HISTORY

In the late 18th century, pioneering Ilocanos found an

ideal land suitable for settlement and agriculture in
Manlapoc, now known as Barangay Malapat. The site,
however, was prone to flooding. They, therefore, had
to search for a place with higher elevation. The group
found this higher ground in a place called Estela, and
a group of Naturales, the Ibanags of Southern Isabela,
soon joined them there. Estela developed into a
center of commerce where traders from Central
Luzon (the Ibanags and Kalingas of Isabela, the
Gaddangs and Isinays of Nueva Vizcaya, and the
Ifugaos of Mayaoyao) would gather to sell their
merchandise. Before trading any items, some groups
converged first at a place called Pinagcocordonan, to
cordon off themselves for protection before meeting
the other ethnic groups in Dafungan. The traders and
businessmen used the name Pinagcocordonan to
refer to Estela. The term Cordon soon became a
buzzword for people from other places, and the name
Estela was eventually changed to CORDON,which
became a part and barrio of Santiago. Cordon became
an independent municipality on July 1,1939 by virtue
of Commonwealth Act No.191 and Executive Order
No.181. This was signed and approved by President
Manuel L. Quezon through House Bill No.804,
authored by Hon. Mauro Versoza.