Bangued

Bangued
Municipality
View of Abra Valley from Casamata Hill
Seal
Map of Abra with Bangued highlighted
Bangued Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 17°36′N 120°37′E / 17.6°N 120.62°E / 17.6; 120.62Coordinates: 17°36′N 120°37′E / 17.6°N 120.62°E / 17.6; 120.62
Country	Philippines
Region	Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)
Province	Abra
District	Lone District of Abra
Barangays	31 (see Barangays)
Government
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Dominic "Nic" Busuego Valera
• Electorate	27,162 voters (2016)
Area
• Total	105.70 km2 (40.81 sq mi)
Population (2015 census)
• Total	48,163
• Density	460/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
ZIP code	2800
PSGC	140101000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)74
Income class	1st municipal income class
Website	www.bangued.gov.ph

Bangued, officially the Municipality of Bangued (Ilocano: Ili ti Bangued, Filipino: Bayan ng Bangued), is the capital municipality of the province of Abra in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) of the Philippines. The population was 48,163 at the 2015 census. In the 2016 electoral roll, it had 27,162 registered voters.

The name "Bangued" means "roadblock". It was established as a regular town in 1598 and was made the seat of the provincial government of Abra on July 25, 1861. The inauguration coincided with the feast day of Saint James the Great.

The early settlers were the Tingguians belonging to the Bago, Itneg, Masadiit, lbanao, and Indayas tribes, who later intermarried with the immigrants from Ilocos Sur. The Tingguians opposed the Christianization introduced by the Spanish friars who penetrated the eastern settlements. The Tingguian residents prevented the Spaniards from penetrating their area of which they placed roadblocks on all roads leading to the place. They also cut large logs and threw them to the Abra River to prevent the incoming colonizers from entering the area with the use of their boats and bamboo rafts. These logs were made as obstacles and big rocks were placed along the roads which the natives called "banggen", meaning obstacles.

When the conquistadores, led by Juan de Salcedo, decided to penetrate the area, they proceeded eastward and saw for themselves the logs along the Abra River, and the stones placed there to block all roads leading to the community. Salcedo's subaltern happened to meet one of the natives and asked what was the name of the place. Thinking that the Spaniards were inquiring about the roadblocks, he answered "banggen" and the subaltern jotted down on his notebook about the word.