position that the guards of Bantayan and the people who went to the place usually assumed while waiting for signs of Moro raiders. Of all the coastal barangays in Minglanilla, appears to be the oldest to have been settled by people. As a matter of fact, Tulay was once a part of Tungkop but was made into a separate barangay in the 1950s. 

Another coastal barangay, Calajoan was once a "katunggan" or marshland. We still see today remnants of the vast marshland. The marshes once extended up to the mouth of Pakigne river that separates Tungkil and Calajoan.


Parian connection
Minglanilla being part of Talisay before was also part of the Agustinian Friar Estate. During the foray of Parian Mestizos into the towns to look for land to farm, most of Minglanilla was owned by the family of Juan Velez and his wife Esperanza Velez y Paulin. Their properties include what is now Countryside Village and Kingswood Village in Linao, Belmont Village and VelPal Estate in Pakigne, Carmenville Subdivision and St. Joseph Subdivision in Tunghaan. (To be continued)