Alicia Town's Old Tales & Folk Stories

The town of Alicia was originally founded in 1768.  It became once the settlement place of the "returnees" from the Dagohoy rebellion coming from the surrounding hills after some land were given to them to till, but under a watchful eye of the Spanish authorities. 

A folk story told that the town of Alicia was known as Batuanan, after the abundance of batuan trees in the locality that much used at that time. This old town of Batuanan was created by the Military Commander of Bohol Don Manuel Sanz by virtue of an authorization granted by the Governor General on February 5, 1828. When Dagohoy rebellion ended in the year 1829, the it became the largest of five such settlements, with over 6000 inhabitants. Later, on September 9, 1879, the Politico-Military Governor of Bohol, Adolfo Martin de Baños, dissolved the town and converted into a barrio of Candijay town.

But because of its distance from Candijay town, Batuanan continued to have its own town officials. For quite some time it existed thus, as a town within a town, and this became the reason why the Spaniards never made it into a separate parish and was moved a few kilometers to the west in 1870.

In July 1901, during the early years of the American occupation of the Philippines, the town was burned to the ground, thus became a barangay of the neighboring town of Mabini after its slowly recovery. By virtue of Act No. 968 of the Philippine Commission of the Americans, Batuanan was again abolished and made into a barrio of the new Municipality of Mabini in 1903. And, through the years, as the desire for township was again enkindled, the residents of Batuanan produced two Mayors, two Vice Mayors, and many councilors for the town of Mabini.

When Pres. Quirino was then campaigning for election as President of the Philippines in the place, Governor Jacinto Borja, together with the leaders of Batuanan, presented the petition for conversion to a municipality to President Quirino in Dumaguete on April 15, 1948 made a promise to let him win in Batuanan.  

After getting his victory as President, he signed Executive Order No. 265 on September 16, 1949 converting Batuanan into the municipality of Alicia, in honor of his wife. But the order was to take effect only by November 8, 1949 and would have been revoked if he had not won the election in Batuanan. Finally, in 1949 the town was restored to its former status as a regular municipality.