Philippine History: Chapter 2 - Ang Kasaysayan sang Victorias

Chapter 2. Daan Banwa, where everything began

But the crowded city center was not the original settlement of Victorias; everything began 1.2 kilometers to the west of the Victorias public plaza.

Before becoming a town in 1898 and a city in 1998, Victorias was just a barrio near the mouth of the Malihao River on the northwest side of Negros island facing the Iloilo Strait. That barrio, also originally named Malihaw (or Malihao) after the abundant malihaw plants on the river banks, is now known as Daan Banwa (Old Town) and is currently the City's Barangay 9. 

                   (Present-day 'Daan Banwa' at the                                mouth of the Malihao River)

Though there are no verifiable written records of the barrio's earliest settlers, the 1953 compilation mentions of Indonesians, Cebuanos and Boholanos as early inhabitants of Daan Banwa even before the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines. 

Although Cebuanos and Boholanos might have rowed from the east, a piece of Visayan history regarding 'Indonesians' came to mind. Or was the 1953 compilation referring to Indonesians, or maybe specifically, Borneans?

Chapter 3: Did the early settlers come from Aninipay during the pre-hispanic period?

Complete history blog: "Ang Kasaysayan Sang                                               Victorias"