Map - Bingawan, Iloilo (Bingawan)

Bingawan, officially the Municipality of Bingawan (Banwa sang Bingawan, ), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 16,164 people.

Bingawan is 73 km from Iloilo City.

During the decade of the Spanish regime, many Filipinos who fled from the Spanish atrocities retreated to remote places to hide. Particular places worthy of note were the hillsides of Quinangyana (along its creek), Maldespina and Kinalyan. In order for the people to survive, they made farms using the kaingin system and hunted animals for food. Two settlements were established: one in Maldespina (now Bingawan Cemetery) and the other on the hilltop at Kinalyan near Quinangyana.

When the revolution broke out in 1896, some Filipinos from Calinog, Dumalag, and Tapaz fled to the aforementioned places. In 1900, a big group of evacuees from Calinog arrived and joined those who were hiding. They escaped from the fury of the American soldiers who avenged the death of their fellow soldiers massacred by Filipinos. A year after, some returned to Calinog but others opted to stay and made farms.

The two settlements wanted to unite and establish a community. So, the settlers led by Gregorio Plaga, known as “Pakuribot” an instrumental leader, surveyed the hilltops. A plateau in the southern part was chosen because of the presence of the number of springs. In 1901, the community known as “BINGAWAN” was established. The name Bingawan was derived from the creek which resembled a missing tooth (the term “BINGAW” used in the local dialect). This said creek is located west of the present site of Bingawan Central School.

The early residents constructed a long building made of light materials. It accommodated forty families. They called it “Pagnahi-an” because the partition was made from materials sewed together. The building was located at the roadside east of where the Bingawan Baptist Church stands.

This new community was in need of capable leaders. So, twelve were chosen from the forty families (the twelve leaders represented the twelve apostles of the Lord). Those leaders were called by the early residents as “Founders of Bingawan”. The twelve leaders were Martin Celeste, Eusebio Plaga, Condrado Castroverde, Paulino Celestial, Andres Paren, Gregorio (Goyo) Plaga, Eugeni Celestial, Pablo Celebria, Eulogio Pormilda, Enrique Caspillo, Feliciano Gigare and Atanacio Gener.

The council of elders had two consultants, they were Gregorio (Pakuribot) Plaga and Gregorio Lampeño (a rebel leader form Janiuay). According to the early residents, these two elders were the most illustrious among them all and were ascribed with high respect. Lampeño was believed to have possessed supernatural powers, had a talisman and can beat his enemies very easily. They were accompanied by a brave man known as “Manding Beni”.

With the founding of Barrio Bingawan in 1901, was also the establishment of the Bingawan Baptist Church. The early residents were disgusted with the Spaniards because of their tyranny and religious hypocrisy. The people responded to the preaching of the Gospel by the Protestant preachers and they gladly embraced the evangelical faith. Amando Zamora, an ex-soldier from Luzon who trained under the American missionaries, was brought to Bingawan by Gregorio Lampeño and became the first Pastor of the church.

Later, Charles Briggs, an American missionary and Don Braulio Manikan, the first Filipino preacher who was converted in Spain by Dr. Eric Lund, came to Bingawan and baptized the early converts. The church building was not only used for religious services but also as a school house. Amando Zamora was both a pastor and an educator of the early residents.