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Bongao
Bongao, officially the Municipality of Bongao (Tagalog: Bayan ng Bongao), is a municipality and capital of the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 116,118 people.
Evidence of human presence in Bongao was carbon-dated to be 8,810 to 5,190 years old, signifying one of the earliest known evidence of human presence in Southeast Asia. The bones, jars, shells, and other artifacts and fossils were found in the Bolobok Rock Shelter Cave Archaeological Site, which has been declared as an Important Cultural Treasure by the government in 2017.
Much of the Bongao area was the center of Bajau culture and arts for hundreds of years. By the 14th century, Muslim missionaries from Arabia arrived and established the first ever mosque in the Philippines. The area was heavily converted to Islam, especially when the Sultanate of Sulu in nearby Sulu province was founded.
The province of Tawi-Tawi was never officially controlled directly by the Spanish as the Sultanate of Sulu was in a perpetual war with Spain, resulting in the preservation of its Muslim and Bajau cultures. However, the sultanate waned and was captured by Spain, only to be handed to American forces after a few years. Sibutu remained under Spanish rule until 1900.
Bongao was formally incorporated as a municipality on July 1, 1958 under Executive Order No. 355 signed by President Carlos P. Garcia.
Before the armed rebellion of the MNLF in the early 1970s, Bongao was merely a backwater village. The capital of the province was Batu-Batu (in Panglima Sugala) in the mainland situated in a cove with deep waters suited for anchors of the Philippine Navy. At the height of the armed rebellion and fearing that the provincial capitol might be overrun, the government transferred it to Bongao. The white-washed, Taj Mahal-inspired provincial capitol building is located on a hill overlooking the bay and the whole town to the north of the Island against the backdrop of Mount Kabugan and the famous Bud Bongao (Bongao Peak).
The transfer of the seat of government ushered the rapid development of the island as the southernmost center of commerce and trade. Suddenly, the population swelled as individuals (and their families) who are in government service moved to the town.
The City's territory includes Bongao Island (where the poblacion is located), Sanga-Sanga Island, Pababag Island, as well as the western end of Tawi-Tawi Island.
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Bongao
Bongao, officially the Municipality of Bongao (Tagalog: Bayan ng Bongao), is a municipality and capital of the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 116,118 people.
Evidence of human presence in Bongao was carbon-dated to be 8,810 to 5,190 years old, signifying one of the earliest known evidence of human presence in Southeast Asia. The bones, jars, shells, and other artifacts and fossils were found in the Bolobok Rock Shelter Cave Archaeological Site, which has been declared as an Important Cultural Treasure by the government in 2017.
Much of the Bongao area was the center of Bajau culture and arts for hundreds of years. By the 14th century, Muslim missionaries from Arabia arrived and established the first ever mosque in the Philippines. The area was heavily converted to Islam, especially when the Sultanate of Sulu in nearby Sulu province was founded.
The province of Tawi-Tawi was never officially controlled directly by the Spanish as the Sultanate of Sulu was in a perpetual war with Spain, resulting in the preservation of its Muslim and Bajau cultures. However, the sultanate waned and was captured by Spain, only to be handed to American forces after a few years. Sibutu remained under Spanish rule until 1900.
Bongao was formally incorporated as a municipality on July 1, 1958 under Executive Order No. 355 signed by President Carlos P. Garcia.
Before the armed rebellion of the MNLF in the early 1970s, Bongao was merely a backwater village. The capital of the province was Batu-Batu (in Panglima Sugala) in the mainland situated in a cove with deep waters suited for anchors of the Philippine Navy. At the height of the armed rebellion and fearing that the provincial capitol might be overrun, the government transferred it to Bongao. The white-washed, Taj Mahal-inspired provincial capitol building is located on a hill overlooking the bay and the whole town to the north of the Island against the backdrop of Mount Kabugan and the famous Bud Bongao (Bongao Peak).
The transfer of the seat of government ushered the rapid development of the island as the southernmost center of commerce and trade. Suddenly, the population swelled as individuals (and their families) who are in government service moved to the town.
The City's territory includes Bongao Island (where the poblacion is located), Sanga-Sanga Island, Pababag Island, as well as the western end of Tawi-Tawi Island.
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