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| Kasibu Nueva Vizcaya Municipal Hall |
How Kasibu got its name
Since time immemorial the tribes of Tuwalis, Ayangans, Ilongots, Kalanguyas, and Ilocanos are already inhabiting separately different areas of the wilderness on the southern part of Bambang. These tribes mainly engaged in fishing and hunting as their means of life support in their communities, as this wilderness was so rich in wildlife. In those early times, it was usual and even expected that a bloody clash occurred when hunters from a tribe encounter other hunters from another tribe. Even the different Clans of Ilongot fought with each other. Hence, the supposedly easy life of these inhabitants due to the bounty that nature provides them in the wilderness, they were continuously on the lookout for the possible attack of enemies since it was customary for an aggrieved tribe to avenge atrocities committed on them.
As time passed by, the Elders of the Clans of Ilongot came to realize the seriousness of their situation wherein they were fewer in number than any of the other tribes yet they were even fighting with each other. They then agreed to have a "beyao" – an Ilongot term pronounced as "buz'zaw" which means peaceful settlement. They set a permanent place for said "beyao" in a small pocket of land along the Tubo River on the eastern side of Bua.
With a little degree of peace observable in the area brought about by the peace pact among the clans of the Ilongots, other tribes decided to make a truce and conducted negotiations for them to make peace pact also and set boundaries of their area of jurisdictions to lessen conflicts. The peace pact made by the different tribes was also conducted on the same area where the clans of Ilongots made earlier their peace pact as the area was considered as common to all tribes. Later on, they called the site Kasibu, an Ilongot term denoting a place where people settle their differences in respect to the tribe of Ilongots who first used the area for the purpose of propagating peace in that wilderness.
On the peace pact, it was agreed that: the eastern part of the wilderness is for the Tuwalis; the northern part for the Kalanguyas, the northwestern part for the Ilocanos; the western part for the Ibalois; southwestern part for the Ilongots, and the southeastern part for the Ayangans;
With peace reigning in this wilderness, the name "Kasibu” then became popular and it was adopted as a name of the place when it was declared as Municipal District.
It was also noted that as the tribe of Ibaloi and Ilongot were in closer proximity with each other, that sometimes conflicts arouse, they further confirmed their peaceful agreement through a Blood Compact between their elders, which was conducted also on the place which was originally called Kasibu.
Early Municipal Governance
The first municipal district of Kasibu was first established on January 01, 1926, as part of the Municipal District of Bambang, by virtue of Executive Order Number 59.
The territorial jurisdiction of then Municipal District of Kasibu was composed of the "Rancherias of Kinalo, Payupay, Belance, Oyao, Teguep, Manacgoc, Bua, Pangancan and Munguia."
In 1933 the then Governor Leon Cabarroguis reorganized municipal districts and Kasibu became a distinct Municipal District with Paulino Alhambra as the first Elected Municipal District President from 1933 to 1950, The seat then of the Municipal Government was in Kinalo.
On November 11, 1950, Executive Order 368 signed by President Elpidio Quirino abolished the municipal district structure in government and reattached Kasibu to Bambang.
On January 19, 1956, President Ramon Magsaysay issued Executive Order Number 160 creating Kasibu as a separate municipality but losing territorial jurisdiction over some of its barrios specifically Payupay, Belance, Oyao, Teguep, Manacgoc, Pangancan, and Munguia, all in favor of Dupax Del Norte.4 However, the areas in the eastern part of Kinalo and Bua now called Malabing Valley and Muta Valley were included in the newly created municipality.
In the middle of the 20th century, the Commission on National Integration (now National Commission on Indigenous Peoples), a government agency, opened a resettlement program in Kasibu. The resettlement program attracted other settlers.
As there was an increase in population in every part of the locality, the Provincial Board of Nueva Vizcaya, through the request of the then Municipal Mayor, Alberto Bumolo, Sr. created the following barrios for the municipality of Kasibu:
- Capisaan;
- Tukod, Watwat, Papaya, Lupa, Belet, Dini, Bi-yoy, Camamasi, Alimit, Wangal and Tadji;
- Antutot, Pudi, Pao, Didipio, Nantawakan, Siguem, and Katarawan.
Hon. Alberto Bumolo, Sr. also transferred the seat of the Municipal Government of Kasibu from Kinalo to its present location where it is more accessible to the other newly created Barrios.
The Territorial Jurisdiction of the Municipality of Kasibu
After the creation of the different barangay in the municipality of Kasibu, it was then composed of thirty (30) barangays namely: Alimit; Alloy; Antutot; Belet; Binogawan; Biyoy; Bua; Camamasi; Capisaan; Catarawan; Cordon; Didipio; Dine; Kakiduguen; Kongkong; Lupa; Malabing; Macalong; Muta; Nantawakan; Pao; Papaya; Paquet; Poblacion; Pudi; Siguem; Tadji; Tukod; Wangal; and, Watwat.
At present, the people of Kasibu are called Kasibunians” by virtue of Municipal Ordinance No. 05-0084.
To determine its correct total land area, a Political Boundary Survey of the Municipality was conducted in 2014 with the leadership of Hon. Alberto D. Bumolo, Jr., Municipal Mayor with the assistance of the Land Management Bureau (LMB), DENR R02. As a result of said survey, The Municipal Boundary Index Map bearing a land area of Seventy-Two Thousand Two Hundred Fifty-one Hectares and Five Thousand Six Hundred square meters (72,251.56 Has) was approved last January 9, 2015, by the director of lands. 5 The Political Boundary Survey of the Municipality was adopted by the 8th Sangunniang Bayan by virtue of its Resolution No. 30, s-2015.
References:
- GOV.PH (n.d.). Municipal Government of Kasibu [blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.gov.ph/web/municipal-government-of-kasibu/about-us.
- Photograph of Kasibu Municipal Hall by Judgefloro / CC BY-SA.
