“During the Spanish regime, Masical did not yet exist. It was full of talahibs, known in the Ilocano dialect as “sical”. This is a type of grass that can be used for roofing when building a house. Some prominent families from Barrio Lanna, Solana, Cagayan, had discovered that across the Cagayan River, a wide tract of land full of sical could be turned into fertile farmland and residential lots.

Ambitious as they were, the families of Catolos, Mariano, Doctolero, Saquing, Bautista, Pascual, Catuiran, Miguel, Corpuz, Reyes, Pablo, Gannaban, Fantolgo, and De Leon agreed to clear the area covered with sical. They first called the place Cabaruan because it was prone to erosion every time the Cagayan River overflowed its banks.

So, in the late forties and early fifties, all the residents of Barrio Lanna made a permanent move to Barrio Cabaruan. The Teniente del Barrio, Casamiro Mariano, registered Barrio Cabaruan as Masical, which was fully covered with sical.”