Ayungon (; ), officially the Municipality of Ayungon, 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 ...
of
Negros Oriental
Negros Oriental (; ), officially the Province of Negros Oriental (; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Negros Island. Its capital is the city of Dumaguete, one of the two regional centers of Negros Island Region, with the other b ...
,
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 47,102 people.
Attractions include the Karalaon Bird Sanctuary, the subterranean area of the Mabato Caves, a man-made lake in Banban, and the Pagsalsalan Twin Falls (Maaslum Falls).
[
]
History
There are at least two variations of the name's origin. According to Dr. Tomoteo S. Oracion of Silliman University
Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private, Protestant, and research university located in Dumaguete City, Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, it is ...
, during the pre-colonial periods, a certain locality is named after the most popular person living in it. The most popular person happened to be a fisherman named "Ayung", who has his own hut where travellers would stop by. It was referred to as "Ayung's Place," which was later suffixed with "-on" to form "Ayungon". Another variation revolves around the Spaniards asking a native, who was cutting a tree, about the name of the place. The native thought they were asking for his name, so he answered "Ayung". The Spaniards asked the same question again, but this time, the native thought they were asking the name of tree he was cutting, so he answered "Dungon". The Spaniards coined the term "Ayung-Dungon" to refer to this area, which was later shortened to "Ayungon".
During the Spanish regime, the original town plaza was located at the beach, which was transferred further inland due to a massive flood. The town also suffered an epidemic of smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
which took away two-thirds of the town's population. Old municipal profiles refer to Ayungon as Todos los Santos, though there are no legends to explain that Hispanic name, just as there are no tales elaborating on the ruins of apparently Hispanic fortifications on the Tampocon II shoreline, perhaps because Ayungon's colonial past was not entirely its own. For many years, it was a mere barrio of Tayasan, until 1924 when Governor General Leonard Wood came to establish Ayungon as a full-fledged municipality through the recommendation of the then-provincial governor, Enrique Villanueva.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, numerous houses were burned, as well as people being tortured and killed. Many of them passed away due to famine and malaria. Maximo Romano Enardecido, the mayor at the time, evacuated the municipal government to Pangi, a mountainous village located south of the Poblacion. Captain Eugenio “Kusgan” Antonio led the town's guerilla
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism ...
movement. The town was liberated in October 1944, and the Americans came in to rehabilitate the town by lending money to pay for war damages.
Geography
from the provincial capital Dumaguete
Dumaguete, officially the City of Dumaguete (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it h ...
, Ayungon is located on the midriff of Oriental Negros’ northern stretch, nearly two hours from Dumaguete.[Negros Oriental Tourism]
", About , Cities & Towns. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
Of only three virgin forests said to be still remaining on Negros Island, one is located in barangay Banban.[
]
Barangays
Ayungon is politically subdivided into 24 barangay
The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...
s. 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
Ayungon is mostly rural with vast rice fields, dense coconut groves and expansive plantations of sugar cane, bananas and pineapple.[
As of May 2025, the once quiet town is starting to commercialize by bringing in numerous known international and national businesses in its '']Poblacion
''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...
''. Businesses lik
Mr. DIY
Crispy King
an
Arnok's Fried Chicken
started to show up in town during Dennis Amancio's mayoral term. 7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc. is an American convenience store chain, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan, which in turn is owned by the retail holdings company Seven & I Holdings.
The chain was founde ...
is soon to open at the Callao-Nacional Business Arcade, alongside wit
Mr. DIY
as the first business to start operating at the arcade.
As the town is growing economically, it has been conferred with the status of 1st class income municipality.
Education
The public schools in the town of Ayungon are administered by two school districts under th
Schools Division of Negros Oriental
Elementary schools:
* Amdus Elementary School — Amdus
* Anibong Elementary School — Anibong
* Awa-an Elementary School — Awa-an
* Ayungon Central Elementary School — Nat'l Highway, Poblacion
* Banban Elementary School — Banban
* Buenavista Elementary School — Atabay
* Calagcalag Elementary School — Calagcalag
* Candana-ay Elementary School — Candana-ay
* Canlukduhan Elementary School — Sitio Canlukduhan, Gomentoc
* Carol-an Elementary School — Carol-an
* Duli-Duli Elementary School — Sitio Duli-Duli, Tibyawan
* Gomentoc Elementary School — Gomentoc
* Inacban Elementary School — Inacban
* Iniban Elementary School — Iniban
* Jandalamanon Elementary School — Jandalamanon
* Kilaban Elementary School — Kilaban
* Lamigan Elementary School — Lamigan
* Libtacon Elementary School — Sitio Libtacon, Banban
* Maaslum Elementary School — Maaslum
* Mabato Elementary School — Mabato
* Manogtong Elementary School — Manogtong
* Nabalian Elementary School — Sitio Nabalian, Carol-an
* Nabhang Elementary School — Nabhang
* So-ok Elementary School — Sitio So-ok, Mabato
* South Poblacion Elementary School — Nat'l Highway, Tampocon II
* Talanyog Elementary School — Sitio Talanyog, Carol-an
* Tambo Elementary School — Tambo
* Tampocon I Elementary School — Tampocon I
* Tibyawan Elementary School — Tibyawan
* Tiguib Elementary School — Tiguib
* Tumampon Elementary School — Sitio Tumampon, Tiguib
High schools:
* Ayungon National High School — Nat'l Highway, Tampocon I
* Ayungon NHS - Carol-an Extension — Carol-an
* Ayungon Science High School — Todos Los Santos Street, Tampocon II
* Mabato Provincial Community High School — Mabato
* Tambo National High School — Tambo
Private schools:
* Negros Academy-Negros College, Inc. — Enardecido Street, Tampocon II
References
External links
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) is a systematic classification and coding for geographic areas in the Philippines. It classifies areas based on the country's four levels of administrative divisions: regions, provinces, municipalities ...
br>Philippine Census Information
Official Website
Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Negros Oriental