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Camaligan, officially the Municipality of Camaligan (; ), is a municipality in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. According to the , it has a population of people. Camaligan rapidly became an urban town during the 1990s.
It is home to the oldest known pre-colonial site in the Bicol region, dating 500 AD to 600 AD, making it an undeclared important archaeological zone.
Etymology
The origin of the town and its name can be traced back to the early settlers of the place. Known as the cortadores, or woodcutters, to the early Spanish colonizers who came to the place in the early 1700s, the settlers cut timbers from nearby mountains located upriver or around San Miguel Bay and made this as their form of living. Out of these timbers, they hewed out canoes or bancas which they stored under small sheds or huts. Later, when these sheds became abundant in the area, as they were made the permanent dwelling places by these canoe makers, the place was called "Camaligan", which means "a place where many sheds can be found", by combining the root word kamalig (or shed) and the locative suffix -an. The sheds served to shelter the canoe makers and protect their boats from the natural elements. Hence, the name and origin of the town is historically tied to the Bicol River and its early inhabitants.
Spanish era
The settlers of the religious visita of Nueva Caceres, which was then under its ecclesiastical jurisdiction, arrived in the town by the 17th century. During this time, Camaligan had five barrios in its jurisdiction, namely Marupit, Doncal (now Dugcal), Sua, San Roque and Tarosanan. Each barrio has a small wooden chapel.
Barangays
Camaligan is politically subdivided into 13 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
<div>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Barangays
! Class
! Population
! Barangay Head
|-
| Dugcal
| Rural
| 4,464
| Gabriel Jr. DV. Flores
|-
| Marupit
| Rural
| 4,510
| Delia B. Mansor
|-
| San Francisco
| Rural
| 745
| Eden G. Torallo
|-
| San Jose-San Pablo (Poblacion)
| Rural
| 671
| Eden B. Bon
|-
| San Juan-San Ramon (Poblacion)
| Rural
| 982
| Emeterio M. Avila
|-
| San Lucas (Poblacion)
| Rural
| 578
| Cyril O. Agomaa
|-
| San Marcos (Poblacion)
| Rural
| 1,388
| Susana Agna
|-
| San Mateo (Poblacion)
| Rural
| 1,508
| Carlos Q. Mariscal, Jr.
|-
| San Roque
| Rural
| 3,585
| Rolando P. Marasigan
|-
| Santo Domingo (Poblacion)
| Rural
| 618
| Maria Teresa A. Ruiz
|-
| Santo Tomas (Poblacion)
| Rural
| 810
| Maria Jasmin M. Trinidad
|-
| Sua
| Rural
| 2,154
| Servando Santa Ana
|-
| Tarosanan
| Rural
| 2,096
| Salvador Lorente
|}</div>
Climate
Camaligan has a significant amount of rainfall during the year. This is true even for the driest month. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Camaligan has a tropical rainforest climate. The average annual temperature is 27.1 °C in Camaligan. About 2527 mm of precipitation falls annually.
Demographics
In the 2024 census, the population of Camaligan was 25,218 people, with a density of .
Economy
Bicol River serves as a natural source of irrigation and fertilization to the town where agriculture is still considered as a major industry. Last May 2022 Election, he has been elected for his first term as the Municipal Mayor.
|-
| 1902-1903
| Pedro Bustamante
|-
| 1904-1905
| Quintin Bagsic
|-
| 1905-1906
| Catalino Alayan
|-
| 1906-1907
| Fabian Garcia
|-
| 1908-1909
| Tomas Salvador
|-
| 1909-1911
| Jose Agapor
|-
| 1912-1915
| Mauricio Cordial
|-
| 1916-1919
| Liberato Montiveros
|-
| 1920-1923
| Antonio Santa Ana
|-
| 1924-1927
| Pedro Flores
|-
| 1928-1931
| Vidal Custodio
|-
| 1932-1935
| Elias Agna de Dios
|-
| 1936-1941
| Teotimo Rebuquiao
|-
| 1942-1944
| Felipe Cuadrante
|-
| 1944
| Glecerio Blas
|-
| 1945
| Andres Diez
|-
| 1946-1947
| Julio Capucao
|-
| 1948-1951
| Francisco A. Aurellano
|-
| 1952-1955
| Buenaventura Plantado
|-
| 1956-1963
| Agapito T. Loriaga
|-
| 1964-1967
| Dalmacio Aurellano
|-
| 1968-1971
| Agapito T. Loriaga
|-
| 1972-1986
| Dalmacio Aurellano
|-
| 1986
| Napoleon Valiente
|-
| 1986-1987
| Amelito Belen
|-
| 1987
| Fabian A. Valenciano
|-
| 1987-1988
| Priscilla T. Aurellano
|-
| 1988-1995
| Manuel N. Prado
|-
| 1995-2004
| Rolando C. Eduardo
|-
| 2004-2007
| Pablo N. Prado
|-
| 2007-2010
| Rolando C. Eduardo
|-
| 2010-2013
| Emmanuel T. Prado
|-
| 2013-2022
| Marilou Marquez-Hirose
|-
| 2022–Present
| Diano S. Ibardaloza, Jr.
|}</div>
Culture
The people of Camaligan derived their socio-cultural identity as river people from the existence of the river. Bicol River is an important resource for irrigation and fertilization of the land where agriculture and fishing is still considered as a major industry. The place's festivals, songs and dances found their roots and inspiration from the river. Hence, the river ecology has bred its own distinct community.
Santo Domingo Chapel is an old chapel which was a former burial ground during pre-colonial times. It is a central archeological site where a lot of burial jars, porcelains and skeleton bones were found during the diggings.
M/B Camaligan is a motorboat which docks beside Camaligan River Park. Also known as Camaligan River Cruise, it is also a floating restaurant which crosses the Bicol River. Launched last 6 February 2019, it is the newest attraction which promotes the river culture of the town.
Education
The Camaligan Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.
Camaligan has one high school, six elementary schools and thirteen preschools. At present, there is no existing tertiary school in the town.
Pre-schools
- Dugcal Day Care Center
- Gogon Day Care Center
- Hansel & Gretel Day Care Center
- Marupit Day Care Center
- San Francisco Day Care Center
- San Juan Day Care Center
- San Lucas Day Care Center
- San Mateo Day Care Center
- San Roque Day Care Center
- Sua Day Care Center
- Tampac Day Care Center
- Tarosanan Day Care Center
Primary and elementary schools
- Camaligan Central School
- Dugcal Elementary School
- Marupit Elementary School
- Petite L'e' Tudiant Learning Centre
- Purple Crayon Learning Center
- Rovalie Learning Center
- San Roque Elementary School
- Sua Elementary School
- Tarosanan-San Francisco Elementary School
Secondary school
- Camaligan National High School - the only high school in the town. The junior high school campus is located in barangay San Jose-San Pablo, while the senior high school is located in barangay Dugcal.
Notable personalities
<!--NOTE: Only add people with own Wikipedia article as per WP notability.-->
- Joyce Nocomura - crowned as Miss Philippines Water 2007.
References
External links
- [ Philippine Standard Geographic Code]
- Philippine Census Information
- Official Site of the Province of Camarines Sur