Camaligan, Camarines Sur


', officially the ', is a of the Philippines| in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.
The town 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 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.
"Catagbacan" was the oldest known name of Camaligan. Moreover, according to D. Adolfo Puya y Ruiz, in his “Camarines Sur – Descripcion General De Està Provincia En Luzon”, Camaligan was called "Kinamaligan" before.

Geography

With an area of, it is the smallest municipality in Camarines Sur, but it is the densest, having an approximation of 5,200 persons per square kilometer, which is almost twice the density of the neighboring City of Naga of 2,456 per square kilometer.

Barangays

Camaligan is politically subdivided into 13 barangays.

BarangaysClassPopulationBarangay Head
DugcalRural4,464Gabriel Jr. DV. Flores
MarupitRural4,510Delia B. Mansor
San FranciscoRural745Eden G. Torallo
San Jose-San Pablo Rural671Eden B. Bon
San Juan-San Ramon Rural982Emeterio M. Avila
San Lucas Rural578Cyril O. Agomaa
San Marcos Rural1,388Danilo I. Villamor
San Mateo Rural1,508Carlos Q. Mariscal, Jr.
San RoqueRural3,585Rolando P. Marasigan
Santo Domingo Rural618Maria Teresa A. Ruiz
Santo Tomas Rural810Maria Jasmin M. Trinidad
SuaRural2,154Servando Santa Ana
TarosananRural2,096Loretta A. Acabado

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 or Af. The average annual temperature is 27.1 °C in Camaligan. About 2527 mm of precipitation falls annually.

History

Pre-colonial era

The town of Camaligan is a known archeological site. In 2016 to 2017, hundreds of artifacts, including shells, jar fragments, tools, other deposits, pig bones, deer bones, stingray cartilage, shark cartilage, and at least fifteen pre-colonial human remains, were found in the area, which marked a revolutionary phase in Bicol archaeology. The shells and tools found in the town was dated back 1,500 years ago or approximately 500 to 600 AD. The site contained no trace of Chinese, Southeast Asian, or South Asian trade links, making Camaligan a pure pre-colonial Bicolano site.

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. The pre-colonial cemetery and community center were transformed by the Spanish into the town's current church compound to diminish native belief systems and instill catholicism. During this time, Camaligan had five barrios in its jurisdiction, namely Marupit, Doncal, Sua, San Roque and Tarosanan. Each barrio has a small wooden chapel.
On 5 June 1795, a petition to the Spanish religious authorities was sent by the natives and signed by the supposedly officials of the place, to request for a resident curate. The officials’ names were Andre Casa, Diego, Lobao, Simeon de la Cruz, Manuel del Espiritu Santo, Fernando Valenzuela, Agustin del Espiritu Santo, Marcos David, Domingo Flores, Pedro Negre, Bartolome Rodriguez and Valentine de los Santos. Fray Rafael de Benavente was appointed as the first parish priest.

American era

In 1902, the municipality was officially established through an act of the Philippine legislature. It also named [|Pedro Bustamante] as the first municipal mayor. This event of the creation of the Municipality of Camaligan was brought about by a historical fact when the town was eventually separated from being as an annex of Nueva Caceres.

Demographics

In the, the population of Camaligan was people, with a density of.

Economy

serves as a natural source of irrigation and fertilization to the town where agriculture is still considered as a major industry.
Out of the 468 hectares total land area, 175 hectares are devoted to rice production, all of which are irrigated and fertilized by the river through its occasional flooding.

Local government

Camaligan is being headed by a mayor who is being elected by its residents.
The current mayor of the town is Marilou Marquez-Hirose. Last May 2019 Election, she has been re-elected for her third and last term as the Municipal Mayor.
Since 1902, thirty mayors already headed the town.

TermMayor
1902-1903Pedro Bustamante
1904-1905Quintin Bagsic
1905-1906Catalino Alayan
1906-1907Fabian Garcia
1908-1909Tomas Salvador
1909-1911Jose Agapor
1912-1915Mauricio Cordial
1916-1919Liberato Montiveros
1920-1923Antonio Santa Ana
1924-1927Pedro Flores
1928-1931Vidal Custodio
1932-1935Elias Agna de Dios
1936-1941Teotimo Rebuquiao
1942-1944Felipe Cuadrante
1944Glecerio Blas
1945Andres Diez
1946-1947Julio Capucao
1948-1951Francisco A. Aurellano
1952-1955Buenaventura Plantado
1956-1963Agapito T. Loriaga
1964-1967Dalmacio Aurellano
1968-1971Agapito T. Loriaga
1972-1986Dalmacio Aurellano
1986Napoleon Valiente
1986-1987Amelito Belen
1987Fabian A. Valenciano
1987-1988Priscilla T. Aurellano
1988-1995Manuel N. Prado
1995-2004Rolando C. Eduardo
2004-2007Pablo N. Prado
2007-2010Rolando C. Eduardo
2010-2013Emmanuel T. Prado
2013–PresentMarilou Marquez-Hirose

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.

Festivals

Religious and cultural festivals are being held in the town.
is one of the oldest churches in the province of Camarines Sur. The church is one of the favorite spots for Visita Iglesia in the province.
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.
Sira, or fish, is a small wharf painted with festive colors that is constructed on the riverside of barangay San Francisco. This also serves as a dock for banca passengers.
After the initial launching of Camaligan River Park in 1 June 2014, its tourism industry began to be more active. Its continuous improvements attracted many visitors, mostly coming from the City of Naga, to come and enjoy walking along the riverside.
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.

Archaeology

Camaligan is Bicol region's oldest known pre-colonial site, filled with numerous stone tools, jar fragments, shell middens, pig and deer bones, shark and ray cartilages, and other artifacts and biofacts. The site also homes to fifteen human skeletons of pre-colonial Ibalons. The site is so rare and vital as it does not contain any evidences of trade contact with China, Southeast Asian neighbors or South Asia, making it one of the very few pre-colonial sites in the Philippines with distinct Filipino artifacts and biofacts unaffected by outside trade. Both the University of the Philippines and University of California, Los Angeles have been pushing for the town's declaration as an "Important Archaeological Site." Scholars have also been pushing for the site's nomination in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
In a documentary made by GMA News TV, it was found that the artifacts and biofacts were not limited to the town proper. In fact, during a road-widening project conducted in September 2017 by the national government, hundreds of human bone fragments, animal bones, burial and ceremonial jar fragments, and stone tools were found after digging only the edges of the road. The documentary also found many Camaligueños to own artifacts they have found in their own land. Due to these findings, the town's reputation as a vital pre-colonial Ibalon archaeological site was solidified.

Educational institutions

Camaligan has one high school, six elementary schools and thirteen preschools. At present, there is no existing tertiary school in the town.

High school