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Zamboanga (also Zamboaŋga) was a province of the Philippines located in the western region of the southern island of Mindanao, Philippines.
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| Zamboanga | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province of the Philippines | |||||||||||
| 1914–1952 | |||||||||||
 Location of the historical province of Zamboanga. | |||||||||||
| Capital | Zamboanga (1914-1942) Dipolog (1942-1948) Molave (1948-1952) | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Established | 1 September 1914 | ||||||||||
• Splitting of Zamboanga | 6 June 1952 | ||||||||||
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| Today part of | · Basilan · Zamboanga City · Zamboanga del Norte · Zamboanga del Sur · Zamboanga Sibugay | ||||||||||
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2022) |
Creation
During the time of the United States' purchase of the Philippines (1898), the Republic of Zamboanga had its own independence and jurisdiction on what is now Zamboanga City. After the dissolution of the republic, Zamboanga was eventually consolidated into one major administrative area by the American government of the Philippines, consisting of an enormous region that was the Mindanao island's western peninsula, Basilan Island, and the entire Sulu archipelago, with the ancient namesake town/fort of Zamboanga as the seat of its government, and was called the Moro Province of the Philippines.
The Moro Province, in 1914 was replaced by the Department of Mindanao and Sulu. It was divided into Zamboanga, Sulu, Cotabato, Davao, Agusan and Surigao. The town of Zamboanga as its capital. Luis Lim[1] was appointed as the first governor of Zamboanga.
In 1920, the Department of Mindanao and Sulu was officially dissolved and Zamboanga became an independent province. In 1922, elections were held for the first elected provincial officials of Zamboanga. Florentino Saguin was elected as first elected governor.
At that time, the province was composed of five municipalities:
Zamboanga was also sub-divided into 12 municipal districts:
World War II
When the Japanese invaded the Philippines, Zamboanga acting Governor Felipe Azcuna moved the capital from Zamboanga City to Dipolog. After the defeat of the American-Filipino forces in Corregidor, most of the province went under Japanese control.
After the war, on June 16, 1948, Molave was designated as Zamboanga's capital by the virtue of Republic Act No. 286[2] signed by President Elpidio Quirino.
Division
On June 6, 1952, the Republic Act 711,[3] authored by Zamboanga Congressman Roseller Lim was passed by the Philippine House of Representatives to divide the province of Zamboanga to Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur, while the chartered City of Zamboanga and Basilan became part of Zamboanga del Sur . The bill was signed by President Elpidio Quirino in a ceremony held at the Malacañan Palace.
The towns of Dapitan, Dipolog, Rizal, New Piñan, Polanco, Katipunan, Manukan, Sindangan, Liloy, Labason and Siocon are composed of the province of Zamboanga del Norte. The City of Zamboanga & Island of Basilan and towns of Molave, Pagadian, Labangan, Margosatubig, Dimataling, Dinas, Ipil, Buug, Malangas, Kabasalan and Aurora are under Zamboanga del Sur.
The town of Dipolog was designated capital of Zamboanga del Norte and the town of Pagadian as Zamboanga del Sur's capital.
In 2001, a brand new Zamboanga province, Zamboanga Sibugay, was created from the province of Zamboanga del Sur with Ipil as its provincial capital.
Governors
| Governor | Portrait | Term | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DISTRICT OF ZAMBOANGA | ||||
| Luis Lim | July 23, 1914–1917 | Lim was the first appointed civil governor of the province. | [4] | |
| Agustin Alvarez | 1917–1920 | Alvarez succeeded Lim in 1917 as governor and reelected in 1928. In 1940, he was elected Zamboanga City Mayor. | [4] | |
| PROVINCE OF ZAMBOANGA | ||||
| Agustin Alvarez | 1920–1922 | [4] | ||
| Florentino Adasa Saguin | 1922–1925 | Saguin was the first elected governor of the province. He later represented Zamboanga in the 1934 Constitutional Convention. | [4] | |
| Jose Dalman Aseniero | 1925–1928 | Aseniero formerly served as Municipal President of Dapitan before elected Governor. | [4] | |
| Agustin Alvarez | 1928–1931 | [4] | ||
| Carlos Hernandez Camins | 1931–1934 | [4] | ||
| Felipe Ramos | 1934–1937 | Ramos previously served as Municipal President of Zamboanga City from 1925 to 1934 before being elected Governor. | [4] | |
| Matias Castillon Ranillo |  | 1937–1940 | Ranillo was later elected representative of Zamboanga's Lone District in 1941. When war broke out, he was appointed as the province's military governor. | [4] |
| Felipe B. Azcuna | 1940–1941 | Azcuna was a member of the Provincial Board before elected as governor. He was reelected governor in 1948. | [4] | |
| WORLD WAR II | ||||
| Lazaro Alfabeto | 1945–1946 | Alfabeto was appointed governor after Zamboanga was liberated. | ||
| Leoncio Sagario Hamoy | 1946–1948 | Hamoy was appointed Provincial Fiscal before becoming governor. | [4] | |
| Felipe B. Azcuna | 1948–December 30, 1949 | Azcuna would become Zamboanga del Norte's first governor when the province becomes divided in 1952. | [4] | |
| Serapio Datoc | December 30, 1949–June 6, 1952 | Datoc served as Zamboanga's last governor When the province was divided, Datoc became Zamboanga del Sur's first governor. | [4] | |
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Post-War Period
- 1970 – Local Government troops invaded Zamboanga and cleared the fields against the Islamic rebels of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that began the Islamic Insurgencies.
- September 21, 1972 – Then President Ferdinand E. Marcos declared Martial Law in the Philippines.
- November 14, 1984 – Then Zamboanga City Mayor Cesar Climaco was assassinated and shot dead in downtown Zamboanga City.
- February 22–25, 1986 – EDSA People Power Revolution. Corazon A. Aquino was the first woman president and 11th President of the Philippines when she was declared as the winner of the 1986 presidential election after the EDSA People Power Revolution.
- January 5, 1989 – Camp Cawa-Cawa siege in Zamboanga City; government forces assaulted the camp where Gen. Eduardo Batalla and Col. Romeo Abendan of the Philippine Constabulary were being held hostage by rogue Muslim policemen led by Rizal Alih.
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