San Antonio: How It Came to Be

San Antonio was established in 1904. Since its inception, stories have been told that the
place was named three times before it was called San Antonio.
San Antonio is known as a sanctuary of fish and birds, which is why settlers from the
mainland of Samar in the start of 19th century found this place an ideal ground for fishing and
hunting. They come to the island just to catch fish and hunt birds and go back after a handful of
catch. People from Bohol and Cebu came to the island in the second half of the 19th century and
introduced a method of catching fish using net, commonly known as "laya". With its
introduction, the name "Manoglaya" was born, which literally means "mano nga paraglaya" or
fishermen using laya.
As new settlers came and built new communities in the island, they called the island as
"Sugod-sugod", a Cebuano derivative meaning "just to start or begin". Later, name was changed
to "Matabia", referring to the knife-shape of the island. No one knows now why it was changed
that way, neither folklores nor historical data reveal the ways and wherefore of the change of its
name to Dalupiri Island. In 1904, the Municipality of San Antonio of the province of Samar in
Dalupiri Island was established. Having no particular preference to immortalize name without
great significance, Christians decided to change the name to San Antonio and set Saint Anthony
of Padua as their patron saint.
San Antonio is politically subdivided into 10 barangays namely: Ward I (Pob.), Ward II
(Pob.), Ward III (Pob.), Burabod, Dalupirit, Manraya, Pilar, Rizal, San Nicolas, and Vinisitahan.
San Antonio (Dalupiri Island) is a 5th class municipality in the province of Northern Samar,
Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 8,151 people.
The island's white beaches are considered an "undisturbed paradise" and future "premier
tourist destination" in the Eastern Visayas region. Because of Dalupiri Island's pristine white
sand beach, Republic Act No. 9458 declared San Antonio, together with the island towns of Biri,
Capul, and San Vicente, as eco-tourism zones in May 2007.



The Legend of Dalupirit
Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Lupi who came from a poor family.
They lived along the seashore. Her father is a fisherman while her mother is a laundrywoman.
She is sweet, ver nice, and smart. Lupi turned into a beautiful young maiden but at the age of 15,
Lupi is forced to stop from schooling because both of her parents cannot afford to send her to
school anymore since she also have two younger siblings who are also studying. Lupi tried to
look for a job but nobody wants her because of her young age. She had no other options but to
look after her siblings while her parents were at work and to sell the fishes caught by her father.
One unfortunate day, Lupis father is sick while her mother has no laundrying to do and
they dont have anything to eat. Lupi opted to look for something to eat because her father is too
sick to do so. She went to the seashore to look for seafoods like edible seashells among others.
She found lots of dalu-dalu, a colored-black seashell which is very abundant in her town. She
was caught in the moment of picking these seashells that she did not notice she is already very
far from their house. She found herself inside somewhat like a cave. Suddenly, an old woman
appeared in front of her and told her that she doesnt belong to the human world, that she is an
extraordinary girl who will be remembered forever. The old woman turned into a beautiful fairy
and persuaded Lupi to come with her to the world of magic, the world of the fairies. She didnt
know what to say, she cant move. She wanted to go back home but it feels like she is stuck
forever inside that cave of Pirit. These cave is said to be enchanted and is home to supernatural
creatures.
On that same day, her parents together with their neighbors looked for Lupi because it is
already getting late at night but she is not yet home. One neigbor saw Lupi along the seashore
picking seashells and without secondthoughts they tracked down missing Lupi along the seaside.
They found these dalu-dalu in a strange pattern that feels like to be pointing them somewhere.
They followed these seashells and it led them to the cave of Pirit, the place where noone ever
tempted to go to because it is said to be covered in dark magic and that anybody who comes deep
within the cave will never ever be able to get back, alive.
Lupis parents looked everywhere inside the cave for her. There neighbors left them
because of the fear they wont be able to get back again. Her mother is desperate enough that she
looked for Lupi deeper inside the cave and there she saw Lupi, standing, not moving. And when
she held Lupis hand, she almost fainted because her daughter Lupi is stone-hard. Poor Lupi
turned into a rock, a rock statue. Lupis parents grieved, cried because of their loss. They will
never be able to see their daughter alive again. What happened to Lupi quickly spread around the
island. In memory of Lupi, her parents together with the townsmen of their barangay named their
place Dalupirit. From the words dalu-dalu, the seashell that led them to the whereabout of Lupi
and pirit, the enchanted cave where Lupi was found and until now noone knows where this cave
is. And that is the legend about how Dalupirit got its name.




























Mrs. Ava B. Rosima
Teacher



















Bb. Roselia R. Diaz
Guro