Mountain Province

Mountain Province
Province
Overlooking the Maligcong Rice Terraces in Bontoc
Flag Seal
Location in the Philippines
Coordinates: 17°05′N 121°10′E / 17.08°N 121.17°E / 17.08; 121.17Coordinates: 17°05′N 121°10′E / 17.08°N 121.17°E / 17.08; 121.17
Country	Philippines
Region	Cordillera Administrative Region
Founded	1908
Capital	Bontoc
Government
• Type	Sangguniang Panlalawigan
• Governor
• Vice Governor
• Representative
Area [1]
• Total	2,157.38 km2 (832.97 sq mi)
Area rank	58th out of 81
Population  (2020 census) [2]
• Total	158,200
• Rank	76th out of 81
• Density	73/km2 (190/sq mi)
• Density rank	75th out of 81
Divisions
• Independent cities	0
• Component cities	0
• Municipalities	show 10 Barlig Bauko Besao Bontoc Natonin Paracelis Sabangan Sadanga Sagada Tadian
• Barangays	144
• Districts	Lone district of Mountain Province
Time zone	UTC+8 (PHT)
ZIP code	2616–2625
IDD : area code	+63 (0)74
ISO 3166 code	PH-MOU
Spoken languages	Bontoc Kankana-ey Ilocano Tagalog English
Website	mountainprovince.gov.ph

Mountain Province is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Bontoc.

Mountain Province was formerly referred to as Mountain in some foreign references. The name is usually shortened by locals to Mt. Province. The province was named so for being in the Cordillera Central mountain range found in the upper realms of Luzon island.

Mountain Province was also the name of the historical province that included most of the current Cordillera provinces. This old province was established by the Philippine Commission in 1908,^[3][4][5] and was later split in 1966 into Mountain Province, Benguet, Kalinga-Apayao and Ifugao.^[6][7][8]

The province is also known for its mummy caves, which contain naturally mummified bodies, and for its hanging coffins.^[6]

History[]

Spanish period[]

The area of the Cordillera mountains proved difficult to control by the Spaniards. During the long Spanish rule, not much was done to bring the province under control. From 1566 to 1665, they sent expeditions to conquer the land but the rugged terrain and hostile indigenous population at the time were major obstacles to complete subjugation.^[9] The first serious effort to subjugate them was made in 1785 when soldiers were sent from Cagayan to put down a revolt of the Kalingas. A famous Spanish explorer, Guillermo Galvez, conducted more than 40 forays to the mountainous region.^[10]

Formerly called La Montañosa by the Spanish colonizers due to its mountainous terrain,^[6][11] the area was subdivided into 6 comandancias politico-militar.^[12]

The 6 former Comandancias Politico-Militar of La Montañosa ^[12] hide

Comandancia	Year established	Comandancia	Year established
Benguet	1846	Amburayan	1889
Lepanto	1852	Kayapa	1891
Bontoc	1859	Cabugaoan	1891

American period[]

On August 19, 1908, during the American rule, the Philippine Commission enacted Act No. 1876, which organized the entire area of the Cordilleras into one large province, named Mountain Province.^{[3][5][6][13]}

The first governor was , and the town of Bontoc was made the capital. It was originally composed of the sub-provinces of Amburayan, Apayao, Benguet, Lepanto-Bontoc, Ifugao and Kalinga.^[5][11]

Amburayan was later abolished in 1920 and its corresponding territories were transferred to the provinces of Ilocos Sur and La Union. Lepanto was also reduced in size and its towns were integrated into the sub-provinces of Bontoc and Benguet, and to the province of Ilocos Sur.^{[9][14] [15]}

Historical sub-provinces of Mountain Province under Act No. 1876^{[3][5][12][15]} hide

Sub-province	Abolished?	Notes
Amburayan	Yes, in 1920	Territories annexed to Ilocos Sur and La Union[5][15]
Apayao	No
Benguet	No	Eastern towns annexed to Ilocos Sur and La Union in 1920[15]
Ifugao	No
Kalinga	No
Lepanto-Bontoc	Yes, in 1920	Territories annexed to Ilocos Sur, Bontoc and Benguet[5][15]

Post-war era[]

Effective on April 7, 1967, Republic Act No. 4695 abolished the old Mountain Province, converting its sub-provinces into 4 independent provinces: Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga-Apayao and Mountain Province (corresponding to the former Bontoc sub-province).^[6][8][11] On June 15, 1987, the Cordillera Administrative Region was established upon the issuance of Executive Order 220 by then-President Corazon Aquino, and Mountain Province was made one of its provinces.^[9][16][17]

Geography[]

Mountain Province covers a total area of 2,157.38 square kilometres (832.97 sq mi)^[18] occupying the central section of the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. The province is bordered on the north by Kalinga, south by Ifugao, southwest by Benguet, west by Ilocos Sur, and northwest by Abra.

Situated within the Cordillera Central, Mountain Province is 83% mountainous while 17% make up hills and levels. The province has many rivers, waterfalls, mountains, and caves. The central and western areas of the province are characterized by rugged mountains and steep cliffs, while the eastern portion has generally sloping terrain.^[6][11]

Administrative divisions[]

Mountain Province comprises ten municipalities, all encompassed by a lone legislative district.^[18]

Barangays[]

Mountain Province has 144 barangays comprising its 10 municipalities. ^[20]

As of 2010, the most populous barangay in the province is Poblacion in the municipality of Paracelis, with a total of 5,687 inhabitants. Balintaugan in the municipality of Bauko has the least population with only 144. ^[20]

Demographics[]

The population of Mountain Province in the 2020 census was 158,200 people, ^[2] with a density of 73 inhabitants per square kilometre or 190 inhabitants per square mile.

Population census of Mountain Province

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	23,441	—
1918	49,055	+5.05%
1939	59,138	+0.89%
1948	62,003	+0.53%
1960	85,866	+2.75%
1970	93,112	+0.81%
1975	94,096	+0.21%
1980	103,052	+1.83%
1990	116,535	+1.24%
1995	130,755	+2.18%
2000	140,439	+1.54%
2007	148,661	+0.79%
2010	154,187	+1.34%
2015	154,590	+0.05%
2020	158,200	+0.45%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [19] [20] [21]

Based on the 2000 census survey, Kankana-ey comprised 51.8% (72,694) of the total provincial population of 140,339. Balangao/Baliwon came in second at 13.46% (18,886), and Bontoc at 12.28% (17,234). Other ethnicities were the Ilocano at 4.97% (6,968), at 2.1% (2,947), Binontok at 1.79% (2,510), and Kalinga at 1.76% (2,468).^[22]

Religion[]

Anglicanism predominates in the province with approximately 60% adherence with the other religions such as Roman Catholicism, Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Iglesia Filipina Indepiendente, Iglesia ni Cristo and Free Believers in Christ Fellowship.^{[citation needed]}

Mountain Province is the only predominantly Protestant province in the Philippines.

Economy[]

Poverty Incidence of Mountain Province
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[23][24][25][26][27][28][29]

Infrastructure[]

Electricity[]

Tourism[]

The province has several rice terraces in seven of its different towns:^[11]

• 

  Sagada rice terraces

• 

  Rice terraces in Barlig

Government[]

List of former governors[]

• 2001–2004 — Sario M. Malinias
• 2004–2010 — Maximo B. Dalog
• 2010–2016 — Leonard G. Mayaen
• 2016–present — Bonifacio C. Lacwasan Jr.

References[]

External links[]

Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as: KML

• Media related to Mountain Province at Wikimedia Commons
• Geographic data related to Mountain Province at OpenStreetMap