Bontoc, Mountain Province

Bontoc, officially the Municipality of Bontoc (Bontok: Ili nan Bóntoc; Balangao: Babley hen Bóntoc; Kankanaey: Ili di Bóntoc Ilocano: Ili ti Bóntoc; Tagalog: Bayan ng Bóntoc; Spanish: Municipio de Bóntoc), is a municipality and capital of the province of Mountain Province, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 24,104 people.^[4]

Bontoc
Municipality
Municipality of Bontoc
Bontoc in 2022
Flag Seal
Map of Mountain Province with Bontoc highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Bontoc Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 17°05′24″N 120°58′38″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Cordillera Administrative Region
Province	Mountain Province
District	Lone district
Founded	1908
Barangays	16 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Jerome B. Tudlong, Jr.
• Vice Mayor	Eusebio S. Kabluyen
• Representative	Maximo Y. Dalog Jr.
• Municipal Council	Members [2] Jupiter Jule Kalangeg Dan Evert Sokoken Glenn Bacala Peter Kedawen Julian Chumacog Timothy Pongad, Jr. Benedict Odsey II Viola Okko
• Electorate	16,723 voters (2025)
Area [3]
• Total	396.10 km2 (152.94 sq mi)
Elevation	1,173 m (3,848 ft)
Highest elevation	1,833 m (6,014 ft)
Lowest elevation	804 m (2,638 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[4]
• Total	24,104
• Density	61/km2 (160/sq mi)
• Households	6,452
Economy
• Income class	2nd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	4.49 % (2021)[5]
• Revenue	₱ 192.7 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 402.1 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 194.9 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 119.2 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Mountain Province Electric Cooperative (MOPRECO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	2616
PSGC	1404404000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)74
Native languages	Balangao Bontoc Ilocano Tagalog
Website	lgubontoc.gov.ph

Bontoc is the historical capital of the entire Cordillera region since the inception of governance in the Cordillera. The municipality celebrates the annual Lang-ay Festival.^[6]

Bontoc is home to the Indigenous Bontoc people. The town also hosts the UNESCO tentatively-listed Alab petroglyphs.

Etymology

The name Bontoc is derived from the morphemes bun (heap) and tuk (top), collectively meaning "mountains." The term is used to refer to the people of the Mountain Province, the capital municipality, including its cultural practices, and its native language.^[7]

History

Aerial view of Bontoc, 1933

Samuel E. Kane, the American supervisor and then Governor, established the capital here after the Philippine Commission passed the Mountain Province Act in 1908,^[8] building a provincial building, hospital, doctor's office, nurse's home, a school, and provincial prison.^{[9]: 281–284} He also built the Tagudin-Bontoc trail, which by 1926, could accommodate a small car.^[9]: 329

Bontoc was one of several municipalities in Mountain Province which would have been flooded by the Chico River Dam Project during the Marcos administration, alongside Bauko, Sabangan, Sagada, Sadanga, and parts of Barlig.^[10] However, the indigenous peoples of Kalinga Province and Mountain Province resisted the project and when hostilities resulted in the murder of Macli-ing Dulag, the project became unpopular and was abandoned before Marcos was ousted by the 1986 People Power Revolution.^[11]

Geography

Bontoc is situated 387.10 kilometres (240.53 mi) from the country's capital city of Manila.

Barangays

Bontoc is politically subdivided into 16 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Alab Oriente
• Alab Proper
• Balili
• Bayyo
• Bontoc Ili
• Calutit
• Caneo
• Dalican
• Gonogon
• Guinaang
• Mainit
• Maligcong
• Poblacion (Bontoc)
• Samoki
• Talubin
• Tocucan

Climate

Climate data for Bontoc, Mountain Province
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	23 (73)	24 (75)	25 (77)	27 (81)	27 (81)	26 (79)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	24 (75)	23 (73)	25 (77)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	16 (61)	16 (61)	17 (63)	19 (66)	20 (68)	21 (70)	21 (70)	21 (70)	20 (68)	19 (66)	18 (64)	17 (63)	19 (66)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	35 (1.4)	46 (1.8)	63 (2.5)	117 (4.6)	402 (15.8)	400 (15.7)	441 (17.4)	471 (18.5)	440 (17.3)	258 (10.2)	94 (3.7)	68 (2.7)	2,835 (111.6)
Average rainy days	9.9	9.5	13.9	18.9	26.0	27.3	28.9	28.5	26.1	19.7	14.5	12.8	236
Source: Meteoblue (modeled/calculated data, not measured locally)[12]

Demographics

Population census of Bontoc

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1918 13,948 —     1939 14,284 +0.11% 1948 15,005 +0.55% 1960 16,301 +0.69% 1970 16,901 +0.36%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1975 17,476 +0.67% 1980 17,091 −0.44% 1990 17,716 +0.36% 1995 21,192 +3.41% 2000 22,308 +1.11%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 2007 24,798 +1.47% 2010 23,980 −1.21% 2015 24,643 +0.52% 2020 24,104 −0.43%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[13][14][15][16]

Languages

Most inhabitants speak the Bontoc language, with other major languages being Kankana-ey and Ilocano. Minor languages spoken include Tagalog, Pangasinan, Cuyonon, and Butuanon.^[17]

Economy

Maligcong Rice terraces of Bontoc.

Poverty incidence of Bontoc

10 20 30 40 2000 37.87 2003 21.13 2006 15.10 2009 16.71 2012 10.86 2015 15.43 2018 10.01 2021 4.49 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]

The local economy depends largely on small trades and agriculture. This capital town's biggest economic potential is tourism with its smaller rice terraces in Barangay Bay-yo, Maligcong and other areas.^[26]

Government

Local government

Main article: Sangguniang Bayan

Bontoc, belonging to the lone congressional district of the province of Mountain Province, 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

Members of the Municipal Council (2019–2022):^[27]

• Congressman: Maximo Y. Dalog Jr.
• Mayor: Jerome “Chagsen” Tudlong, Jr.
• Vice-Mayor: Eusebio S. Kabluyen
• Councilors:
  • Jupiter Kalangeg
  • Dan Evert Sokoken
  • Timothy Pongad
  • Glenn Bacala
  • Peter C. Kedawen
  • Julian Chumacog
  • Benedict Odsey II
  • Viola Okko

Culture

Bontoc woman with a snake skeleton in hair (a charm against lightning) and Bontoc man, c. 1903, (right)

Bontoc Museum

The highland town of Bontoc is home to two National Cultural Treasures of the Philippines. These are the Stone Agricultural Calendar of Bontoc and Petroglyphs of Alab.^[28]

The Alab petroglyphs are ancient figures carved on mountain walls by the prehistoric people of Bontoc.^[29] The petroglyphs are the most important ancient rock art carvings in the Cordilleras and the second oldest in the entire country, second only to the Angono petroglyphs of Rizal. Due to its high significance, it was submitted by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines to the UNESCO Tentative List of Heritage Sites in 2006, pending its inclusion in the World Heritage List along with the Singanapan charcoal-drawn petrographs of southern Palawan, Angono petroglyphs of Rizal province, charcoal-drawn Peñablanca petrographs of Cagayan, and the Anda red hermatite print petrographs of Bohol.

Education

The Bontoc Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[30]

Primary and elementary schools

• Alab Elementary School
• All Saints' Mission School
• Balili Elementary School
• Bayyo Elementary school
• Bilig Elementary School
• Bontoc Central School
• Bontoc Ili Primary School
• Can-eo Elementary School
• Can-eo Chapyusen Multi Grade
• Dalican Elementary School
• Dantay Elementary School
• Gonogon Elementary School
• Guina-ang Elementary School
• Mainit Elementary School
• Maligcong Elementary School
• Mountain Province SPED Center
• Samoki Elementary School
• St. Vincent's School
• Talubin Elementary School
• Tocucan Elementary School
• Ut-Utan Elemntary School

Secondary schools

• Albago National High School, Balili
• Dalican National High School, Dalican
• Guina-ang National High School, Guina-ang
• Mountain Province General Comprehensive High School, Poblacion
• Saint Vincent School, Poblacion
• Talubin National High School, Talubin
• Tocucan National High School, Tocucan

Technical and vocational school

• XiJen College of Mountain Province

Higher educational institution

• Mountain Province State University

Notable People

• Lamberto V. Avellana - National Artist of the Philippines for Film
• Francisco Claver, SJ - Roman Catholic bishop, Jesuit, and human rights activist