Bago City

Infobox Philippine city
infoboxtitle = City of Bago | sealfile = Ph seal negros occidental bago city.png locatormapfile = Ph_locator_negros occidental_bago.png caption = Map of Negros Occidental showing the location of Bago City.
region = Western Visayas (Region VI)
districts = 4th District of Negros Occidental
province = Negros Occidental
barangays = 24
class = 2nd class city
mayor =
founded =
website =
cityhood =
areakm2 =
pop2000 = 141,721
popden2000 =
coordinates =

Bago City is a 2nd class city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 141,721 people in 27,965 households. The city is located 21 kilometers south of the provincial capital, Bacolod City.

Ramon D. Torres was elected as Bago City Mayor in 2007 replacing Janet E. Torres, whose husband served as mayor for almost 40 years.Fact|date=July 2008 The coliseum located in the heart of the city is named after him.

Bago City operates a subsidized college, Bago City College, located in Barangay Balingasag. Most of its students come from the southern part of the island.

Buenos Aires Mountain Resort is one of the main tourist destinations in Bago City; so is Kipot Twin Falls.

The city fiesta is celebrated November 5 in commemoration of the Negros Revolution.

History

Its history has its beginning on September 6, 1571 when the Spanish adelantado, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, allotted the community to a Spaniards named Juan Gutierrez as his “encomienda”. At that time the community was still composed of small cluster of settlements along the banks of a big river which later became known as the Bago River. The “economiendero”, since then, administered to the spiritual and socio-economic needs of the natives in the settlements until June, 1578; however, a year before that, this community was placed under the evangelical visitations of Father Geronimo Marin, an Agustinian priest whi had taken charge of the christianization of the natives of Binalbagan since the year 1572. FatherMarin, upon his arrival in the community, celebrated the feast of St. John the Baptist, who would later be accepted as the patron said of the place. Following the traditions and practices of the Spanish missionaries and historians in recording the founding of a “pueblo” or town that usually coincides with the feast day of a saint and since the feast day of St. John the Baptist, falls on June 24 of each year, it follows therefore that Bago was founded so that the exact month and day can only be deduced from such traditional practices of the Spaniards. Manila, Cebu City and Binalbagan also predicated the dates of their founding on the same historical situations, hence the logical conclusion is that Bago City was officially founded on the month, day and year heretofore mentioned.

As regards how the community acquired its name, according to the manuscript of a Spanish historian, Diego Lope de Povedano, which is available in the library of the University of San Carlos, Cebu City, the community was named after a large tree called “Bago” under which, a native prince by the name of Mapagic died. Another historical version is that the place got its name from a shrub called “bago-bago” which was then growing luxuriantly along the rivers banks. From the year 1575 up to the close of the 16th century, no historical account was written about the community. Bago came into the historical scene again when, at the early part of the 17th century, a group of settlers from Panay crossed the Guimaras Strait and migrated to Negros, some of whom settled along the banks of Bago River. The arrival of these settlers spurred the rapid growth of the settlements in the area until all these were merged into a sizable village capable of self-governance. In later years, the descendants of these settlers petitioned the Spanish authorities to declare their village a “pueblo” or town and to name it “Bago”. Among the petitioners were Manuel Sitchon, Gregorio Varela, Paulino Torres, Jacinto Araneta, Clemente Celis, Mariano Gonzaga and Fernando Villanueva, whose forebears hailed from the town of Molo, Iloilo. The said petition was finally granted by the status of a “pueblo” or town in that same year. Between the years 1800 and 1898, the inhabitants of Bago were among those who suffered tremendously under the Spanish tyranny, injustice and oppression. This social condition finally led to a revolt on November 5, 1898 when on this day, general Juan Araneta railed his people in the struggle for freedom. This historic event was chronicled in a historic marker found in the City public plaza of Bago which bears the following inscriptions: “Republica de Negros”“In this plaza of Bago was proclaimed the
Republica de Negros by the RevolutionaryForces led by general Juan Anacleto araneta,5 November, 1898. Witnessed by AnaiasDiokno, representative of the Central RevolutionaryGovernment. This Republic acknowledgeThe authority of the First PhilippineRepublic under Emilio Aguinaldo.” Together with General Aniceto Lacson who led the forces in Talisay, he was able to force the capitulation of the Spanish garrison at Bacolod thus putting an end to the Spanish sovereignty in the province. Forthwith, a revolutionary government was established with general Juan A. Araneta as the Acting Governor. In the then Municipality of Bago, an election was held and Ramon del Castillo became the first elected municipal president who served in such capacity from the year 1898 up to the year 1900.

In April, 1901, the Americans came and established a civil government in the province of Negros Occidental which completely abolished the revolutionary government of General Araneta. Bago was one of the towns that were placed under the control of the Americans; however, they allowed the municipality to be governed by Filipino officials. The following therefore were the succeeding municipal presidents and mayors of Bago until the outbreak of the Second World War on December 7, 1941: When the Japanese Forces invaded the Philippines, the civil government of Bago was dissolve. The Japanese occupation forces tried to establish a provisional government but the local people refused to cooperate. When the Americans liberated the town on March 29, 1945, it was completely destroyed but rehabilitation work was immediately started and the town underwent development efforts under the leadership of the succeeding town mayors. Bago City was finally granted its cityhood on February 19, 1966 by virtue of Republic Act No. 4382 written by Senator Ramon Torres a Bago native with his nephew Hon. Manuel Y. Torres as the hold-over City Mayor until 1998. Legal limitations on the number of successive terms disqualified Mayor Manuel Y. Torres in running again and in the 1998 local elections, his wife Mayor Janet E Torres run as candidate for Mayor and Won. The current Mayor is Ramon Torres a nphew of Manuel Y. Torres.

Barangays

Bago City is politically subdivided into 24 barangays.

Notable residents

* Juan Araneta-revolutionary
* J. Amado Araneta-business tycoon
* Judy Araneta-Roxas-Socialite
* Rafael M. Salas- United Nations Under-Secretary General
* Ramon Torres- Senator, Labor Secretary
* Jesus Y. Varela-Roman Catholic Bishop
* Jorge B. Vargas-Wartime Head of the Philippine Government, Executive Secretary to Manuel Quezon
* Mansueto Velasco- Olympic Silver Medalist
* Roel Velasco- Olympic Bronze Medalist
* Jose Yulo- Speaker of the House, Wartime Chief Justice

Sources

*

References

External links

* [http://www.bagocity.gov.ph Bago City Official Website]
* [http://www.nscb.gov.ph/activestats/psgc/default.asp Philippine Standard Geographic Code]