Dingras, officially the Municipality of Dingras (; ), 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 ...

Ilocos Norte Ilocos Norte (), officially the Province of Ilocos Norte (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region. It is located in the northwest corner of Luzon island, bordering Cagayan and Apayao to t ...

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 40,127 people distributed over 31

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

Etymology

The Legend of Dingras Legend has it that in the early times, there were two prosperous barangays in the present site of the town - each ruled by a powerful chief or datu. They were bitter and mortal enemies. Naslag was the powerful chief of the barangay north of the river, while Allawigan was the chief of the barangay to the south of the river. One day, Allawigan and his warriors went out to go hunting. Ras, his son, was the bravest among them. During the hunt, Ras followed a deer that went north across the river. As he was chasing the deer, he saw a beautiful damsel gathering wildflowers on the opposite side of the riverbank. She was Ding, the daughter of Naslag. To help the lady, Ras gathered the most beautiful flowers near him, attached them to an arrowhead, and shot it over the river to land by the lady's feet. Ding looked at the other side of the river and waved her hands. Ras went home happily. Ras begged his father for permission to win Ding for his wife; but because the fathers of Ding and Ras were bitter enemies, the only way he could win her was in an open battle fought fiercely between the two tribes. Ras led his father's warriors. They fought valiantly and came out victorious in the end. Ras asked for Ding's hand as a prize, but Naslag refused. This angered him and hurled a challenge to the bravest warrior of Naslag in single combat with Ding as prize. The challenge was accepted. The combat was fought and again, Ras was victorious. He brought Ding triumphantly to Allawigan, his father. Thereafter, the people named the two barangays Dingras, after Ras, their valiant warrior ruler, and Ding, his wife.

History

On January 27, 2000, Mayor Robert Castro was forcibly removed from his office by the police due to defying orders from the regional trial court issued nine days prior to step down after losing an electoral contest to Oswaldo Parado, who was found to have won the 1998 mayoral race by over 370 votes. Through ''Presidential Proclamation 680'', September 20, 2024 was declared a special non-working day as tribute to Josefa Llanes Escoda, a World War II heroine and the

Girl Scouts of the Philippines The Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) is the national Girl Guide and Girl Scout, Girl Scouting association for girls and young women in the Philippines. Its mission is "to help girls and young women realize the ideals of womanhood and prepar ...

founder.

Geography

The Municipality of Dingras has a total area of 17,962 hectares, ranking 8th in size among the 23 municipalities and cities in the province. It accounts for practically 5.2% of the total land area of Ilocos Norte and corresponding percentage to the municipal area composed of 31 barangays. Six are on the

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

and 25 in the rural area. Out of the total area 6,305 hectares is devoted to rice and corn production. Other non-productive areas are devoted to livestock production, swine production and other livelihood projects. Most of the population are engaged in farming as the primary source of income. Dingras is situated from the provincial capital

Laoag Laoag (), officially the City of Laoag (; ), is a component city and capital of the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 111,651 people. It is the province's most populous settlement, ...

, and from the country's capital city of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Barangays

Dingras is politically subdivided into 31

s. 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 ...

. *Albano (

) *Bacsil *Bagut *Baresbes *Barong *Bungcag *Cali *Capasan *Dancel (

) *Elizabeth *Espiritu (

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

) *Foz *Guerrero (

) *Lanas *Lumbad *Madamba (

) *Mandaloque *Medina *Parado (Bangay) *Peralta (

) *Puruganan (

) *Root *Sagpatan *Saludares (Baldias) *San Esteban *San Francisco *San Marcelino (Padong) *San Marcos *Sulquiano (Sidiran) *Suyo *Ver (Naglayaan)

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Dingras was 40,127 people, with a density of .

Economy

Longest Bibingka

On October 9, 2007, Dingras,

, Philippines sought a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

certification after baking a kilometer-long "''cassava bibingka''" (native cake) made from 1,000 kilos of

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

and eaten by 1,000 residents.

List of Cultural Properties of Dingras

Government

Local government

Dingras, belonging to the second 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

Education

There are two schools district offices which govern all public and private schools within the municipality. These are Dingras I Schools District, and Dingras II Schools District.

Primary and elementary schools

* Bacsil Elementary School * Bagut Elementary School * Baresbes Elementary School * Barong Elementary School * Capasan Elementary School * Dingras Central Elementary School * Dingras West Central Elementary School * Elizabeth Elementary School * Elizabeth-Lanas Elementary School * Espiritu Elementary School * Francisco Elementary School * Hilaria Salvatierra Mem. Elementary School * Mabino Elementary School * Mandaloque Elementary School * Medina Parado Elementary School * Peralta Elementary School * Sagpatan Elementary School * Saludares-Cali Elementary School * San Esteban Elementary School * San Marcelino Elementary School * San Marcos Elementary School * Sulquiano Elementary School * Suyo Elementary School * Ver Elementary School

Secondary schools

* Dingras National High School/Lt. Edgar Foz Mem. National High School (Main) * Dingras National High School/Lt. Edgar Foz Mem. National High School (Barong Campus) * Dingras National High School/Lt. Edgar Foz Mem. National High School (San Marcos Campus) * Dingras National High School/Lt. Edgar Foz Mem. National High School (Sulquiano Campus) * San Marcelino National High School * St. Joseph Institute of Dingras * Suyo National High School

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) is a systematic classification and coding for geographic areas in the Philippines. It classifies areas based on the country's four levels of administrative divisions: regions, provinces, municipalities ...

br>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Ilocos Norte