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       History of Buru-un

            Barangay Buru-un was compiled since 1976 by Selvestre P. Paradela, popularly known by his friends as “Etring”. He is currently residing at Purok-14, Buru-un, Iligan City. Mr. Paradela gathered the facts of the story from Minay Paras who was also among the original settlers of Barangay Buru-un.

            There was once a hunter named Sergeant Canoy who was fond of roaming around by horse to the best hunting area somewhere in Maria Cristina Falls and other waterfalls  covered with rain forests in the western part of Iligan district. The forest was once inhabited by varied wild animals and was also filled with plenty of wild ornamental plants growing on trees like orchids of different varieties. Sergeant Canoy described the area as the new discovery of paradise in life.

            One day,Sergeant Canoy met a muslim inhabitant, a lumad in the area whose name was Datu Rascal Maruhom, a trader of nipa roofing item, who told him too that this forest belongs to Iligan District.

            In another occasion, Sergeant Canoy met another person named Lanto, also  a Lumad in the area, who became his hunting buddy and guide during hunting sessions. Sgt. Canoy added the name of Lanto with didato, was named before the wine datu and became Lanto Didato.

            One day, they decided to go and roam around the entire area to hunt. Sgt. Canoy was impressed by the place because there he saw many birds like owls which perched on Balite trees with springs from underground. Sgt. Canoy, armed with his 22 caliber rifle, hit a bird from the tree. He asked Didatu what kind of bird they were hunting. Didatu said that the name of the bird is “Buru-Buru” because they live in an area where there are plenty of spring water. In Maranao dialect, the word “Buru-buru” means spring.           

            Originally, Sergeant Canoy came from Cebu. Everytime he went home, he often talked about the place he had been for hunting and invited his friend to go with him back to Iligan City. A lot were convinced and saw themselves the beauty of the place particularly the buru-burus.  From then, Sergeant Canoy named the place “Buru-un”  in 1908.

            Before World War II, Buru-un was not yet registered as a barrio, but it was still a part of Iligan. In 1944, the inhabitants proposed to Iligan Municipal Mayor, Roman Paradela, that Buru-un will become a barrio but that proposal was not realized for unknown reasons.

            Since then, Roman Paradela was a very respected person and became a Sultan of Buru-un by the Muslim, Lumads, and Christian settlers. In 1950, Antonio Lacida was appointed by Roman Paradela as the first “Tiente del Barrio”, equivalent to a Barangay Chairman today. Next to Lacida was a certain Gallardo, then Pablo Remo and then Banaybanay.

             In 1962, Buru-un became a barrio by virtue of resolution no. 134 series of 1962, approved on October 9, 1962, under the city government of Iligan and the first Barangay Chairman of Baranagay Buru-un was Roman Paradela.

            Other settlers in some parts of Buru-un such as sitio Timoga were also founded by the relatives of Sgt. Miguel Canoy. On 1915, the first settlers of Timoga were the couple Apay dela Calzada Samson with her husband Eloy Nieves. As years passed by, they stayed and lived in the area for almost 6 years. Eloy Nieves is a close relative of Sgt. Miguel Canoy from Cebu, a singer-composer by profession and he happens to be the entertainer of the U.S. Military Camp in Iligan. Because of his great impression of the spring waters in Timoga, Eloy was able to compose a song “Tubig Sama sa Tinunaw nga Tingga”, which means, waters like melting lead. Eloy named the place Timoga before that song, and then he left the area on 1921. On the same year, another person lived in the area, he was Sergio Tapuyao and his family. They lived in Timoga for almost 9 years until 1930, and later left to transfer to another place.

            After then, another couple occupied the area in the persons of Irenia Juan Macaraeg. They bear their only child named Evangeline Macaraeg, who later became the wife of Former President of the Republic of the Philippines, Diosdado Macapagal. They got married on 1946  and Diosdado and her wife Evangeline bear children, a boy and a girl, named Diosdado, Jr. and Gloria Macapagal.

             Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal married to Atty. Miguel Arroyo, she is now the 14^th President of the Republic of the Philippines.

The first public swimming in Timoga with an entrance fee of 20 cents(1965).

Holiday Pools

The cold and crystal clear water flowing down from the springs.