| Camiguin | |||
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| — Province — | |||
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| Map of the Philippines with Camiguin highlighted | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Philippines | ||
| Region | Northern Mindanao (Region X) | ||
| Founded | 1565 | ||
| Capital | Mambajao | ||
| Government | |||
| • Governor | Jurdin Jesus M. Romualdo (NPC) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 237.95 km2 (91.9 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 79th out of 80 | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| • Total | 81,293 | ||
| • Rank | 79th out of 80 | ||
| • Density | 341.6/km2 (884.8/sq mi) | ||
| • Density rank | 14th out of 80 | ||
| Divisions | |||
| • Independent cities | 0 | ||
| • Component cities | 0 | ||
| • Municipalities | 5 | ||
| • Barangays | 58 | ||
| • Districts | Lone district of Camiguin | ||
| Time zone | PHT (UTC+8) | ||
| ZIP Code | |||
| Spoken language | Kinamigin, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Tagalog, English | ||
Camiguin is an island province of the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about 10 km (6.2 mi) off the northern coast of Misamis Oriental in Mindanao. It is the second-smallest province both in population and land area after Batanes. The capital of the province is Mambajao, and it is a part of the Northern Mindanao Region of the Philippines.
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The province of Camiguin is divided into five municipalities, the largest of which is Mambajao. The towns are further subdivided into a total of 58 barangays. The five municipalities are:
The name Camiguin is derived from the native word “Kamagong”, a species of the ebony tree that thrives near Lake Mainit in the Province of Surigao del Norte. Earlier inhabitants of the islands are Manobos from the Surigao region. An earlier Spanish geography book writes the island as "Camiguing". There is reason to suppose the Spaniards dropped the final g.[1]
Old Spanish documents indicate that the renowned explorers Ferdinand Magellan and Miguel López de Legazpi landed in Camiguin in 1521 and 1565, respectively. The first Spanish settlement was established in 1598 in what is now Guinsiliban. Guinsiliban which comes from the old Kinamiguin word “Ginsil-ipan” which means “to look out for pirates from a watchtower” has an old Spanish watchtower where the Camiguinons kept watch for Moro pirates.
The first major Spanish settlement established in 1679 was called Katagman or Katadman (known as Catarman). The settlement grew and prospered but was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vulcan in 1871. The former location is what is now Barangay Bonbon of Catarman.
Sagay, located south of Catarman, was formally established as a town in 1848. The word Sagay is derived from the name of poisonous fruit tree that grow in the area. Mambajao became a town in 1855. The name was coined from the Visayan terms “mamahaw”, meaning to usher breakfast, and “bajao”, which is leftover boiled rice. In the early 1900s, Mambajao prospered to become the busiest port in Northern Mindanao. Mahinog was established as a municipality in 1860. The name Mahinog comes from a Visaya word meaning “to ripen” or “to become ripe”. Although Guinsiliban was the oldest settlement in the island, it was only in 1950 when it became a municipality. Mahinog was formerly governed by Mambajao while Guinsiliban was formally governed from Sagay.
| Battle of Camiguin | |||||||
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| Part of World War II | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
Philippines
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Japan | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 8,400 killed 14,600 wounded |
16,000 killed 28,000 wounded 7,000 captured |
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In 1901, in the middle of the Philippine-American War, American soldiers landed in Camiguin to assume political control over the island. A group of Camiguinons, armed with bolos and spears, led by Valero Camaro, fought them in a short battle in Catarman. Valero Camaro was killed by a bullet on the forehead and became one of the Camiguin patriots of the early independence movement.
In 1903, the first public school in Camiguin was built in Mambajao and in 1904 the first public water system was installed.
On June 18, 1942, the Japanese Imperial Army landed in Camiguin and set up a government in Mambajao. They gutted central Mambajao in reprisal to guerrilla activities in the area. The remains of some of these buildings still exist today.
In 1945, Filipino forces of the 6th and 10th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army landed in Camiguin and liberated the island from the Japanese Imperial forces in the Battle of Camiguin near the end of World War II
On July 4, 1946, the Philippines gained independence from the US. Camiguin was then part of Misamis Oriental. In 1958, it became a sub-province.[2] and was made into a separate province on June 18, 1966, and formally inaugurated in 1968.
Camiguin is of volcanic origin and composed of four young stratovolcanoes overlying older volcanic structures. The last eruption was from Hibok-Hibok in 1953, and it is still considered as active. The other major volcanic edifices are Mt. Vulcan 671 meters (2,201 ft), northwest of Hibok-Hibok; Mt. Mambajao 1,552 meters (5,092 ft) in central Camiguin; Mt. Guinsiliban 581 meters (1,906 ft), southernmost Camiguin; and Mt. Butay north of Mount Guinsiliban. The other domes and cones are Campana Hill, Minokol Hill, Tres Marias Hill, Mt. Carling, Mt. Tibane, and Piyakong Hill.
The town of Catarman was destroyed and portion of the town sank beneath the sea. The settlement moved to where the town center is presently located and today, all that remains of old Catarman are the ruins of the ancient Spanish church, a convent and a bell tower.
At least four vertebrate species are believed to be endemic to Camiguin:
Camiguin has three colleges, namely: Fatima College of Camiguin (FCC), Camiguin Polytechnic State College (CPSC), with a satellite campus and Camiguin School of Arts and Trades (CSAT) and a technical education offered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). A complete secondary and elementary education is available as well, both in private and public. There are also day care centers which offer nursery and pre-school education.
The province has a total number of 68 day care centers managed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and 56 public and private elementary schools. There are 13 secondary schools, 3 private institutions and the rest are government-owned. There is one special school, which accommodates to the underprivileged or special children, the Family-to-Family School and Farm. It is managed by a Non-Government Organization (NGO).
There is also the Alternative Learning System Education Sector which helps individuals through its literacy cum livelihood.[5]
The economy is based upon fishing and farming, with copra providing the greatest income contribution. Other agricultural products are abaca, rice, mangoes, lanzones and other fruit trees. The growing tourism industry have improved the economy of the province. Small cottage industries have increased in number to accommodate the influx of visitors.
Each year in October, a festival is held celebrating the Lanzones, a small grape-sized tropical fruit grown all over the island. The week-long Lanzones Festival is one of the more colorful events in the Philippines.
Several centuries-old Spanish Colonial and 20th century churches are found in various parts of the island.
The famed Santo Rosario Church in the municipality of Sagay was built in 1882.
The church of the Old Catarman town was destroyed and partly submerged by volcanic debris during the eruption and formation of Mt. Vulcan from 1871 to 1875. Also known as Gui-ob Church, only the ruins of the church and bell tower remains of the old town. An unsightly modern white lighthouse was recently erected close to the bell tower.
The Church located in Baylao is claimed to be miraculous attributed to saving many lives during the last volcanic eruption of Hibok-hibok.
Beautiful and ornate ancestral homes that date back to the Spanish Colonial Period and American Colonial Period, are still abundant and can be found on the streets of Camiguin.
Located just a few kilometers off the coast are the two beautiful islands of Camiguin.
During the volcanic birth of the Mt. Vulcan that lasted from 1871 to about 1875, some areas in the town of Bonbon subsided, sinking the cemetery of the town to below sea level. The place is commemorated by a huge cross erected in 1982.[6]
Camiguin is accessible by air and sea from Cebu City and Tagbilaran City however flights into Camiguin Airport is only seasonal. Most visitors fly in to Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental Province, the gateway to Northern Mindanao. One would then take a bus or hired van for two, more or less, hours from Cagayan de Oro City to the port of Balingoan. Ferries leave Balingoan to Camiguin Island every hour from 6:00 am until 5:00 pm.
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