The Vicious Cycle of Poverty

History of Kabankalan

According to historians, the first inhabitants of Kabankalan were people who came from neighboring towns. They derived the name Kabankalan from the word “Bangkal”, a species of trees which abound the place. The settlers established the Barangay form of government, in which every group had its own leader called the Capitan.

In the early years, Kabankalan started as a barrio of Ilog, a neighboring town of the city today. On March 14, 1907, the then Philippine Commission passed Act 1612 creating the Municipality of Kabankalan from the town of Ilog. In a special election following the passage of that law, Lorenzo Zayco became its first Presidente Municipal.

During the Spanish regime, the people were taught by the Spanish with their language and introduced to the Roman Catholic religion. When the Americans came, they introduced the democratic form of government. It was during this time that a lot of improvements came through to the town. New modern techniques of farming were introduced by the Americans to the local farmers that gave them good products.

After the American regime, another invader occupied the town of Kabankalan: the Japanese. During this time, a guerilla unit was formed to oppose the foreign aggression. Many people fled to the mountains to avoid the Japanese military abuse but when the Americans returned to the island, they helped free the people from the Japanese.

Despite the ravages of war and the internal strife in the 1980’s, trade and commerce increased considerably with the establishments of banks and commercial establishments. The establishment of two sugar mills in the 1960’s and early 70’s boosted the town into the list of top improving towns of Negros. Other institutions such as schools, hospitals and churches were also established. On February 11, 1988, Bishop Vicente Navarra was installed as the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese.

Kabankalan was converted into a component city on August 2, 1997 with...