Oton, Iloilo Etymology
- Jack Maico
- Jun 5
- 3 min read
The Municipality of Oton was organized in 1570 during Legaspi’s administration. The origin of Oton's name is related to the Spanish landing in Panay. When they arrived in the town, they asked in Spanish for the name of the place. The natives, not knowing the Spanish and thinking that the visitors were asking for the time of day, answered, “ugtong adlaw,” meaning noon. The Spanish thought this was the name of the place, but since they could not pronounce the syllable “ng,” they called it OTON.
Special credits: https://www.facebook.com/OtonIloiloMyHometown/post
Church in town: 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐭𝐨𝐧, 𝐈𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐨
The Parish of Immaculate Conception is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Oton, Iloilo, Philippines. It is also called Oton Church. Its parish was erected in 1572, thus, it is the first and oldest parish in Iloilo and the first Marian church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in the country.
Oton was called Ogtong before the Spanish conquest, and its pre-Hispanic center was called Katagman, now San Antonio. Its town was founded in 1570, becoming the first on the island of Panay. Other sources place its founding in 1566 or 1569. It was also the capital of the Province of Ogtong, currently the province of Iloilo, until 1581 when Arevalo became the seat of the government, which lasted until 1688.
The friars of the Augustinian Order founded their chapter house in the town on May 3, 1572, becoming the third after the ones erected in Cebu and Manila. It was also in the same year that the church under the patronage of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception was declared a parish.
The Augustinians abandoned their mission in many places for various reasons, but they never left Oton. The town, an encomienda given to Miguel de Loarca, however, suffered greatly at the hands of foreign powers and attacks from Mindanao: the British in 1593, the Dutch in 1630, and Moro raiders in 1662. The church that was built by Friar Martin de Rada was left in ruins after an attack launched by the Dutch under the leadership of George Spillberg on September 29, 1614.
The Spanish-era colonial church was built by Fr. Demetrio Cobos, who served between 1845 and 1853. Church-building continued and was completed by Fr. Joaquin Fernandez in 1882. Additionally, Fr. Nicolas Gallo was credited for its decorations in the period between 1889 and 1890, and the church was finally consecrated a year after in 1891. Referred to as the Old Oton Church, it was a grand Greek-Byzantine structure incorporating Gothic and Classic motifs with an imposing dome over its crossing and a cupola in its apex. Its shape was a cruciform, where the transepts and nave were of equal dimensions. It is no longer in existence.
On January 25, 1948, just three years after the end of the Second World War, an earthquake nicknamed Lady Caycay with an estimated magnitude of 7.8 struck the Philippines that causing widespread destruction. The church was severely damaged, its facade torn down and reduced to rubble. Two bells (a bell cast in 1817 and another donated by Victoria Blanco that was blessed with the name Nuestra Señora del Carmen and installed by Fr. Joaquin Fernandez in 1887) and parts of the church wall remained.
In the aftermath of the earthquake, the church was demolished to give way to the present-day Immaculate Conception Church. Its construction was initiated by Fr. Ernesto L. Calvo, the first Filipino parish priest in Oton, and it took two decades to complete. The new church was blessed on Christmas Day, December 25, 1972. A marker to commemorate its consecration was installed by the main entrance by Fr. Renato Elmido in 1988.
𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐎𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲
In the early 13th century, Oton was already a flourishing Malay settlement. Its port, now a site of Batiano Bridge, was one of the five ancient Malay ports in Irong-irong trading with Sanglays (Chinese merchants). Other inter-island ports were Sugbu, Madiano, and Malandog.
𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐭𝐨𝐧:
- Camina Balay nga Bato
- Katagman Resort
- MABBY's View Beach Resort
- Villa Arevalo District Plaza
- Oton Town Plaza
- Golden Haven Memorial Park
- Sinamay House
- Adelfa's Beach Resort
- Mandurriao Plaza
𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐭𝐨𝐧:
- Legislador, Edmundo “Toto Eddie” Rivera (Freedom Fighter. Legislator joined the local chapter of the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan, which started him into activism. He was in his 2nd year in college when the First Quarter Storm swept the country.)
𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐲 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐭𝐨𝐧:
- None in the list
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