Ramos Tarlac Philippines

Brief History of Ramos Tarlac

During the middle part of the nineteenth century, waves of Ilocano immigrants came from Santa Narvacan, Batac attracted by the fertile plains in this part of the province, settled in this locality. The region was not far from the hilly where grasses were plentiful and along the creeks, a tree called "Bani" with medicinal properties grew in abundance.

The settlement prospered and came to be identified with this medicinal tree and through constants usage, eventually became formally known as "Bani" forming one of the barrios of the town of Paniqui.

Bani residents had long wanted to have their barrio became a town. Paniqui, seven kilometers away, which ran their administration seemed too remote to look after the barrio’s welfare. To travel long distance to transact business in the town hall was too trouble for the villagers who though their barrio could sufficiently run its own affairs.

When the Philippine revolution flared-up many Bani residents responded to the call of arms, including Don Bernabe Oteysa, chief local campaigner for the Katipunan Movement. The volunteers banded themselves, under the command of Commandandte Alejandro Tolongan of Pura, maintaining their headquarters at Sitio Bangkag under District No. 5 from where they were sent as reinforcement to Balintawak and Calumpit, then at Tarlac and finally in Dagupan. When the American adminstration was finally established with the appoinment of Don Alfonso Ramos as Tarlac first Provincial Governor, barrio leaders led by Carlos Filieu, Vicente Mauricio and Magdalino Linsao submitted a petition signed by the Bani villagers to the Provincial Board of Tarlac requesting the creation of their barrio into town. The request was not a dismal failure on the ground that the petition lacks the necessary items to meet all the board’s requirements. Repeated petition by the residents thereafter followed in succession but to no avail.

It was not until the second gubernatorial term of Don Manuel de Leon, that Bani became formally a town in 1919 renamed Bani to RAMOS in taken of memory of their benefactor Don Alfonso Ramos, who first initiated the move. Don Carlos Filien who spearheaded the move, then became the town’s first President Municiapl (1921) along with Pio Cabañero as Vice-President Municiapl, Nicasio Reginaldo, Francisco Ilingan and Luis Aquino as Municipal Councilors.