Antequera, officially the Municipality of Antequera (; ), is a

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' ...

in the

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

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol (; ), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. It is home to Bohola ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 14,990 people. Popular places of interest in Antequera are the weekly basket market and Mag-Aso Falls. The Mag-Aso falls, whose cascading waters run into natural pools, were greatly altered by the 2013 Bohol earthquake and even more so by flash floods caused by Tropical Storm Seniang in December 2014. The town of Antequera, Bohol celebrates its feast on every last saturday of October, to honor the town patron Our Lady of the Rosary. The town also celebrates the feast of Sr. San Antonio de Padua (the second patron) every 13 June but not as pompous as the feast during October.

History

The early inhabitants of the area were the

Eskaya people The Eskaya, less commonly known as the Visayan-Eskaya, is the collective name for the members of a cultural minority found in Bohol, Philippines, which is distinguished by its cultural heritage, particularly its literature, language, dress and ...

, who lived in western Bohol, including the lowlands of Antequera at the present barangay of Viga, from the 7th century until the early 17th century. Originally the town was a barangay of Maribojoc known as Agad. Migration from surrounding coastal areas increased the population and created many new

sitio A ''sitio'' ( Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own barangay if its popu ...

s. On 17 March 1876, the

Governor-General of the Philippines The governor-general of the Philippines (; ; ) was the title of the Executive (government), government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, first by History of the Philippines (1521–1898), the Spanish in Mexico City and l ...

signed a decree that made Agad and all its sitios a new municipality. That same year, the governor of the district of Bohol, Joaquin Bengoechia, enacted the law that finalized the boundaries and appointed its first mayor, Simeon Villas. The new municipality was named after the home town in Spain of Bengoechia. Antequera's name was from Roman origin Anticaria, Antikaria, Antiquaria, meaning ancient city. In 1899, the town of Catigbian was abolished, and the barangays of Caimbang, San Isidro, and Causwagan were added to Antequera. But it lost these barangays, along with half of Cansague, when Catigbian was reestablished on 17 June 1949. On 10 January 1970, the municipality of San Isidro was formed, taking the barangays of Cambansag, Abehilan, and Baunos from Antequera.

Geography

Antequera is an inland town north of

Tagbilaran Tagbilaran, officially the City of Tagbilaran (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popu ...

. This municipality is bounded by

Calape Calape, officially the Municipality of Calape (; ), is a municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 33,079 people. Etymology Its name is derived from ''cape'', referring to either a ...

in the north, San Isidro in the northeast, Balilihan in the southeast,

Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...

in the south, Maribojoc in the southwest, and

Loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British English, British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family (biolog ...

in the northwest.

Barangays

Antequera is politically subdivided into 21 barangays. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

Climate

Demographics

Economy

The primary economic activities are farming, handicraft or cottage industries (especially

basket weaving Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...

), and carpentry (including bamboo and wood furniture making). Its main agricultural produce comprises coconut, rice, corn, rootcrops, and vegetables. Total annual income in 2010 was ₱35,960,730

Government

List of former chief executives

List of former mayors of Antequera: * Vicente Tambis - 1896–1897 * Julian Calipes - 1909–1911 * Pedro Omila - 1912–1915 * Eufemio Morgia - 1919–1922 * Eustaquio Tambis - 1922–1925 * Eufemio Morgia - 1926–1934 * Luis Gementiza - 1934–1937 * Luis Gementiza - 1938–1940 * Demetrio Jadulco - 1940–1941 * Leoncio Paña - 1943–1945 * Eufemio Morgia - 1944 * Demetrio Jadulco - 1945–1946 * Luis Gementiza - 1946–1951 * Sabino Rebosura - 1952–1963 * Conrad Vallestero - 1963 * Isabelito Tongco - 1964–1992 * Vicente Nunag - 1987–1988 * Arnulfo Labendia - 1992 * Felipe Gementiza - 1992–1998 * Samuel Rebosura - 1998–2007 * Cecelia Rebosura - 2007–2010 * Jose Mario Pahang - 2010–2019 * Lil Nunag - 2019–2022 * Jose Mario Pahang - 2022–present

Gallery

Antequera Bohol 1.jpg, Town hall Antequera Bohol 2.jpg, Poblacion Antequera, Bohol.jpg, Basket market Mag-aso falls.jpg, Mag-Aso Falls View of church of Antequera, Bohol.jpg, View of church

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Municipality of Antequera
{{Authority control Municipalities of Bohol