[4] Carmen celebrates its fiesta on January 17, to honor the town patron Saint Anthony de Abbot.[6] Carmen was originally part of the municipality of Bilar and called Imbaya, after the name of a stream in the settlement.The town of Carmen was founded on 1 March 1869 by final order of Governor General Jose de la Gandara and renamed at the same time in honor of the Lady of Carmel of Spain.In World War II, Carmen served as the stronghold of the guerrilla resistance movement and the local civil government because of its strategic location.In 2013 a magnitude 7.2 earthquake shook Central Visayas region, with its epicenter within Carmen municipality.