The first settlers of
Kabankalan were people who migrated from nearby towns. They
found the place thickly covered with "bangkal"
trees, hence the name Kabankalan. Its form of government was
the Barangay System where each group of barangay had a site
leader called Capitan.
Kabankalan started as a barrio
of Ilog. When it became a town in 1903, its first town
president was Capitan Lorenzo Zayco. In mid-1907, a group of
dissidents led by Papa Isio raided Kabankalan and burned all
the houses. However, it was rapidly rebuilt from the
destruction caused by the dissidents known as "pulahan."
During the Spanish regime, the
Spaniards introduced the Catholic faith and their language
to the residents. When the American came, they also
introduced a democratic form of government. Improvements
were made on public works and modern farming methods were
taught.
Guerilla units were organized
in the town during the Japanese occupation. Strong
resistance was then put up against the invaders, while
residents fled to the mountains to avoid being controlled by
Japanese soldiers in the poblacion.
The establishment of two sugar
mills during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s and the influx
of business, banking, and commercial institutions in the
1990’s have stirred the economic growth and development of
the city creating a trickling affect on the economic
activity of the municipalities in Southern Negros.
On August 2, 1997, former
President Fidel V. Ramos, proclaimed Kabankalan into a city
under Republic Act No. 8297.
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Negros
Occidental, Kabankalan City
