Zamboanga (province)
Zamboanga (also Zamboaŋga) is a former province of the Philippines located in the western region of the southern island of Mindanao, Philippines.
| Province of Zamboanga Provincia de Zamboanga | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Former province of Philippines | |||||||||||||||
| 1914–1952 | |||||||||||||||
 Map of Zamboanga Province in 1918 | |||||||||||||||
| Capital | Zamboanga (1914-1942) Dipolog (1942-1948) Molave (1948-1952) | ||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||
• Established | September 1 1914 | ||||||||||||||
• Splitting of Zamboanga | June 6 1952 | ||||||||||||||
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| Today part of | Basilan, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga City | ||||||||||||||
History
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 and 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 (5) municipalities:
Zamboanga was also sub-divided into twelve (12) municipal districts:
- Bangaan
- Dinas
- Kabasalan
- Kumalarang
- Lamitan
- Maluso
- Margosatubig
- Panganuran
- Sibuko
- Sindangan
- Sirawai
- Taluksangay
World War II
When the Japanese invaded the Philippines (1942), 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 was relegated its own independent area of city governance. 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 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 municipality 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 | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DISTRICT OF ZAMBOANGA | ||
| Luis Lim | July 23, 1914–1917 | Lim was the first appointed civil governor of the province. |
| Agustin Alvarez | 1917–1920 | Alvarez succeeded Lim in 1917 as governor and reelected in 1928. In 1940, he was elected Zamboanga City Mayor. |
| PROVINCE OF ZAMBOANGA | ||
| Agustin Alvarez | 1920–1922 | |
| Florentino Adasa Saguin | 1922–1925 | Saguin was the first elected governor of the province. He later represented Zamboanga in the 1934 Constitutional Convention. |
| Jose Dalman Aseniero | 1925–1928 | Aseniero formerly served as Municipal President of Dipolog before elected Governor. |
| Agustin Alvarez | 1928–1931 | |
| Carlos Hernandez Camins | 1931–1934 | |
| Felipe Ramos | 1934–1937 | Ramos previously served as Municipal President of Zamboanga City from 1925 to 1934 before being elected Governor. |
| 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. |
| Felipe Azcuna | 1940–1941 | Azcuna was a member of the Provincial Board before elected as governor. He was reelected governor in 1948. |
| WORLD WAR II | ||
| Lazaro Alfabeto | 1945–1946 | Alfabeto was appointed governor after Zamboanga was liberated. |
| Leoncio Hamoy | 1946–1948 | Hamoy was appointed Provincial Fiscal before becoming governor. |
| Felipe Azcuna | 1948–December 30, 1949 | |
| 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. |
Timeline
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.
References
- Father of Congressman Roseller T. Lim
- "REPUBLIC ACT NO. 286 AN ACT CREATING THE MUNICIPALITY OF MOLAVE IN THE PROVINCE OF ZAMBOANGA AND MAKING SAID MUNICIPALITY THE CAPITAL OF THE PROVINCE". PhilippineLaw.info. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- Firm, Ronald Echalas Diaz, Chan Robles & Associates Law. "PHILIPPINE LAWS, STATUTES AND CODES; CHAN ROBLES VIRTUAL LAW LIBRARY". www.chanrobles.com. Retrieved 2018-09-15.