Guinobatan, Albay Etymology
- Jul 24
- 3 min read
No document has been found to support the origin of Guinobatan's name. Analyzing the word, its root word, “Gubat,” has a substantive form in the Bicol idiom, meaning barren and uncultivated. When used as a verb, it connotes a grave physical encounter. These physical encounters emanated from the Moros, who frequently plundered the town of Guinobatan. When the natives could no longer withstand those attacks, they organized resistance against these Moros. Hence, the name “Guinobatan” was given due to the armed clashes between the natives and the Moros that often occurred, plus the actual physical condition of the settlement.
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Church in town: 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 - 𝐏𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧, 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐲 (𝐃𝐢𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐩𝐢)
In 1672, the Parish of Guinobatan was already mentioned in books as a “visita” of the Municipality of Camalig. In 1678, DON FRANCISCO BAMASBAD, chief of the “tenientes absolutos”, spearheaded the elevation of a petition to the Governor-General through the Franciscan Missionaries that the settlement, then a part of Camalig town, be declared an independent municipality. After ten years (1678-1688), the request was granted. By Don Francisco Bagamasbad’s initiative, he was appointed “Gobernadorcillo” and recognized as the first civil administrator of the new Municipality of Guinobatan. Thus, DON FRANCISCO BAGMASBAD was considered the founder of Guinobatan.
Rev. Fr. ALFONSO DE ZAFRA was assigned as the first minister of the newly separated Parish of Guinobatan. The town’s Patroness (from 1688 to the present) is OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION, whose Feast falls on the 15th of August. Hence, Guinobatan will have its 318th Fiesta Celebration on August 15, 2006, with the local parish and religious organizations planning for the Guinobatan Church’s Centennial Anniversary on December 08, 2006. Then, it was in February 1814 that the church was destroyed for the first time due to the boulders and burning lava from the destructive eruption of Mayon Volcano. A temporary church was then built in Barrio Mauraro, which eventually became the center of the parish. Due to constant threats of Mayon eruptions, the parish again transferred to the shores of Panganiran (now a part of Pioduran town by virtue of RA3817 enacted in 1965). Later, the Guinobateños broke camp and returned to Guinobatan to suffer the destructive eruption of the volcano.
In 1863, the church under the advocacy of the Assumption of Our Lady was of good structure, and so likewise was the parochial house. There were two “ermitas,” both of them dedicated to Saint Vincent. It had a royal house of stone, half-ruined, a school for primary instruction endowed by the funds of the community, and a school for girls funded by the charity of its Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Bernardino Melendreras. The state of the parish at the time had the pertinent data: a) Tributes – 4,067 and b) Souls – 15,566. In 1938, the Parish of Guinobatan had a land area of 29,564 hectares and a population of 31,048 with a Bicolano Parish Priest, Rev. FR. CARLOS BADIOLA.
𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲
It is the birthplace of Gen. Simeón Ola, the last Filipino general to surrender to the Americans after the Philippine-American War. BARANGAYS: Guinobatan is politically subdivided into 44 barangays.
𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧:
- Our Lady of the Assumption Parish Church
- Guinobatan Town Plaza
- Muladbucad Spring Resort
- La Haciendas in Quibongbongan
- Museo de Guinobatan
𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧:
- Simeon Ola ( hero of the Philippine Revolution and the last general of the Philippines to surrender to the American forces after the Philippine–American War)
𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐲 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧:
- Allan "Mura" Padua (Pinoy actor/comedian)
- Francis Tolentino ( Filipino politician and lawyer serving as a senator since 2019. He has been the Senate Majority Leader since 2024 and was formerly the chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee from 2022 to 2023)
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