Old folks of Canlaon mention of a pair of ill-starred lovers Princess Laon and Kang who were forced to elope to keep their warring chieftain fathers from breaking them apart. Unfortunately, the lovers were captured and doomed to die amidst the harsh conditions of the wilderness. From their deathbed rose Malaspina, a fabled volcano intermittently spewing lava. It was later called Canlaon, considered one of the highest peaks in the country, rising at 8,000 feet above sea level.
In the olden times, Canlaon was known as Sitio “Mabigo” of Barrio Panubigan,which was then under the Municipality of Vallehermoso, a place where bigo trees abound. This wilderness area was ruled by a native chieftain called “Saniko”. Later on , Mabigo became part of the sprawling property of Don Diego de la Viña in Vallehermoso. The area soon gained prominence as a hub of commerce and agriculture as migrants from Cebu, Bohol and Panay settled in the area. In 1941, an Ilocano geodetic engineer, Isidro Bautista Sr., who married a dela Viña girl, Natividad, along with Mabigo residents filed a petition urging the national government for Mabigo’s conversion into a municipality. However, war in the Pacific broke out and dimmed all hopes for the township. October 11, 1946 saw the creation of the Municipality of Canlaon, when then President Manuel Roxas issued Executive Order No. 19 declaring the separation of Mabigo and its surrounding sitios from Vallehermoso. Isidro Bautista Sr., became the first mayor of the municipality of Canlaon. Republic Act No. 3445 created the Chartered City of Canlaon on June 18, 1961. Its inauguration as a city came by virtue of EO No. 193 issued by then President Ferdinand Marcos on July 2, 1967.
II. Geography:
Situated on the eastern side of Mt. Canlaon, Canlaon City is bounded on the north by San Carlos City of Negros Occidental; on the east by Vallehermoso, and on the west by La Castellana of Negros Occidental. The city is 38 kms. from San Carlos City; 50 kms. from Guihulngan; 33 kms. from La Castellana; 166 kms. from Dumaguete City and 12.092 kms. from the provincial boundary. With a total land area of 160.7 sq. km.. Canlaon City is comprised of 13 barangays. Mt. Canlaon National Park covers 24,577 hectares while the mountain rises at 8,050 ft.
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