THE SECOND DAY of April had just been declared the Foundation Day of our barangay.
In my search for materials about our place in Salpad(formerly Diaton) now P.F. Alviar, Barangay 17 in Vintar, I came across the article on the three lost towns of Ilocos Norte namely Bangbang, Adang, and Vera; said to be indicated as visita or under the jurisdiction of Bacarra on the 1702-1759 baptismal records (Bacarra Box 1) found and rescued from flood in 2015.
First mention of these lost towns, as written by Leilanie Adriano, was when Fr. Ericson Josue was on a study trip to Spain in 2010. The box containing those records were in the Diocese of Laoag.
Based on the article, Fr. Josue said Bangbang may have been a valley near the river with the same name in Bangui. He further stated was that at the center of the barangay (Banban) is a forest and church ruins. On the other hand, Adang could possibly be Adams town.
‘The newfound data led me to revisit another reference material, the Historical Data Papers at the National Library of the Philippines. Did the 1950s material mention Vira too? Bacarra’s historical data states that the town had three settlements namely Baranio on the western part, Parparia on the central part, and Bira on the eastern part.’
WHAT ARE THE ODDS
Online search revealed that January 14 this year was the latest post on social media that says that Vera, the third of the missing towns, has not yet been found.What are the odds?
I had another agenda, but curiosity and luck played tricks on me. Browsing various sources for historical data on the internet, I stumbled upon the National Memory Project of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) which bears the U.P. Diliman Luther Parker Collection.
There was Box 1 Folder 13 for Bacarra, Ilocos Norte. Inside the folder are handwritten accounts by differentauthors on the local history of the town.
On pages 12-13 Historical Note by Epifanio Acosta, he mentions that Bacarra town was divided into two divisions —Bangbanglo and Vira— which had separate flags.
An agreement between the settlers of the two places was that when someone from Bangbanglo fills the captaincy, someone from Vira had to be the Teniente Mayor who replaces the former at the end of his term. The arrangement continued until the town was named Bacarra.
MINOR DIFFERENCES
In another account on pages 16-17 written 106 years ago on March 29, 1920 by Maria C. Albano and Eustacia A. Singson, it was noted that Bacarra proper was the western side of the town while the eastern side was called Vira.
The newfound data led me to revisit another reference material, the Historical Data Papers at the National Library of the Philippines. Did the 1950s material mention Vira too? Bacarra’s historical data states that the town had three settlements namely Baranio on the western part, Parparia on the central part, and Bira on the eastern part.
From at least three different reference materials, Vera, Vira, or Bira referred to the eastern part of Bacarra. Variations or minor differences in spelling are not unusual in old documents.
It’s really no secret. Sometimes, historical gems are just there, waiting silently somewhere to be found at the perfect time. The last of three of the “lost towns” of Ilocos Norte, Vera, has finally been found!
THE VIRA TOWN
Now I have to get back to my research about Salpad.
Incidentally, our town Vintar, the largest municipality in the province, also lies on the eastern side of Bacarra. I am not really sure if there is a mountain called Vira here as I read in one of the comments online, but that is another topic to explore.