HISTORY OF BARANGAY AGOHO

This barrio is one in all the important ones within the municipality of Mambajao, it
had a population of around two thousand folks, and is located approximately six kilometers
westward from the central district business area.

Agojo1 (from the name of a tree which has needles like the pine) formerly belongs to
Catarman (Sanchez, 2008, p. 135). When there were a few settlers residing in the place
and when travelling was done on foot, a narrow path that led to the oldest town of Catarman
known as Gi-ub grew a massive Agoho tree. It served as a landmark of the place for people
who travelled a lot from Catarman to Mambajao, and to traders from Bohol and Cebu as
well. Thus, because of its popularity to the people and travelers, the name of the place
originated from it.

According to the oldest locals, the barrio began to exist in the initial parts of the 17 th
century and that it was quickly field with settlers after the eruption of the Camiguin Volcano
that apparently destroyed Old Catarman in 1871.

The early occupants of the barrio were known to be the Aranases and Salcedos
whom were appointed as cabeza de barangays2 that led the people when the Spaniards
ruled the town of Mambajao. Then the Cabalangs, Valdehuezas, Abreos, and Fabiañas
followed. The descendants of the families mentioned proceeded to lead the locals during
the American rule until the early thirties who were then taken over by a mix of new
surnames.

The barrio also expanded and various sitios3 came to existence, namely, Banlas,
Cogon, Timugsay, Villarosa, Ilihan, Linaw-linaw, and Sibato.

The sitio of Banlas did not have a name in the early parts, but after the occurrence of
the heaviest flood experienced by the locals it had then been named as “Banlas” which
meant washed away.

Sitio Cogon, located in the upper of Banlas. The name was derived from the cogon
grass that had abundancy in terms of growing in the place.

In the East of Cogon is the sitio of Timugsay. The name came from a story of a
traveler who asked a local what was the name of the place he was approaching. The local
had answered “Timog” meaning East, absentmindedly thinking that the traveler had ask
what was the name of the wind blowing that day. Thus, the traveler had called the place
Timugsay.

Sibato meant rocky. The place was indeed rocky therefore the people called the sitio
Sibato.

Sitio Ilihan was formerly called as Li-hian which meant the place where rituals are
held, since people living in that area were pagans4 and believed in anitos5 and they had
these yearly rituals.

1
Now spelled or known as Agoho, which is the 4 th barrio from the poblacion.
2
Leaders of the local area during the Spanish Colonization
3
from Merriam-Webster
: a hamlet or subdivision of a barrio in the Philippines
4
People who hold religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions.
5
from The Century Dictionary:
Noun. An ancestral spirit worshipped by pagans.
 Sitio Villarosa is below the hill in Ilihan. It had a different name that was changed
because of its malicious implication that was believed by the people. The new name
Villarosa meant village of roses, that was justified and gave the people the satisfaction since
it had bountiful belles.

Sitio Linaw-linaw is above the sitio of Villarosa. What destroyed Banlas and Sibato
that caused a “linaw” meaning lake, is the reason why the place is named after such. Years
later, the water subsided and the people built their houses and made farms of the dried bed
of the lake.

The sitios of Ilihan, Linaw-linaw, Sibato, Villarosa, Cogon, and Agoho proper were
greatly affected and deserted because of the multiple eruptions of Hibok-Hibok that caused
the death of the barrio and the sixty-nine lives of locals from Ilihan. Some people moved to
the mainland of Mindanao, but most stayed and formed the barrio of Kauswagan, meaning
a place to move further about a kilometer eastward from the barrio proper of Agoho .

People armed with swords, battle axes, and spears landed in Agoho during the time
when peace and order was disrupted, the revolutionary days. These people were tulisanes6
who got on a banca7 and rode it from Talisay, Cebu that eventually landed in the said barrio.
Residents were aware and mindful of the danger that was brought by those people. They
immediately summoned the officials of Mambajao through the runner Daniel Valdehueza.
They were captured and questioned by the authorities of their intentions of coming. General
Emilio Aguinaldo’s name was involved for the people had said that he ordered them to
collect taxes from the people. However, the authorities did not believe their story. They were
then released a month later.

MARINE HYDOGRAPHY OF THE BARRIO

Port. About five kilometers from the town of Mambajao, in the visita8 called Agojo, there is a
fair harbor that is adequately protected and deep; ships and boats drop anchor here when
the northern monsoon makes it hard for them to reach Mambajao (Sanchez, 2008, p. 119).
For that reason, it was made easier for this barrio to be filled with people who desired to live
in the place and people who wanted to conduct business from Bohol, Cebu, and other
populated areas of the Visayas.

Islands. Two islets are present in the island which the barrio belongs in. An islet was named
after Agojo since it was located in Mambajao and was facing the barrio of the same name.

HIEROGRAPHY OF THE BARRIO

Parish. Agojo was initially part of the parish of Catarman, but it was attached and
transferred to Mambajao in 1872 (Sanchez, 2008, p. 122). January 31, 1872 was the exact
date that the barrio had been transferred under the spiritual jurisdiction of Mambajao; and in
civil matters, it began on July of the same year. (Sanchez, 2008, p. 135). At present, Agoho
has established a parish of its own, namely Nuestra Señora Dela Paz Y Buen Viaje Parish.
PHOTOGRAPH AND ILLUSTRATION
6
Bandits
7
A small boat.
8
from The Century Dictionary:
noun In the Philippine Islands, a village or a hamlet which is without a priest, and depends on the visits of a neighboring priest for
religious ministrations.
 Figure 1.

Illustration of the Map of Camiguin Island. Barangay Agojo located and found. Taken from Sanchez, V. (2008, June 30). The History of
Camiguin. Retrieved November 13, 2020, from http://philippinestudies.net/ojs/index.php/ps/article/view/1951/5001

Figure 2.

Agoho Tree. November 12, 2020. Located in Agoho, Mambajao, Camiguin. Photo by Kate Lynsey Penaloza

References:
Main Document provided. Historical & Cultural Life of the Barrio of Agoho
Sanchez, V. (2008, June 30). The History of Camiguin. Retrieved November 13, 2020, from
http://philippinestudies.net/ojs/index.php/ps/article/view/1951/5001