Mina Foundation Day in the Philippines Date in the current year: September 9, 2024

Mina is a 5th class municipality in the Philippine province of Iloilo. Until the second half of the 19th century, it was a barrio (subordinate village) of the municipality of Pototan, founded by the Augustinians in 1593. In 1864, a group of influential residents of the barrio petitioned the Spanish colonial government of the Visayas to elevate it to the status of pueblo (independent town) because it was too far from from Pototan with its parish church. The proposed name of the new pueblo was Pueblo de Molto.

Although the parish priest of Pototan endorsed the request, it took several years to define the boundaries of the new pueblo. It was finally established on July 1, 1870 under the name Pueblo de Mina instead of Pueblo de Molto. However, a new parish could not yet be created because the town needed a church, house for the priest, school, court, and town hall. It took Mina three years to meet the requirements, and it became a full-fledged parish on July 30, 1873. It was dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Pilar (Our Lady of the Pillar).

After the defeat of the Philippines in the Philippine-American War, the new American administration reduced the number of towns in Iloilo from 50 to just 17. Mina and other neighboring barrios once again became part of Pototan. During World War II Mina, together with the rest of Pototan, was occupied by the Japanese.

Once the province recovered from the war, the residents of Mina started thinking about restoring its independence from Pototan. In the 1960s, a group of local leaders petitioned for the separation of Mina from Pototan and restoration of its municipal status.

Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal officially signed an executive order creating the municipality of Mina on October 1, 1964. The order went into effect on January 1, 1965, but then Vice President Emmanuel Pelaez found it unconstitutional because it had not passed through Congress. He filed a complaint that reached the Supreme Court, and Mina was reverted back to a barrio of Pototan in February 1966.

Two years later, Congressman Ricardo Y. Ladrido wrote and sponsored a House bill that would create the municipality of Mino. The bill was passed on September 9, 1968, and Mina once again became a municipality, this time for good. The anniversary of this event is now observed as Mina Foundation Day.