History of Barangay Iquin
Barangay Iquin used to be a part of what is now Mangayawan. Located to the northwest of its mother barangay, it was once a sparsely populated place with a profusion of forest trees. The early inhabitants were kaingeros who practiced a peripathetic type of tillage. Its trees were cut down for lumber and other building materials by others who originally came from neighboring localities. Eventually, these lumbermen decided to settle down in the place, and joined the slash-burn agriculturist already living thereat.
The barangay derived its name from the fact of its geographical location which is in between tow bodies of water, the Bicol River and the Canaman Creek. The native word for in-between is “iquim”. But because iquim has slightly sexual connotations, among others, in the dialect, the people apparently decide to sanitize their referential name for their place by changing it to iquin, a word which does not exist in Bikol language.
When the Spanish authorities tried to create a single barrio out of the three neighboring settlement zones locally referred to as mangga, kakawayanan and iquin, the latter’s center proved to be too far away from the centro of the others. Thus it remained outside the union of what became Mangayawan; and in 1912 it gained its own present identity when Luis Soriano organized it into a separate barrio, with the Lady of Assumption as its patroness.
(Taken from: Canaman Through the Centuries by Jose V. Barrameda, Jr.)
Physical Characteristics
Barangay Liñaga is located in the south-western portion of the municipality of Canaman. It is traversed by the Canaman River and is about 7 kilometers from the poblacion (town proper). It has an aggregate area of 184.3749 has. or 4.2% of the total land area of the municipality. Of the entire 24 barangays of the municipality, Liñaga is the 8th smallest based on land area. It is made up of seven puroks (Zones 1 to 7). The main barangay settlement has been physically detached from the mainland due to the cut-off channel 2 made in the early 1950’s.
It is bounded on the Northwest by the Municipality of Pamplona with the Bicol River as the natural boundary marker, on the South by Barangay Mangayawan and on the East by Barangay San Jose West. The barangay’s terrain is generally flat with slope of 0-3%. It is predominantly an agricultural area with around 80% of its land devoted to rice farming. Fishing is also undertaken in the Canaman River and its tributaries.
Educational, Health and Service Facilities
Immediate need for health services in the barangay is undertaken by 3 Barangay Health Workers and supplemented by once a month visitation by the Municipal Midwife. The residents can also access the services of the Municipal Health Office located in the town proper situated 7 km from the barangay. Serious cases can be brought directly to Naga City which is about 8.5 kilometers from the barangay.
The barangay is served by the Iquin Elementary School that provides public elementary education for children up to Grade VI. The nearest High School is located in Barangay Mangayawan, Canaman which is about 1.5 kilometer from the barangay while Tertiary Education facilities can be found in Barangay Baras (about 9.5 kms. from the barangay) and Naga City (about 8.5 kms from the barangay).
A Day Care Worker (funded by the barangay with municipal counterpart) provides day care services to the children aged 3-5 years old in the barangay.
Mode of Public Transportation
Before the place was reached by farm-to-market roads, going to and from the barangay is thru water transportation. However, in the advent of the farm-to-market roads, people in Iquin avail of the services of the public utility jeepneys for their public transportation. However, the main settlement can only be reached upon crossing the cut-off channel (around 100m wide) via boats/motorboats for a fee (P2.00 per person per trip).
Credit Institutions
The barangay is served by several credit institutions (private and government) including those offered by private individuals. The Municipal Government also offers micro-lending services to identified sectors, including the micro entrepreneurs and farmers. Private individuals (5-6 or bumbay type) and compradors also offer credit services to individuals in the barangay.
Water & Electric Supply
All the six puroks of the barangay has electrical facilities through CASURECO II. However, there are still a number of households (37 households) with no electrical connections due to economic reasons or that they are very far from the electric posts.
For their potable water supply, the barangay is dependent to the water vendors (lorries) that ply the area. Additional cost is incurred in transporting the water from the road to the main settlement via the cut-off channel. This situation is echoed by the CBMS results which revealed that 97.6% or 160 of the total 164 households in the barangay have no access to safe water.
Waste Management
The barangay has no Materials Recovery Facility and no established waste management system. Most of the residents dispose their wastes thru burning or in open pits. Some irresponsible residents throw their garbage in the river. It can be mentioned that the barangay is reached by roving “Bote-Bakal-Plastic” buyers.
Peace and Order
The barangay is generally peaceful. Peace and order in the barangay is handled by the 10 Barangay Tanods with regular detail duties and foot patrol every night. CBMS 2009 data shows that 5 households said that they were victimized by crime, all of which were crimes against property.
Barangay Officials
Barangay Sta. Teresita has the following Barangay Officials, to wit:
Punong Barangay: Feliciano C. Montero, Jr.
Barangay Kagawads:
1. Elmar A. Pante
2. Marcela M. Azotillo
3. Joan M.Bonganay
4. Salvador A. Torres
5. Froilan A. Bolocon
6. Santiago A. Romanillos
7. Edilberto A. Sta. Rosa
8. Grace P. Correo – SK Chairman
Barangay Secretary: Sheryl B. Marfilla
Barangay Treasurer: Catalino M. Sta. Rosa