Caoayan, Ilocos Sur

Caoayan is a 5th class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 17,199 people in 3,533 households.

Barangays

Caoayan is politically subdivided into 17 barangays.

The Origin of the Municipality's Name

During pre-Spanish times the port of Pandan was an important trading post for Chinese and interisland vessels, and one of the commodities once traded there was bamboo. With the arrival of the Spaniards came the project to identify the names of places in the Philippines. Spaniards, busy patrolling the area for pirates known as "tirong," came to a place near the island called Puro, and asked the name of the place. Thinking that the Spaniards wanted to know the name of the bamboo floating in rafts on the Baggoc River waiting to be traded, they answered "kawayan." The Spaniard then listed the place's name as Caoayan.

From that time on, the place's registered name was Caoayan, and has been registered as a barrio of the capital town Bigan. It became a municipality in 1825.

Notes

*Elpidio Quirino, the 6th president of the Republic of the Philippines, was born in Caoayan.
*The first missionaries that founded Saint Paul College of Ilocos Sur landed in Pandan. A commemorative marker stands at Pandan Port to commemorate the event.

External links

* [http://www.pasyalan.net/ilocos_sur/ Pasyalang Ilocos Sur]
* [http://www.nscb.gov.ph/activestats/psgc/default.asp Philippine Standard Geographic Code]
* [http://www.t-macs.com/kiso/local/ 2000 Philippine Census Information]