Oas, Albay
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| Location | |
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| Government | |
| Region | Bicol Region (Region V) |
| Province | Albay |
| District | 3rd district of Albay |
| Barangays | 53 |
| Income Class: | 2nd class; rural |
| Mayor | Gregorio "Greg" H. Ricarte |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Area | 291.7335 km² |
| Population | 62,063 212.739/km² |
| Coordinates | 13° to 14° Latitude and 1230° to 1240° Longitude |
Oas is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Albay, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 62,063 people in 11,715 households.
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[edit] Economy
The town's economy is generally agriculture-based. Its major products include rice, root crops such as sweet potato and gabi (taro), coconuts, and other fruits and vegetables.
Fish and other shell foods are also harvested in its coastal areas but do not contribute much to the municipality's income. Underutilization of the town's marine products is due to limited access and transportation to its coastal areas. Farm-to-market roads are currently being constructed to alleviate this situation.
[edit] History
Foundation of the municipality can be traced to the early Spanish Colonization of the Bicol Peninsula. In 1605, Father Baltazar de los Reyes converted 12 leading natives of the area to Christianity in one single day, forming the foundation of the community now known as Oas.
There are three stories that tell the origin of the name of Oas:
- The first version mentions the existence of numerous lagoons or pools of water abounding the place which prompted early colonizers to give it the name of "Oasis". The natives soon called the place by this name and later abbreviated it to "Oas".
- A second version relates to the existence of a dam across the narrowest portion of a local river. This dam solely irrigates the vast fields of the place including those of nearby town of Libon and results to good harvest. People are wary of any cracks or leaks on the dam walls during months of heavy rains. A crier would shot "nawaswas" giving the call to the people for immediate action in groups. From then on, the natives coined this name to the place and later shortened it to present from in times of this kind emergency.
- A third version and perhaps the most logical version of how the municipality derived its name gives an account of early Spanish Colonozers reaching this particular section of the Bicol Peninsula. The Spaniards, inquired the name of the place from the about 600 natives found living there, "Como se llama este sitio?" with gesture of their hands. The natives mistakenly thought the question to be, "Onan kading lugar kadi, maiwas?" (What place is this, it's very big?) in their native dialect. In response, the natives answered, "Si, señores. Labi nikading iwas. Labi nikading iwas." (Yes, sirs, this is grand and spacious). From then on the early Spanish colonizers adopted in their official census the existence of "a rich fertile valley with verdant fields of grain" which is a little town of Oas in Bicol.
[edit] Barangays
Oas is politically subdivided into 53 barangays.
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[edit] Trivia
- Oas is known for family names starting with the letter "R". A name like "Resaldo R. Reario", with triple "R" inital, represents a tradition that originates from this town. Stories say that original town dwellers are distinguished from migrants based on their surnames. However, factual documents state that during the Spanish era, every town has a designated alphabet for easy identification of his/her origin.
[edit] External links
- Municipality of Oas
- Philippine Standard Geographic Code
- 2000 Philippine Census Information
- Oasnon Forum
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