Badoc, officially the Municipality of Badoc (; ), 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 ...

Ilocos Norte Ilocos Norte (), officially the Province of Ilocos Norte (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region. It is located in the northwest corner of Luzon island, bordering Cagayan and Apayao to t ...

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 32,530 people. It is the birthplace of Filipino

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Juan Luna Juan Luna de San Pedro y Novicio (, ; October 25, 1857 – December 7, 1899) was a Filipino painter, sculptor and a political activism, activist of the Philippine Revolution during the late 19th century. He became one of the first recog ...

. The tourist spots in this town are Luna Shrine, Luna Park, Badoc Island, Badoc Church and La Virgen Milagrosa Shrine, and the beautiful beaches of La Virgen Migrosa, Gabut Norte, Pagsanahan, Aring, and Saud.

Etymology

In 1572, during the intensive Christianization of the area in what is now the Ilocos Region, a boatload of Spanish missionaries and soldiers stopped at the mouth of the Badoc River to establish camp in the area that is now occupied by the Badoc town proper. It was the only site that was clear of obstructions, apart from a portion that was occupied by fifteen families of natives known as the Isneg. Around the settlement was a thick growth of tall flowering reed plants called bado-badoc (phleumpratense). Seeing some fishermen lingering at a distance, the Spaniards walked up to them to inquire about the name of the place pointing to the spot which they thought was a settlement. The men, not being able to understand what was asked to them, simply thought that the Spaniards wanted to know the name of the plant around the area and thus the answered: 'bado-badoc'. The leader of the expedition recorded the word, hence the town was called "Badoc".

Geography

The Municipality of Badoc is considered the westernmost municipality in Ilocos Norte. Badoc is situated from the provincial capital

Laoag Laoag (), officially the City of Laoag (; ), is a component city and capital of the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 111,651 people. It is the province's most populous settlement, ...

, and from the country's capital city of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Barangays

Badoc is politically subdivided into 31

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 ...

. * Alay-Nangbabaan * Alogoog * Ar-arusip * Aring * Balbaldez * Bato * Camanga * Canaan (

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 ...

) * Caraitan * Gabut Norte * Gabut Sur * Garreta (

) * La Virgen Milagrosa (Paguetpet) * Labut * Lacuben * Lubigan * Mabusag Norte * Mabusag Sur * Madupayas * Morong * Nagrebcan * Napu * Pagsanahan Norte * Pagsanahan Sur * Paltit * Parang * Pasuc * Santa Cruz Norte * Santa Cruz Sur * Saud * Turod

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Badoc was 32,530 people, with a density of .

Economy

Tourism

La Virgen Milagrosa

Badoc houses the Sanctuary of the Miraculous Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the La Virgen Milagrosa. History traces the life-sized statue to Nagasaki, Japan. It escaped the destruction of churches in Nagasaki in 1614 on orders of the

Tokugawa Bakufu The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

--one of three religious statues that survived the destruction, when it was sent floating in the sea by missionaries operating in secret in Japan, along with the Miraculous Statue of the Black Nazarene ( Sinait's Santo Cristo Milagroso). It was first found by local fishermen in the shores of Barangay Dadalaquiten of Sinait, Ilocos Sur and Barangay Paguetpet of Badoc (on the present-day boundary between Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur) in the year 1620. Only fishermen from Sinait were able to move the Statue of the Black Nazarene. The fishermen from Badoc, unable to move the Black Nazarene, were able to move the La Virgen Milagrosa that came with it—which was, in turn, unable to be moved by the fishermen from Sinait. They took the statues to their respective towns, hence becoming their patron saints. Today The La Virgen Milagrosa is enshrined at the Badoc Church, as Barangay Paguetpet was renamed in honor of the La Virgen Milagrosa. A chapel was erected near the site where the image landed, which is a stone's throw from the chapel marking the landing site of the Santo Cristo Milagroso.

Juan Luna Shrine

The Juan Luna Shrine is the reconstructed two storey ancestral house of the painter

, the revolutionary general

Antonio Luna Antonio Narciso Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (; October 29, 1866 – June 5, 1899) was a Filipinos, Filipino army general and a pharmacist who fought in the Philippine–American War before his assassination on June 5, 1899, at the age ...

, and the violinist Manuel Luna. Built in the typical middle class fashion, the house was burned down in 1861 and was rebuilt using clay bricks and molave wood. Now a museum, the shrine houses photos of the Luna family and reproductions of Luna's paintings. The second floor retains the living room, bedrooms, azotea, and chapel, all furnished with period furniture and accessories.

Minor Basilica of Saint John the Baptist

Also known as Badoc Basilica, St. John the Baptist Parish Church was constructed in 1591 and was once a chapel under the jurisdiction of Sinait. It was formally recognized as a parish in 1714 with St. John the Baptist as patron saint. The baroque church made of stone blocks and brick tiles is credited to Reverend Father Valentin Blovide. It was occupied by the Sambals during the revolution headed by Andres Malong in 1660–61. The celebrated Philippine painter

was baptized in Badoc Church on 27 October 1857. At present, the church houses the miraculous statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated under the title ''Virgin of Miracles'', crowned by Catholic bishops in 1980, and was granted a

Canonical coronation A canonical coronation () is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a formal decree of a papal bull, in which the pope bestows the pontifical right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureola, aureole to an image of ...

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

on 31 May 2018. On November 30, 2018, the parish was elevated to the level of a Minor Basilica. The elevation rites took place on February 5, 2019.

Floating Cottages at La Virgen Milagrosa

Another tourist attraction of this place is the floating cottage that is made out of bamboos and hays, with plastic drums as its floaters. Rentals for the floating cottages are about P500 for every 4 hours, and P100 for every one-hour extension. 15-20 persons are the maximum capacity per floating cottage.

Badoc Island

Badoc Island is an uninhabited island located about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) off the shore of Barangay Pagsanahan in Badoc, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. The island is a popular surfing spot in northern Philippines.

Beaches

There are five popular public beaches in Badoc. 1) La Virgen Milagrosa Beach 2) Gabut Norte Beach 3) Pagsanahan Beach 4) Aring and Saud Beach 5) Pagsanahan Secret Beach

Food

Miki (Comfort Noodle Soup Dish), Ilocos Empanada, Longanisa and Iloco Vinegar are the local foods you can find in this town.

Government

Local government

Badoc, belonging to the second congressional district of the province of

, 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

The Badoc Schools District Office governs all public and private elementary and high schools within the municipality.

Primary and elementary schools

* Ar-Arusip Elementary School * Aring Elementary School * Badoc Little Angels Learning Center * Badoc North Central School * Badoc South Central School SPED Center * Camanga Elementary School * Gabut Elementary School * Labut Elementary School * Lasien School * Mabusag-Napu Elementary School * Mabusag Sur Elementary School * Madupayas Elementary School * Morong Elementary School * Nagrebcan Elementary School * Pagsanahan Elementary School * Paltit Elementary School * Pasuc-Parang Elementary School * Saud Elementary School * St. Elizabeth Elementary School * Sta. Cruz Elementary School * Turod Elementary School * Virgen Milagrosa Elementary School

Secondary schools

* Caraitan Integrated School * Nagrebcan National High School * Pagsanahan National High School

Higher educational instititions

* Badoc Junior College * Igama Colleges Foundation * Juan Luna Memorial Academy

References

External links

Official Website of Badoc, Ilocos NorteBadoc Information Guide - Badoc Municipal Officials
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Ilocos Norte