Barangays > Ilvita

Brief History

This place was a wide plain full of cogon and other tall grasses when Sablayan was created as a municipality by the American government. John Howell, an American landowner, purchased this agricultural estate. He registered this particular property in the land registration office of Sablayan as Selina Estate. However, like many landowners during that time, he was not able to cultivate and plant his agricultural estate with fruit bearing trees or other productive plants. As a result, wild pigs, deer, tamaraw and other wild animals lived and freely roamed this place.

Ten years after World War II, families of farmers from other parts of the country arrived in this abandoned estate. They cut the tall grasses and cultivated the land. Since municipal records stated that the name of the wide plain was Selina Estate, when the number of its inhabitants increased and it became a sitio, the settlers called it as Selina.

In 1964, led by Domingo Estrada, the inhabitants of this sitio requested the government to buy Selina Estate from its owner and distribute it to the actual occupants and tillers of the land. After a few years, their request was granted.

After establishing their rights to their respective farms, the farmers under the leadership of Domingo Estrada requested the Department of Education to open a primary school in their sitio. The education officials, through the municipal government, granted their request. A primary school was opened and a concrete schoolhouse was built in Selina. The number of pupils increased and years later, the primary school became Selina Elementary School.

As a sitio, Selina was placed under the jurisdiction of the barangay officials of Victoria. Due to the desire of the barangay captain that a leader residing in Selina would take care of the needs of his fellow community members, he appointed a sitio leader. Juan Ramirez was appointed to this position. He served as the leader of Selina until 1970, when the sitio was separated from Victoria and created as another barangay. Elected as the first barangay captain of Selina was Avelino Umalla.

That same year, the residents held a general assembly and they decided to change the name of their barangay. From the various names suggested by the people, a great majority favored Ilvita — from the first two letters of the three types of inhabitants of the barangay: the Ilocanos, Visayans and Tagalogs. The name was unanimously approved and starting year 1970, Selina was officially known as Ilvita.

During martial law period, an irrigation system was constructed by National Irrigation Administration (NIA) at Ilvita and its adjacent barangays.

Two events caused great stress to the people of Ilvita during the martial law period. The first one was the occasional visits of members of a rebel group to the community and the second one was the great flood which occurred in the municipality of Sablayan in 1976. In the said flood, a wide area of ricefields was eroded and covered with sand. Nevertheless, the farmers tried to regain what they lost by working hard and showing unwavering faith in the Divine Providence.