San Ildefonso, officially the Municipality of San Ildefonso (; ), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur (), officially the Province of Ilocos Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital of Vigan, while Candon is ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 8,190 people. The town was named after Saint Ildephonsus, a 7th century scholar and theologian.

History

San Ildefonso, like many other places in the provinces at the beginning of the Spanish Regime, did not have a name. Stories have it that sometime in 1625, the town's inhabitants decided to give it a name, but nothing came out after more than five hours of discussions. So while thinking of a name, they decided to go fishing for a week. And while preparing to go fishing, they saw a box floating not far from shore. Wading to reach the box and carrying it ashore, they opened the box to find a statue of Saint Ildephonsus. The young women of the place carried the statue to the center of the village, where it was enshrined in a small hut for many years. He became the patron saint of the municipality, and his name was decided to become the name of the fledgling municipality. San Ildefonso was a former ''rancheria'' of Bantay before it became a municipality, but because of its size it was annexed to Santo Domingo as a barrio. In 1921, Assemblyman (and future Philippine president)

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Philippine nationality law, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 6th President of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered p ...

worked to convert San Ildefonso into a municipality again.

200th Anniversary of Basi Revolt

On September 28, 2007, San Ildefonso officials (Governor Deogracias Victor Savellano and Rep. Ronald Singson) commemorated the Basi Revolt. Recently, the

Sangguniang Bayan The Sangguniang Bayan () is the local legislative branch of the municipal governments in the Philippines. It is responsible for passing ordinances and resolutions for the administration of a municipality. Its powers are defined by the Local Go ...

of San Ildefonso approved a resolution declaring September 16 as a non-working

holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

and named the old road in Barangay Gongogong as Ambaristo street in honor of Pedro Ambaristo, leader of the Basi Revolt. Mayor Christian Purisima enrolled basi as their entry into the “''One Town; One Product''” (OTOP) program of Governor Savellano.

Geography

San Ildefonso is situated from the provincial capital

Vigan Vigan, officially the City of Vigan (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

, and from the country's capital city of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Barangays

San Ildefonso is politically subdivided into 15

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. * Arnap * Bahet * Belen * Bungro * Busiing Norte * Busiing Sur * Dongalo * Gongogong * Iboy * Kinamantirisan * Otol-Patac *

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

East * Poblacion West * Sagneb * Sagsagat

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, San Ildefonso had a population of 8,190. The population density was .

Economy

The town is rich in rice, corn, sugarcane, malunggay, katuday & fruit-bearing trees such as star apple, chico, mango, camachile & atis. Its main product is ''basi,'' a wine made from fermented sugarcane juice; as well as cane

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

. They also make nutritious ice cream made up of vegetables in Barangay Bungro, and is being popularized by the town's local government.

Government

Local government

San Ildefonso, belonging to the first congressional district of the province of

, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.

Elected officials

Education

The Sto. Domingo-San Ildefonso Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. They also oversee the operations of all private and public elementary and high schools located in Santo Domingo, Ilocos Sur.

Primary and elementary schools

* Bungro Elementary School * Busiing Elementary School * Sagsagat Elementary School * San Ildefonso Central School

Secondary schools

* Belen National High School * Philippine Science High School - Ilocos Region Campus

References

External links

Pasyalang Ilocos SurPhilippine Standard Geographic CodePhilippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Ilocos Sur