History[edit]

Early San Enriquenhons[edit]

Early inhabitants of San Enrique may be traced back to the tribes of those great Datus who had
move up the river of Jalaud and settled on promontory they called "Bontoc". Following their customs
and united by the bonds of kinship they built a community. Out of the flourishing settlement later
rosegreat men like Manuel Paez, Modesto Palabrica and Apolinario Palabrica, who had earlier
become Capitanes of the mother town of Passi. The names of Sanriago Pama, Augusto Palencia,
Gregorio Aguilar, Bartolo Garrido, Cipriano Gonzales, Vicente Quianzon, and others surnamed
Palabrica and Paez, had been elected to the position of Capitanes of Tenientes.
During an exploration talk held at the house of his aunt, Maura Ponte in Barangay Camiri, Jesus
Prudente and his closest friends stressed the need to launch a movement aimed at separating San
Enrique from Passi. This was followed by a core group meeting at the old municipal building.In the
presence of Ernesto Palabrica, Jose Lacsao, Crispin Lademora and Rodrigo Ponte, he laid down the
mechanics for the reconstitution of the town into a separate political entity.
At the Assembly meeting called on November 25, 1956, a big crowd clustered in the market place at
the corner of Palabrica and Manolo street. In his stirring speech Dr. Zosimo Palencia, the no. 1
councilor of Passi assured them of his wholehearted support. Other impassioned speakers were
Exequiel Garrido, Jesus Paclibar, Juan Ayupan, Ernesto Palabrica, Genaro Aguilar and Manuel
Pama.
On July 12, 1957, Executive Order No. 259, creating the new Municipality of San Enrique, in
the Province of Iloilo, was signed by Excellency Carlos P. Garcia, President of the Philippines.
San Enrique was separated from Passi through the efforts of the man who had no filial ties with
anyone in the Municipality except by his official connection with them as representative.
Congressman Aldeguer was the "Simon Bolivar", in the emancipation of San Enrique.
During the first years of its existence as a municipality, San Enrique was confronted by
heartbreaking problems. Those times were bitter, painful and discouraging. The Municipality was
beset by financial crises, but the San Enriquenhons were able to move successfully against the
stream of insurmountable odds.
The establishments of Passi Sugar Central in San Enrique, has considerably improved the economy
of the Municipality. It has drawn workers, thereby enhancing its financial status.
However, in 1967, the San Enrique Community High School operated by the virtue of the law
authored by Congressman Aldeguer in 1965. Since San Enrique is basically an agricultural town, the
San Enrique National Agricultural and Vocational High School operated in 1972. These two
secondary high schools were eventually fused, becoming San Enique Agricultural College on June
10, 1983 under Batas Pambansa 496. Republic Act number 6944 converted the school into San
Enrique Polytechnic College and begun to function on June 10, 1991. Presently the school is
ISCOF.
The face lifting and reshaping of a municipality lies on the hands of people with the guidance of
responsible leaders. The reign of the municipality government of San Enrique from 1957 to present
rested on the shoulders
San Enrique is a third class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. This town is located 55 km
from the province's capital. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 32,422 people.

San Enrique was known by its name on May 24, 1881. Popularly called Barrio Bontok before this date, it
was organized as a pueblo through the persistent of the rich influential residents namely: Capitanes
Modesto Palabrica, Manuel Paez and Apolinario Palabrica, together with an ex- barrio teniente Simon
Padios. It stood as a Pueblo with its own streets and church. These roughly done infrastructures were
solely done through the Tawili System.

The changing of the name Bontok to San Enrique carried another story. It was once the old folk’s tradition
to have a patron saint in every pueblo. Hearsays are quite uniform in stating that the act of choosing San
Enrique to be the town patron saint was intentionally done; that is in honour of the incumbent Spanish
Governor of Iloilo named Enrique. It was found out however that the act in making San Enrique as a
town’s patron saint could not be pushed through because of financial problems. Hence, when a fellow
named Simon Padios, offered the image of Auxilium Christianorum, the people gladly accepted the offer.
By the virtue of a Real Orden from King Alfonso XII in 1879, the “Pueblo de San Enrique” was established
with the fusion of “Visita de Abaca”. When the priest of Passi heard of the incident, he admonished the
people by saying that the spirit of San Enrique would be displeased. The priest further suggested that in
order to appease the spirit of saint, they should name pueblo Bontok as pueblo San Enrique. That placed
on the record, the Municipality of San Enrique was first established in 1881 capable of self-government
and determination.