Vision

Piot is an educational center, home of God-loving and persevering people, seat of bustling economy, in a clean, peaceful and orderly environment with disaster-resilient and climate change adaptive infrastructure and dedicated servant leaders who advocate a responsive, efficient, honest and transparent governance.

Mission

To persevere for a united, progressive, productive, self-reliant community of empowered, God-loving citizenry, advocating respect for human dignity and rights, with firm belief and commitment to democracy, supportive of the government's programs towards peace and development, and enjoying the basic needs through the dedicated services of a responsive, honest and transparent governance.

Goal

FOR THE PEOPLE to enjoy basic services, to be empowered, to have faith in the Divine Providence, to foster commitment to democracy, and to benefit from and support government programs.

FOR THE COMMUNITY to be united, to be peaceful, to be progressive, to be self-reliant, and to have sustainable development.

FOR THE GOVERNANCE to be honest and transparent, to be accountable and responsible, to have integrity, to promote respect for human dignity and rights, to render dedicated services, to advocate and pursue peace and public safety, and to persevere for growth and development.

History

IN Bicol dialect, Piot literally means narrow or lacking space. The word is perhaps apt as the official name of a small barangay whose area is only 13.5% of the 489-hectare average size of the barangays in Sorsogon City. Its land area which is only 65.96 hectares comprises only 2.11% of the 31,292 hectare land area of the city.

Despite its size, Piot is known as the "College Belt of Sorsogon City". Three out of the 13 colleges in the city are based therein: the Aemilianum College, Inc. (ACI), the Bicol Merchant Marines College, Inc. (BMMCI) and Sorsogon College of Criminology, Inc. (SCCI). The ten others are located in seven other barangays. Law, journalism, information technology, electronics, automotive, criminology, hotel and restaurant management, marine engineering and other related courses are among those offered in these colleges.

HISTORY

PIOT, as the name of the barangay, has bee in existence for more than a century. In fact, available historical records show that during the October 1898 elections, Don Juan Lumampao was elected Cabeza de Calundan-Piot in the then Pueblo de Sorsogon.

Local accounts orally told from generation to generation indicate that long before Domanaog became a visita (Spanish term for a village with a chapel where services were periodically performed by a visiting priest) when Sorsogon parish became separated from Bacon in 1628, a small settlement already existed in what will eventually become Barangay Piot. The visita was located several kilometers west of this small settlement. When a catastrophe razed the visita (now Binanuahan, sitio Pocdol, Barangay Capuy) in 1680, a new visita was established eastward, about a kilometer east of Piot.

Barangay Piot was not yet known by its present name then until in early 1700s. By this time, trade and industry were centered on a coastal settlement situated southwest of the visita and southeast of Piot, known as Panibaan, so called because its sea served as preying ground for large species of fish since fries and schools of smaller varieties of fish thrived in abundance in the area. Panibaan is the vernacular for “preying ground”. Later on, and even until now, the place is known as Pinaculan.

Because of its strategic location, Panibaan had a baluarte (Spanish word meaning "bastion of defense" for resisting moro attacks) and an astillero (shipyard). The astillero was particularly famous for its finely crafted sea crafts, such as parao, and others. The ship-building industry owed much to the abundance of large, century-old species of trees, the inherent ingenuity of native craftsmen, and the natural terrain which was convenient in launching sea crafts.

Chinese traders regularly docked at Panibaan to sell their wares and purchase native products. Visayans frequently came to trade and some even married and preferred to stay, which probably explains some semblance between some Sorsogueño and Ilongo words. Likewise, some Chinese intermarried with the natives and opted to live here.

People from the villages periodically converge at Panibaan for their needs and to sell their crops during saud (Bicol word for "market day"). In those days when caminos (roads) were non-existent yet, the chief means of transportation was either baklay (Bicol word meaning "to walk") or sakay (to ride on a banca). Inhabitants northwest of Panibaan were lucky enough to enjoy both means of conveyance. It had been their custom to ask each other their transport option in going to or coming from Panibaan, perhaps for the security, convenience and advantage of traveling in groups. The usual answer was either sakay or baklay. The first choice was by banca and involved navigating through Anahaw River which had a huge volume of waterways then, so called because, at that time, anahaw palms grow on its embankments. At present, the river which lays beside Aemilianum College, is still known as Anahaw River, but its waterways has been greatly reduced by deviation of water course resulting from floods and in part by irrigation facilities.

The second option was on foot through a path which passed through a very narrow space in between two closely-spaced large century-old trees where the trunk of a fallen large tree laid across the river and served as a footbridge. It was the only means to avoid wading through the river and getting wet.

“Piot,” was the usual complain as the people passed through the narrow space between two trees.

Later on, anahaw and piot replaced sakay and baklay, respectively, in referring to their transport option, in reference to the distinctive feature of the route of their choice. As time went by, the river, and later on, the village in the area, came to be known as Piot. Thus the barangay was known as Piot.

So far, available historical records indicate that in 1898, the barangay of Piot, together with that of Calundan, was headed by one Cabeza. Calundan is said to be the present Barangay Bitano. During the elections conducted on October 6 - 17, 1898 in Sorsogon province under the supervision of Gen. Ananias Diokno, Don Juan Lumampao was elected Cabeza de Calundan Piot in the then Pueblo de Sorsogon. In the succeeding elections held on December 13 - 18, 1898 under Don Domingo Samson, Special Commissioner of the Philippine Republic, Don Juan Lumampao was once again elected Cabeza de Calondan y Piot in the Cabecera de Sorsogon. Don Juan Lumampao was the hermano of the parish of Sts. Peter and Paul from October 15, 1899 to October 21, 1890.

Based on historical records that attest to the existence of Piot as early as the Spanish era, it is safe to assume that Piot existed as a barangay by virtue of a Spanish Royal Decree, although its may have been officially recognized (as barrio) under Republic Act No. 2370, otherwise known as the Barrio Charter Act, and under RA 3590 or the Revised Barrio Charter Act.