Dupax del Sur

Dupax del Sur
Municipality
Facade of the San Vicente Ferrer Church, a declared National Cultural Treasure
Seal
Nickname(s): The True Heart of NV
Map of Nueva Vizcaya showing the location of Dupax del Sur
Dupax del Sur Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 16°17′N 121°06′E / 16.283°N 121.100°E / 16.283; 121.100Coordinates: 16°17′N 121°06′E / 16.283°N 121.100°E / 16.283; 121.100
Country	Philippines
Region	Cagayan Valley (Region II)
Province	Nueva Vizcaya
District	Lone district
Barangays	19
Government[1]
• Mayor	Ruben S. Basconcillo Jr.
Area[2]
• Total	374.70 km2 (144.67 sq mi)
Population (2010)[3]
• Total	18,146
• Density	48/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
ZIP code	3707
IDD : area code	+63 (0)78
Income class	2nd class

Dupax del Sur is a second class municipality in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 18,146 people.^[3]

Barangays

Dupax del Sur is politically subdivided into 19 barangays.

History

The name "Dupax" comes from the Isinai word "dopaj". By "dopaj" the Isinais, who are the first inhabitants of Dupax, meant "to lie down in complete relaxation." According to folklores that have survived from generation to generation, even long before the founding fathers established the municipality, the site of what eventually became the "poblacion", or town proper of Dupax, used to serve as a roaring camp for primitive hunters from surrounding tribal settlements. After hard days of hunting in nearby mountains, the hunters would repair the camp where they would feast on their catch of wild animals. When they were through with their brand of merrymaking "they would lie down and relax completely" before getting up again to return to their respective home. The camping area, which was a plain or a valley, was near their hunting grounds that later, they decided to settle on it together with their families and the town of Dopaj was established.

In time, the town's name metamorphosed into Dupax, after the arrival of the Spaniards who, for convenience, substituted the letter "x" in lieu of letter "j" for easy pronunciation.

The original town of Dupax is the largest municipality of the province of Nueva Vizcaya in terms of land area. But in 1971, the Congress passed into law Republic Act 6372 otherwise known as "An Act Creating the Municipality of Dupax del Sur from the Municipality of Dupax in the province of Nueva Vizcaya", sponsored by Congressman Benjamin B. Perez in the Philippine House of Representatives and Senator Leonardo B. Perez in the Philippine Senate. President Ferdinand Marcos amended some sections and signed it into law with the promulgation of Presidential Decree 586 on November 26, 1974 which paved the way for the division of Dupax into two municipalities: Dupax del Norte and Dupax del Sur.

Important Cultural Property

The town hosts the San Vicente Ferrer Church (Dupax del Sur), which is also known as the Dupax Church or Dopaj Church. The heritage structure is an 18th-century Baroque church located at Brgy. Dopaj. The parish church, under the advocation of Saint Vincent Ferrer, is under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bayombong. The church complex has been declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines in July 2001. Its construction was finished in 1776, making it older than other heritage structures in the entire country.

An earlier church structure of modest design might have been erected before 1773 and records tell that the structure may have been reused as a schoolhouse after the erection of the present church at around 1773 by Father Manuel Corripio, OP. By this time, the church of Tuguegarao by Father Antonio Lobato, OP was already standing. Like the earlier Tuguegarao church, Father Corripio had the church of Dupax made of bricks and even had two kilns made near the church complex, one for firing bricks and the other for preparing lime. The current façade, which mimics the silhouette of the earlier Tuguegarao Cathedral and is reflected on the churches of Bayombong and Bambang in Nueva Vizcaya, dates back to 1776 while each level of the bell tower bears inscription of the years when which it must have been completed. Its original titular patron is the Nuestra Señora del Socorro but was replaced by San Vicente Ferrer soon after the mission was returned to the Dominicans.

The façade is divided by cornices into horizontal segments of plastered brick. The first level features a semicircular arched main portal embellished with clay insets. The main doorway is flanked on both sides by tow blind windows with an embossed image of the Holy Eucharist. The second story features a niche and two windows framed by embossed carvings. The triangular pediment is divided into two horizontal sections with the lower half prieced with a deeply recessed oculus and the upper part featuring a relief of a cross. The entire pediment is capped by undulating cornices and seven finials, with the central finial crowned with a cross.

To the left of the façade is the four-level, unplastered, rectangular bell tower. The base features saint’s niches similar to that found on the second level of the façade while the second level features long, narrow windows framed with bracket columns. The tower is capped with a decorative parapet and a small cupola surmounted by a cross. The church plaza is enclosed by a low perimeter wall and a replica of an earlier atrial cross.

Two focal points inside the church are the pillars supporting the choir loft. The two, white-washed pillars are embellished with reliefs of cherubs, shells, florals and arabesques. Similar motifs can also be found on the baptistery. The original main altarpiece and pulpit are still intact but the heads of the images in the altarpiece are believed to be replicas of the ivory ones stolen over the course of the church’s history.

The church and its surrounding heritage zone is being considered to be included in the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the Philippines.

Demographics

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dupax del Sur, Nueva Vizcaya.

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System
• RA 6372 - Creating the Municipality of Dupax del Sur
• PD 586 - Amending RA 6372, inserting new sections

Adjacent places of Dupax del Sur
		Bambang
	Aritao Carranglan, Nueva Ecija		Dupax del Norte
		Dupax del Sur
		Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija	Alfonso Castañeda

Province of Nueva Vizcaya
Bayombong (capital)
Municipalities	Alfonso Castañeda Ambaguio Aritao Bagabag Bambang Bayombong Diadi Dupax del Norte Dupax del Sur Kasibu Kayapa Quezon Santa Fe Solano Villaverde
Barangays	See: List of barangays in Nueva Vizcaya