Libmanan


', officially the ', is a of the Philippines| in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people. The town is home to the Morales Ruins, a 1937 architectural Art Deco masterpiece in the heart of the historic town. The Art Deco building is reportedly designed by a Filipino national artist.

History

Libmanan was a bario of Quipayo in 1580 with the name of "Piglabanan". Records from a historian Mauro B. Avila, revealed that the municipality was named Libmanan on September 15, 1574. Missionaries started working in Libmanan in 1589 and the area's church was dedicated to St. James the Apostle. Several local stories hint as to the origin of the town’s name. One was that “ligmanan” means "a place surrounded with waterways". Another was Libangan since visitors forgot their former homes because they were said to be “na libang” or "enjoying themselves" - Libangan can also translate to "place of enjoyment". Another version was associated with the conditions during years of moro raids where area was called “Linabanan”, a battle ground. In the Old Spanish Records, Fray Paschual dela Cruz, writes the name of the town as "Libñanan" the Spanish way of pronouncing the word. The same Record also show that in 1823, Fray Francisco Valverde wrote it as "Libmanan" because it was easier to write and pronounce as well.
German ethnographer Fedor Jagor described visiting Libmanan in his 1875 work "Travels in the Philippines", wherein he visited the local parish priest and learned from him about an ancient human settlement that had been dug up in 1851 during road construction in the Poro area of the southwest close near the Tres Marias islands: the excavation consisted of "numerous remains of the early inhabitants—skulls, ribs, bones of men and animals, a child’s thighbone inserted in a spiral of brass wire, several stags’ horns, beautifully-formed dishes and vessels, some of them painted, probably of Chinese origin; striped bracelets, of a soft, gypseous, copper-red rock, gleaming as if they were varnished; small copper knives, but no iron utensils; and several broad flat stones bored through the middle; besides a wedge of petrified wood, embedded in a cleft branch of a tree."
During the occupation of their country by the United States, the Philippine Legislature greatly expanded the network of railroads throughout the island of Luzon, and a railway headed to the city of Legazpi, Albay and Naga, Camarines Sur was built through Libmanan to provide direct access to those cities. This railway was damaged severely during World War II, but partially restored using American funds thereafter, providing transportation service down the Bicol Peninsula off and on until ending in 2012 despite plans to rehabilitate the route. The historical Morales Ruins Art Deco masterpiece at the heart of the heritage town was built in 1937.
Even during the time of the Spaniards, the town of Libmanan was already considered the "rice basket" of the province. This generous production of rice is attributed to the fertile soil and the town's abundant water supply. In 1991 the area's irrigation canals were sufficient to water 2996 hectares of land during the dry season.

Important Dates & Events

Libmanan is a large municipality, one of the biggest in Camarines Sur. It stretched across nearly the whole width of the Bicol peninsula, from where it borders Cabusao Municipality on the San Miguel Bay all the way out to the Ragay Gulf, including three islands known locally as the 'tres Marias', including one island known as 'puro island'. The main town, or 'poblacion', is located along the Libmanan River on the lowland alluvial plain adjacent to Cabusao.
Heading to the southern coast from the poblacion the municipality becomes hilly. In this hilly region between the poblacion and the highway lies the Libmanan Caves National Park. Continuing on towards the coast from the hills, the municipality becomes truly mountainous beginning in Barangay Malinao beyond the Pan-Philippine Highway, where the "Boro-Boro Spring Resort" is located; a series of waterfalls that are a locally popular swimming destination. Beyond Malinao the upland region features the mountain 'Tancong Vaca' - in the local dialect meaning 'the cow's hump' - which is a local landmark visible from most locations on the Pan-Philippine Highway in western Camarines Sur and was a base of operations for local guerrillas fighting the Japanese during World War II. Up to the present day, the area around Tancong Vaca has remained an area of conflict between anti-government insurgents and the Philippine National Police.
The municipality's rural barangays lie behind Mount Tancong Vaca, and mostly lack access to paved roads, of which there is only one which terminates in the fishing village of Barangay Bahao, within sight of the tres Marias.

Climate

Barangays

Libmanan is politically subdivided into 75 barangays; five of which are located in the coastal areas and the remaining 70 barangays are distributed in the low land and upland portions of the municipality. Its town center, poblacion or centro, is away from the National Highway. The road leading to Poblacion and other major baranggays is marked by a memorial for the Ten Outstanding Young Men trophy awarded to a past mayor and local hero, Jose Bulaong.

Demographics

Religion

The religious needs of its people and those of neighboring towns prompted the erection of the Prelature of Libmanan in 1990 and installation the first bishop, Msgr. Prospero N. Arellano. On 25 March 2009 Pope Benedict XVI elevated the prelature to become a diocese with Bishop Jose Rojas Rojas becoming its first bishop.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines lists the following Catholic church parishes of Libmanan:
ParishBarangayFiesta Day
St. James the ApostleLibmanan CentroJuly 25
Our Lady of PillarSan IsidroOctober 12
St. Vincent FerrerSan VicenteApril 25
St. Anthony de PaduaMambulo Nuevo1st Tuesday of June

Economy

Libmanan, one of the largest and most populous municipality in the province, benefits from the transportation being offered by the Libmanan River, the railroad and the national highway. Though rail service through Libmanan no longer connects directly to Manila there are still commuter trips available bringing passengers to nearby Naga, Camarines Sur and the route that was reopened in 2015 bringing them all the way to Legazpi, Albay.
Generally, Libmanan soil is adapted for growing different agricultural products. Portions are also adopted to pottery-the making of which has been a local industry for centuries. Libmanan has been the “rice-basket” not only of the province but of Southern Luzon-even during the Spanish regime. In spite of problems encountered by rice farmers, Libmanan maintains its status of being the rice granary of the province.

Heritage

The town possess one of the most important cultural examples of ancestral houses in western Camarines Sur. Among these architectural marvels are the 1920s municipal hall building with its arcade-embellished facade, the 1875 Dilanco House which is the oldest structure in the town and was home to three former municipal mayors, the 1937 Morales Ruins which is the most culturally-important Art Deco building in the town, the Nacieno House which is another Art Deco ancestral house, and the 1926 Jaucian House. Most heritage houses in the town have already been abandoned, including the Morales Ruins, Nacieno House, and the Dilanco House. In 2013, a campaign was administered by some locals to transform the Morales Ruins into a municipal museum, along with other heritage houses in the town to spur a heritage-based tourism industry and to conserve the remaining immovable cultural heritage of the town.

List of former Executives of Libmanan

DatesName
1732-1755Capt. Josep Domingo Ramos
1756-1758Capt. Feipe Medina
1759-1760:Capt. Jose Guevarra
1761Capt. Sebastian De la Cruz
1762-1763Capt. Pascual de Lajor
1764Capt. Luis Arambulo
1765Capt. Francisco Severo
1766Capt. Pedro Simon
1767-1768Capt. Miguel Damiano
1769Capt. Antonio De Leon
1770-1771Capt. Domingo De la Concepcion
1772Capt. Francisco Catimbang
1773Capt. Francisco Del Llagas
1774-1777Capt. Domingo De la Cruz
1778Capt. Francisco Del Llagas
1779Capt. Matias Cabanos
1780Capt. Antonio De Leon
1781Capt. Miguel Damiano
1782Capt. Matias Cabanos
1783Capt. Antonio De Leon
1784Capt. Domingo De la Concepcion
1785Capt. Victorino Simon
1786Capt. Pedro Gonzales
1787Capt. Tomas Baldesoto
1788Capt. Domingo De la Concepcion
1789Capt. Luis Arambulo
1790Capt. Domingo De la Concepcion
1791Capt. Nicholas Tolentino
1792Capt. Victorino Simon
1793Capt. Francisco Del Llagas
1794Capt. Juan De la Cruz
1795-1796Capt. Mateo De la Concepcion
1797Capt. Miguel De la Concepcion
1798Capt. Marcelino De la Trinidad
1799Capt. Pedro Baldesoto
1800Capt. Francisco Espiritu
1801Capt. Clemente Eugenio
1802Capt. Francisco del Llagas
1803Capt. Juan San Antonio
1804Capt. Luis Balaguer
1805Capt. Melchor de los Reyes
1806Capt. Francisco del Llagas
1807Capt. Mariano de los Nieves
1808Capt. Juan San Antonio
1809Capt. Santiago Arambulo
1810Capt. Melchor de los Reyes
1811Capt. Tomas de la Soledad
1812Capt. Fabiano de Galicia
1813Capt. Esteban Anunciacion
1814Capt. Juan Ramirez
1815Capt. Antonio San Pascual
1816Capt. Miguel Juliano Francisco
1817Capt. Jose del Puerto
1818Capt. Francisco Santa Maria
1819Capt. Pedro Alcantara
1820Capt. Pedro Sabino
1821Capt. Ambrosio de la Cruz
1822Capt. Francisco Custudio
1823Capt. Placido Anunciacion
1824Capt. Matias Manga
1825Capt. Maximo Fernandez
1826Capt. Augustin Tolentino
1827Capt. Placido Anunciacion
1828Capt. Pedro San Pablo Alcantara
1829Capt. Maximo Fernandez
1830Capt. Mariano Villanueva
1831Capt. Vicente Cabanos
1832Capt. Ludovico Lopez
1833Capt. Martin Gonzales
1834Capt. Carlos de los Santos
1835Capt. Andres Espiritu
1836Capt. Pater de Avila
1837Capt. Hilario Domingo
1838Capt. Santiago Aguirre
1839-1840Capt. Maximo Hernandez
1841Capt. Luis Alcantara
1842Capt. Sebastian Baldesoto
1843Capt. Placido Anunciacion
1844Capt. Francisco Espiritu
1845Capt. Marianon Natividad
1846Capt. Isidro Archangel
1847Capt. Rufino Nacianceno
1848Capt. Anacleto de los Santos
1849Capt. Facundo del Pascual
1850Capt. Francisco Gonzales

Education

The Department of Education lists the following schools for Libmanan:
;Tertiary
;Secondary
;Intermediate