Baybay City’s Barangay Caridad: How did it get its name?

The tale of the Pulahans

According to the story, this barangay was attacked by the warriors of the ancient time known as Pulahan. The inhabitants fought bravely side by side to defend the village against the advancing intruders. Many were dead and wounded at the cross section of the two big rivers that caused the villagers to name one river as Tuy-an in honor of those who are wounded; and the other river was Nanghila for the dead. To honor those who were killed and seriously wounded, the entire village was named Makahila.

In 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan step foot on the Philippines, there were already inhabitants in the different parts of the islands which were not thickly populated. Leyte was one of those islands and Brgy. Caridad in Baybay was included. An informant estimated that this village was established in the 16th century. Settlers flocked to the place and cultivated the land as their dwelling areas and took advantage of its abundant marine resources.

The first town mayor

Years later the village became a subject for a name change initiated by Don Quirimon Alkuino, the first municipal mayor of Baybay. In August 1903, he made history by changing the name of the historic village into a name he loved more than his life. He changed the name Makahila to Caridad as birthday present to his beloved wife Doña Caridad Blanco. From then on, Caridad was the name of the village.

Lukban comes in

About 4 months just after Don Quirimon Alkuino was elected, Gen.  Vicente Lukban nullified  the  results   of  the  election  and ordered one to be held, with the same results. Lukban ordered that barangays of  Baybay be named after  the  tenientes  thus  Caridad was renamed Veloso but it never happened.

Brgy. Caridad is one of the largest barangays in Baybay City and it is plant site of the world’s largest producer of Virgin Coconut Oil, the SC Global Products, Inc.

Reference: City of Baybay, 500 Years of History by the FCIC Historical Comission, 2007