HISTORY
Vigan is a city located in the northwestern part of the Philippines. It is the third oldest settlement established by the Spanish Colonizers in the 16th century.
Vigan was an important coastal trading post in pre-colonial times. Long before the Spanish galleons came, Chinese junks sailed from the South China Sea to Isla de Bigan through the Mestizo River. Sea-faring merchants came to barter exotic goods from Asian Kingdoms in exchange for gold, beeswax, and other mountain products from the Cordilleras. Immigrants, mostly Chinese, settled in Vigan, intermarried with the natives and started the multi-cultural bloodline of the Bigueños.
In 1572, King Philip II sent Capitan Juan de Salcedo with about 80 soldiers to explore the coast of Los Ylocanos that sailed from Manila on May 20, 1572 and arrived in Vigan on June 12, 1572.
Thus, after the successful expedition and exploration of the North, Don Juan de Salcedo founded “Villa Fernandina de Vigan” in honor of King Philip‟s son, Prince Ferdinand who died at an early age of four.
As a reward for his services to the King, Salcedo was awarded the whole province of Ylocos, which then composed of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, La Union and some parts of Mountain Province as his Encomienda and was accorded the title as Justicia Mayor de esta Provincia de Ylocos.
In January 1574, Salcedo returned to the capital of his Encomienda, Vigan, bringing with him some Augustinian Missionaries to pioneer the evangelization of Ylocos and established a Spanish city, for the purpose of controlling the neighboring countries.
ETYMOLOGY: HOW THE CITY GOT ITS NAME
There are two tales of how Vigan got its name. The first is that Vigan is a conjugation of two Chinese words; ‘bi’ meaning beautiful and ‘gan’ meaning shore. For centuries, gold dust from the Cordillera Mountains is carried by the strong current of the great Abra River and is deposited along the shoreline, so when Chinese merchants would approach the island, especially on a moonlight night, the merchants would see the sparkle of the gold dust along the shoreline, and would exclaim “Bi-gan”, meaning beautiful shore!
Another tale tells the story of how upon Salcedo’s arrival in Vigan he asked a native what the name of the place was. As Salcedo spoke in Spanish, the native could not understand
the words he was saying. Salcedo, however, was pointing at the ground, and the native thought that he was actually asking for the name of the vegetation planted on the ground. He, thereupon, said, “biga apo” referring to a tuber plant from the gabi or taro family. From then on, the Spaniards named the place Bigan.
THE BIRTH OF THE DIOCESE OF NUEVA SEGOVIA AND CIUDAD FERNANDINA DE
VIGAN
The Episcopal See of Manila was erected by Pope Gregory XVIII with the publication of his Bull Fulti Praesidio on December 21, 1581. It was elevated into a Metropolitan Church
on August 14, 1595, through the Bull of erection of Pope Clement VIII with the Diocese of Santisimo Nombre de Jesus in Cebu, the Diocese of Nueva Caceres in Vigan, and the Diocese of Nueva Segovia in Lallo, Cagayan as its suffrage.
The Bull of Pope Clement VIII likewise elevated the seat of the four dioceses including Lallo, Cagayan to the dignity of a city as the center of evangelization in their respective territories. For 160 years from 1595 to 1758, all the Bishops of the Diocese of Nueva Segovia in Lallo Cagayan, starting with Fray Miguel Benavides to Fray Diego de Soria preferred to stay in Vigan due to the deteriorating condition of Lallo at that time. Malaria was endemic to the place and was constantly flooded during the rainy season. The Rio Grande de Cagayan was eroding and destroying the site of the Diocese leading to a progressive decay of the town.
In sharp contrast, Vigan, during the same period, was a flourishing Spanish settlement nearer to Manila. It was fast developing into the center of Spanish influence and politico-economic power in the north. When Don Juan de la Fuentes de Yepes became Bishop of Nueva Segovia in 1755, he requested the King of Spain and the Pope the transfer of the Diocese from Lallo, Cagayan to Vigan, which was at the height of its progress as center of religious, commercial and socio-cultural activities.
He summoned three former Alcalde Mayores: Don Maximino Ballero of Vigan, Don Juan Antonio Panelo of Pangasinan, and Don Francisco Ledem of Cagayan to testify and give their support of the requested transfer of the Diocese. Aside from the former Alcalde Mayores, Bishop Yepes also solicited the favorable endorsement of Fray Bernardo Ustaris of the Dominican Order and Fray Manuel Carillo of the Augustinians.
The transfer of the Seat of the Diocese of Nueva Segovia from Lallo, Cagayan to Vigan was formally approved during the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XIV, during the reign of Fernando VI, King of Spain by virtue of the Royal Decree of September 7, 1758. By this Royal Decree, Villa Fernandina which became the new seat of the Diocese, automatically elevated its status as a city known as Ciudad Fernandina de Vigan in honor of the then-current King of Spain.
By 1764, there were already 21 Sitios or Barangays in Vigan as mentioned by Padre Pedro de Vivar in the document entitled as “Relacion de los Alzamientos de la Ciudad de Vigan, Cavesera de la Provincia de Ylocos en los Años 1762 y 1763.”
In 1803, Ciudad Fernandina de Vigan had a population of 10,585 souls with 1,966 paying tributes. The natives worked on agricultural lands and the mestizos engaged in business with other provinces including Manila. The mestizos played a very important role in the progress and prosperity of the city of Vigan.
The Chinese in Vigan on the other hand settled in a place called “Pariancillo” while in Manila they were in “Parian”. With their talent and knowledge in business as well as their skills and mastery of the art of manufacturing, the Chinese became rich and powerful in society. They opened a business in the heart of Vigan, employed the naturales, intermarried with the natives and mestizos of Vigan, and as time passed by; they rose into the class of the elite. They triggered a business boom in the community and engaged in domestic and foreign trade. They exported indigo, lime, maguey, basi, jars, tobacco, woven cloth called abel, and other local products to Europe, China, Borneo, and Malaysia. As a consequence of this business boom, there was a marked change in the lifestyle of the inhabitants.
Found in the Philippine Archives in Manila is a report in 1870 describing Vigan, the place. West of the cathedral is the Casa Real and the monument of Salcedo, north of the cathedral is a small house, and south of the cathedral is the Seminary. West of the Seminary were the hacienda publica, barracks of the Carabineros and the Ayuntamiento Municipal.
To further justify the category of Vigan as a city are the documents from “Instituto de Historia Programa de Modernization del Archivo Nacional de Filipinas” that describes that Vigan has its own carcel, casa de gobierno, mercado publico, Provincial High Court and one the only four (4) Public Works District in the entire Island of Luzon. More importantly, it has an Audiencia Territorial, an implicit indication that it was a City.
Today the City Government of Vigan is the repository of a certified true copy of the Royal Decree issued by King Fernando VI. It states among others, that so long as the cathedral stands and the seat of the diocese is in Vigan, it will always remain as a city.
REVOLTS AND SOCIAL UNREST
Being the nucleus of religious, economic, political, social, commercial and cultural activities in the north for more than three centuries, Vigan became a hotbed of social unrest. The social inequity of caciquism and landlordism, the imposition of unfair tributes and other taxes on the natives, the abuses of foreign friars and civil administrators, the demand for free labor in the construction of civil and religious infrastructure, monopolies in some local industries, and the continued infringement on the rights of the citizens provoked the natives to revolt against established authorities.
In 1762, Diego Silang, the first Filipino emancipator led the famous Ilocano Revolt against the collection of exorbitant tributes and the imposition of a monopoly on provincial commerce by the Alcalde Mayor and the “babaknangs” of Vigan. The revolt coincided with the short-lived British occupation of Manila. After Diego Silang was assassinated on May 28, 1763, his wife, Gabriela Silang, took over as leader of the uprising until she was captured and hanged publicly in Vigan four months later. She was later extolled as the Filipino Joan of Arc and the first woman to lead a revolt in the Islands.
In 1817, the civil government imposed a monopoly forbidding the Ilocanos to brew “basi” the sugarcane wine compelling them to buy the product from government-controlled stores. In September of that year, Ambaristo led a popular uprising until they were caught and summarily executed along the banks of the Bantaoay River in the neighboring town of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.
To warn the restless natives against any future attempts to overthrow the colonial government, a series of paintings were commissioned. In 1821, fourteen oil paintings measuring 91.44 by 91.44 centimeters each were produced by a Vigan-born painter named Esteban Pichay Villanueva (1797-1878).
Retelling the Basi Revolt from the Spanish colonial viewpoint, the fourteen paintings echo the via crucis or way of the cross paintings in churches. According to art historian Santiago Pilar, the paintings, in sequence show the following scenes: (1) Alcalde Mayor Juan Ybanez and local troops at vigil; (2) Ybanez calls the chiefs of Bantay, San Vicente, and Santa Catalina; (3) Chiefs of Candon and Santiago are reprimanded for tardiness; (4) Rebels of Ilocos Norte march to Ilocos Sur; (5) Troops sent to confront the rebels; (6) An arrested rebel dies of lashing; (7) Vigan troops are sent to repel the enemies; (8) Natives flee to Bantay Church; (9) Bloody battle is wage at Bantaoay; (10) Dead rebels are buried; (11) Victory comes on September 7, 1807; (12) Convicts are brought to the gallows; (13) Rebel leaders are hanged; (14) The condemned are decapitated.
Villanueva’s style is naïve. The figures appear two-dimensional, and follow the hierarchical perspective (the government officials are larger than the farmers on the same plane). According to Pilar, Villanueva did not take formal lessons in an established artistic tradition. He derived artistic devices in his environment. He stylized clouds in the manner of carved images.
The Basi Revolt paintings are important, not only because they chronicle, albeit rather prejudicially, a milestone in the Filipino struggle for freedom. The fourteen panels are important also because they are some of the finest examples of a particular stage in the development of paintings in the Philippines. Before the time of Villanueva, subjects for paintings were predominantly religious in nature. It was only in the 19th century that non-religious subjects became popular. Today, the Basi Revolt paintings are on display at the Vigan branch of the National Museum, inside the ancestral house of Padre Jose Burgos.
The Edict of Governor General Narciso Claveria in 1847 required all inhabitants of the Philippines to adopt surnames to facilitate the collection of taxes. Being the capital town, the “naturales” or natives in Vigan were required to adopt surnames beginning with the letter “A” while the mestizos with the letter “F”. In the case of the De Leon, Dela Cruz, Prudencio, Donato and Del Rosario families, each added another surname beginning with the letter “F”. Thus, Faz de Leon, Filar dela Cruz, but later dropped the dela Cruz and added the “T” to Filart, Foz Prudencio, Ferre Donato, and Fino del Rosario. It was also during this period that the influential Mariano family changed their surname to Formoso.
As early as 1890, the prominent families of Vigan were quick to support the revolutionary movement of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo against the Spaniards. Aguinaldo finally captured Vigan in 1896 making the Archbishop’s palace as the province’s revolutionary headquarters during the first phase of the Philippine revolution. General Tinio arrived in Vigan in 1898 to drive all Spaniards out of Ylocos. Finally, on August 13, 1898, the Filipino flag was raised on top of the Archbishop‟s palace for the first time in 325 years. Vigan and the rest of the Ylocos region were left completely in Filipino hands.
But in the same year, the Dewey squadron sank the entire Spanish fleet in Manila Bay. The Spanish-American War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which ceded the Philippines to the victorious Americans. This precipitated the Philippine-American War, which was announced in Vigan with the ringing of the bells. The Ilocos, under the leadership of Gen. Tinio, the brothers Blas and Juan Villamor, and Bishop Gregorio Aglipay became the last bastion of defense against the incoming American forces until the US 45th Infantry under Col. James Parker captured Vigan on December 4, 1899.
In the fight against the Americans, the Katipunan movement was very much alive in Vigan. According to William Henry Scott – Ilocano Responses to American Aggression, 1900-1901, The Calvo family was associated with the family of Estanislao delos Reyes in a supply network which served Filipino forces from his mother’s house for more than a year before it was discovered and broken-up. Five feisty females operated it: Eleuteria Florentino, Salome Reyes, Lucia del Rosario, Conching Calvo and Carmen delos Reyes. They were arrested for “communicating with and giving aid and comfort to the insurgents and shipped to Fort Santiago in Manila on 18 February 1901. Eleuteria was Estanislao’s widowed mother whom “Dangadang” (Struggle) called “Capitana Teriang”. At the time of her death 30 years later, she was compared to Balintawak’s Tandang Sora.
This family alliance, whose members occupy so much space in Vigan’s list of “names of natives connected with the insurgent government”, was based on the marriage of two Reyes brothers with two Florentino sisters and illustrates the sort of family solidarity which supported men in the field. The revolutionists finally surrendered to the Americans in February 1901. The Americans established a civil government on September 1, 1901, with Mena Crisologo as the first provincial governor. Ironically, Mena Crisologo was the husband of Felipa Florentino, Eleuteria’s elder sister.
MIRACLE DURING THE LIBERATION PERIOD
A miracle actually saved the town of Vigan during the last days of the Japanese occupation. As part of their military strategy at the end of the war, the Japanese were ordered to burn and completely destroy occupied zones before the withdrawal. On the eve of their departure from Vigan, the Japanese Military Commander, Captain Fujiro Takahashi, pleaded with the SVD procurator of the Vigan Seminary, Fr. Joseph Kleikamp,
to take custody of the Japanese officer’s Filipino wife and their loved children. The priest agreed on the condition that Takahashi and his men would leave Vigan without burning the town to prevent the town folks from seeking revenge on his family. (At that time, drums of gasoline were already strategically stored at the town plaza, ready to be used in burning the town). Takahashi agreed and left with his troops during the night.
The following morning, the people of Vigan discovered that the Japanese had left peacefully. They immediately spread an oversized American flag at the plaza forestalling the planned bombing by the Americans to flush out the Japanese forces. Thus, Vigan miraculously escaped total destruction, a misfortune that befell other colonial cities like Cebu and Intramuros in Manila.
POST-WAR PERIOD
The Philippines was fully liberated from the Japanese on July 1, 1946. The Japanese lost in all, 409,267 troops were killed and only 9,744 were taken as prisoners. American losses were 11,921 killed, 401 missing and 42,569 wounded or a total of 54,891. The ratio was 8 to 1. Over a million Filipinos, military, and civilians were killed and the overall property damage in the Philippines was estimated to be around 16 billion pesos.
When the Japanese left Vigan on January 9, 1945, Dr. Gregorio Favis, the Japanese-appointed mayor, went into hiding for fear of being caught by the guerillas. Late in March 1947, Dr. Favis and Remedios Donato, his chief of police, were captured in Narvacan by the guerillas. They were tortured and executed at the outpost of the USAFE-NL “M” company near the junction of the national highway in Narvacan leading to Abra.
President Roxas succumbed to a heart attack while delivering a speech at Clark Air Field on April 16, 1948, and his Vice President, Elpidio Quirino assumed office as the 2nd President of the Republic. President Quirino was born in the building which housed the Provincial Jail in Vigan because his father was then the prison warden. He became the first Ilocano President and will long be remembered as the architect of the country’s foreign policy and for implementing the total economic mobilization program to rehabilitate a ravaged country just after the war. Because of his negative stand on the retention of the American bases in the Philippines, the CIA mounted a vicious propaganda campaign against him to prevent his bid for the presidency in the upcoming election so that he could not continue as President in 1954 when the review of the bases agreement was to be resumed. He lost the Presidential election to Ramon Magsaysay, his Secretary of National Defense, in the national elections in 1953.
In the 1960s, the planting of tobacco was introduced as a new cash crop in the Province of Ilocos Sur. While it became a means of livelihood for many residents, it also became the reason for greed, instability, and abuses of political private armies triggering an outmigration of local businessmen and ancestral homeowners. The old historic district virtually became a ghost town, traditional industries that fueled Vigan’s economy were threatened with extinction. The burning of two barrios in the neighboring town of Bantay gained Ilocos Sur and her capital, Vigan, the notoriety as a warlord country.
The hand of fate wrote an unforgettable line in the history of Vigan when Congressman Floro Crisologo was assassinated inside the St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral on October 18, 1970 during the 4:00 PM mass. Following the death of the family Patriarch, the political leadership of the Crisologos ended on November 8, 1971, with the election of the Singson brothers – Luis as governor of Ilocos Sur and the elder Evaristo “Titong” II as Mayor of Vigan.
TOWARDS THE NEW MILLENIUM
In 1995, Mayor Eva Marie S. Medina assumed the reins of the local government of Vigan.
The focus of her administration was to develop the community into a locality that takes pride in its heritage as a tool for development. With a fresh mandate, the new officials led a reinvigorated citizenry towards transformation. The Medina administration made sure that the fundamentals of good governance would be laid in place. Three of its greatest milestones are the inscription of Vigan in the UNESCO World Heritage List of Sites and Monuments on December 2, 1999; the Restoration of her status as a City with the passage by Congress of RA 8988, ratified by the Bigueños with an overwhelming Yes votes in the plebiscite on January 22, 2001, and becoming one of the New 7 Wonder Cities of the World on December 8, 2014. Equipped with optimism, the commitment to serve, and the resolve to bring forth better things for the people of Vigan, the first lady chief executive led her team to make Vigan what it is today.
Demographic Profile
Geographical Location, Land Area and Political Subdivision
Vigan, the capital city of the Province of Ilocos Sur, is situated along the western coast of Northern Luzon. It is bounded on the north by the Municipality of Bantay; on the east by the Municipality of Santa; on the south by the Municipality of Caoayan; on the west by the Municipality of Sta. Catalina; and on the southwest by the West Philippine Sea. It is approximately 408 kilometers from Manila, 80 km. from Laoag City, and 139 km. from San Fernando, La Union.
The City has a total land area of 2,886.09 hectares. It is divided into 39 barangays, of which nine are poblacion barangays and 30 are rural barangays. Barangay Salindeg has the largest land area with 350.16 hectares while the smallest is Barangay V with 6.75 hectares.
The city is accessible through different modes of transportation such as private vehicles and buses. Vigan City has bus terminals located in the public market. These are bound to Metro Manila, Laoag City, Baguio City, and vice versa. Aside from land transportation, there is also an existing Vigan City Airport with only limited number of plane trips.
Population Distribution
As of May 1, 2020, the population of the City of Vigan, Ilocos Sur, was reported to be 53,935 according to the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH) conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority. This figure corresponds to approximately 7.64 percent of Ilocos Sur’s total population in 2020.
Analyzing this population data in comparison to previous census figures reveals some noteworthy trends. The 2020 population of 53,935 is 56 individuals higher than the count in 2015, which stood at 53,879. Furthermore, it reflects an increase of 4,188 individuals compared to the population recorded in 2010, which was 49,747. This data suggests that the population of Vigan experienced a relatively modest annual growth rate of 0.02 percent between 2015 and 2020. In contrast, the population growth rate from 2010 to 2015 was notably higher at 1.53 percent.
When examining the demographic distribution within the city at the barangay level, it becomes evident that Barangay Ayusan Norte had the largest population in 2020, totalling 3,526 residents. Following closely behind were Barangay Tamag, with 3,380 residents, and Barangay Fatima, with 3,156 residents.
Conversely, Barangays Barraca, I, and II reported the lowest populations in the same year, with 294, 393, and 473 residents, respectively.
With a total land area of approximately 25.12 square kilometers, the population density of Vigan City in 2020 was reported at 2,147 persons per square kilometer. This represents a slight increase of 2 persons per square kilometer from the population density of 2,145 persons per square kilometer in 2015. In 2010, there were 1,980 persons residing in every square kilometer of land in the city.
The City of Vigan posted an average household size (AHS) of 4.2 in 2020. In 2015, it posted a higher AHS of 4.5 persons per household. The AHS in 2010 was posted at 4.5 persons per household also. Thus the household population in Vigan City in 2020 is higher by 303 persons compared with the household population of 53,015 in 2015, higher also by 3,859 persons compared with the 49,459 household population in 2010.
Population Composition
In 2020, 49.18% of the City’s total population were males while 50.82% were females. It translates to a ratio of 98 males for every 100 females.
In terms of age group, 67.91% of the population falls under the working-age group with ages 15 to 65 years old. The remaining population are the young dependents comprising 26.06% and the old dependents with 6.03%. Hence, the dependency ratio for Vigan City is 2 productive to 1 dependent person.
Topography
The topography of Vigan City is generally level with several hills in barangays Tamag, Bulala, and Salindeg that sometimes reach about 50 meters in elevation and has a slope ranging from 3º to 8º. In addition, the relief of Vigan-Bantay plain is actively level to undulating with slopes ranging from 0º to 8º.
In the eastern margin of the Vigan-Bantay plain, it is characterized by steep to very steep slopes ranging from 40º to 60º. It often reaches an elevation of more than 600 meters, especially in the northern and eastern portions. Also, the dominant topographic feature is the Vigan Gap Hill. There is also a drainage network located in the eastern margin. It consists of deeply cut valleys whose patterns are strongly controlled by main faulting trends.
Three (3) major river systems drain the surface waters from Vigan City – the Govantes River which separates the City from the adjacent municipalities of Santa Catalina in the north and Bantay in the northeast; the Mestizo River runs through the center dividing into the eastern and western barangays of the City, and; the Pantay River which runs from the central part of the city connected to the Govantes River. The Govantes River and Mestizo River both source its waters from the mountainous areas of the Cordillera Mountains and are closely connected to each other. All the rivers drain in the western portion of the City towards the West Philippine Sea. Also adjacent within the outer southeastern boundaries of Vigan City is the Abra River (Lagben River) which also drains the water from the Cordilleras towards the West Philippine Sea.
The two pumping stations, owned by the Vigan City and the Metro Vigan Water District (MVWD), are located at Barangay Raois, near the Banaoang River. This area, together with the Mira Hills, is considered the watershed of Vigan City through a provision by the Environmental Code of Vigan.
In addition, the Burayoc and Caniao Springs are also considered watershed areas of the MVWD.
There are five classifications of soil type in Vigan City. These are the San Manual Clay Loam, Umingan Soil, Bantog Clay, Bantay Loam, and Beach Sand. Among the soil types, the San Manuel Clay Loam covers 49.50% of the total land area of the city. It is suitable for planting bananas, cotton, and vegetables. This is followed by Umingan Soil (47.44%), Bantog Clay (1.26%), and Bantay Loam (1.46%). Meanwhile, the soil type with the least coverage is the Beach Sand with only 0.29%.
The city falls under the Type I classification that is characterized by two pronounced seasons – the dry and wet seasons. The dry season is experienced from November to April while the wet season is from June to October.
Infrastructure, Facilities, and Utilities
Roads
There are four road classifications present in the City. The majority of the roads are classified under barangay roads which cover 48.03 kilometers. This is followed by provincial roads with 21.66 kilometers, municipal/city roads with 15.454 kilometers, and national roads with 12.412 kilometers. All of the roads are in good condition and provide linkage within and across the barangays.
Bridges
Currently, there are nineteen (19) bridges in Vigan City, of which, six (6) are national, four (4) are provincial, one (1) is a city, and seven (7) are barangay bridges. The majority of the bridges are in good condition and have a capacity ranging from 5 to 20 tons.
Terminals
Located in Barangay VIII, the singular land transportation terminal in the City was in good condition, as of 2020. It serves as a hub for multiple modes, including: buses, jeepneys, PUVs, and tricycles.
There are four bus companies operating in the City — Partas, Dominion, Viron, and Aniceto Transit. These companies provide bus services going to Manila, Baguio, Laoag City, and other parts of Luzon.
With the increase in the population of Vigan City and the surge of tourists, the City Government identified the need to have additional parking spaces for vehicles to accommodate the demand.
Drainage System
According to the 2016 Socio-Economic Profile of Vigan City, the drainage system stretches around the city at a total of 16,679.62 linear meters. It is located in the Poblacion barangays, where canals serve as a surface drainage system, and in the outlying rural areas of the City.
Transportation Road Network
Land
There are five types of public land transportation vehicles in the City. According to the
City Planning and Development Office (2015), there are 192 buses, 136 vans, 69 jeepneys, 3,500 tricycles, and 139 calesas that provide transport services. These transport services are not only available for the Bigueños but also to visitors and other adjacent municipalities as well.
Air
Currently, the City has Vigan Airport located at Barangay Mindoro. It is currently undergoing renovation and expansion. Once operational, it will act as a gateway to the entire province of Ilocos Sur
Social Services Facilities, Utilities, and Amenities
Education
As of 2015, there were a total of ninety-six (96) institutions in Vigan City, of which thirty nine (39) are public daycare centers, and eleven (11) are private schools. For elementary
schools, there are nineteen (19) public and ten (10) private. There are nine (9) secondary schools and four (4) tertiary institutions, of which two (2) are owned by the government and the other two (2) are privately owned. Lastly, there are eleven (11) vocational/technical schools present in the City; three (3) of which are public, and eight (8) are privately owned.
Health and Sanitation
Public Health
Currently, there are a total of nine (9) medical facilities in Vigan City. There are two tertiary hospitals in the City, the Gabriela Silang General Hospital, a government-owned hospital with a 100-bed capacity, while the St. James Hospital is privately-owned. In addition, two other hospitals are at the secondary level and are privately owned.
Aside from hospitals, the city also has a City Health Office that provides medical assistance. It also spearheads the operations of 34 barangay health centers located in different parts of the city.
The city also established four COVID-19 quarantine facilities for regional, provincial, and city/municipal quarantine areas. The Regional Evacuation Center located at Barangay Ayusan Sur has a 14-bed capacity and is being used as an isolation center for healthcare workers.
Meanwhile, the two provincial health facilities are the Ilocos Sur Provincial Hospital – Gabriela Silang and the Metro Vigan Multi-Purpose Cooperative Hospital. These have bed capacities of 34 and 3, respectively. Lastly, the barangay health station at Barangay Mindoro serves as the city/municipal facility and has a 50-bed capacity.
Sanitation
About 42% of the total household population have water-sealed sewer/septic tanks used exclusively while 58% have water-sealed and other depositories.
Housing
Having a residential density of 93 households per hectare of a residential area, Vigan City is characterized as a high-density area. In terms of housing backlogs, about 6,693 housing units to cover the projected increase of households.
Social Welfare
The city provides two major social services such as family planning and maternal and childcare services. The City Health Office in partnership with the hospitals and clinics in the city offers family planning services.
Meanwhile, maternal and child care services are offered in the lying-in clinics.
Protective and Safety Services
Police Services
Currently, the city has one main headquarters for the Philippine National Police (PNP) and two substations or outposts. The PNP headquarters station is located at Barangay VIII and is in good condition. It houses 68 personnel and is equipped with five patrol cars, three YBR motorcycles, and one Rouser motorcycle. There are also 20 handheld radios and two bases used as equipment.
Meanwhile, the substations are located in Barangays Bulala and Nagsangalan. These have two and three personnel, respectively. The substation in Bulala has one YBR motorcycle and one handheld radio while the Nagsangalan substation only has one handheld radio.
Aside from police officers, there are also 25 traffic aides assisting the implementation of traffic regulations and 515 barangay tanods assisting peace and order in the 39 barangays.
Fire Services
There are two major fire agencies present in the city — the Provincial Bureau of Fire Protection and the City Bureau of Fire Protection. There is a total of 40 firefighting personnel in the City. They are equipped with five fire trucks, five fire pumps, one fire patrol car, one 20-feet extension ladder, and other firefighting gear and rescue equipment.
Aside from the major fire agencies, there is also a private fire brigade from the JTC Superstore and the BCS Realty Holding and Development Corporation that assist fire emergencies in the city.
Jail Management Services
Vigan City has a City Jail located in the City Hall building. It has nine jail management personnel with one service vehicle.
Sports and Recreation
Almost all of the 39 barangays have their respective multi-purpose pavement/playgrounds that provide sports and recreation facilities. Other sports facilities in the city include sports fields in Barangays Ayusan Sur and Barangay VII, and one gymnasium and three health fitness gyms at Barangay VIII.
On the other hand, there are seven recreational facilities present in the City. These include two sports fields, playgrounds, four public parks and plazas, three auditoriums, one movie house, videoke bars, and two ecological parks.
Agriculture and Agro-industrial Facilities
The agriculture industry of Vigan comprises 997.04 hectares. The eastern side of the city remains to be agricultural land while the western portion has more residential areas. This is because the rest of the western part has limited arable land.
There are 11 agricultural and fisheries support facilities and services in the city and all of them are fully utilized and operational. These facilities include physical infrastructures, capability enhancement, credit and finance, and equipment, supplies, and facilities that are necessary to the agricultural sector. The majority of the support facilities are 28 farm-to-market roads, 28 agri-immersion tours, and 28 financial assistances in agricultural barangays.
Aside from these facilities, there are also corn mills, storage warehouses, rice mills, and
other types of mills that are privately owned by trading centers and businessmen. In addition, the City also established a carabao-based dairy enterprise.
Power, Water, and Communications Network
Power
The main provider of electric power in Vigan City is the Ilocos Sur Electric Cooperative (ISECO). It has two stations, the main station located at the Municipality of Santiago, Ilocos Sur, and the substation at Brgy. Ayusan Norte in Vigan City.
Water
Level I source generate water from rain collectors, wells, and springs. Usually, rural areas have this type of water supply system since houses are thinly scattered hence difficult to justify the distribution system. For Vigan City, there are two sources of Level I, the shallow and the deep wells.
Level II refers to the communal faucet systems which are generally located in rural areas. Since some houses are densely clustered, a piped distribution system is developed to provide a number of households with faucets.
For Vigan City, there are three water sources – the owned used faucet, the community water system, and the shared faucet (CDP 2017-2020). Currently, the water project supplies the peripheral barangays not yet covered by the Metro Vigan Water District. The project also provides each resident with five liters of potable water per day for free, for the next 25 years as supplied by the community water faucets. The water fountains are managed by the Community Water Work Councils (Vigan City SEP, 2016).
The MVWD is the major water supplier in Vigan City. The water distributed to the 2,868 consumers comes from seven different sources. Two of these are from natural springs and the rest are from deep wells. The spring waters are from the Burayoc and Caniao Springs. These wells are 24/7 operational and produce a total of 50 cubic meters per hour for the wet season. For the dry season, the springs only generate 21.25 cubic meters per hour.
Meanwhile, the deep wells are located in the pumping stations in Barangays Raois and
three barangays in Bantay, Ilocos Sur. It generates a total of 335 cubic meters per hour
and 315 cubic meters for wet and dry seasons, respectively.
Information and Communications Technology
There are seven (7) types of communication service facilities in Vigan City that provide information and communication. These service facilities include postal services, internet service providers, internet cafes, telephone service providers, cell site networks, broadcast media, and television or cable tv.
In addition, there is the recently launched Electric Vigan Inter-Governmental Agencies Network or E-Vigan Program, which aims to directly connect the city to all barangays, public schools, and government offices.
The majority of the communication service facilities are located in the población barangays. In terms of the number of communication services, most of which are internet cafes.
Waste Management
Waste Disposal
Approximately 43.24% out of the total households burn their waste while 28.99% are dumped in open pits. Only 26.77% are collected by garbage trucks.
Solid Waste Disposal
The City generates a total of 7.51 tons of garbage per day coming from the residential, commercial, institutional, and other areas. These wastes are segregated at the Solid Waste Management Center at Barangay Camangaan. The facility has bioreactor equipment that recycles plastic wastes into tables and chairs
Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation
Hazard Profile
Given its geographic location, the City is prone to hydrometeorological hazards such as
typhoons and flooding, which are commonly experienced by the communities. Other hazards also include storm surges and rain-induced landslides.
In addition, the City is also prone to earthquakes which may trigger liquefaction, tsunami, and even earthquake-induced landslides.
Risk Profile
On the hazards mentioned, the City was able to identify the estimated affected population for flooding and flash floods, liquefaction, and tsunami. In total there are 17,983 affected populations at risk of flooding and flash floods; 3,882 populations at risk of a tsunami; and 4,243 populations at risk of liquefaction. These hazards were then plotted to generate an inventory matrix and it shows Barangays Mindoro and San Pedro as the most susceptible to different hazards.
In terms of critical facilities, using the Vigan City Hall as reference point, there are five critical facilities identified – the Burgos East Memorial School, the Vigan West National High School, the Vigan City Health Office, the Metro Vigan Multi-Purpose Cooperative Hospital, and the Manila North Road in Ilocos Sur. The critical facilities are crucial to provide the necessary services during disasters, and may also be affected as such.
Economic Structure
Agriculture
Twenty-eight out of 39 barangays in Vigan City rely on agriculture as their primary source of income. There are 13 crops produced by the City wherein irrigated rice has the largest land area with 854 hectares. This is located in all of the 28 farming barangays. Other crops in the City include turnip, corn, onion, banana, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, tomato, ampalaya, cassava, peanut, watermelon, and pepper.
The agricultural and fishery sector is well-supported by the local government by providing the necessary production inputs, farm equipment, and post-harvest facilities. The local government believes that the provision of appropriate agricultural infrastructures ensures high-yielding outputs.
Livestock and Poultry
The livestock and poultry production is done in backyards and feedlots of the locals. In 2015, the production of hogs, cattle, carabao, and goats reached 8,775 heads. It yielded
up to Php82,050,000.00. Among the farms, the carabao production has the highest value of Php 64,000,000.00 at 1,600 heads.
Industry
Damili
Bantog Clay is very much abundant in Vigan Hill. Hence, communities located near the hill maximize the clay to use it in Damili pottery. A considerable number of communities in Barangays Bulala and Paratong rely on damili as their main source of income. For those in Barangay Bulala, the damili craft serves as an additional source of income aside from farming, fishing, and construction work. For other barangays, the damili pottery goes together with agriculture.
The crafted damili wares are usually sold locally or during main market days in nearby
towns. Some craftsmen took wares to other Northern Luzon provinces such as
Pangasinan and Cagayan.
Burnay
Burnay is an earthenware crafted by a potter thru a potter’s wheel. Burnay jars are used
as storage for grains, corn, salt, bagoong, water, native sugarcane, vinegar, and wine. For broken jar pieces and intentional shards, they are used for salt manufacturing places like in Binalonan, Pangasinan.
Weaving Industry
Abel production and profit begin around the month of October and peak during the summer months of April and May. For the months of October to December, there is limited production because of the holidays in these months. Barangays Camangaan and Mindoro are known to be engaged in Abel weaving since it is their source of livelihood.
Commerce and Trade
In 2015, there were three types of commercial areas identified in the City – the Vigan Public Market, the PLAZA Maestro, and the Commercial Business District. These areas account for 3.18 hectares and cater to both the locals and outsiders.
Business Establishments
There are 65 different types of business permits in Vigan City. In 2017, a total of 4,272 business permits were issued. The majority of which are on Vigan Public Market with a total of 598 permits issued. There is also an increase in the number of permits issued from 2013 to 2015.
In addition, there are also several economic activities present in the City. From 2013 to 2015, there is a significant increase of 478 establishments in the commercial areas. This accounts for the 9,727 employees from these areas alone. Approximately 65% of all businesses are in wholesale and retail while the remaining 35% are in financial intermediation establishments.
