Buguias

Buguias
Buguias
	Houses near rice terraces in Buguias
	Flag Official seal of Buguias Seal
	OpenStreetMap
Country	Philippines
Founded	February 9, 1942
Barangays	(see Barangays)
Government
• Mayor	Ruben L. Tinda-an
• Vice Mayor	Dione E. Baucas
• Representative	Nestor B. Fongwan
• Electorate	voters (?)
Highest elevation	2,342 m (7,684 ft)
Lowest elevation	1,129 m (3,704 ft)
Economy
• Poverty incidence	% (?)
Service provider
• Electricity	—
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
PSGC	PSGC unknown

Buguias, officially the Municipality of Buguias, (Ilocano: Ili ti Buguias; Tagalog: Bayan ng Buguias), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,877 people. ^[3] The municipality is home to the mummy of Apo Anno, one of the most revered and important folk hero in Benguet prior to Spanish arrival.

Etymology

According to folklore, Buguias got its name from the word bugas (or begas) which means "rice".^[4]^[5]

Another version of its origin would be an Igorot settlement during the pre-Spanish time called Bogey-yas, which was modernized and spelled as Buguias by Spanish authorities.^[6]

History

Pre-colonial era

Nabalicong village in Barangay Natubleng was the center of the area's cultural and political domains prior to Spanish colonization. In the 12th century,^[7] a folk hero, known as Apo Anno, lived with the people of the area and was a spiritual leader, hunter, and demigod. The people believed Apo Anno was a son of a Benguet goddess. His body was filled with tattoos, symbolizing his high status in the community. During his protectorate of the domain, prosperity spurred. He died before the arrival of the Spaniards, and thus, was given mummification and death rites in the traditional way.^[8]

Spanish period

The arrival of Spanish colonizers in Buguias were primarily due to the construction of Spanish trails leading to the mountain region. Buguias and Loo were two separate rancherias during the Spanish Regime.^[5]

American period

During the American rule, Buguias was established as one of the 19 townships of the province of Benguet, upon the issuance of Act No. 48 by the Philippine Commission on November 22, 1900.^[6]^[9]^[10]

On November 23, 1900, the township of Loo was abolished and integrated into the township of Buguias with the issuance of Act No. 49.^[4]^[11] On August 13, 1908, Benguet was established as a sub-province of the newly created Mountain Province with the enactment of Act No. 1876. As a result, six townships of Benguet were abolished, but Buguias remained a constituent town of Benguet sub-province.^[10]

In 1918, the mummy of Apo Anno was stolen by foreign treasure hunters. An earthquake and pestilence followed afterwards, prompting the people to campaign for the return of Apo Anno to his resting place.

Post-war era

On June 25, 1963, President Diosdado Macapagal issued Executive Order No. 42 converting eight (8) of the thirteen (13) towns (designated as municipal districts) of Benguet sub-province into regular municipalities. Buguias was among them.^[12]

On June 18, 1966, the sub-province of Benguet was separated from the old Mountain Province and was converted into a regular province. Buguias remained to be a component municipality of the newly established province.^[10]^[13]

Contemporary era

In 1984, a Filipino antique collector bought an auctioned mummy, only to discover it was the mummy of Apo Anno. He donated it to the National Museum of the Philippines afterwards for better care of the national treasure. The people of Buguias made diplomatic channels with the National Museum until it was agreed that the National Museum would return the mummy of Apo Anno to its resting place in barangay Nabalicong after Benguet officials agreed to install iron grills in the burial cave and provide funds for its upkeep. Later that year, Apo Anno was returned to its burial cave, through elaborate death rituals last performed in the 16th century and a hero's homecoming conducted by the people of Buguias.^[8]

There have been scholars campaigning for the declaration of Apo Anno's mummy and resting place as a collective National Treasure or Important Cultural Property of the Philippines.

Geography

Buguias is located at Coordinates: Missing latitude
Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function, at the northeastern section of Benguet. It is bounded by Mankayan on the north-west, Bakun on the mid-west, Kibungan on the south-west, Kabayan on the south, Tinoc on the east, Hungduan on the north-east, and Bauko on the north.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 175.88 square kilometres (67.91 sq mi)PSGC unknown constituting 6.35% of the 2,769.08-square-kilometre- (1,069.15 sq mi) total area of Benguet.

Buguias is 83 kilometres (52 mi) from Baguio, 78 kilometres (48 mi) from La Trinidad, and 333 kilometres (207 mi) from Manila.

Barangays

Buguias is politically subdivided into 14 barangays.PSGC unknown These barangays are headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain, Barangay Council, whose members are called Barangay Councilors. All are elected every three years.

<td style="text-align:right;padding-left:0.3em;padding-right:0.3em;"

text-align: right;"

data-sort-value=Formatting error: invalid input when rounding%