In the early part of 17th century, Villasis was a mere barrio of Malasiqui which was known by its first name “Pandoyocan”. The place had no fixed boundaries. It was simply a frontier settle­ment, a thickly forested region covering most of the southeastern part of the province. Its jurisdiction embraced in full or in parts the towns of Asingan, Sta. Maria, Urdaneta, Sto. Tomas and Alcala. Its features varied with the number of families temporar­ily or permanently settled within its environs2. Few people lived in this place because few edible plants could be grown due to unavailability of open spaces for farming. Its thick forest however was a nesting ground of great hordes of bees they called oyocan which produces honey called allid. The abundance of honey attracted Spaniards and inhabitants of neighboring places to settle in this village. The honey provided good income and the bee wax, another bee product, were then traditionally used for cloth weaving. From this, the place was made popular by its great hordes of bees and they called the place “PANDOYOCAN” meaning colony of bees. It was also the principal source of timber. As late as the middle of the middle of 19th century, its nearby forest still yielded wood used in principal constructions for civil as well as naval uses3. One vessel of the Spanish navy was even constructed at Lingayen with timber from this area4. Moreo­ver, the banks of the great Agno River were another source of livelihood with the abundance of gold dust called mocmoc.

The fluctuating population of Pandoyocan, however did not escape the attention of the zealous Spanish missionaries5. Since the mother town of Malasiqui was the nearest Christianized settle­ment, the friars assigned there undertook the task of converting the settlers in and around Pandoyocan, persuading them to reset­tle within a proposed pueblo6. It was upon the petition of Fr. Fernando Sta. Maria, then assigned to Malasiqui, together with the principales of the town, that the license to found the town of Pandoyocan was granted on October 18, 1759 by Bishop Miguel Espeleta of Cebu, then the enterim Governor General7. He was the first Filipino Archbishop and Governor General.

In May 13, 1760, the election of Gobernadorcillo and other munic­ipal officials was conducted by the Alcalde Mayor of Pangasinan8. A Dominican priest was assigned as curate to the new town the same year, but it was not until 1763 that the convent at Pandoyo­can (now, the Roman Catholic Church/Rectory of Villasis) was accepted by the religious order9. In 1769, it was placed under the care of the vicar of Sinapog known today as the town of Asingan10. After 1773, no more mention of Pandoyocan is found in the Actas Capitulares11.

Fig. 3. Villasis was basically populated by migration of people from the northern Ilocos Region in late 1700s.

 

Sometime in 1782, there was an uprising against the Spaniards led by Pantaleon Perez, known in the national history as ‘Juan de la Cruz’. Forced labor without pay was the chief cause of this uprising. Many people were forced to move to other towns so that the place becomes almost deserted and ungoverned. It was again turned into a barrio under the town of Malasiqui. Over the years, many attempts were made to restore it into an independent town under the leadership of Don Remegio Macaraeg, Don Aurelio Figuer­oa, Don Gabriel de la Cruz, among others. It was one of the darkest hours of Pandoyocan. After many long years and hardships it was again restored into a separate municipality.

1.2. Creation and Founding of Villasis
Villasis, founded in the first decade of the nineteenth century, was not a new municipality. It was rebuilt out of the remnants of ancient Pandoyocan, one of the frontier settlements in the eighteenth century in then thickly forested area of southern Pangasinan. It had been elevated to the status of pueblo in 1759 and had its first election of town officials in 1760. But during the Palaris Revolt of 1762-1764 its inhabitants dwindled to compose only 150 tributes and its administration was ordered abolished. Conceivably, the old residents stayed on and eventually its population increased.

Migrants from the Ilocos region towards the end of the eighteenth and the beginnings of the nineteenth century further increased its population and the inhabitants petitioned for the restoration of their municipality. On the 22nd of June 1804 a royal decree was published mandating the reconstitution of Pandoyocan. There was some delay in the execution of the decree and the inhabitants made another petition to re-establish their town government and at the same time to change the name of their town to Villasis in honor of the former Governor Jose Maria Aguilar, one of whose family names was Villasis, who had issued the decree of 1804. Governor Felgueras granted the petition and the decree of 1804 was amended on 2 March 1807 to name the town Villasis12.  But another version from the old Town Plan, 1984-1993 and traditional knowledge on how the town derived its name is it was in honor of Spanish colonizer, Don Antonio Urbiztondo y Villasis. This traditional belief however can not be independently verified as to its source and origin.

Fig. 4. Traditionally accepted belief is that Villasis was named after the great Spanish colonizer, Don Antonio Urbiztondo y Villasis. (Photo courtesy of Mr. Jose Sarmiento)

 

Soon, the Dominican Provincial, however complained that the number of tributes in Pandoyocan had dwindled to only 92 from an original 300, because many who had been registered were not around when the period for the collection of tributes came.  The Dominican Father also wanted the town center to be sited in Macayo where a chapel had already been built. Thus, aside from changing the town's name to Villasis, the site of the poblacion was also changed and Pandoyocan became a mere barrio of Villasis. In 1841, Villasis finally became a town-parish and it included the visita of Panaglagbang, which is now the town of Rosales.

The town now consists of the Poblacion, the urban center and sixteen (16) barangays, each with history and etymology of its own. It is strategically locat­ed along the National Highway, a major transportation route to and from Region I and the Cordillera Administrative Region. The town’s geographical location has made it easier for the munici­pality to develop into its present functional role and economic status.

The town now continues on its way to a robust growth. It is now considered one of the most progressive towns in the province of Panga­sinan as evidenced by the big flow of people and business from all parts of the country.

2.   MAJOR AND SIGNIFICANT EVENTS LEADING TO THE PRESENT STATUS
2.1. Historical  Roles and Events
In 1891, on the eve of the overthrow of the Spanish rule, the 29 towns of Pangasinan (which includes Villasis), each had a sepa­rate Capitan Municipal and Juez de Paz12 or Municipal Captain and Judge of Peace respectively as the titular heads of the towns. The last recorded Capitan Municipal and Juez de Paz were Don Victoriano Rebosa and Don Catalino Lazaro13, respectively, both of whom last served in the year 1898 just before the takeover of the American government.

There was not a recorded town leader in the first three years of the American regime (1898-1901). As in other areas of history, confusion or near chaos attends the transformation between the end of one regime and the beginning of the other. The people of Villasis were one of the few towns who had staged an uprising against the Americans. In December 1898, Pangasinan had a pro­vincial battalion of six companies composing of 711 men. The fifth company was co-headed by 1st Lt. Don Mateo de Leon of Villasis14. During the Fil-American War, Villasis enlisted 12 men to the battalion rooster.15 

Not until sometime in 1901, that the first Municipal Mayor (Presidente), Benito Bascos assumed his office to administer the affairs of the town. From 1901 to the present, there are twenty-seven town executives who took turns in managing the reigns of the municipal government. Other important events that took place were not recorded or might have been destroyed during the Second World War. Below however, are some of the events that contributed to what Villasis is today:

1912 - The completion of the cadastral survey of the whole munic­ipality of Villasis.

1949 - The completion of Plaridel Bridge and concreting of the McArthur Highway.
1965 - A very important landmark in the field of education was the construction of the Villasis Public High School at the eastern part of Poblacion about 500 meters away from the town hall. It was situated in a half a hectare lot purchased by the Municipal Government. In the year 1978, it was nationalized and was named Villasis National High School with an enrollment of about 2,000 students. The land area was also expanded for future construction of additional buildings.
1969 - The old municipal hall was replaced with a new one with the aid of the National Government. This was later on expanded in 1982 to house all government agencies.
1971 - The Court of First Instance, Branch V was constructed at the northern part of the Municipal Hall.
1976 - The founding of the Villasis Community College offering an initial two-year course of Midwifery.
1979 - The Municipal Park now known as Imelda Park was construct­ed in a sprawling 4,000 square meters at the school campus of the Villasis Central School.
1980 - A new Public Auditorium, a joint project of the Municipal Government and the Ministry of Tourism, were constructed at the southern part of the Imelda Park with an approximate area of 3,000 square meters.
1988 - The Villasis National High School was renamed Don Ramon E. Costales Memorial National High School under Republic Act No. 6737 in honor of its founder, the late former mayor Ramon E. Costales.
Jan. 27, 1988 - The renaming of a portion of the Gen. Luna Street fronting the Roman Catholic Church to People’s Boulevard under S.B. Resolution No. 11 s. 1988.
1991 - The reconstruction of Don Teofilo Sison Bridge after it was badly damaged by the killer quake of July 1990.
1991 - The construction of all-steel frame Villasis Meat section in the Villasis Public Market, the Unzad Multi-Purpose Gym and the concreting and asphalting of unpaved portions of the Villa­sis-Asingan-Malasiqui Inter-Provincial Road.
1992 -  The construction of another all-steel frame Fish Section at the Villasis Public Market.
1992 - The completion of concrete paving of the Market Loop Road and its drainage facilities.
1993 - The reconstruction of the Old Meat Section which was converted to Vegetables Section.
        -   Introduction of new vocational courses in Villasis Commun­ity College leading to Dental Technician and Medical Aide.
        -   The relocation/reconstruction of the Rizal Monument from the Municipal Kiosk to the Municipal Park.
1994 - The completion of the Tax Mapping project of the municipality, the first time ever to update all real property tax records and increase income from real property taxes fourfold.
1995 - January 23, 1995 - The old Public Market was razed by fire.
         -  The enactment of the New Revenue Code of Villasis through SB Ordinance No. 20-151295 s. 1995 greatly increasing local income to an unprecedented level besting all municipalities of Pangasinan for several years.
1996 - Establishment of the modern, multi-million dollar and multinational livestock feed mill in Bacag, the Purina Feeds Corporation of the U.S.
2000 - The completion of Villasis Multi-purpose Gym with a seating capacity of 1500 people at the bleachers and 2,000 more on the court.
        -   April 25, 2000, Malacañang, Manila - Villasis won the coveted national award for being the “Most Outstanding Municipality in Budget Management” for first to third class municipalities, the highest award received by the municipality to date with a cash reward of Php1.5M.
2001 - The start of the construction of a new multi-million peso, two-storey Villasis Public Market.

2.2. Economic Development
The town economy had started with the migration of people from nearby towns and as far as from the Ilocos provinces. During those times, the town of Villasis was still thickly covered with forest so that the people started out with gathering honeys which abound in the area and cloth weaving with a bee wax - a deriva­tive from honey culture. Other source of living was gold panning from the nearby Agno River. Through early 19th century, forest was still thick but as forest cover was eventually cleared for its lumber and for farm cultivation, bees that produce honey also disap­peared. The industrious people soon quickly transformed the wide plains into a fertile farm producing abundant crops to this day.
  
The economy of Villasis then becomes agriculture-based with palay, tobacco, vegetable and root crops as its major products. The secondary products are mango, cassava and corn. The hilly areas used to produce sugarcane and processed as molasses, vine­gar and the famous basi, a local wine, but eventually the indus­try faded in the early 1960’s. The economic potential of the town is capable of becoming at par with other progressive towns of the province. With the agricultural sector economy considered already developed, the town is already ripe to venture into an agro-industrial economy. This has been the scope of the goals of the town development plan so as to exploit fully the potential of the manpower, agricultural resources, its strategic location and ultimately improve the standard of living of the populace and the economy of the town as a whole.
 
The town became a third class municipality in 1996 having exceeded the minimum average four-year annual income of Php10.00M. It is projected  that with the present pace of its growth combined with good planning and effective plan implementation, the municipality could easily attain a 2nd class status in the medium term.  

2.3. Socio Cultural Development
2.3.1. Ethnic Origin
In the middle part of 18th century, the people of Pandoyocan were a motley group. Majority were peasant farmers cultivating a newly cleared land, others were timber cutters16. Majority of the residents of Villasis are Ilocanos who came from the northern Ilocos Region to “seek for greener pastures”.
2.3.2. Present Migration Trends
Due to lack of records, the migration trends could not be ascer­tained although most of the residents who migrated went to for­eign lands, again, to seek greener pasture as the municipal­ity and the country as well, offer only a very limited employment opportunities and high paying jobs.
2.3.3. Customs and Traditions
The townspeople of Villasis still retain their customs and tradi­tions which were inherited from our forefathers. Some are consid­ered important traditions particularly those which bring closer family ties - the pakikisama and utang na loob which however con­tributes now to a prevalent patronage system in all aspects of society relationships. The undying custom of elderly respect through mano or placing the elder’s hand on the forehead is still being widely practiced. The strong religiosity of Villasinians has made them strong willed in times of distress. Villasinians have the ability to survive in crisis, resourceful. Even to this day the bayanihan spirit is still being practiced in some areas but due to economic difficulties it has become seldom.

Negative traditions are also inherited like the superstitious beliefs more evident in the older generations, the crab mentality and the bahala na system. Likewise, as a result of being col­onized successively by foreigners, colonial mentality has some­what developed in us preferring things that are foreign. Some of today’s more modern townspeople seem to have liberated themselves from old traditions due to constant exposure to western culture.
2.3.4. Development and Establishment of Settlements
During its creation as a municipality, Villasis was interconnect­ed with other towns by means of land transportation over dirt roads cut through thick forests. These are the road intersecting the town from north to south connecting it with the towns of Urdaneta and Rosales and the road intersecting it from east to west, a vital road to the once mother town of Malasiqui and to the inner town of Asingan to the East. Human settlements were generally con­fined along the road networks and some prefer to thrive along the Agno River due to its abundant gold dust. In the course of time, these roads were widened and developed to become the National Highway or the Manila North Road and the Villasis-Asingan-Malasi­qui inter-provincial roads respectively. As the forests were cleared and population began to increase, more road networks were constructed and subsequently populated as it is still today.

The municipal government, acknowledging the need of more shelters for its increasing population, has identified probable areas for housing and shelter. This factor proved to be not an easy task considering the unavailability of idle lands, and the very limited area that has already been allotted for agricultural purposes.