# 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.
Bontoc is 392 kilometres (244 mi) from Manila, 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Sagada, and 142 kilometres (88 mi) from Baguio.
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.
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.

## History

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

## Geography
### 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) ||||||||||||||

## Demographics

| 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 :

### 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.

## Economy

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
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.

## Government
### Local government

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):
* 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

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.
The Alab petroglyphs are ancient figures carved on mountain walls by the prehistoric people of Bontoc. 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
### Secondary education

* 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

### Tertiary education

Mountain Province State University is the first tertiary institution in the municipality that offers various undergraduate and graduate courses.
XiJen College of Mountain Province is the only private tertiary institution that also offers technical-vocational courses.

## Notable People

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