THE town of Lingayen continues to pay homage to the Chinese pirate, Limahong, who led an unsuccessful siege of Manila in 1574 before retreating to the north and settled in what was later known as the province of Pangasinan.

Lingayen Mayor Ernesto Castaneda revealed that Limahong Channel, believed to have been dug by the Chinese pirate and his 3,000 soldiers, including women and children, to provide his newly assembled vessels access to the sea, still evokes nostalgic memories till today.

“In fact, the Limahong Channel, where the new Domalandan Bridge spans across, is one of Lingayen’s top tourist attractions, aside from the Lingayen Beach, where the Liberation forces led by General Douglas Mac Arthur landed on Jan. 9, 1945.

The town, he said, intends to build a marker in barangay Domalandan, near the spot where Limahong and his men dug to make good their escape to the sea after being doggedly pursued by Captain Juan de Salcedo.

Limahong’s intrusion into Pangasinan, particularly Lingayen, was confirmed in the book “Pangasinan, 1572-1800” written by Dr. Rosario Mendoza Cortez of the University of the Philippines.

Another foremost Pangasinan historian, Restituto Basa, 78, confirmed in his book “Vignettes in Pangasinan History” that after the unsuccessful siege of Manila, Limahong retreated to Pangasinan and established a camp in what is now known as Domalandan.

Basa said it is wrong to say that Limahong exited thru Lingayen as this could not have been possible because this was the area where Salcedo and his men barricaded, and from where they also destroyed Chinese junks.

He said that months after Limahong left, his wife Kabuntala who stayed behind, gave birth to a baby boy named Quimzon (precious gold).

His later descendant was Juan Quimzon, who served as mayor of Aguilar town, grandfather of former Pangasinan Governor Quimzon Duque.

On the other hand, the 100-meter channel dug by Limahong was widened and extended to the north by then Lingayen Mayor Sisenando Jimenez after the big 1935 flood that hit Pangasinan in order to divert the flow of water of the Agno River.