BRIDGING THE GAP
Ybiernas Street in Iloilo City
Roads or streets serve many purposes and functions. But, when it comes to cities like Iloilo City, they serve predominantly for the easy and efficient movement and economic exchanges or activities of the people.
One less known artery of Iloilo City is Ybiernas Street. It links General Luna Street with Delgado Street. It is named after Mathias Ybiernas, one of the former mayors of the city, who donated the area to the city government. Before the late 1940s, the place covering Ybiernas Street was swampy, thus, it is claimed that there were only three to four houses found in the place. Even the present site of the campus of U.P. in the Visayas and of the large compound of Sarabia Manor Hotel were swampy and had scattered fishponds all over. The area was also interspersed with coconut trees and thick brushes which were used by the children as a convenient place to play hide and seek.
After the Second World War and upon the establishment of a branch of the UP System in the area, through the donation of the City Hall to the UP administration, many people began to build their houses in the area. At present, the land along Ybiernas Street and its adjacent communities are teeming with houses.
There are two existing barangays in Ybiernas Street: Barangay Inday and Barangay San Felix. The former is smaller compared to the latter, and this is the reason perhaps why only Barangay San Felix celebrates fiesta every first Sunday of the month of June. According to Josefa Sampiano, a resident and political leader of the barangay, the area encompassing Barangay Inday was formerly owned by Ramon Vargas Yulo, a wealthy part owner of the Kawilihan Corporation.
Nowadays, many residents of the area are UP Visayas teachers and administrative personnel. There are boarding houses and apartments accommodating students not only from UP Visayas, but also from neighboring schools, such as Iloilo Doctor's College, John B. Lacson University, and the University of San Agustin. Small eateries, and even barbecue and halo-halo stands, abound in the area to cater to the needs of a significant population of students and employees. There is also a branch of one of the well-known Ilonggo bakeshops, Wewin's operating in the area.