Ibajay

The autonomous barangays that the Spaniards encountered in Cebu could barely provide enough food for their needs. Miguel López de Legazpi had to move his camp, sailing from Cebu to Panay Island in 1569.

Desiring to explore the Island for food and spice, Legazpi ordered some of his men to move further on the Island until they ran out of bread to eat. Tired and hungry, the Spaniards solicited something to eat from the natives. To their surprise, they were given a container full of brown rice. When the Spaniards asked the natives what kind of rice they passed, they politely replied, "ba-hay," meaning third-class rice. In recognition of the generosity of the natives, they named the place "Panay y bahay" – the place in Panay where there was, and the Spaniards were given "ba-hay" rice.

The word Ibajay was initially written with the capital letter Y. It was only in 1902 that an American supervising teacher made the change from Ybajay to Ibajay because of the preference for the English alphabet and the difficulty of the Americans in spelling the word.

Spanish authorities' first seat of government was in Boboc-on, Barangay Naile, in the 17th century. The system of government the Spaniards established was the encomienda. They ruled the natives by control from a royal grant from the King of Spain. The King of Spain appointed an encomiendero as the overseer, with the Governadorcillo, Cabeza Mayores and Cabezas de Barangay as subordinates.

In the early part of the Spanish dominion, the barangay was the primary government structure in Ibajay. The Chieftain collected tributes from his sinakupan (people) and turned over the collections to the encomienderos. Later on, however, the barangay government was reorganized again into makeups. Each has to elect a governadorcillo. The governadorcillo was elected by the votes of selected married male natives called principales. The candidate must be recommended and nominated by the community or the encomiendero.

But to the eyes of the natives, the village chief was just an administrative leader. He was not an absolute ruler like the Spaniards imposed. A traditional body of customs and procedures limited the scope of his authority. Although his position had become hereditary, it was initially attained by exhibiting more excellent prowess and valour, traits useful for the community's survival.

Dismayed by the exploitative nature of the government system and their unwillingness to accept the Spanish sovereignty, Chieftains Hangoe, Sandok, and Kabatak fled to the vast mountains of Panay. Still, the Spanish continued their colonization. The natives could not do anything but accept the dictum of the Spaniards to survive and go on with their lives.

The first native to hold public office in Sitio Boboc-on as governadorcillo was Don Francisco Dalisay, elected by the principales in 1673. However, Muslim pirates and bandits from Mindanao often pestered the town. Hence, in 1786, Governadorcillo Juan Sabino moved the seat of government to Sitio Maganhup, a vast land between now Barangay Naile and Barangay San Jose. However, the new site proved unsafe from the continued beleaguering of the lawless elements. Furthermore, it was not ideal for the natives because it was far from the farms they cultivated.

Consequently, for the second time in 1792, Governor Jose Garcia transferred the seat of government to Sitio Adiango, now part of Barangay Laguinbanua. However, it only stayed there for 11 years. Captain Josef Flores moved the seat of government again to its present location. By the decree issued by the Governador of the Philippine Islands, watchtowers were fortified along the shorelines to warn and protect against bandits and crooks. A church was also erected.

The Philippine Revolution broke out in the later part of the 19th century. Under the leadership of Gen. Ananias Diokno, the Tagalog Insurrectos defeated and drove away the Spaniards hiding behind the buttress of the Catholic Convent in Poblacion.

The Philippine flag was hoisted at the town square for the first time. In 1879, Don Ciriaco Tirol y Seneres was appointed acting Capitan Municipal until 1898. The following year, under the revolutionary government of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, Don Antonio Manikan was elected Capitan Municipal—the position he held until 1901.

In 1902, The Americans reorganized the local government of Ibajay. They changed the designation of the head of the town from Captain Municipal to Municipal President. This year, the city's official name was changed from Ybajay to Ibajay.

The first Municipal President elected was Don Valintin Conanan. During his term, a cholera epidemic broke out in the Municipality of Ibajay. It snapped out so many lives. As a contingency, a new cemetery was opened near the Catholic Cemetery. It is now known as the Ibajay Municipal Cemetery.

In the year 1921, Catalino Solidum was appointed Municipal President. He held the position for only a year. Moises T. Solidum replaced him the following year until the year 1925. Tomas Bautista became the mayor of Ibajay from 1926 to 1928, while Jose S. Conanan from 1937 to 1940.

In 1941, Dr Jose C. Miraflores became the mayor until the outbreak of World War II. Ibajay, at that time, was razed to the ground by the Japanese troops. Many Ibayhanons suffered the painful consequences of the war. Also, Guerilla Liberation Movement helped the Philippine forces become popular among the locals. Ibayhanon women formed the Ibajay Ladies Auxiliary War Relief Association (LAWRA) to raise funds and morale for the Revolutionary Army. From 1944 to 1945, many Filipino troops of the 6th, 61st and 62nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and the 6th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary liberated the town of Ibajay, Aklan and helped Ibayhanon guerrilla groups and defeated Japanese troops at the end of World War II. Moreover, the local city government was established with Guillermo de los Reyes as acting Municipal Mayor. Moises T. Solidum later on, replaced him until 1946.

Ibajay is politically subdivided into 35 barangays.[7] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.