Agoo
| Municipality of Agoo | |||
| Location of Agoo in the province of La Union | |||
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| Basic data | |||
| Region : | Ilocos region | ||
| Province : | La Union | ||
| Barangays : | 49 | ||
| District: | 2. District of La Union | ||
| PSGC : | 013301000 | ||
| Income class : | 1st income bracket | ||
| Households : | 9945 May 1, 2000 census
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| Population : | 63,692 August 1, 2015 census
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| Population density : | 1205 inhabitants per km² | ||
| Area : | 52.84 km² | ||
| Coordinates : | 16 ° 19 ′ N , 120 ° 22 ′ E | ||
| Postal code : | 2504 | ||
| Area code : | +63 72 | ||
| Mayor : | Sandra Eriguel | ||
| Geographical location in the Philippines | |||
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Agoo is a municipality in the Philippine province of La Union and borders the South China Sea to the west .
geography
Agoo is located in the south of the La Union province . The municipality is bordered by Aringay in the north , Tubao in the east and Santo Tomas in the south. To the west of Agoo is the Agoo Damortis National Seashore Park and the South China Sea . The place is about 35 km from the provincial capital San Fernando and 35 to 40 km from Dagupan and 235 km north of Manila . The total area is 52.84 km², including the two controversial barangays Leones Oeste and Leones Este with a total area of 1.66 km². Agoo consists in the western part of a wide coastal plain, which makes up 70% of the area of Agoo. The eastern part is characterized by hilly terrain and individual flat areas. The flat areas are generally used as arable land. Fish ponds dominate the barangays of San Roque West and San Roque East, as well as some areas of Santa Rita. The hilly areas are either forested or used as pastureland.
Barangays
Agoo is divided into the following 49 barangays :
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history
origin of the name
The name Agoo derives from the horsetail- leaved cassuarine ( Casuarina equisetifolia L.), called aroo in the language of the locals , which occurs along the municipality's streams and rivers.
Pre-Spanish history
The place was settled long before the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. The Agoos area was settled in several waves of immigration. The first settlers in this area were likely Negritos , who immigrated from mainland Asia via land bridges. With the next wave of immigration came the Proto- Malay who displaced the Negrito population. This was followed by three waves of Malaysian immigration, the last of which, the ancestors of today's Pangasinese, had immigrated from northern Java around the first century AD .
Already in the time before 1446 the inhabitants of Agoo had trading contacts with Chinese traders. Later trading contacts were established with Japanese traders who founded their first settlement in the Philippines in Agoo. The most important trade goods were animal skins, which were exported to Japan by Japanese and Chinese traders . These trade relations made Agoo an important port.
Spanish colonial times
The north of Luzon was first explored by the Spaniards on an expedition led by Juan de Salcedo in 1572. This expedition reached Agoo in June 1572.
After the discovery by Salcedo, a permanent settlement was built in 1578 by the two Franciscan missionaries Juan Bautista Lucarelli and Sebastian de Baeza, from where the surrounding areas were evangelized . A first church made of nipa and bamboo , consecrated to Francis of Assisi , was built. Until the retreat of the Franciscans in 1591, Agoo was under the religious and political administration of the Franciscan Order, in 1591 Agoo came under the religious and political administration of the Dominicans .
Agoo was one of the earliest independent communities. The place became the starting point for the conquest and pacification of the tribes in the Filipino Cordilleras .
On March 2, 1850, the province of La Union was founded from the northwestern areas of Pangasinan and the areas of the province of Ilocos Sur south of the Amburayan river . The new province originally consisted of twelve municipalities, Agoo was the oldest of them. At that time Agoo had 6936 inhabitants.
Encomienda system
Agoo became the likely only royal encomienda in the north of the Philippines. In 1591 there were a total of 267 encomiendas in the Philippines of 31 owned by the Spanish king.
Due to the Spanish ban on foreign trade, Agoo lost its importance as an important trading base and port. Later, after the ban ended, Sual became the most important port in the Gulf of Lingayen .
At the end of the 16th century at the beginning of the 17th century the ethnic composition of Agoos changed dramatically, while Agoo in 1578 is described as a place inhabited purely by Pangansinese, Agoo is described as a settlement of the Ilocanos in 1620 . One of the reasons for this rapid change in ethnic composition is seen to be the labor supply in the port and the subsequent immigration of Ilocanos looking for work. More important, however, is the fact that almost all missionaries who came to Agoo were Ilocanos and proselytized in their own language, as a result of which the Ilocano quickly established itself in the original population.
Due to the encomienda system, the local population had to pay tribute and make their labor freely available to the Spanish government. The Spanish authorities put in place various restrictions and quotas on the local people's agricultural products. In 1661, as a result of the repression by the encomienda system, a revolt led by Andres Malong. Andres Malong declared himself King of Pangasinan and established a rudimentary administrative system. This uprising was short-lived, however, and the leaders of the revolt were either killed in battle or captured and executed after the revolt was put down. In 1796, the original settlement was rebuilt at its current location after being destroyed by an earthquake. During this time, several government buildings and a new larger bell tower were built.
From the Philippine Revolution to the end of World War II
In August 1896 the secret society Katipunan , founded in 1892, was discovered by the Spanish authorities, whereupon the Philippine Revolution and the came and the Spanish colonial era was ended.
Although the Katipunan existed in La Union Province, there was only one gun battle during the first phase of the Philippine Revolution. In this battle, which took place around the Negrebcan region, Filipino troops, mainly ethnic Zambales, fought the Spaniards. The battle was won by the Filipinos, however 60 alleged katipuneros were executed by the Spaniards in the main square of the city because of this defeat. The residents of the city then declared their support for the Katipunan as long as there were no more firefights. During the Philippine-American War there was no documented acts of war in Agoo, but the war was supported by the residents of Agoo. After the city was pacified, the Americans set up a civil administration. High priority was given to education, which was made freely available to children regardless of their origin. American soldiers worked as teachers and taught the English language.
On January 22, 1941, Japanese troops landed at Agoo. This triggered a large movement of refugees among the population. Many of the residents fled to the surrounding mountains. Terror, tyranny and atrocities by the Japanese occupiers and their supporters stirred up resistance, which led to guerrilla activities and was supported by many male residents of Agoo. Many of them fought around Agoo in the 121st Infantry Group of the guerrilla movement. The guerrilla movement took brutal action against alleged collaborators. In 1943 17 men from the villages of Macalva and Leones (in Tubao ) were suspected of being a guerrilla and shot by the Japanese troops. In December 1944, shortly before the arrival of the US Army, around 2,000 Japanese soldiers were stationed in and around Agoo. However, these withdrew before the Americans arrived.
After the Second World War
In 1947 Constantino Verceles was elected Agoo's first post-war mayor. In the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s numerous so-called " farm-to-market roads " were built and paved to improve market access . Furthermore, a power plant was built and the Masalip irrigation system was built.
In 1952 the Dona Gregoria Memorial Hospital was built for the place and the municipality Agoo, named after the mother of the President Elpidio Quirino Gregoria Rivera Quirino, who came from Agoo.
Schools and colleges for secondary and tertiary education were also opened during this period, including the South Provincial High School, which later became the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University .
A significant tobacco industry was established in the 1950s . Tobacco processing employed thousands of workers in the 1970s.
When Nicanor Estonilo took over the office of mayor, the number of barangays was increased from 14 to 49.
In 1978 the 400th anniversary of the municipality was celebrated for one month.
Attractions
- The Basilica of Our Lady with predecessor churches from the Spanish colonial era
- The Imelda Park , a park with a large tree house
- Agoo Beach
Economy and Infrastructure
education
In Agoo a state university is home to the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University, two national high schools , including the Elpidio Quirino National High School and the San Miguel National High School , the private Congress College , three private technical schools, three private high schools, 23 primary schools and 70 preschools.
Web links
- www.agoo.gov.ph ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive )