Santo Domingo, officially the Municipality of Santo Domingo ( ilo, Ili ti Santo Domingo; fil, Bayan ng Santo Domingo), 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 ...

in 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 ...

Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur, officially the Province of Ilocos Sur ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ilocos Sur; tl, Lalawigan ng Ilocos Sur), is a province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital o ...

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 29,041 people.

Etymology

The name of the municipality came from its old moniker, "''Paggappuan ti Santol ti Domingo''," an Ilocano term meaning "The source of the Santol sold every Sunday." Santol (''

Sandoricum koetjape ''Sandoricum koetjape'', the santol, sentul or cotton fruit, is a tropical fruit native to maritime Southeast Asia (Malesia). Origin and distribution The santol is native to the Malesian Phytochorion, floristic region, but have been introduced t ...

'') is the name of the tree bearing round, yellowish fruits growing in abundance in the municipality, notably in Barangay Pussuac.

History

During the Spanish era, an enlisted man of the Spanish Civil Guard, Pablo Arquero, looked for the source of the santol being sold in the markets of Ciudad Fernandina (now

Vigan City Vigan, officially the City of Vigan ( ilo, Siudad ti Vigan; fil, Lungsod ng Vigan), is a 4th class component city and capital of the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,935 people. Loc ...

) on Sundays during the months of June to August. To do so, he asked for a leave of absence from his platoon leader to trace the source of the fruits. With his Ilocano guide, he searched the lands north of Villa Fernandina. He found nothing in the neighboring towns of

Bantay Bantay, officially the Municipality of Bantay ( ilo, Ili ti Bantay; fil, Bayan ng Bantay), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,118 people. It is situated ...

, Santa Catalina, San Vicente, and Bantaoay (now

San Ildefonso San Ildefonso (), La Granja (), or La Granja de San Ildefonso, is a town and municipality in the Province of Segovia, in the Castile and León autonomous region of central Spain. It is located in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama mounta ...

). He finally found many santol-bearing trees in a place north of Bantaoay now called Barangay Pus-uac. He has found the "Paggappuan ti Santol ti Domingo." The town was named Santo Domingo on account of this feat. Don Pablo Arguero was claimed to be the founder of the municipality on May 12, 1742, with Father Tomas Millan as the first parish priest. Father Millan laid the foundation of the belfry, where the great Filipino hero

Diego Silang Diego Silang y Andaya (; December 16, 1730 – May 28, 1763) was a Filipino revolutionary leader who allied with British forces to overthrow Spanish rule in the northern Philippines and establish an independent Ilocano state. His revolt was f ...

once worked as a boy. In 2010, the

University of Northern Philippines The University of Northern Philippines (UNP; fil, Pamantasan ng Kahilagaang Pilipinas) is a university in Barangay Tamag, in the City of Vigan in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. It is the first and oldest state university in Northern L ...

opened a campus in Quimmarayan. It houses the university's agricultural, fishery and research courses; and the Environmental Research and Training Center.

Geography

Santo Domingo is from

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

and from

, the provincial capital.

Barangays

Santo Domingo is politically subdivided into 36

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 ...

s. These barangays are headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain,

Barangay Council The Sangguniang Barangay, also known as the Barangay Council, and formerly as the Rural Council and then the Barrio Council, is the legislative body of a barangay, the lowest form of government in the Philippines. The term is coined from the Tag ...

, whose members are called Barangay Councilors. All are elected every three years.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, Santo Domingo had a population of 29,041. The population density was .

Economy

Government

Santo Domingo, belonging to the first congressional district of the province of

, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.

Elected officials

List of local chief executives

For 378 years, from 1521 to 1899, Local Chief Executives of the “pueblos” or town were appointed by the Spaniards and in the year 1901 up to 1946 they were appointed by Americans. Afterwards, election was the mode of selection. ''Gobernadorcillos'' (1742-1892): ''Capitan Municipal'' (1893-1899): * Don Wenceslao Soliven * Don Isabelo Soliven ''Presidentes Municipal'': Municipal Mayors:

References

External links

Official Website of Municipality of Santo Domingo, Ilocos SurPasyalang Ilocos SurMunicipality of Santo Domingo Ilocos SurPhilippine Standard Geographic CodePhilippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Ilocos Sur