Bakun, officially the Municipality of Bakun, ( ilo, Ili ti Bakun; tl, Bayan ng Bakun), is a 3rd 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 sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

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 14,535 people.

History

During the Spanish Period, Bakun was a '' rancheria'' of the ''Commandancia Politico-Militar de Amburayan''. Ampusongan (currently a

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 metropolitan ...

of Bakun) was a ''rancheria'' of the ''Commandancia Politico Militar de Tiagan, Distrito de Benguet.'' When the

United States took control of the Philippines United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

, the American Congress issued ''Act No. 48'' in November 1900, placing Bakun under the province of Amburayan, and Ampusongan under the province of Benguet. On August 13, 1908, Benguet became a subprovince of the newly established

Mountain Province Mountain Province is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Bontoc. Mountain Province was formerly referred to as ''Mountain'' in some foreign references. The name is usually short ...

with the enactment of ''Act No. 1876'', and the municipal districts of Bakun and Ampusongan became part of the subprovince. In 1917, the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes recommended that the western border of the Mountain Province be pushed eastward, such that the entire subprovince of Amburayan and large slices of Lepanto and Benguet would be made part of

Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur, officially the Province of Ilocos Sur ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ilocos Sur; tl, Lalawigan ng Ilocos Sur), is a province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital o ...

and

La Union La Union (), officially the Province of La Union ( ilo, Probinsia ti La Union; Kankanaey'': Probinsyan di La Union;'' Ibaloi'': Probinsya ne La Union;'' pag, Luyag/Probinsia na La Union; Tagalog'': Lalawigan ng La Union),'' is a province in th ...

. In early 1937, Ampusongan was merged with Bakun, the latter carrying the name of the township while the former became a barangay. The issuance of ''

Republic Act This article contains a partial list of Philippine laws. Sources of Philippine laws ;Notes : *Customs may be considered as supplementary source of law, however, customs which are contrary to law, public order or public policy shall not be ...

No. 4695'' in 1966 included Bakun as a regular municipality in the newly created province of Benguet.

Geography

Bakun is located at , at the northwestern tip of Benguet. It is bounded by

Mankayan Mankayan, officially the Municipality of Mankayan ( ilo, Ili ti Mankayan; tl, Bayan ng Mankayan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,233 people. The munic ...

on the east, Buguias on the southeast,

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 south, Sugpon on the south-west,

Alilem Alilem, officially the Municipality of Alilem ( ilo, Ili ti Alilem; fil, Bayan ng Alilem), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 7,361 people. Etymology Long ...

on the north-west, and

Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

on the north. 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. Bakun is away 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 ...

, from La Trinidad, and away 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", ...

Barangays

Bakun is politically subdivided into 7

s. These barangays are headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain,

Barangay Council The Sangguniang Barangay, also known as the Barangay Council, and formerly as the Rural Council and then the Barrio Council, is the legislative body of a barangay, the lowest form of government in the Philippines. The term is coined from the Tag ...

, whose members are called Barangay Councilors. All are elected every three years.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, Bakun had a population of 14,535. The population density was .

Economy

Government

Bakun, 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 2015, Bakun has 30

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 ''Öffentlichkei ...

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

s and 4 public

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Notes

References

External links

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