Santo Domingo, officially the Municipality of Santo Domingo, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 29,041 people.

Etymology

The name of the municipality came from its old moniker, "Paggappuan ti Santol iti Domingo," an Ilocano term meaning "The source of the Santol sold every Sunday." Santol (Sandoricum koetjape) is the name of the tree bearing round, yellowish fruits growing in abundance in the municipality, notably in Barangay Pussuac.

History

During the Spanish era, an enlisted man of the Spanish Civil Guard, Pablo Arquero, looked for the source of the santol being sold in the markets of Ciudad Fernandina (now Vigan City) on Sundays during the months of June to August. To do so, he asked for a leave of absence from his platoon leader to trace the source of the fruits. With his Ilocano guide, he searched the lands north of Villa Fernandina. He found nothing in the neighboring towns of Bantay, Santa Catalina, San Vicente, and Bantaoay (now San Ildefonso). He finally found many santol-bearing trees in a place north of Bantaoay now called Barangay Pus-uac. He has found the "Paggappuan ti Santol ti Domingo." The town was named Santo Domingo on account of this feat. Don Pablo Arguero was claimed to be the founder of the municipality on May 12, 1742, with Father Tomas Millan as the first parish priest. Father Millan laid the foundation of the belfry, where the great Filipino hero Diego Silang once worked as a boy. In 2010, the University of Northern Philippines opened a campus in Quimmarayan. It houses the university's agricultural, fishery and research courses; and the Environmental Research and Training Center.

Geography

Santo Domingo is 413 km from Metro Manila and 8 km from Vigan City, the provincial capital.

Barangays

Santo Domingo is politically subdivided into 36 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, Santo Domingo had a population of 29,041. The population density was undefined PD/km2.

Economy

Government

Local government

Santo Domingo, belonging to the first congressional district of the province of Ilocos Sur, 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

List of local chief executives

For 378 years, from 1521 to 1899, Local Chief Executives of the “pueblos” or town were appointed by the Spaniards and in the year 1901 up to 1946 they were appointed by Americans. Afterwards, election was the mode of selection. Gobernadorcillos (1742-1892): • Don Pablo Arquero • Don Lucas Pulano • Don Jose Alfonso • Don Miguel Palomar • Don Antonio Arce • Don Francisco Quismundo • Don Jose Molina • Don Agustin Dela Vega • Don Agustin Soliven • Don Jose Florentino • Don Juan Sumabat • Don Juan de Castillo • Don Sebastian Arce • Don Policarpio Tobias • Don Nicolas Molina • Sebastian Bumatay • Nicolas Palomar • Antionio Molina • Jacinto del Castillo • Vicente Arce • Mariano dela Vega • Felipe Sumabat • Quinterio Palomar • Pedro Nicolas Jose • Fruto Evaristo Salvador • Manuel Peria • Fructoso Palomar • Pablo Gonzales Arce • Manuel Bumatay • Victor Briones • Gregorio Molina • Santiago Salvio • Ambrocio dela Vega • Eulogio Herminigildo • Pablo Paulino Torres • Serapio dela Cruz • Valentine de Jesus • Jose Palomar • Anastacio Florentino • Pedro Jacinto Tesoro • Pedro Tobias • Rodencindo dela Vega • Remegio Tesoro Sebastian • Valentin de Jesus Tesoro • Herminigildo Palomar • Hilario Baumatay • Nicolas Briones • Eleuterio Torres • Pedro Alcantara • Valentin Sebastian • Cristobal Soliver • Pedro Bumatay • Gabino Bumatay • Tomas Jacinto Tesoro • Felix Sumabat • Manuel Dela Vega • Clemente Bumatay • Camilo Tugade • Mariano De Jesus • Felix Eugenio Temporal • Juan Carpio • Enrique Arce • Luis Palomar • Arcadio Figueras • Tranquilino Torre Victor • Andres Villaflor De Jesus • Apolonio Tobias • Rafael Soliven • Gregorio Tesoro Sebastian • Bernabe Torre Victor • Leon del Castillo • Pedro Flotildes Rosario • Bonifacio Figueras • Ponciano Toarroja • Eustaquio Tesoro Vega • Doroteo Tobias • Juan Figueras • Balbino dela Vega • Rafael Pizarro • Joaquin Villafuerte • Andres Tesoro Guillen • Rufino Pinom Calestino • Januario Celestino Capitan Municipal (1893-1899): Presidentes Municipal: • Don Aniceto Avila (1899-1900) • Don Jacob Tesoro (1901-1902) • Don Wenceslao Soliven (1903-1904) • Don Catalino Villaflor (1905-1906) • Don Rufino Tobias (1907-1908) • Don Isidro Villafuerte (1909-1910) • Don Januario Tobias (1911-1915) • Don Felipe Tugade (1916-1918) • Don Alfonso Aranillo (1919-1921) • Don Vicente Tacderas (1922-1930) • Don Teodoro Tabangcura (1931-1932) Municipal Mayors: • Jose J. Tesoro (1933-1937) • Cirilo Rabanal (1938-1941) • Amante Soliven (1941-1942) • Rufino Soliven (1943-1944) • Faustino Tobia (1944-1945) • Faustino Tamargo (1945-1946) • Juan Quines (1946-1947) • Filomeno Tadena (1948-1962) • Jose Tinaza (1962-1963) • Benjamin Sanidad (1964-1975) • Orlino Tesoro (1975-1986) • Susante J. Tobias (Oct. 13, 1986-Dec. 1, 1987) • Nelson T. Torices (Dec. 3, 1987-Feb. 2, 1988) • Miguel Figueras JR. (1988-1997) • Henry Tesoro (1997-1998) • Alfred Figueras (1999-2000) • Floro Tadena (2001-2010) • Amado Tadena (2010-2019) • Floro Tadena (2019-2020) • Bryan Dexter Tadena (2020-Present)