Oas, Albay


', officially the ', is a of the Philippines| in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.

History

Oas was founded during the early Spanish colonization of the Bicol Peninsula. In 1605, Father Baltazar de los Reyes converted 12 leading natives of the area to Christianity in one day, forming the foundation of the community now known as Oas.

Etymology

There are three stories that tell the origin of the name of Oas:
  1. There is a dam across the narrowest portion of a local river. This dam solely irrigates the vast fields of the place including those of the nearby town of Libon and results in a good harvest. People are wary of any cracks or leaks on the dam walls during months of heavy rains. A crier would shout "nawaswas" giving the call to the people for immediate action in groups. From then on, the natives coined this name to the place and later shortened it to present form.
  2. Early Spanish Colonizers reaching this particular section of the Bicol Peninsula asked the name of the place from the about 600 natives living there, "Como se llama este sitio?" with gesture of their hands. The natives mistakenly thought the question to be "Onan kading lugar kadi, maiwas?" in their native dialect. In response, the natives answered, "Si, señores. Labi nikading iwas. Labi nikading iwas.". From then on the early Spanish colonizers adopted in their official census the existence of "a rich fertile valley with verdant fields of grain" which is the little town of Oas in Bicol.

    Geography

Oas is located at.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the has a land area of constituting of the total area of Albay.

Barangays

Oas is politically subdivided into 53 barangays.

Demographics

In the, had a population of. The population density was.

Climate

Government

Sangguniang Bayan

Catriona Gray, Miss Universe 2018, has Oas, Albay as her hometown.