Dumaguete

"Dumaguete" was coined from the Cebuano word dagit, which means "to snatch". The word dumaguet, meaning "to swoop", was coined because of frequent raids by Moro pirates on this coastal community and its power to attract and keep visitors, both local and foreign. In 1572, Diego López Povedano indicated the place as Dananguet, but cartographer Pedro Murillo Velarde in 1734 already used present name of Dumaguete for the settlement.[9]

Aerial view of Dumaguete, date unknown

Aerial view of Dumaguete in 2020

Dumaguete has a land area of 3,362 hectares (8,310 acres), situated on the plains of the southeastern coast of the large island of Negros, near the mouth of the Banica River. Of the province's 19 municipalities/towns and 6 cities, Dumaguete is the smallest in terms of land area. It is bounded on the north by the town of Sibulan, on the south by the town of Bacong and on the west by the town of Valencia.

As a coastal city, it is bounded on the east by the Bohol Sea and the Tañon Strait, serving as a natural border of the island of Negros. The city's topography is generally flat from two to six kilometers from the shoreline. It slopes gently upwards to the adjoining municipality of Valencia. The highest ground elevation is located at the boundary of the municipality of Valencia, about one hundred meters above mean sea level. About 93% of the land have slopes of less than 3%. The remaining areas have 3% to 5% slope.

Barangays

Dumaguete's barangays

Dumaguete is politically subdivided into 30 barangays, all classified as urban. The eight barangays in the city's downtown area are known primarily by number. The smallest barangay is Barangay 4 with an area of only 5.11 hectares, while the biggest barangay is Barangay Banilad with 362.71 hectares.

• Bagacay
• Bajumpandan
• Balugo
• Banilad
• Bantayan
• Barangay 1 (Tinago)
• Barangay 2 (Upper Lukewright)
• Barangay 3 (Business District)
• Barangay 4 (Rizal Boulevard)
• Barangay 5 (Silliman Area)
• Barangay 6 (Cambagroy)
• Barangay 7 (Mangga)
• Barangay 8 (Cervantes Extension)
• Batinguel
• Buñao
• Cadawinonan
• Calindagan
• Camanjac
• Candau-ay
• Cantil-e
• Daro
• Junob
• Looc
• Mangnao-Canal
• Motong
• Piapi
• Pulantubig
• Tabuc-tubig
• Taclobo
• Talay

As of the census in 2015, there are 131,377 people and 21,582 households residing in the city (as of 2010). The city has the least poverty incidence among urban centers in Visayas, according to the 2009 Small Area Estimates (SAE) of Poverty done by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). It has an average daylight population of 400,000 people. Dumaguete is the most populous city in Negros Oriental, comprising 9.05% of the province's total population. Its total voting population is 89,193 voters (2019).

The Philippine Retirement Authority, a government agency under the Department of Tourism, has named the city as the "Best Place to Retire in the Philippines for 2018".[24] Dumaguete is also listed 5th in Forbes Magazine's "7 Best Places to Retire Around the World".[25]

Data from the Department of Tourism show that Dumaguete, the province main gateway and Negros Oriental are listed among the top ten most visited tourist destinations in the country.[37]

Historical Landmarks

Rizal Boulevard is known for its sugar mansions and prominent ancestral houses that are now mostly converted into hotels, local-based and nationally known coffee shops, fine-dining restaurants and bars. Dumaguete People's Park, a 1.9 hectares reclaimed area, is the newest attraction located at the south end of Rizal Boulevard. This area, so-called Pantawan 3 by the locals, is extended up to the mouth of Banica River will have sand courts and shoreline protection for the coastal barangay of Poblacion 1 Tinago.

Baywalk is the popular site of both locals and visitors for relaxing, dining and doing morning or late afternoon exercises. Food carts installed beside the Pantawan area selling Filipino street food such as balut, tempura, kikiam, fishballs and the like. The boulevard extension to the north from the city's port (where the name changes to Flores Avenue and Escaño Drive) are now dotted with new hotels, resort, restaurants and bars, with views of the bay and neighboring islands such as Cebu, Sumilon, Bohol on a clear weather and another angle of Siquijor.

The St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral is known as the oldest stone church of Negros Island and the home of ecclesiastical seat of the bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Dumaguete. The detached Campanario of the cathedral is considered one of the oldest heritage landmarks of Dumaguete City and Central Visayas. Meanwhile, La Presidencia, the old City Hall, is being restored to its original design and will become a branch of the National Museum in Dumaguete. The cathedral, belfry, and museum are all located beside Quezon Park named after the Philippine first President of the Commonwealth, Manuel L. Quezon.

Silliman Hall is a home of university's Anthropology Museum.

Festivals

One of the cities' important annual celebration is the Sandurot Festival, which is held every September to commemorate of Dumaguete's history. The celebration is started with the Paghimamat, a re-enactment of how people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds came to Dumaguete, bringing gifts of rich cultures. Pasigarbo followes, gracing the City streets with dancing to drumbeats and other instruments participated by different barangays and schools in Dumaguete. The street dancing ends at Quezon Park after which the participants prepare for the grand Pasundayag, a display of dances portraying different stories of the Dumaguete tradition.

Another important annual occasion is the Buglasan Festival, also known locally as the "Festival of all festivals", which is held in the whole Negros Oriental province every October since 2002. Though this is a province-wide event sponsored by the provincial government, the activities are mostly centered in the province's capital, Dumaguete. Majority of activities are held in the Provincial Capitol and Ninoy Aquino's Freedom Park with booths and local products either on display or for sale, it is also spread to other venues such as Sidlakan Negros Village at Barangay Piapi and city's Rizal Boulevard. Showdowns and street dancing are among the activities done in observance of the festival.

Dumaguete has four major tertiary hospitals, namely the Holy Child Hospital, Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital, ACE Dumaguete Doctors Hospital and the Silliman University Medical Center which is currently associated with St. Luke's Medical Center in Metro Manila.[38]

Dumaguete City has hosted numerous Asian, national, regional and provincial sports events, such as 4th Asian University Basketball Federation (AUBF) 2005, the 2013 Palarong Pambansa, 2012 Philippine National Games (POC-PSC), Philippine Volleyball League, National Frisbee Championship, Batang Pinoy Visayas, Dumaguete Dragon Boat Challenge, Unigames, CVIRAA, the Palarong NIR for short-lived Negros Island Region among others. The Don Mariano Perdices Memorial Coliseum hosted the 2010 Central Visayas Regional Athletic Meet and 2013 Palarong Pambansa that was located in Dumaguete. Its capacity was 25,000 people with rubberized track oval, main lobby, dormitory, and hostel. Beside it is the Olympic size swimming pool known as Lorenzo G. Teves Memorial Aqua Center. Lamberto Macias Sports Complex is an indoor arena located near the coliseum which can accommodate around 6,000 people.[42]

New Julio Sy Grandstand at the SU Filomeno Cimafranca Ballfield

There are also school-based sports facilities like the Filomeno Cimafranca Ballfield better known as Silliman University Ballfield, Ballfield at Foundation University North Campus, DCNHS Oval and Don Bosco Ballfield may use as other venues to hold sports related activities in the city. Meanwhile, the RUSI Race Track in Brgy. Bajumpandan is the popular venue for motorcross racing sport.

Dumaguete is known as the "Center of Learning in the South," or a university city due to the presence of universities. Here are some of the noteworthy academic institutions in the city:

Statue of Jose Rizal as a Student built in 1961 at the Social Garden of Foundation University Main Campus.

• Foundation University (FU, 1949) is a private non-sectarian university with its Main Campus located at Miciano Road, offering tertiary education programs, while North Campus along Locsin Street is the home of Foundation Preparatory Academy for its basic education programs. Known as the birthplace of Negros Oriental's Buglasan Festival, the university takes pride in being known as a creative institution known for its ventures on the development of local arts and culture. The university was named as National Champion by the DENR-EMB for the 2015 Most Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Campus. Just recently, FU was converted into a fully solar-powered campus.

CNDPAHS Building and Amphitheater, NORSU Main Campus

• Negros Oriental State University (NORSU, 1907) is a province-only state university, with two main campuses in the city. The Main Campus 1 is beside the Provincial Capitol building, while Main Campus 2 is located in barangay Bajumpandan. It is the first academic institution in the country to offer BS Geothermal Engineering. CHED designated Center of Development for its Teacher Education program.

Dumaguete is best known for Silliman University.[43]

• Silliman University (SU, 1901) is the dominant institution of higher learning in Dumaguete, providing the city with a university town atmosphere. It is the first Protestant university in the country and the first American university in Asia. The 610,000 square metres (6,600,000 sq ft) campus is adjacent to and intermixed with the city's downtown district.[44] Some of its buildings have likewise been recognized as landmarks, including the Silliman Hall, Hibbard Hall, Katipunan Hall, the Luce Auditorium, and the Silliman Main Library (considered one of the biggest libraries in the Philippines).[1][45][46][47] CHED designated Center of Excellence for its Nursing, Teacher Education, Marine Science and Information Technology while Center of Development for its Anthropology, Biology, Accountancy and Medical Technology programs.

• St. Paul University Dumaguete (SPUD, 1904) is the first Saint Paul educational institution to be established in the Philippines by the Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres (SPC) from France and second oldest Catholic university of Central Visayas. It is recognized by CHED as full autonomy status Higher Education Institution (HEI).

• Colegio de Santa Catalina de Alejandria (COSCA, 1959) run by Catholic Diocesan clergy is located beside Dumaguete Cathedral Church. Formerly known as Dumaguete Cathedral College and mother to all schools in the Diocesan Schools System, it offers complete academic programs from pre-school to college. COSCA flagship courses are Commerce/Business Administration, Criminology, Midwifery and Radiologic Technology.

• Metro Dumaguete College (MDC, 2002) is an academic institution with campus in Barangay Daro, offering Senior High School program, ladderized TESDA accredited Technical Vocational programs and other 4-year college courses.

• Holy Cross High School (HCHS, 1928) is a private academic institution situated along Noblefranca Street. It was originally founded as Dumaguete Chinese School on July 15, 1928, and it was renamed Dumaguete Chinese High School after its high school department was created. The school was again renamed Holy Cross High School in 1968 to correct the wrong impression of the public that the school is only open to students of Chinese ancestry. The school was established by the Dumaguete Chinese Chamber of Commerce that aims to provide knowledge not only about the Philippines but also the Chinese rich culture, arts, and virtues. Holy Cross High School implements a K to 12 basic education curriculum that offers pre-school, grade school, junior and senior high school. It is under the resolution ordered by the Department of Education (DepEd). It has a STEM strand, the ABM strand, GAS under the Academic track for its senior high school program.

• Saint Louis School of Don Bosco, Inc. (SLSDB, 1967) also known as Don Bosco Dumaguete had its beginning in 1966 when the CICM priest Fr. Paul de Middeleer came to Dumaguete and started the institution. The late Governor Mariano Perdices helped the missionaries to buy the 10 hectares campus from Atty. Miciano for the almost symbolic price of 90 centavos per square meter. The first building was constructed in June 1966, the month when SLS-Don Bosco also opened for enrollment. On July 1 the classes were opened with 20 children in Kindergarten, 22 in Grade one and 52 students in first year. The year 1967 is the year when CICM Fathers founded St. Louis School and 1986 is the year when the Salesians of Don Bosco took over.

• Catherina Cittadini School (CCS, 1991) is a private Catholic institution founded by Ursuline Sisters of St. Jerome Emiliani in SOMASCA, Dumaguete City which offers pre-school, grade school and junior high school programs. The school is named after Blessed Caterina Cittadini, was an Italian Roman Catholic religious from Bergamo who established the Ursuline Sisters of Saint Jerome Emiliani and in the year 1824 who became a public school teacher for girls in Somasca. The campus is located in Brgy. Calindagan with its motto, "Educa Te Et Mundum Educabis" translated in English would be "Educate Yourself and You Will Educate the World". It has also a campus situated in the City of San Pedro, Laguna established in the year 2005.

Dumaguete has the following sister cities:

• 
  Silliman Avenue near the "Gate of Knowledge" of Silliman University
• 
  St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral
• 
  Dumaguete Belfry with grotto
• 
  Dumaguete City Hall
• 
  Provincial Capitol of Negros Oriental
• 
  Dumaguete Public Market

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dumaguete.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Dumaguete.

• Official Website of the City of Dumaguete
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Statistics Authority
• "Dumaguete" . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.