Canlaon, officially the City of Canlaon, is a 4th class component city in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 58,822 people.

Etymology

The city is named after the nearby Kanlaon Volcano. The name "Kanlaon" means "[place] of Laon", a pre-colonial Visayan goddess of creation, agriculture, and justice. The name Laon itself means "the ancient one", from Visayan laon meaning "ancient" or "old."

History

Canlaon was formerly a part of Vallehermoso as Sitio Mabigo of Barrio Panubigan. In 1941, Isidoro Bautista Sr., a geodetic engineer, along with its residents petitioned the Philippine government to convert Mabigo into a separate municipality.

World War II

During the Second World War, the Japanese Imperial Army captured Canlaon on April 10, 1942, right after the Battle of Bataan. The occupation ended in early 1945 when soldiers from the Eighth United States Army under Lieutenant General Robert Eichelberger including the 40th Infantry Division (United States) and the 23rd Infantry Division (United States), landed in Negros Island to drive out the Japanese. On liberating the island, they were assisted by newly formed Philippine Commonwealth Military Forces and Negrense guerillas who helped in clearing out Japanese pockets of resistance throughout the island. In fact, the honor of liberating Canlaon from the Japanese went to Commonwealth soldiers belonging to the 7th, 71st, 73rd and 75th Infantry Regiments of the Philippine Army, the 7th Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary and the guerillas.

Post-World War II

Creation as a municipality

On October 11, 1946, President Manuel Roxas signed Executive Order no. 19, creating the municipality of Canlaon out of two barrios (Mabigo and Panubigan) and nine sitios. It was inaugurated on January 1, 1947. Isidoro Bautista Sr. became its first municipal mayor.

Cityhood

Lorenzo Teves, then congressman of the first district of Negros Oriental, filed House Bill 4346 to convert Canlaon into a city. The bill was approved and became Republic Act 3445. However, then President Carlos P. Garcia did not sign the bill. It was only on April 20, 1967, when president Ferdinand Marcos signed Proclamation no. 193, formally converting the municipality to a city. It took effect on July 2, 1967, making Canlaon the second city in the province after Dumaguete.

Geography

Canlaon is 166 km from the provincial capital Dumaguete and 94 km from Bacolod, the capital of Negros Occidental. Canlaon is home to the highest peak in its own province, its corresponding island, and the entire Visayas, Mount Kanlaon, which is 2465 m above sea level at its highest point.

Flora

The Balete Tree (also known as the Century Tree) inside the OISCA Farm is estimated by botanists from Silliman University to be around 1,300 years old. It is home to lizards, bats, and a variety of insects.

Barangays

Canlaon is politically subdivided into 12 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Climate

Demographics

Language

Cebuano is primarily spoken in Canlaon but Hiligaynon is also used as the city borders Negros Occidental. Tagalog and English are used as second languages.

Economy

Education

The public schools in Canlaon are administered by the newly formed Schools Division of Canlaon City. Elementary schools: High schools: