Mambajao, officially the Municipality of Mambajao, is a 3rd class

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

and capital of the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

Camiguin Camiguin, officially the Province of Camiguin ( ceb, Probinsya sa Camiguin; tl, Lalawigan ng Camiguin; Kamigin: ''Probinsya ta Kamigin''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about off the northern coast of Min ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 41,094 people.

Etymology

Mambajao is from Visayan ''mambahaw'' (archaic form of ''mamahaw''), meaning "to eat breakfast"; from the root word ''bahaw'', "leftover rice from ast night.

History

On January 4, 1855, Mambajao was separated from Catarman, and by July 6 that year it was proclaimed as a town, with Fr. Valero Salvo as its first parish priest. On July 17, 1864, tremors were felt across the town, which were signs of an ongoing activity within an undersea volcano near Catarman. By May 1, 1871, the volcano erupted, decimating the town of Catarman, which lead to almost all of its inhabitants moving to Mambajao. In January 1872, Barrio Agojo was transferred from Guinsiliban to Mambajao. The town's principal crop in the 19th century was abaca, while coffee and

cacao Cacao is the seed from which cocoa and chocolate are made, from Spanish cacao, an adaptation of Nahuatl cacaua, the root form of cacahuatl ("bean of the cocoa-tree"). It may also refer to: Plants *''Theobroma cacao'', a tropical evergreen tree ** ...

were mostly produced for local consumption. Sporadic fires were started from April 13, 1865, until 1881 by people attempting to burn down the town. By the 1880s, the town had become cosmopolitan, for its population then included Spaniards, Tagalogs, Cebuanos, Leyteños, Samareños,

Ilocanos The Ilocanos ( ilo, Tattao nga Iloko/), Ilokanos, or Iloko people are the third largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group and mostly reside within the Ilocos Region in the northwestern seaboard of Luzon, Philippines. The native language of the Ilo ...

, and others in addition to Camigueños and Boholanos. In 1942, the Japanese forces landed in the town of Mambajao. On November 19, 2018, the old municipal hall of Mambajao was destroyed by a fire after it was spread to its second floor.

Geography

Climate

Barangays

Mambajao is politically subdivided into 15

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolit ...

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Mambajao was 41,094 people, with a density of .

Economy

Infrastructure

The Camiguin Sports Complex (Also known as Cong. Pedro Palarca-Romualdo Tourism and Sports Complex) is a sports complex located in Mambajao, and hosts to the 2016 Northern Mindanao Regional Athletic Meet, and Lanzones Festival events. The main campus of the Camiguin Polytechnic State College is located in Mambajao.

Notable personalities

* Mary "Maymay" Entrata, actress and singer who won the seventh edition of '' Pinoy Big Brother''

References

External links

Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

br>Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Camiguin Provincial capitals of the Philippines