Carmen, officially the Municipality of Carmen ( ceb, Lungsod sa Carmen; tgl, Bayan ng Carmen), is a 4th 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 Norte Agusan del Norte, officially the Province of Agusan del Norte ( ceb, Amihanang Agusan; Butuanon: ''Probinsya hong Agusan del Norte''; tl, Hilagang Agusan), is a province in the Caraga region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Cabadba ...

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 23,172 people.

History

The first Christian settlers of Kabayawa village (now Carmen) was the family of Fulgencio Loque and Demetria Mamba from Jagna, Bohol... in the early 1900s. The family encounters of the natives... Manobo/Higaonon tribes of Mankalasi clan was not that difficult as the natives were friendly. Day to day's trade was done through a Barter System... wherein goods and services were directly exchanged for other goods and services without using any money... and through this “system”, parcels of lands were also being acquired. In early days, parcel of land corners were planted with a Moringa tree to mark and determines its boundaries... which was later replaced with concrete pin or “mojon” when the Spanish authorities assume control of the village. The news of abundance then spread among the siblings and extended families of the new settlers, resulting in an influx of newcomers. The Loque's and Mamba's settled in the now poblacion... while the extended families in the adjoining areas to the east, west and south of poblacion like; the Pacon, the Quesaba, the Honcolada, the Malimit, and others. Farther west the Rojales and the Jamito. While the Ebarle, the Jamero, the Sajor and the Salas in Tagcatong, and the Balmoceda in Goso-on. Carmen got its present name from the miraculous image of the Virgin of Mount Carmen, believed to have been instrumental in killing the leader of the bandits who used to inhabit the place. A Spanish Soldier named Juan Cardoniga was supposed to have fired his rifle at the leader of the outlaws who possessed an amulet of some source. Since his rifle did not work, Cardoniga got the image of the virgin from his necklace and place it inside the hole of the barrel after which he succeeded in firing the rifle and in killing the outlaw chief. It was Rev. Saturnino Urios, the famous Jesuit priest of Agusan, who suggested that the name ''Kabayawa ''be changed to ''Carmen ''in honor of the secret image. Carmen was created into a municipality in 1949, when the ''barrio''s of Carmen, Tagcatong, Cahayagan and San Agustin were separated from the municipality of

Nasipit Nasipit, officially the Municipality of Nasipit ( ceb, Lungsod sa Nasipit; tgl, Bayan ng Nasipit), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Agusan del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,822 people. ...

and constituted into the newly created town, by virtue of ''

Republic Act This article contains a partial list of Philippine laws. Sources of Philippine laws ;Notes : *Customs may be considered as supplementary source of law, however, customs which are contrary to law, public order or public policy shall not be ...

No. 380'' which was approved on June 15, 1949. This law was sponsored by Congressman Marcos M. Calo. The town came into being on July 1, 1949.

Geography

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 Norte. Carmen is strategically located in the Western Agusan Corridor. It is bounded on the north by the

Butuan Bay Butuan Bay is a bay and extension of the Bohol Sea or ''Mindanao Sea'', in the northeast section of Mindanao in the Philippines. Its main river source is the Agusan River, which empties into the bay at the coastal city of Butuan. Butuan Bay is c ...

, south by Buenavista, east by

and west by

Misamis Oriental Misamis Oriental ( ceb, Sidlakang Misamis; tl, Silangang Misamis), officially the Province of Misamis Oriental, is a province located in the region of Northern Mindanao in the Philippines. Its capital, largest city and provincial center is th ...

. Its rolling hills are planted with different kinds of orchard, where some are devoted solely to mango plantations. About half of these are fully developed and are already producing sweet mango fruits which are being sold in volume in

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

and

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

and to neighboring municipalities and

Butuan Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Butuan; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; fil, Lungsod ng Butuan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Caraga, Philippines. It is the ''de facto'' ca ...

City.

Climate

Barangays

Carmen is politically subdivided into 8

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, Carmen had a population of 23,172. The population density was .

Economy

Government

Elected government officials of Carmen for the term of 2016-2019: * Mayor: Ramon "Monching RMC" M. Calo * Vice Mayor: Wilfredo T. Taglucop * Sangguniang Bayan: ** Eva D. Palarca ** Maria Riza P. Ledesma ** Diosdado R. Palang-at ** Gilda A. Samaco ** Abraham Dela Cruz Jr. ** Julius Tamayo ** Corazon Alpuerto ** Jan Ledesma * SB Secretary: ** Felomino Palisan Jr.

List of former mayors

* Honculada, Nicanor O. - 1949–1951 * De Guzman, Arturo - 1952–1955 * Malimit, Jose - 1956–1960, 1964-1967 * Degamo, Esteban - 1960–1963 * Calo, Tranquilino Jr. - 1968–1969, 1972–1985, 1988-1993 * Campos, Ernesto - 1969–1971 * Pacon, Dionesio - 1986–1987 * Aparecio, Joaquin - 1987 * Battad, Arnulfo - 1987 - 1988 (until January only) * Luneta, Eliseo - 1993–1995 * Calo, Ramon - 1996–2004, 2007–present * Calo, Jovitte - 2004–2007

Tourism

* Carmen Municipal Hall: new municipal hall officially opened on July 1, 2011. * Plaza Beach Resort: beach covered with white sands in its coast located at Sitio Bulihon, Barangay Tagcatong. * Mount Carmel View Park: park commonly called by Carmenanons as "Marcos Park", located at San Isidro, Barangay Tagcatong. From here, one can view the entire Carmen and nearby municipalities, and the island province of Camiguin. * Punta Diwata Cave: one of the popular destinations in Carmen consisting of 43 caves, located in Barangay Vinapor. * Balite Beach Resort: located in Barangay Vinapor. * Vinapor Blue Waters: located near the Cliffs of Barangay Vinapor, this resort features carved stones formed into a dinosaurs, a reason for it to be commonly called "Jurassic Park". * Veranda I and II Resorts: a beach resort, hotel and convention venue located at Barangays Tagcatong and Rojales. It has air-conditioned rooms and suites, air conditioned cabañas and other facilities like cottages fronting beachfront, seafood and Chinese restaurants, mini-bar, convention hall and swimming pool. * Scuba diving sites: Carmen is known for its adventurous dive sites along the Punta Diwata Reefs and Balete Wall. It has six dive sites. Reef life includes soft and hard corals plus abundant reef and pelagic fishes. Profile ranges from sloping wall to cliffs with depths from 40 ft. to over a hundred, with generally sandy floors. Prime sites are located in barangays Vinapor, Tagcatong & Poblacion. * Cabatuan Beach * Kibanlag Falls

Transportation

In February 2017, the new integrated bus terminal was opened with buses for travel to and from

and

Cagayan de Oro Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region, covering ...

. Trisikad is also an option when traveling within the area of Carmen and also from the town proper to

Education

Elementary

* Antonio Quiamjot Elementary School * Cahayagan Elementary School * Carmen Central Elementary School * Cervantina Elementary School * Doña Josefa Elementary School * Elpidio Salas Elementary School * Gosoon Elementary School * Manoligao Elementary School * Rojales Elementary School * San Agustin Elementary School * San Isidro Elementary School * Tagcatong Central Elementary School

Secondary

* Carmen National High School * Cahayagan National High School * Manoligao National High School * Our Lady of Carmen Academy of Caraga, Incorporated * Vinapor National High School

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Code {{Authority control Municipalities of Agusan del Norte