Barangays > Victoria

Brief History

During the American regime, this place was one of the sources of bamboos and lumber used by the people of Sablayan in building their houses. This was also one of the areas which served as sanctuary of wild animals.

Three years before the outbreak of World War II, a few families of farmers from Panay dared to live here. They called this place as Barobo, the name of a towering tree in the area. Since their settlement was near a river, the settlers used banca in going to the center of Sablayan.

After World War II, some relatives of the pioneers of Barobo decided to settle in this place and converted the forested area into productive agricultural land. The number of inhabitants increased and the settlement became a sitio of Pandan, now known as Claudio Salgado.

In 1955, during the term of office of Hon. Loreto Urieta as mayor of Sablayan, he elevated Barobo to the status of a barrio. At the same time, he constructed the building for a primary school in this community. While the building was under construction, the wife of the mayor gave birth to a baby girl. The child was named Victoria. When the leaders of Barobo decided to register the official name of their barrio, they agreed on the name Victoria, as a gesture of gratitude to the projects implemented by Mayor Urieta in their community.

Through the cooperation of the inhabitants and Ms. Elena Maycong, the first teacher assigned in this place, the number of pupils increased until the primary school became a complete elementary school. In 1966, when barrio high schools were opened in various parts of the country, through the leadership of Ms. Mila Villena, the parents and teachers requested the Department of Education to open a barrio high school in Victoria. The request was approved and as a result, elementary school graduates of Victoria and the nearby sitios were given opportunity to acquire secondary education. In 1996, the barrio high school became Victoria National High School.

During martial law period, an irrigation system was constructed by National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in this place. When their ricefields were irrigated the farmers were able to harvest palay twice a year.

The rapid economic growth of Victoria was cut short by the great flood which occurred on the barrios north of Sablayan, in 1976. That year, the water of Balingkawing & Rayusan Rivers merged. The cornfields and ricefields which were not eroded were covered with sand. Due to that calamity, many families left Victoria and transferred to other communities.

The river near Victoria became shallow after the flood. Motorboats could no longer pass through it. Hence, the transport of their agricultural products from the barangay to the center of Sablayan emerged as a problem of the farmers.