Lepanto-Bontoc was a

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 the

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 ...

, existing from 1902 to 1908. The province encompassed much of the central section of the

Cordillera A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly u ...

mountains in

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

. Its capital was

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 ...

, in the sub-province of Lepanto.

Administrative Division

Prior to its incorporation into the Mountain Province in 1908, its territory consisted of: * the sub-province of Amburayan (capital:

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 ...

, 1902–1907;

Tagudin Tagudin, officially the Municipality of Tagudin ( ilo, Ili ti Tagudin; tgl, Bayan ng Tagudin), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 41,538 people. Etymology ...

, 1907–1920), encompassing most of the

Amburayan River The Amburayan River is a river in the northeastern portion of island of Luzon in the Philippines. It originates from the Cordillera mountains and traverses the provinces of Benguet, La Union, and Ilocos Sur. With a total length of where it empti ...

basin * the sub-province of Bontoc (capital: Bontoc), encompassing the upper portions of the Chico and Siffu river basins * the sub-province of Kalinga (capital: Tabuc), encompassing the lower portions of the Chico River basin south of Tuao in

Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region, covering ...

, and * the sub-province of Lepanto (capital:

), encompassing most of the upper Tineg (Abra) River basin. The territory of Lepanto-Bontoc is now divided between the present-day provinces of: * Benguet (municipalities of Bakun and Mankayan) *

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 ...

(municipalities of

Gregorio del Pilar Gregorio Hilario del Pilar y Sempio (; ; November 14, 1875 – December 2, 1899) was a Filipino general of the Philippine Revolutionary Army during the Philippine–American War. As one of the youngest generals in the Revolutionary Army, he ...

Quirino Quirino, officially the Province of Quirino ( ilo, Probinsia ti Quirino; tl, Lalawigan ng Quirino), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region in Luzon. Its capital is Cabarroguis. It is named after Elp ...

, San Emilio,

Sigay Sigay, officially the Municipality of Sigay ( ilo, Ili ti Sigay; fil, Bayan ng Sigay), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,552 people. History Natives of ...

, Sugpon, Suyo and

) *

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...

* La Union (municipalities of San Gabriel, Santol and Sudipen) * Mountain Province

History

Lepanto-Bontoc was created on May 28, 1902 through Act No. 410 of 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 ...

. Included in the new province's territory were the Spanish-era ''comandancias'' of Amburayan, Bontoc and Lepanto, which became its three component sub-provinces. By virtue of the same law, the ''comandancia'' of Bontoc, upon its conversion into a sub-province, annexed all unassigned territories to its north which lay between the eastern boundaries of Abra and western boundaries of

. This territory, corresponding to the lower Chico River basin, was later organized into the sub-province of

through Act No. 1642, enacted on May 9, 1907. The province was slightly enlarged when

, the coastal town at the mouth of the

, was detached from

and made the capital of the sub-province of Amburayan on May 15, 1907 by virtue of Act No. 1646 of the Philippine Commission. On August 18, 1908 the

Philippine Legislature The Philippine Legislature was the legislature of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American colonial period, and predecessor of the current Congress of the Philippines. It was bicameral and the legislative branch of the Insular G ...

annexed all four of Lepanto-Bontoc's sub-provinces to the Mountain Province through Act No. 1876, effectively ending its existence as a province.

References

{{coord missing, Philippines Mountain Province Former provinces of the Philippines