Argao, officially the Municipality of Argao (; ), is a

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

in the

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

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 78,187 people.

Geography

The municipality of Argao is located in the southeast of the province of

, from

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

. Argao is bordered to the north by the municipality of

Sibonga Sibonga, officially the Municipality of Sibonga (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,424 people. Geography S ...

, to the west are the municipalities of

Ronda Ronda () is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliffside location and a deep canyon that ca ...

, Alcantara and Moalboal, to the east is the

Cebu Strait Cebu Strait (Tagalog language, Tagalog: ''Kipot ng Cebú''; also Bohol Strait) is a strait in the Central Visayas region in the Philippines. Geography The Cebu Strait (and its 3 channels, the Mactan Channel, Mactan, the Olango Island Group, Ol ...

, and to the south is the municipality of

Dalaguete Dalaguete, officially the Municipality of Dalaguete (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 74,596 people. History ...

Barangays

Argao is politically subdivided into 45 barangays. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

Climate

Demographics

Economy

Tourism

The economy of the town of Argao heavily revolves around farming, baking, and tourism. Argao is renowned in Cebu as the "Torta Capital of the Province" because of its local delicacy, the ''Torta'', a Cebuano tart that is inspired from the Spanish tart, but differs in its recipe by using '' tubâ'' or

palm wine Palm wine, known by several #Names, local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees such as the Borassus, palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and ...

as the rising agent instead of the usual yeast. There are three Cebuano baking towns, the others are Liloan and Santander. The La Torta Festival, which replaced the Pitlagong Festival in 2011, is the municipality's local food festival in honor of St Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of Argao. La Torta Festival happens every 28–29 September to celebrate Argao's Tart Economy and the torta as an Argaoanon delicacy, as well as cultural heritage from the Spanish period, which includes the tradition of making the torta. Argao is also a producer of Cebuano '' tsokolate'' (chocolate). Much of the cocoa production originates from Argao. The raw cacao, once harvested, is molded, while melted, into disk-shaped tablets called '' tablea''. These are often used in '' sikwate'', a Cebuano version of

hot chocolate Hot Chocolate are a British soul band formed by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson. The group had at least one hit song every year on the UK Singles Chart from 1970 to 1984. Their hits include " You Sexy Thing", a UK number two which also made ...

. The production of chocolate in Argao is said to have been pre-colonial. Maria Cacao, a goddess of the Lantoy Mountain, is said to have been the giver of the cacao tree to the natives of Argao, according to legend. It is said that she and her husband Mangao reside in a cave in that area, surrounded by cacao trees. Argao is, additionally, a producer of

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

in the province. When the tubâ ferments or when it is aged too long, it becomes sour. It eventually turns into vinegar which is used as sauce or as component for a sauce in main courses. The palm vinegar is referred to as ''sukang tubâ''. It is often accompanied with spices such as

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

and

chili peppers Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to add pungency ( ...

and usually comes by the bottle. Saint Michael Parish Church, Argao.jpg, St Michael Parish Church Rizal statue in Argao.JPG, Rizal statue at Municipal plaza Argao Public Market.JPG, Argao Public Market

Education

The public schools in the town of Argao are administered by two school districts under th
Schools Division of Cebu Province
Elementary schools: * Alambijud Elementary School — Alambijud * Anajao Elementary School — Anajao * Apo Elementary School — Apo * Argao I Central Elementary School — N. Bacalso Avenue, Poblacion * Bala-as Elementary School — Bala-as * Balisong-Casay Elementary School — Balisong * Banahao Elementary School — Sitio Banahao, Talaga * Binlod Elementary School — Binlod * Bogo Elementary School — Bogo * Bug-ot Elementary School — Bug-ot * Bulasa Elementary School — Bulasa * Butong Elementary School — Butong * Calagasan Elementary School — Calagasan * Canbantug Elementary School — Canbantug * Canbanua Elementary School — Dr. T.S. Kintanar Street, Canbanua * Candolonon Primary School — Sitio Candolonon, Balisong * Cansuje Elementary School — Cansuje * Catang Primary School — Catang * Colawin Elementary School — Colawin * Conalum Elementary School — Conalum * Dalas-ag Primary School — Sitio Dalas-ag, Balisong * Guiwanon Elementary School — Guiwanon * Gutlang Elementary School — Gutlang * Jampang Elementary School — Jampang * Jomgao Elementary School — Jomgao * Langtad Elementary School — Langtad * Langub Elementary School — Langub * Lapay Elementary School — Lapay * Lengigon Elementary School — Lengigon * Linut-od Elementary School — Linut-od * Mabasa Elementary School — Mabasa * Malacorong Primary School — Sitio Malacorong, Usmad * Malalag Elementary School — Sitio Malalag, Ubaub * Mandilikit Elementary School — Mandilikit * Mompeller Elementary School — Mompeller * Nug-as Elementary School — Sitio Nug-as, Cansuje * Rrcy Elementary School — Sitio Candabong, Binlod * Sua Elementary School — Sua * Sumaguan Elementary School — Sumaguan * Tabayag Elementary School — Tabayag * Talaga Elementary School — Talaga * Talaytay Elementary School — Talaytay * Tiguib Elementary School — Tiguib * Tulang Elementary School — Tulang * Tulic Elementary School — Isidro Kintanar Street, Tulic * Usmad Elementary School — Usmad High schools: * Argao National High School — San Miguel Street, Canbanua * Bulasa National High School — Bulasa * Calagasan National High School — Calagasan * Cansuje National High School — Cansuje * Colawin National High School — Colawin * Mandilikit National High School — Mandilikit * Talaga National High School — Talaga * Usmad National High School — Usmad Integrated schools: * Taloot Integrated School — Taloot

Notable personalities

* Cerge Remonde – former Press Secretary, Chairman of

Radio Philippines Network Radio Philippines Network, Inc. (RPN) is a Philippine Media of the Philippines, television and radio company based in Quezon City. It is currently owned through majority share by Nine Media Corporation of the ALC Group of Companies; along wi ...

, and President and CEO of IBC * Francisco Remotigue – former Governor of Cebu * Hilario Davide Jr. – former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court * Romulo Davide –

National Scientist of the Philippines The Order of National Scientists of the Philippines ( Tagalog: ''Orden ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Agham ng Pilipinas''), abbreviated as ONS, is the highest award accorded to Filipino scientists by the Philippine government. Members of the order ...

for Nematology and Plant Pathology * Edsel Galeos – former mayor and current representative for Cebu's 2nd congressional district

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=October 2020, cs1-dates=ss Municipalities of Cebu