Gerona Tarlac Philippines

History of Gerona

Gerona was originally named Paontalon. It was established during the Spanish colonial era, when Dominican missionaries in the Philippines started to propagate Catholicism in the archipelago in 1704. They had placed the Vicar of Malanguey (now Bayambang, Pangasinan) in charge of the mission of converting the inhabitants of Paontalon to the Catholic faith. The mission was successful, and in 1722, Paontalon was recognized as small village and became part of the municipality of Paniqui in Pangasinan.

However, it was only during the early part of the nineteenth century that the inhabitants of Paontalon flourished due to the migration of people from the northern provinces of Luzon in search for greater opportunities. It is believed that the first groups of people who came and settled in Gerona are the Ilocanos and Pangasinenses. This group of people settled on a side of a small rounded hill on the southwest slope of the town. They settled in the hill by the skirt of the little forest that the Pangasinan folks named "Barug" meaning little forest or "Pugo" in Ilocano. It is believed that "Barug" was adopted as the name of the newfound settlement in favor of the later due the fact that the Pangasinenses outnumbered the Ilocanos.

However, in 1765, the name Barug was officially changed to Gerona in honor of General Nicolas Claviera who was at that time the Governor General of the Philippines who hailed from Gerona, Spain.