Basista, Philippines

History

The former barrio, now the site of the town proper or poblacion, was formerly the largest and one of the most progressive barrios located in the southern part of its mother town, San Carlos (now a city).

As early as 1918, prominent citizens of the then-barrio of Basista came together and initiated an attempt to petition the municipal government of San Carlos and the provincial board of Pangasinan to grant the status of township to their barrios. Although local politicians supported the effort, the request was initially denied.

On September 5, 1961, President Carlos P. Garcia issued Executive Order No. 446, creating the town of Basista composed of 13 out of the 28 barrios that petitioned. Four years later, however, the Philippine Supreme Court declared the town's creation as being without legal basis, citing their ruling in the "Emmanuel Pelaez vs. Auditor General" that "municipalities created under Executive Orders are void". It was here that Republic Act No. 4866 filed by Pangasinan 2nd District Representative Jack L. Soriano, was enacted into law and legally created Basista as a town of Pangasinan.

From the History section of Basista on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.