The area around the town of Bingawan, the edge of the central portion of the province is where it ends and the town of Tapaz, Capiz province begins and is very much another unsung corner of Iloilo with warm, friendly, welcoming people.
Bingawan has some rich farming land and farming is at the heart of its village life. The landscapes are gorgeous here; with gentle pastures, to the high mountains. The area offers some beautiful hikes and bike trails across its lovely rolling meadows, woodland and a few working farms. The town would be less touristic than its neighboring towns but is well worth exploring.
The Fifth-Class municipality of Bingawan is situated in the …of the province. It is 68 kilometers away or almost antwo hours from Iloilo City. It is bounded in the north by the municipality of Tapaz, Capiz; in the northeast by the municipality of Dumarao, Capiz; in the south by the City of Passi, Iloilo; in the southeast by the municipality of Calinog, Iloilo. It has a total land area of 8, 500 hectares and is politically subdivided into 14 barangays.
Bingawan is populated by 15, 199 (2015 Census on Population) Bingawanons. Market day is every Thursday. It annually celebrates its Religious Fiesta every 25th of January in honor of St. Paul.
One can visit the town of Bingawan via, bus or van from the terminal situated beside Robinsons Mall, Pavia.
HISTORY
Bingawan derived its name from a creek which ressembled a missing tooth, described in the local dialect as bingaw. The creek is located west of the present site of Bingawan Central School. Settlers from nearby nearby towns who fled from Spanish oppression made the newly established barrio possible. Particular places worthy of note were the hillsides of Quinangyana (along its creek), Maldespina and Kinalyan. Two settlements were established, one in Maldespina (now Bingawan cemetery) and the other on the hilltop at Kinalyan near Quinangyana.
The two settlements intended to unite and established a community under Gregorio Plaga, known as “Pakuribot” an instrumental leader, determined that a plateau in the southern part was ideal to establish the united settlements because of a number of water springs.
In 1901, the community known as Bingawan was established along a creek, west of the present site of Bingawan Central School.A long coimmunal building made of light materials was constructed to house forty families. The building was located east where the Bingawan Baptist Church stands. Bingawan was created an independent town in 1969.
FESTIVAL
PAGNAHI-AN celebrated every 3rd week of June highlights its dance-drama competition which recounts on Bingawan’s past. History has it, that as an offshoot of the atrocities of the Spanish and American colonizers some people from nearby towns or “pueblos” settled in the thick forests of the town. To maintain unity and strength against the dangers lurking around them, they chose twelve (12) leaders from the forty (40) and constructed a long house with a partition made from local materials sewn together or “pinagtahi-an” in the local dialect, that could accommodate the forty families under one roof. The house was located at the roadside east of the present Bingawan Baptist Church.
The celebration is a historical, social and cultural event reminiscent of the founding of the Municipality of Bingawan. It is a deep appreciation of its past where its local government recognizes the fact that the cultural properties of the locality are necessary and indispensable for the right understanding of its history and cultural heritage. The local leadership further believes that the Pagnahi-an Festival is especially of its high value from the view point of the local culture and is considered an irreplaceable treasure of the local government – it is the embodiment of the interwoven dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the LGU.