Buenavista, Agusan del Norte

History

The written history of Buenavista start in the year 1877. It was said that during this year a group of nomadic Manobo from the frontiers of Agusan found an ideal place for their tempora-fishing retreat and rendezvous.

Soon, the village of Tortosa was founded by two Christian pioneers, Innocentes Paler and Marcelo Dalaguida, who were later on joined by Luis Gupana and a handful of Manobo. Credited with a name to the village were a group of natives and Spaniards who visited the place to trade with the villagers and found the place to be abundant with the sea tortoise.

The fame of Tortosa as a good fishing was heard by the people of the neighboring Butuan. Thus a fresh wave migrants came to settle.

Later, Tortosa was renamed to Kihaw-an in memory of a white deer held sacred by the early inhabitants. It was said that this deer was found dead by the natives near the bank of the river which encircles the village. Its carcass was placed all over the village thus the village got the name Kihaw-an, a derivative of a local dialect "Baho-an", which literally mean "to smell", or "source of bad smell".

Soon the village got another new name. It was said that Adolfo Calo, a native of Butuan, together with some natives and Spaniards visited the place. They expanded their visits not only the coastal areas where flourishing because of the abundance of fish. At the top of the hill they saw the village overlooking the sea. They appreciated the beauty of nature in abundance. They exclaimed "Bien Vista", which means "Good View" thus the present name Buenavista.

Enticed by the abundance of fish and the good prospect for agriculture, a new wave migrants from the neighboring areas continued to flock to Buenavista. Between the years 1897-1907, settlers and their families were known to have settled in the place.

The only means of transportation was by banca or fishing boats, and by horseback trudging the small mountain trails. It was only sometime in the 1920s when Buenavista was connected to Butuan by means of road. It was also given power by the Marcon Electric Company of the Marcon family but later on, operation was taken over by the government-owned electric distribution facility.

Efforts of the pioneers paid off, because sometime in early 1920s, Buenavista was declared a regular barrio of the then Municipality of Butuan. As a barrio, Buenavista was able to form its own law-making body which was locally called Ang Tingug Sa Lungsod, whose members were known as podientes.

On January 1, 1937 the barrio of Buenavista, through Executive Order No. 65 issued by Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon, became the "Municipality of Buenavista" through the efforts of Assemblyman Apolonio D. Curato and Governor Jose R. Rosales, Commissioner of Mindanao and Sulu Teofisto Guingona Sr., and Secretary of Interior, Elpidio Quirino, with a set of appointed officials to serve for a period of one year.

Geography

Buenavista is located at 8°58′N 125°25′E.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 475.61 square kilometres (183.63 sq mi)  constituting 7001174200000000000♠17.42% of the 2,730.24-square-kilometre- (1,054.15 sq mi) total area of Agusan del Norte.

Barangays

Buenavista is politically subdivided into 25 barangays.

Demographics

In the 2015 census, Buenavista had a population of 61,614. The population density was 130 inhabitants per square kilometre (340/sq mi).

In the 2016 electoral roll, it had 39,936 registered voters.

Schools