Boac, Marinduque


', officially the ', is a of the Philippines| and capital of the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.
Situated in the western coast of Marinduque Island, the municipality is bordered in the north by the municipality of Mogpog, in the west by the Tayabas Bay and Sibuyan Sea, in the east by the municipality of Torrijos, and in the south by the municipalities of Gasan and Buenavista.
Boac, a heritage town in its own right, is known as one of the main venues of the annual Moriones Festival and is the location of a number of historical sites in Marinduque including the Boac Cathedral fortress church, Casa Real and the Liwasan ng Kalayaan, Laylay Port, and the Battle of Paye site. The municipality is also home to the Marinduque Branch of the National Museum of the Philippines.

Etymology

The toponym Boac is derived from the Cebuano word bu-ak, cognatic to the Tagalog word bi-ak and the southern Tagalog term ba-ak. This is in reference to the town being bisected by the Boac River which runs from the Central Marinduque and Balagbag Mountain Ranges to the west coast facing the Tayabas Bay and Sibuyan Sea. Other references suggest that the name Boac is derived from the Tagalog term bulwak referring to the gush of water at the estuaries and mouth of the Boac River.

Other names

During the Spanish colonization, the first visita called Montserrat de Marinduque was established in the island in 1580 in what is now Boac.

History

In the early years of Spanish colonization in Marinduque, it was first mentioned in Miguel de Loarca’s Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas that the natives of the island are Pintados or tattooed people resembling those from the Camarines Provinces and the Visayan Islands. In 1580, the first visita was established in the island of Marinduque and was called Montserrat de Marinduque in what is now the municipality of Boac; this visita was governed by Fray Alonzo Banol as minister.
In 1621, the Spanish Jesuit missionaries brought a three-foot Marian image to Boac which will later be known as the Mahal na Ina ng Biglang Awa. Notorious for their sea raids, a group of Muslim pirates from the southern Philippines sieged Boac in the mid-17th century along the shores of Laylay and eventually into the Poblacion located along the Boac River. In panic, the locals took refuge in the fortress church of Boac as able-bodied men defended the outer walls against the attacks. Many locals were killed and, by the third day of siege, the surviving locals began to run short on food and the capture of the fortress became imminent. As an act of faith, the survivors prayed fervently at the throne of Mary, asking her to deliver them from these enemies. According to legends, a very strong storm with torrential rain, thunder, and lightning engulfed the area and at its very height, it was reported that the image of a beautiful lady with outstretched arms appeared standing on the top of the fortress wall. Terrorized, the pirates fled in confusion to their vintas and left the island. Since then, the image of Mary has been honoured and given the title "Biglang Awa." To commemorate this miracle, the old image brought by the Jesuits in Boac was placed in a shrine erected on the portion of the wall where Mary is said to have appeared.
In 1942, Boac was occupied by Japanese troops. In 1945, the Battle of Marinduque began and the American-Philippine Commonwealth troops landed in Boac after the war was built of the general headquarters of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Constabulary from 1945 to 1946 station in this municipality.
The Provincial Government of Marinduque under Gov. Carmencita O. Reyes built a larger-than-life-size image of the Our Lady of Biglang Awa in cement and placed in the seashore in Balanacan Port to welcome travelers to the island.
On May 10, 2008, the Diocese of Boac celebrated the 13th anniversary and the golden anniversary of the canonical coronation of Mahal na Birhen ng Biglang-Awa. Cebu Archbishop-Cardinal Ricardo Vidal of Mogpog, Marinduque, officiated at the consecrated mass.

Geography

Boac is the third largest of the six municipalities of the province of Marinduque, after Santa Cruz and Torrijos. It borders all the municipalities of the province: Mogpog to the north, Santa Cruz to the Northeast, Torrijos to the East, Buenavista to the South and Gasan to the South Southwest.
The municipality is generally hilly, rugged and mountainous in the south and eastern part with thin strips of flat and farm lands and long shoreline in the west. The longest and largest river, Boac River, which gets its source in the mountainous forest in the extreme southwest and spills off to the northern shore of Boac, divides the municipality into two geographical areas: north and south.
The closest town-to-town reference to Boac is the municipality of Mogpog which is approximately 5 kilometers. Boac is connected to Mogpog and Gasan by the Marinduque Circumferential Highway or the Pan-Marinduque Highway. Two bridges connect the north and south area of the municipality: the narrow Tabi Bridge which connects Barangay Tabi and Barangay San Miguel and the said-to-be the longest bridge in the province, Biglang Awa Bridge, which connects Barangay Tampus and Barangay Bantad. A narrow minor road connects Boac and Mogpog via Buliasnin-Nangka Road, and Boac and Gasan via Duyay-Tapuyan Trail. Boac has a total road network of 117.61 kilometers.
Geopolitically, Boac is divided into six zones: Poblacion, Riverside, Ilaya I, Ilaya II, Seaside A and Seaside B. Boac's geographical center is roughly located between the border of Barangay Binunga and Barangay Can-at.
Boac is home to most of the province's commercial businesses. Barangays San Miguel, Murallon, and Mercado are the town's business district where the public market, medium-rise buildings, sports arena and Boac Town Arena, now Moriones Arena are. Meanwhile, Barangay Isok is home to the town's education district. Marinduque National High School, St. Mary's College of Marinduque, Don Luis Hidalgo Memorial School, Barangay Day Care Centers, Boac North District Office and the Division of Marinduque DepED Office is in Barangay Isok. The Municipal Building Hall is at Barangay Tampus, adjacent is the Marinduque Museum at Barangay Malusak.
The Marinduque Provincial Capitol is in Barangay Santol near the Dr. Damian Reyes Memorial Hospital and Camp Maximo Abad.

Barangays

Boac is politically divided into 61 barangays namely:
BarangaysPopulation
Area
Pop. density
Agot5721.96292
Agumaymayan5384.42122
Amoingon1,4992.46610
Apitong4221.60264
Balagasan8911.31680
Balaring5832.82207
Balogo1,4861.371,085
Bamban5492.21248
Bangbangalon1,3721.89726
Bantad1,2722.21576
Bantay1,7813.35532
Bayuti2353.0378
Binunga2494.5055
Boi6966.05115
Boton2911.14255
Buliasnin1,4881.63913
Bunganay1,7861.97907
Caganhao1,114.09272
Canat6496.6398
Catubugan7313.77194
Cawit2,4913.11801
Daig5520.73756
Daypay3962.62151
Duyay1,84810.15182
Hinapulan62520.4831
Ihatub1,2014.50267
Isok 1 1,1130.442,530
Isok 2 5860.501,172
Laylay2,6222.121,237
Lupac1,7561.361,291
Mahinhin61320.2330
Mainit9244.590201
Malbog5881.31449
Maligaya8310.98848
Malusak 3050.083,813
Mansiwat4372.53173
Mataas na Bayan 6140.087,675
Maybo1,1348.36136
Mercado 1,4000.226,364
Murallon 4470.133,438
Ogbac4373.60121
Pawa7762.30337
Pili4350.78558
Poctoy3700.90411
Poras1,0870.811,342
Putting Buhangin5935.49108
Puyog1,0743.52305
Sabong2116.0635
San Miguel 1870.036,233
Santol1,6061.311,266
Sawi8880.98906
Tabi1,3570.731,859
Tabigue8912.38374
Tagwak4280.78549
Tambunan6865.73120
Tampus 1,2720.582,193
Tanza1,5241.89806
Tugos111,8648.36223
Tumagabok36719.6719
Tumapon1400.40350

Climate

Demographics

According to the, the population of Boac is people, with a population density of 260 people per square kilometer. The most densely populated areas are in the Poblacion, northwest, and southwest barangays. Barangays in the eastern portions of the municipality are generally sparsely populated. Approximately 70% of the population lives along the national highways or within from the national road. Furthermore, approximately 5% of the total population lives in the town proper and 10% lives in the sub-urban barangays.

Religious Institutions

In the centre of town, the Boac Public Market is one of the town's landmarks. Vendors sell dry and wet products in four air-conditioned buildings. Transport terminals near the market carry goods to other barangays. It is considered to be the mini-supermarket of the province.
The poblacion area is called as Boac Central Business District. The newly constructed two-floor Town Market with about 100 stores is in the heart of the poblacion.
Local fast food chains and restaurants include GoodChow Food Express, La Concha Restaurant, Kusina sa Plaza and many more.
Several convenience and grocery stores includes CASHypermart, New Era, Jinang-Tan, Centro Market. Puregold Boac Branch was scheduled to open in November 2015.

Transportation

Biglang-Awa Bridge is the longest bridge in the province, connecting Barangay Tampus to Barangay Bantad. Many people stand on the bridge to watch the sun set and to get a good view of the Boac Cathedral.

Medical and Health Facilities

Tertiary

Tourist attractions

Law and Academe