Balingasag, Misamis Oriental
| Balingasag | |
|---|---|
| Municipality | |
People's Palace (Municipal Hall)
|
|
 Map of Misamis Oriental with Balingasag highlighted |
|
.svg)
 Balingasag
|
|
| Coordinates: 08°45′N 124°47′E / 8.750°N 124.783°ECoordinates: 08°45′N 124°47′E / 8.750°N 124.783°E | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Northern Mindanao (Region X) |
| Province | Misamis Oriental |
| District | 1st district of Misamis Oriental |
| Founded | 1842 |
| Barangays | 30 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Marrietta Roa Abogado |
| Area | |
| • Total | 147.11 km2 (56.80 sq mi) |
| Population (2015 census) | |
| • Total | 67,059 |
| • Density | 460/km2 (1,200/sq mi) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+8) |
| ZIP code | 9005 |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)88 |
| Income class | 2nd municipal income class |
| 104302000 | |
| Electorate | 41,867 voters as of 2016 |
| Website | www |
Balingasag is a second class municipality in the province of Misamis Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 67,059 people.
Balingasag is politically subdivided into 30 barangays.
Balingasag started as a pre-Hispanic settlement, which was eventually discovered by the Spaniards when they came to colonize the Philippines. Presumably, the name came from two contracted Cebuano words "baling", which means fishing net, and "kasag", crab.
Legend has it that one day during the Spanish regime a group of guardia civil, while patrolling the seashore near the settlement of the natives, chanced upon some fishermen pulling fishing nets. A guardia civil asked a fisherman for the name of the place. Not understanding the language and thinking that he was asked what he what was doing, the fisherman, pointing his finger to the net, answered “baling”, and then turning it to the contents of the boat nearby, added “kasag”.
According to early accounts, the present town site of Balingasag was heavily forested, making it the favorite hiding place of bandits and pirates, who constantly terrorized the inhabitants. One of the notorious groups marauding the area was that of Datu Gumpot, who made the area now occupied by Cala-cala, a sitio of Barangay Cogon, as his base. This place was then known as Gumpot Kitagtag. The presence of these lawless elements in the area made the inhabitants evacuate to safer places every now and then.
Gumpot’s group later on disappeared and never came back. This motivated the natives to settle. One group, however, moved to Galas, a part of the place known as Sabangan, an area somewhere between what is now Barangay Waterfall and Barangay Baliwagan. The other group remained at Gumpot Kitagtag.
Galas was ruled by Datu Marcos and his wife, Ba’ai Gregoria. On the other hand, Gumpot Kitagtag was under Datu Mateo and his wife Ba’ai Tomasa. Though these rulers now had their own territory, they remained true and loyal to each other. Marriages between the members of these two tribes further strengthened the bond that had since bound the two leaders. Notable of these conjugal unions was that of Marcos Antonio, the son of Datu Marcos, and Rita Gregoria, the daughter of Datu Mateo.
Eventually, these two great leaders died and were succeeded by their sons. Marcos Antonio became the Datu of Galas and Manuel Mateo ruled Gumpot Kitagtag. These new leaders maintained the alliance established by their predecessors. They constantly communicated with each other and discussed means, or undertook activities, to improve their settlements.
...
Wikipedia