Lepanto-Bontoc

Lepanto-Bontoc was a province of the Philippines, existing from 1902 to 1908. The province encompassed much of the central section of the Cordillera mountains in Luzon. Its capital was Cervantes, in the sub-province of Lepanto.

Lepanto-Bontoc
Province of the Philippines
1902–1908
Location of the historical province of Lepanto-Bontoc.
Capital	Cervantes
Historical era	Colonial Period
• Established	28 May 1902
• Disestablished	18 August 1908
Preceded by Succeeded by Amburayan Bontoc Cagayan Isabela Lepanto Mountain Province
Today part of	· Benguet  · Ilocos Sur  · Kalinga  · La Union  · Mountain Province

Administrative Division

Sub-provinces of Lepanto-Bontoc in colours.

Prior to its incorporation into the Mountain Province in 1908, its territory consisted of:

• the sub-province of Amburayan (capital: Alilem, 1902–1907; Tagudin, 1907–1920), encompassing most of the Amburayan River basin
• the sub-province of Bontoc (capital: Bontoc), encompassing the upper portions of the Chico and Siffu river basins
• the sub-province of Kalinga (capital: Tabuc), encompassing the lower portions of the Chico River basin south of Tuao in Cagayan, and
• the sub-province of Lepanto (capital: Cervantes), encompassing most of the upper Tineg (Abra) River basin.

The territory of Lepanto-Bontoc is now divided between the present-day provinces of:

• Benguet (municipalities of Bakun and Mankayan)
• Ilocos Sur (municipalities of Alilem, Cervantes, Gregorio del Pilar, Quirino, San Emilio, Sigay, Sugpon, Suyo and Tagudin)
• Kalinga
• La Union (municipalities of San Gabriel, Santol and Sudipen)
• Mountain Province

History

Lepanto-Bontoc was created on May 28, 1902, through Act No. 410 of the Philippine Commission.^[1] Included in the new province's territory were the Spanish-era comandancias of Amburayan, Bontoc and Lepanto, which became its three component sub-provinces.^[1] By virtue of the same law, the comandancia of Bontoc, upon its conversion into a sub-province, annexed all unassigned territories to its north which lay between the eastern boundaries of Abra and western boundaries of Cagayan.^[1] This territory, corresponding to the lower Chico River basin, was later organized into the sub-province of Kalinga through Act No. 1642, enacted on May 9, 1907.^[2]

The province was slightly enlarged when Tagudin, the coastal town at the mouth of the Amburayan River, was detached from Ilocos Sur and made the capital of the sub-province of Amburayan on May 15, 1907, by virtue of Act No. 1646 of the Philippine Commission.^[3]

On August 18, 1908, the Philippine Legislature annexed all four of Lepanto-Bontoc's sub-provinces to the Mountain Province through Act No. 1876, effectively ending its existence as a province.^[4]

References

1. United States Philippine Commission (1902). Public Laws and Resolutions Passed by the United States Philippine Commission (Book digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University and uploaded to the Internet Archive on 20 Oct 2008)). U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 347–349. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
2. United States Philippine Commission (1907). Acts of the Philippine Commission, nos. 1539–1800, inclusive (Book digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University and uploaded to the Internet Archive on 21 June 2009)). U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 149–151. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
3. United States Philippine Commission (1907). Acts of the Philippine Commission, nos. 1539–1800, inclusive (Book digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University and uploaded to the Internet Archive on 21 June 2009)). U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 158–160. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
4. Philippine Legislature (1909). Acts of the First Philippine Legislature, nos. 1801–1878, inclusive (Book digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University and uploaded to the Internet Archive on 21 June 2009)). U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 137–141. Retrieved 1 February 2017.