Atok, officially the Municipality of Atok, ( ilo, Ili ti Atok; tl, Bayan ng Atok), is a 4th class

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Benguet,

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 19,218 people.

History

Spanish period

The area of Atok was previously referred to by the natives and Spanish colonizers as ''Chontog'', an

Ibaloi The Ibaloi (also spelled Ibaloy; Ibaloi: ''ivadoy'', ) are an indigenous ethnic group found in Benguet Province of the northern Philippines. ''Ibaloi'' is derived from ''i-'', a prefix signifying "pertaining to" and ''badoy'' or house, together ...

word for "mountainous". Spanish military officials and missionaries arrived at Chontog in 1892, establishing ''precedencias'' (tax collection stations) in the area and its surrounding settlements. The

phrase ''Nay patok shi Chontog'', which means "on the mountain top", was later shortened to ''Atok''.

American period

During the American rule, Atok was established as one of the 19 townships of the province of Benguet, upon the issuance of ''Act No. 48'' by the

Philippine Commission The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines. The first Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by Presi ...

on November 22, 1900. On August 13, 1908, Benguet was established as a sub-province of the newly created Mountain Province with the enactment of ''Act No. 1876''. As a result, six townships of Benguet were abolished, but Atok remained a constituent town of Benguet sub-province.

World War II

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Atok was the scene of fierce pitch battles between the military forces of the 1st, 2nd, 12th, 13th, 15th and 16th Infantry Division of the

Philippine Commonwealth Army The Philippine Army was established on December 21, 1935, as the Army of the Philippines, with a general headquarters in Manila, and units and formations based throughout the provinces of the Philippines. The Philippine Army was initially org ...

, 1st Constabulary Regiment of the

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; tl, Hukbóng Pamayapà ng Pilipinas, ''HPP''; es, Policía de Filipinas, ''PF'') was a gendarmerie-type police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Po ...

, the USAFIP-NL 66th Infantry Regiments, the

Igorot The indigenous peoples of the Cordillera Mountain Range of northern Luzon, Philippines are often referred to using the exonym Igorot people, or more recently, as the Cordilleran peoples. There are nine main ethnolinguistic groups whose domains ar ...

and Cordilleran guerrilla fighters and the Japanese Imperial Army forces. The steep terrain along the Halsema road suited Filipino troops, the Philippine Commonwealth military, and guerrillas to mount ambushes against the Japanese forces. One of these battles took place in what is now “''Guerrilla Saddle''” located at km. 26, in barangay Caliking.

Post-war era

On June 25, 1963, President Diosdado Macapagal issued ''

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

No. 42'' converting eight (8) of the thirteen (13) towns (designated as ''municipal districts'') of Benguet into regular municipalities. Atok was among them. On June 18, 1966, the sub-province of Benguet was separated from the old Mountain Province and was converted into a regular province. Atok remained to be a component municipality of the newly established province.

Geography

Atok is located at , situated at the central portion of Benguet. It is bounded by

Kibungan Kibungan, officially the Municipality of Kibungan ( ilo, Ili ti Kibungan; tl, Bayan ng Kibungan), is a 4th class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 ce ...

on the north,

Kabayan Manuel Leuterio de Castro Jr. (; born July 6, 1949), professionally known as Noli de Castro, is a Filipino journalist, news anchor and politician who served as the 12th vice president of the Philippines from 2004 until 2010, under President ...

on the north-east, Bokod on the southeast, Tublay on the south-west, and Kapangan on the west. According to the

Philippine Statistics Authority The Philippine Statistics Authority (Filipino: ''Pangasiwaan ng Estadistika ng Pilipinas''), abbreviated as PSA, is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that ''collects, compiles, analyzes and publishes statistical inf ...

, the municipality has a land area of constituting of the total area of Benguet. The land is characterized as mountainous with many steep cliffs. It is home t
Mt. Timbak
the third highest mountain in Luzon. The second highest point in the

Philippine Highway System The Philippine highway network is a network of national roads owned and maintained by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and organized into three classifications according to their function or purpose: national primary, seconda ...

is also located at Barangay Paoay along

Halsema Highway Halsema Highway (also known as the , or Mountain Trail) is a national secondary highway in the Philippines. Situated within the Cordillera Central range in northern Luzon, it stretches from the city limit of Baguio to the municipality of Bontoc ...

, at above sea level. It held formerly the title as the highest point in the Philippine Highway System since World War II until early 2019. This is after the validation and assessment conducted by the Department of Public Works and Highways - Cordillera Administrative Region (DPWH-CAR) Regional Office last January 2019 declaring a new highest point at 2,428.66 meters (7968.045 feet) along the Kiangan-Tinoc-Buguias Road in Tinoc Town some 55 Kilometers east via Atok, Benguet. Atok is from

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

, from La Trinidad, and from

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Climate

Like most part of Benguet it has

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

, during the cold months of the year, the municipality experiences very low temperatures reaching . This causes frost to settle on the ground, causing millions of damage to crops, but drawing tourists to the town.

Barangays

Atok is politically subdivided into 8

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...

s. These barangays are headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain, Barangay Council, whose members are called Barangay Councilors. All are elected every three years.

Demographics

In the 2020 census, Atok had a population of 19,218. The population density was .

Economy

Government

Atok, belonging to the lone congressional district of the province of Benguet, 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

Education

Public schools

As of 2014, Atok has 22

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

elementary schools and 2 public secondary schools.

Notes

References

External links

* * * Philippine Standard Geographic Code {{Authority control Municipalities of Benguet