Santol, officially the Municipality of Santol, is a 4th class municipality in the province of La Union, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 5,381 people.

History

Santol, a Balaoan northeastern Rancheria, became a township in 1908 under the sub-province Amburayan, Mountain Province. An Igorot named Lakay Camilot was its first municipal president. In 1920, a new province out of the old Lepanto-Amburayan sub-province was planned to showcase the socio-cultural integration amongst lowlanders, mountaineers and the Bagos. Three towns (San Gabriel, Sudipen and Santol) were proposed for the planned province to be named Harrison, a former American Governor-General who championed filipinization and integration. However, protest resolutions were filed by the leaders of these municipalities unanimously objecting to their inclusion because of historical, economic, cultural and geographical reasons. As a result, the proposal did not push through. In 1922, Mountain Province relinquished Santol which became a municipal district of La Union. Santol was elevated into a regular municipality status in 1949 by virtue of Executive Order No. 214 issued by President Elpidio Quirino. The town of Santol is considered a safe harbor for there had been no distinct destruction of lives or properties during the historic events regarding wars and calamities. Such was true during the Spanish regime and Japanese occupation. Evidence of this is that Barrio Mangan was set aside as the place of the military emergency hospital. It was also here where the center of distribution of food supplies for army personnel was located. Barrio Banbanaba was the site of message center which is directly in touch with all the barrios of Balaoan, Santol, San Gabriel and Sudipen. Santol Central and Cadanglaan served as the grounds for training volunteers during the days nearing the landing of the Liberation Forces while Sammauting was the hiding place for the guerillas. There are two accounts as to how Santol derived its name. the first version states that the place was once a favorite hunting ground for people interested in sculpture of religious images. In one of their hunts for material sculpture, they saw a huge tree called Santol. The size of the tree was so remarkable that several images were carved out from a single trunk, thus made it their main material in wood carving. The second version states that during the Spanish occupation, soldiers passed by the area, but the women did not understand Spanish and presumed the soldiers were asking for the name of the fruits they were carrying. One of the women answered – “Santol, Apo.”. the soldiers also did not understand the dialect and all they remembered was the word Santol, hence, the name of the place.

Geography

Santol is situated in the north-eastern part of the Province of La Union. It is bounded on the north by the Municipality of Sudipen, on the north-east by the upland Municipality of Sugpon in Ilocos Sur, on the south by the Municipality of San Gabriel, and on the west by the Municipality of Balaoan. The town center of Santol is 40 km north of the City of San Fernando, the provincial capital and regional administrative center; 310 km north of Manila and 113 km of the country's summer capital Baguio via the Naguilian Road.

Barangays

Santol is politically subdivided into 4 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios. •Poblacion •Mangaan •Corro-oy •Sasaba

Climate

Demographics

In the 2024 census, the population of Santol, La Union, was 5,381people, with a density of undefined PD/km2.

Economy

Government

Local government

Santol, belonging to the first congressional district of the province of La Union, 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

Churches

Schools

Gallery