HISTORY OF LAGANGILANG PARISH
Reports so far available about the Ilocano history of Lagangilang, date back only until the year 1906. In this year, immigrants from Vigan and Bantay, Ilocos Sur settled and erected a small chapel in the barrio AGUET, near Lagangilang. They were catholic Ilocanos from Ilocos Sur who used to row up the Abra River to trade with the natives and who soon established a s
ettlement of their own at the south-east part of Lagangilang. This settlement came to be known as “AGUET”, situated on the fertile fields (laplapog) not far from the river bank of the Abra River. As good Christians then, they also put up a “camarin” chapel made of bamboo, and roofed with cogon grass where they enthroned their Santo Cristo which they had transferred from Vigan. At certain occasions, the priest rowed upstream the Abra River, 8 kilometers from Tayum to say Holy Mass and administer other sacraments. Because of the difficulties connected with such a visit, the people of Aguet could not afford to call the priest many times. October 17, 1908 ia a very sad day in the history of Abra, and in particular in the history of Aguet and Lagangilang. This date is known as the “Layus ti Aguet”. Rain had been falling almost continuously for almost three days, when in the middle of the night came a very strong wind with very strong rain. Trees and houses fell down to the ground, and the water of the rising river rose so high that the people of Pudoc- the fields between the Tineg-Malana River and the main body of the Abra River could not come anymore to a safe place. The wind and the rain suddenly stopped at midday, but after about one and a half hours, very strong winds from the opposite direction set in. The wind abated at about midnight, and the following morning the weather was all clear. From the tower of Tayum to the tower of La Paz raged strong currents as one continuous sea. Survivors of Pudoc and other places had to lash themselves to the tops of camantiris trees and bamboos. Barrio and chapel of Aguet were carried away by the current. About 50 persons, more than half of the entire population had perished. After a few weeks, they found the Miraculous Santo Cristo, their Patron of the Chapel of Aguet near La Paz, and carried it back to their barrio in a solemn procession. According to another report, the life-sized crucifix was found way down almost near the mouth of the Abra River. When this crucifix was carried back in a solemn procession, one old man said the prophetical words: “Daytoy ti Religion nga Agbiag”. The future was to prove the truth of these words.
