Dagohoy, Bohol

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Dagohoy is a 5th class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 18,311 people.

[edit] History

Dr.Jose Rizal, on exile in Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte, searched for a place to convert into an agricultural colony. In June 1895, he came to Bohol with Don Andres Peñaflor, who was a rich merchant from Taloto, Tagbilaran City, Bohol. Together they traveled by horse-drawn carriage from Tagbilaran to Dimiao, then to Bilar, Bohol. On horseback they traveled to Candagaz, Sierra-Bullones to view the vast plain suitable for an agricultural colony.

In 1914, the Americans segregated the area as a site of an agricultural colony, now the present town of Dagohoy, Bohol.

[edit] The Agricultural Colony

With the Jones Law passed by the U.S. Congress, the Philippines was divided into Senatorial Districts to allocate the 24 Senate seats. The provinces of Bohol, Misamis, and Surigao composed the 11th Senatorial District. At that time, Bohol was the most populated province and Senator Jose A. Clarin became the first senator of the 11th district. In 1920, Senator Clarin authored a law officially creating the Colonia Agricula de Bohol or Bohol Agricultural Colony with Mr. Camilo Calceta appointed as Superintendent and Cashier (Superintendente-Cajero) of the colony.

The agricultural colony or "Colonia", for short, was part of the territory of the town of Carmen, Bohol. However, Colonia had its own administration and appropriation. People from all over the Philippines were invited to settle in Colonia. Each settler was given a homestead. In the early years, the settlers had a difficult life. The area was forested and malaria was prevalent.

In 1927, the Agricultural Colony received a boost in its activities. The Americans, wanting it to become a showcase of American town management, had the whole area surveyed and divided into homesteads of twelve (12) to twenty-four (24) hectares in area.

Each homestead was provided with a house and the settler was given a complete set of farm implements including a carabao as a farm animal. In addition, health personnel were dispatched to eradicate the dreaded malaria-causing mosquitoes.

[edit] Boom and Bust

Eventually, many people flocked to Colonia because of its offer of free land, houses, and farm implements. By 1930, Colonia was overflowing with people and agricultural products. It became a very busy marketplace.

Unfortunately, the wanton clearing of the forest to give way to farms caused erosion of the fertile soil. In addition, the worldwide economic depression of the 1930s resulted in the farm products not having any market. Salaries of the government employees were cut in half and many of the settlers migrated to Mindanao to seek for greener pastures.

The once bustling community almost became a ghost town, with some hardy souls persisted on staying. When World War II came, the population was further dispersed. The Japanese searched for the American officials, missionaries, and American supporters in the area.

At the end of World War II, Philippine Independence was granted by the Americans and the existence of the Agricultural Colony became questionable. The colony, as model-town experiment by the Americans, did not have the support with the Americans gone. The remaining inhabitants had to continue to eke out a life of existence. ^[1]

[edit] The Municipal District

During the American era there, there were municipal districts which were subdivisions of a municipality with a complete set of officials.

In 1951, President Elpidio Quirino followed the American procedure of giving legality to the abandoned agricultural colony of the Americans. President Quirino converted the "Colonia" as a municipal district. It was named "Victoria" in honor of one of the daughters of President Quirino who was killed by the Japanese during the liberation of Manila.

[edit] Name of the Municipality

In the 1953 National Election, Ramon Magsaysay was elected President and Carlos P. Garcia of Bohol was elected Vice President. The residents of the municipal district of Victoria lobbied to become an independent municipality. One of the important requirements is the name of the proposed municipality. Vice President Carlos P. Garcia proposed the name "Dagohoy" in honor of the greatest Boholano hero, Francisco Sendrijas also known as Francisco Dagohoy. The name Dagohoy is a concatenation of the Visayan phrase, Dagon sa huyuhoy or talisman of the breeze, in English.

[edit] The Municipality

On June 21, 1956, President Ramon Magsaysay issued Executive Order No. 184 creating the Municipality of Dagohoy comprising the old agricultural colony. Mr. Camilo Calceta, the long time administrator of Colonia, was appointed the first Mayor. The other appointed municipal officials were: Vice Mayor - Florentino Ampoloquio; Municipal Councilors - Vicente Lagapa, Regino Iyoy, Esteban Clarin, Eustaquio Querol, Lorenzo Hormachuelos, and Hipolito Amihan.

The barrios compprising the new municipality were Can-oling, Estaca, Villa Aurora, La Esperanza, San Vicente, Sta. Cruz, and Poblacion all taken from Carmen, Bohol. The barrio of Babag was taken from Ubay, Bohol. The barrios of Mahayag, Kagawitan, and Malibog were taken from Trinidad, Bohol. The barrios of Candelaria, Caluasan, and San Miguel were taken from Sierra Bullones, Bohol. ^[2]

[edit] Barangays

Dagohoy is politically subdivided into 15 barangays.

• Babag
• Can-oling
• Candelaria
• Estaca
• Cagawasan
• Cagawitan
• Caluasan
• La Esperanza
• Mahayag
• Malitbog
• Poblacion
• San Miguel
• San Vicente
• Santa Cruz
• Villa Aurora

[edit] References

• Tirol, Lumin "History of Bohol from Pre-Hispanaic Up to 1971". Doctoral Dissertation, University of Santo Tomas, 1975.
• Ragas, E.L. "Handumanan Sa Mga Punoan Lungsodnon sa 1916-1937 sa Kabisay-an ug Mindanao. (Ragas Bros. Publication, Cebu: 1937).
• Apalisok, Simplicio, Bohol With Tears Book 2. (Surigao BB Press: 1992

Bohol Portal

[edit] External links

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• 2000 Philippine Census Information
• Municipality of Dagohoy
• Dagohoy

Coordinates: 9°55′N 124°17′E / 9.917, 124.283