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

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

and capital of the

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

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 Visayans ( Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group ...

''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 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 Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance peoples, Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of National and regional identity in Spain, national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex Hist ...

Tagalogs The Tagalog people ( tl, Mga Tagalog; Baybayin: ᜋᜅ ᜆᜄᜎᜓᜄ᜔) are the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines, numbering at around 30 million. An Austronesian people, the Tagalog have a well developed society due to their ...

Cebuanos The Cebuano people ( ceb, Mga Sugbuanon) are the largest subgroup of the larger Ethnic groups in the Philippines, ethnolingustic group Visayans, who constitute the largest Ethnic groups in the Philippines, Filipino ethnolinguistic group in the ...

, 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 metropolitan ...

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 The Camiguin Polytechnic State College is a public college in the Philippines. It is mandated to provide higher professional, technical and special instructions for special purposes and to promote research and extension services, advanced studi ...

is located in Mambajao.

Notable personalities

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

Pinoy Big Brother ''Pinoy Big Brother'', more popularly known by its abbreviated title ''PBB'', is the Philippine version of the '' Big Brother'' reality game show franchise. The word ''Pinoy'' in the title is a colloquial term for the Filipino people. Is a Phil ...

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Camiguin Provincial capitals of the Philippines