My Town, My Roots, My Pride 

Leganes is located 11 kilometers north of the capital, Iloilo City. It is the only coastal municipality that shares a common border with the city. It is the first municipality going to the northern part of Iloilo province. Leganes is a fourth-class municipality in the province of Iloilo. With its sheer size, Leganes ranks as the second smallest town of the 42 municipalities and 1 component city of the province of Iloilo. With the total land area of 3, 220 hectares, and is politically subdivided into 18 barangays.

Hiligaynon is the common language used by Leganesnons, however barangays near the towns of Pavia going to Sta. Barbara, they use Kinaray-a as their language. The people of Leganes are known as “Leganesnons.”

Well cultivated fields, coconut trees, and bamboo clumps dominated the landscape of the entire municipality. The terrain is characterized by level plains of agricultural lands that produce rice. Areas along its coastlines are swampy with large portion converted to fishponds and salt beds.

Its proximity to the city as well as its topography, makes it an ideal area to a common related development spill over of the city; be it residential, commercial, industrial and tourism. Leganes is slowly developing to a more commercial town. Business establishments are rising as days passed by and is helping the economy of the said town to boost.

The municipality sprang from a small settlement, now known as Brgy. Guihaman where wild boars or “guiham” occupied the area. The early founders of the municipality named it VALENCIA a town in Spain, birthplace of San Vicente Ferrer.

St. Vincent Parish was declared a diocesan shrine in April of 2008. “Palapak” a special feature of the church and is also a popular practice where the image of the winged Saint is pressed on the head of a devotee hoping for a miraculous cure. Many who suffer from various sickness and even those with physical disabilities are among those faithful hoping for a miracle that might happen through their Patron’s intercession, San Vicente Ferrer.

SAAD Festival, celebrated annually in April, depicts Leganesnons intense spirituality and religious faith. SAAD- a Hiligaynon term for vow or promise, is a tourism celebration that provides visitors the opportunity to worship with the local Christian community.

Leganes is popularly known as a pilgrimage town to the devotees of San Vicente Ferrer, the central figure of the celebration, reputed for his piety, scholarship and preaching and has touched the lives of many who believed. The festival cultural competition is based on a praised and worshiped presentation combining the town’s folktale. With choreographs steps, the sound of drums and trumpets, interspersed with shouts of “San Vicente Ferrer, Ig-ampo Mo Kami!”, with laughs and cries from performers they dance for joy to praise their Patron Saint for his deliverance.

Leganes successfully combines modern living and rural ambiance to its residence. It is also a home to modern residential villages but has preserved its rustic appeal especially on its coastal barangays. To get to Leganes, one can take a 20-minute ride from Jaro Plaza.

 

For my 25 years of existence, living in my hometown helped me to become who I am today. It taught me to serve the public with open arms and without expecting in return especially to my fellow Leganesnons. Now, that I am working in the Local Government of the municipality, it molded and influenced me to be a good example to my fellow youth. Knowing that my forefathers are the early leaders and founders of the town that I live in, I may be silent but deep within me, it is with pride and honor that my roots came originally from this beloved town. Overall, I am always and will forever be grateful that I live in this small yet peaceful town because it taught me to appreciate nature and the people who surrounds it.

#LetsDoThisLeganes