The History of Caibiran

The bayan ng Caibiran is a 5 th

class municipality in the province of Biliran, Philippines

and is subdivided into 17 barangays and these are; Alegria, Asug, Bariis, Binohangan,
Cabibihan, Kawayan, Looc, Manlabang, Caulangohan, Maurang, Palanay, Palengke, Tomalistis,
Union, Uson, Victory, and Mainit. Before the municipality was officially named as Caibiran, it
was first called “Ka-ibidan”.

Like any other community, the town of Caibiran started fromk very modest beginnings.
The generally accepted story about the origin of Caibiran tells of a group of people who migrated
from some other place- possibly from mainland leyte around tacloban and carigara area. They
settled near the mouth of the big river, that is four kilometers north away from the present town
of Caibiran. To these pioneers and migrants, the place they chose was very ideal. Inland was
wide plain, which they could utilize for agriculture. Farther to the interior were virgin forests that
promised an abundance of wilderness. To the cast is Samarses teaming with fish. And the river
itself yielded not only an abundance of fish but also a species of edible lizards called “ibid” in
the native dialect.

The abundance of Ibid served a twofold purposes for trhese original settlers. First, it
helped satisfy their need for food, and secondly, it suggested a name for their settlement. Within
a very short time, the community as well as the river came to be known “Ka-ibidan”, which
means a place where there are plenty of “ibids”

And later on, the settlement grew. No doubt that the early settlers must have felt a great
civic pride as each of the new public buildings took form. There was a lime and stone church to
begin with then the timid beginnings of an elementary school.
 Then one day, misfortune struck. The rains poured, the rivers swelle and overflowed
their banks. It had changed its course and the angry flood waters overran and destroyed the town.
After the flood, the Ka-ibidan was never quite the same again. And the people changed too. The
flood forced on them some uneasy thoughts about the future of their town and of their lives.

In 1882, Captain bebiano Maderazo led the people to new site. The new settlement
became a town while the previous site bcame a barrio of “Binohangan” meaning, the place where
the river overflowed its bank. They not only succeeded in changing the location of the town but
also in naming the new place “Caibiran”.
History in the
Philippines
History of Caibiran

Pagatpat, John Cyrill

Professor

Martos, Christee Jane

Student

October 15, 2018