Veruela, officially the Municipality of Veruela ( ceb, Lungsod sa Veruela; tgl, Bayan ng Veruela), is a 2nd 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 ...

Agusan del Sur Agusan del Sur, officially the Province of Agusan del Sur ( ceb, Habagatang Agusan; Butuanon: ''Probinsya hong Agusan del Sur''; tl, Timog Agusan), is a province in Caraga region, Mindanao, Philippines. Its capital is the municipality of Prosp ...

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 39,708 people.

History

Veruela is considered the oldest town of upper Agusan del Sur. It was believed the name "Veruela" was derived from the word "virus", as the entire area was suffering from smallpox and cholera in the late 18th century when the Spanish missionaries encountered the tribe. From then on, the name ''Veruela'' existed out of the Spanish word ''La Verus''. The

Manobo The Lumad are a group of Austronesian indigenous people in the southern Philippines. It is a Cebuano term meaning "native" or "indigenous". The term is short for Katawhang Lumad (Literally: "indigenous people"), the autonym officially adopte ...

tribes later moved to ''Manning'', also known as ''Linongsuran'' along the

Agusan River The Agusan River is third longest river in the Philippines, located in the north-eastern part of Mindanao island, draining majority of the Caraga region and some parts of Davao de Oro. It is the country's third largest river (after the Cagayan Riv ...

. In 1916 however, a great earthquake destroyed the settlement leaving no trace of it, forcing the survivors to evacuate and reorganize themselves into another place, now the barangay ''

poblacion ''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippines, Philippi ...

'' of the municipality. In the 18th century, the Muslim tribes in Davao invaded the Manobos in Agusan. The Manobos fought against the Muslims. The first known leader of the inhabitants was Eladio Manguyod, a strong and influential ''datu'' of the Manobo tribe, who led his people to victory after a hard-fought battle that drove the Muslims out of Agusan. It was also during those times when the tribe was converted into Christianity. The inhabitants owed their victories to Datu Manguyod as well as their patron, Saint John. Veruela became a municipality through ''Executive Order No. 147'' proclaimed by President

Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the ninth president of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth vice president, serving from 19 ...

on March 31, 1965 during the term of Congressman Guillermo Sanchez, who once also served as mayor of the town. Since its formal creation as a municipality, Veruela had undergone a series of eight different administrations. The municipality of Veruela has a silent dispute with the nearby province of

Compostela Valley Davao de Oro, officially the Province of Davao de Oro ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Davao de Oro; tgl, Lalawigan ng Davao de Oro), is a province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Nabunturan. It used to be part of t ...

regarding the boundary between the two in Barangay Del Monte. The local governments are trying to solve the issue amicably.

Geography

Veruela is located at . According to the

Philippine Statistics Authority The Philippine Statistics Authority (Filipino: ''Pangasiwaan ng Estadistika ng Pilipinas''), abbreviated as PSA, is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that ''collects, compiles, analyzes and publishes statistical inf ...

, the municipality has a land area of constituting of the total area of Agusan del Sur.

Climate

Barangays

Veruela is politically subdivided into 20

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, Veruela had a population of 39,708. The population density was .

Economy

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 ...

{{Authority control Municipalities of Agusan del Sur