Ibalon, now known as Bicol, was a beautiful land of wide plains and fertile fields; anything planted in its soil yielded bountiful harvests. Because its soil is rich, there were also a lot of animals that lived there.

However, despite its majestic views, there were many monsters roaming in its dark forest.

The first hero was Baltog, who came from Botavora of the brave clan of Lipod. He went to this land and decided to stay. He was the first to cultivate its field and planted them with linsa, now called gabi.

One night, a monstrous, giant wild boar known as Tandayag saw his field and destroyed all the crops. Upon knowing this, the furious Baltog decided to look for this boar with all his courage and patience.

As soon as he saw it, he fearlessly wrestled with it, with all his might. Baltog was unafraid. He was strong and brave. Though the Tandayag had very long fangs, he was able to pin down the wild boar and break apart its very big jawbones with his bare hands. With this, Tandayag fell and died.

After this fight, Baltog went to his house in Tondol, carrying the Tandayag's broken bones. Then he hung it on a talisay tree in front of his house. Upon learning of the victory of their Chief Baltog, the people prepared a feast and celebrated. The very big jawbones of the dead boar became an attraction for everyone

The second hero who came to the land of Ibalon was Handyong. Together with his men, he had to fight thousands of battles, and face many dangers to defeat a lot of monsters. 

As warriors, they first fought the one-eyed monster in the land of Ponong. For ten months, they fought without rest. And they never stopped fighting until all these monsters were killed.

Handyong and his men made their next attack against the giant flying sharks called Triburon which had hardly flesh and sawlike teeth that could crush rocks. They continued fighting until the defeat of the last Triburon.

They tamed the wild carabaos. They even drove away the giant and very fierce Sarimao which had very sharp fingernails. And using their spears and arrows, they killed all the crocodiles which were as big as boats. With all these killings, the rivers and swamps of Ibalong turned red with blood.

Among the enemies of Handyong and his men, the serpent Oryol was the hardest to kill. Having a beautiful voice, Oryol could change its image to deceive its enemies. To capture it, Handyong tried different ways. But Oryol escaped every one of it and disappeared.

So alone and unafraid, Handyong decided to look for Oryol in the heart of the forest. He followed the beautiful voice and was almost enchanted by it in his pursuit. Days and nights passed until Oryol came to admire Handyong’s bravery and gallantry. Then the serpent helped the hero conquer monsters, thus restoring peace to the entire Ibalon

In one of the areas of Ibalong called Ligmanan, Handyong built a town. Under his leadership and his laws, slaves and masters were treated equally. The people planted rice and because of their high regard of him they named this rice after him. He built the first boat to ride the waves of Ibalong’s seas.

Through his good example, his people became inspired and came up with their own inventions. There was Kimantong who made the plow, harrow and other farming tools. Hablom who invented the first loom for weaving abaca clothes, Dinahong an Agta, who created the stove, cooking pot, earthen jar and other kitchen utensils, and Sural who brilliantly thought of syllabary and started to write on a marble rock. This was a golden period in Ibalong.