BRIEF HISTORY

In the 1800s, extremely amazed by the wide expanse of lush vegetation, one of the first Ilocano settlers who arrived at the place exclaimed, “Nagla’oa daytoy nga tay-aken!”ersistence,  the unwavering resolve and collective efforts of our founding fathers, past and present leaders, and the belief that we can achieve greatness as a people, characterize the motivation and initiative in creating an identity all our own, and in struggling for advancement to accomplish sustainable progress and development for our town, the Municipality of Laoac.

In English, the sentence means, “How wide this plain is.” The Ilocano word “LAOA” means “WIDE” in English. From then on, the place was associated with this word and later on evolved into the present name of the municipality – “LAOAC.”

It was in the early 1900s that the long and tedious process of converting Laoac, the biggest barangay of Manaoag, into a distinct and separate municipality commenced. Local leaders Don Vicente Gavino and Don Jacinto Nuñez were the first to clamor for the separation from its mother town. However, this dream was never realized in their lifetime.

Time passed and another group of political leaders headed by Don Rufino V. Tabayoyong, renewed their predecessor’s desire for separation.  Yet again, they did not succeed.

Unperturbed by the first two attempts of his predecessors, Don Westrimundo Tabayoyong revived the movement for separation. In 1970, Resolution No. 29, Series of 1970 was passed by the Municipal Council of Manaoag, Pangasinan aiming to convert Laoac and the 19 adjoining barangays into a separate municipality.

In 1971, the Provincial Board of Pangasinan under the leadership of then Governor Tito Primicias approved Manaoag Municipal Council Resolution No. 29, s. 1970 and consequently endorsed the matter to the Congress. Believing that the resolution embodied the will of the people, Congressman Antonio P. Villar, Sr. filed a bill in Congress in 1972. This bill, otherwise known as Republic Act No. 6485 (R.A. 6485), created the Municipality of Laoac.  However, the proclamation of Martial

Law in 1972 delayed the implementation of the said law.

Batas Pambansa Blg. 18 (BP 18), enacted through the collaborative efforts of Honorable Antonio Villar, Honorable Conrado Estrella, Honorable Jeremias Montemayor, Honorable Felipe De Vera, and Honorable Roque De Guzman provide, among other things, the holding of an election for the first local officials of Laoac, Pangasinan.

The first set of elected municipal officials, led by the first Mayor, the Honorable Westrimundo Tabayoyong, assumed office on March 5, 1980 and formally inaugurated the corporate existence of Laoac, Pangasinan.

Honorable Cirilo M. Zarate, incumbent Municipal Vice Mayor, assumed office as Local Chief Executive of the Municipality of Laoac on September 6, 1985 due to the untimely demise of Mayor Tabayoyong.

The establishment of a Revolutionary Government after the “EDSA People Power Revolution” led to the replacement of all those in power—from the top level down to the barangay level by the appointees of the new President of the Republic. By virtue of a memorandum by the newly-appointed Secretary of the Department of Local Government, the incumbent Municipal Mayor was replaced by Honorable Gregorio B. Tabayoyong and took his Oath of Office as Officer-in-Charge of the municipality from May 1, 1986 to December 1, 1987. Mr. Bienvenido A. Tamondong, incumbent Municipal Local Government Operations Officer of DILG-Laoac, was appointed as “caretaker” of the municipality from December 2, 1987 to January 1, 1988 until the first local election was held on January, 1988.

Honorable Gregorio B. Tabayoyong became the first elected Local Chief Executive during the Aquino Administration and the first to be successively re-elected for three consecutive terms as Municipal Mayor from 1988-1992, 1992-1995, and 1995-1998.

In the 1998 election, Honorable Juanilo E. Alarcio, Sr. prevailed over his opponent and assumed office as Local Chief Executive of the municipality from June 12, 1998 to June 12, 2001.

On May 14, 2001, Honorable Gregorio B. Tabayoyong was elected Municipal Mayor and served for two consecutive terms as the Local Chief Executive of the Municipality from 2001-2004 and 2004-2007.

During the May 2007 election, Honorable Antonio P. Abalos was elected Municipal Mayor and assumed office on June 30, 2007.

On May 10, 2010, Honorable Silverio D. Alarcio, Jr. was elected Municipal Mayor and served for three consecutive terms as the Local Chief Executive of the Municipality from 2010-2019.

Nine years later, after emerging victorious in the May 10, 2019 election, Honorable Ricardo D. Balderas took his Oath of Office on June 30, 2019 as Mayor of the Municipality of Laoac, Pangasinan.

List of Appointive/Elective Municipal Executives (1980 to 2022)

NamePositionTerm
Westrimundo R. TabayoyongMayorMarch 5, 1980 – September 5, 1985
Cirilo M. ZarateMayorSeptember 6, 1985 – May 18, 1986
Gregorio B. TabayoyongOfficer-in-ChargeMay 19, 1986 – December 1, 1987
Bienvenido A. TamondongOfficer-in-ChargeDecember 2, 1987 – January 1, 1988
Gregorio B. TabayoyongMayor1988 – 1992
Gregorio B. TabayoyongMayor1992 – 1995
Gregorio B. TabayoyongMayor1995 – 1998
Juanilo E. Alarcio, Sr.Mayor1998 – 2001
Gregorio B. TabayoyongMayor2001 – 2004
Gregorio B. TabayoyongMayor2004 – 2007
Antonio P. AbalosMayorJune 30, 2007 – June 30, 2010
Silverio D. Alarcio, Jr.MayorJune 30, 2010 – 2019
Ricardo D. BalderasMayorJune 30,2019 – Present