History

The present town of Dumangas started as a settlement of Malays who made a clearing along the Talauguis river and established a community sometime in the 12th or 13 century. They called the community Araut, a name derived from the Malayan dialect raut meaning sea or pa-raut which means toward the sea. When the Spaniards arrived in Panay, they found the coastal village of Araut, a thriving agricultural community.    

Dingle started as a pre-colonial settlement of Sumandig, which was under the jurisdiction of Simsiman, a pueblo of Laglag. The settlement was also known as Sibucao, Ba-ong, and Orvat. The Augustinian priest, Fr. Francisco Manuel Blanco, first founded Dingle as a visita of Pototan in 1593. Dingle became independent on April 23, 1611. In 1629 however, it was annexed to Dumangas, Iloilo, and to Dueñas, Iloilo in 1641 (until 1825). On August 16, 1850, by order of Governor General of the Philippines Antonio de Urbiztondo, Dingle again became independent and was officially named the town of Dingle. The first town head was Julio Dator (1823–1827). In 1865, Fr. Fernando Llorente ordered the construction of the Dingle Catholic Church which was completed in 1886.

The stone church of Alimodian, Iloilo was completed in 1864 and was dedicated to Saint Thomas of Villanova, the town’s patron saint. Fr. Florencio Martin, OSA was credited for building it while his successor, Fr. Ignacio Marcos, OSA, completed the stone and wooden convent in 1868. Its belfry was fitted with bells manufactured in 1876 […]

The Bible was first translated into Hiligaynon in 1898 by Braulio Manikan, a former Catholic priest who went to Spain to study civil engineering, in preparation for his return to the Philippines as a Baptist missionary. Born on 26 March 1870 in Ibajay town in Aklan, Manikan switched religion after meeting an English Baptist businessman […]