History

OUR first glimpse of Iligan was not assuring, as only the Headquarters Building could be seen from the harbour, and in front of it, reaching to the left for some distance, stood a long, single row of coconut-palms, so tall that the green foliage was far above the top of the house, making the trees look like stiff bouquets in absurdly long wooden holders. At the foot of these trees water, blue as indigo on wash day, lashed itself into a white fury against the stonework of the pier.

-this is a line from one of the books that tells us about the history of Iligan, as it is mentioned, Iligan was not considered much of a settlement. Now let's go through the history of it how it flourished and became the Iligan that we now know today.

During Spanish Period

 Iligan History(1) – by Ricardo Jorge S. Caluen

 lligan History (2) – by Assemblyman Camilo P. Cabili

 Iligan History(3) – as published in the Symbols of the State(Republic of the Philippines).

During American Period
By Prof. Patrocenia T. Acut

During Japanese period
By Prof. Leonor Buhion Enderes

Quezon Avenue, before the big fire that hit Iligan on May 23, 1957.

(Photo Courtesy of Lchs Spectrum)

A vintage photo of the old Iligan Public Plaza during its early days. Photo, taken years before the fire of 1957, was shot from the corner of Washington Street (now Gen. Aguinaldo St.) and Juan Luna St. (now M. Badelles Sr. St.).

(Photo courtesy of the City Tourism Office)

The old Iligan public plaza was a landmark that would have been Iligan's premier historical relic today had it not been demolished in 1965 to give way to a more contemporary scheme of park structure.

Iligan City Public Plaza prior to its demolition in 1965

Mandulog Bailey Bridge

Constructed May 9, 1948

June 16, 1950. Day 1 of Iligan as a city. President Elpidio Quirino signs Republic Act 525, Iligan City Charter. Among the witnesses at Malacañang are House Speaker Eugenio Lopez (2nd from left), Congressman Ali Dimaporo (who sponsored the bill on the Charter), Dansalan Mayor Bato Ali, Mayor Benito S. Ong (first Mayor of Iligan as a city), Sen. Tomas Ll. Cabili and future Congressman Manalao.

Inauguration and blessing of the new City Hall Sept. 28, 1958. The seat of the city government, is on top of Buhanginan Hill, some 47 meters above sea level.

It was the newly renovated building of St. Michael’s School in 1929 – 1930. It was Fr. Andrew Hoffman S.J. who was the director of the school at that time. He had done much for the renovation of the school in an effort to provide the students with better facilities.

Source: St. Michael’s College Yearbook, 1956.

Iligan City on Modern Times

Iligan: A History of the Phenominal Growth of an Industrial City
By Prof. Geoffrey G. Salgado(1950-1980)

The growth and development of a city, like Iligan for that matter, are subject to various policies in addition to historical and physical factors. Although some of these policies are macroeconomic in nature and intent, such as trade and industrial policies, others are local in nature. These have mainly to do with planning and management of the city such as provision for infrastructure and social services. Physical factors like Iligan’s geographical advantage and natural resources endowments can provide advantage but are not sufficient for urban development if good urban planning is wanting.

On May 17, 1989, a conference was held in Iligan City. It was jointly sponsored by the Center for Research and Communication and certain government agencies and private organizations in the city. The theme of the conference is “ROUSE A SLEEPING GIANT,” and it conjures an image of a city in suspended animation, bereft of creativity and internal vitality to respond to challenges for a self-sustaining economic growth and prosperity due to ineffective or absence of urban policies and programs.