Location
Nueva Vlaencia is one of the five (5) municipalities that comprise the island province of Guimaras. It is a fourth class municipality, has at present 22 barangays; 14 are coastal barangay, 6 are inland and 2 are island barangays.
It is located southeast of Panay with a distance of approximately six (6) nautical miles.
This municipality is bounded on the north by the Municipality of Sibunag, on the south and east
by Iloilo Strait and on the west by guimnaras Strait. It is within the geographical coordinates of
10 31’ 40.63” North latitude and 122 32’ 18.52” East longitudes.
Historical Background
During the Spanish regime, Valencia was already an independent municipality with the late Don Manuel Segovia as Alkalde Mayor. Christianization of the people of Nueva Valencia started almost simultaneously with all other places in the Philippines. This place was originally called “Valencia”. It was headed by the Alkalde Mayor. The casa real was situated in the pueblocito of Santa Ana which is now called the Poblacion which also the seat of the municipal government at present. When the casa real was burned with an unknown cause, the name Valencia was changed to Nueva Valencia which was once apart of the municipality of Jordan.
On January 1, 1942, the Municipality of Nueva Valencia was formally inaugurated with Hon. Florentino Gallopa as the first appointed municipal mayor and the seat of municipal government was located at Igbantog, Santa Ana but for the lack of facilities like municipal building and others, the office was temporarily housed at the police station in Barrio Igang until World War II.
It was in the year 1949 during the term of office of the late mayor Ricardo Ortiz when the issue for the final permanent site as the seat of municipal government was raised by political leaders. A plebiscite was held for such purpose and the majority’s decision was to transfer the seat of municipal government permanently to sitio Igbantog, Santa Ana which became the permanent seat of municipal government up to the present.
