As Dapitan embraces the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century, its history provides a solid foundation for building a Smart City. The city's rich cultural heritage can be leveraged to create a unique and attractive destination for tourists and investors. The city's tradition of innovation can be harnessed to develop new technologies and solutions to urban challenges. And the city's spirit of cooperation can be used to build a strong and inclusive community.
In short, Dapitan's history is not just a relic of the past. It is a living force that can help shape the city's future as a Smart Heritage City.
DAPITAN BEGINNINGS
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Dapitan traces its beginnings long before the Spanish conquistadores set foot on the island of Mindanao. Its earliest settlers were the Subanens, a nomadic tribe of Indonesian stock known to have settled and lived along the banks of the river or “suba” out of which their present day tribal identify originated. Fear of pirates taking shelter during foul weather in the natural harbors of Dapitan’s irregular coastlines forced the timid Subanens to move further into the hinterlands.
Early cartographers of the Philippines showed Dapitan’s location in their maps of Mindanao in varying names in which they had known it such as: “Dapito” in Kaerius’ map of 1598, “Dapite” in Dudley’s map of 1646, “Dapyto” in Sanson’s map of 1652, and “Dapitan” in Moll’s map of East Indies 1729 and in Murillo Velarde’s map of 1734.
There are two versions of how Dapitan got its name. One is from Fr. Urdaneta, who called the place “Daquepitan” which was later changed to “Dacpitan” and still later to “Dapitan” because of the difficulty in pronouncing the former. The second version is derived from the word “Dapit” which means “to invite” in the local Cebuano dialect. This refers to the original group of Boholanos from Panglao, Bohol who were invited by Datu Pagbuaya, the acknowleged founder of the city, to go with him to the “Dakung Yuta”, that is Mindanao, and the settlement they established was called Dapitan. This is the traditional version of how Dapitan got its name.
In various historical reports, there are authentic accounts of trading voyages in the early periods and it is hinted that commercial relations may have been established with Dapitan, already a thriving settlement. It is probable that interaction occurred with the traders and there may have been a mingling of culture.
In addition, the divergent cultures brought by the European invaders, the Americans, the Japanese and the different Visayan groups of settlers in Dapitan which caused the emergence of a distinct culture the present crop of Dapitanons have.
THE TRANSITION FROM SPANISH SETTLEMENT TO TOWNSHIP
Dapitan was already a thriving settlement when Miguel Lopez de Legaspi arrived in 1595. It is believed that with Legaspi in the expedition were some Agustinian friars who converted the natives to Christianity. Foremost of the converts were Pedro Manooc, son of Pagbuaya, and Manooc’s daughter, Maria Uray.
Even long before the Jesuits were expelled from the Philippines in 1768, they had already established mission stations in Zamboanga, Dapitan, Iligan and Butuan. Outside of these strategic beachheads, however, the whole Mindanao hinterlands remained untouched by the Cross. The permanent Dapitan mission was founded in 1629 headed by a Jesuit missionary, Father Pedro Gutierrez.
It was only after the establishment of the Jesuit mission that a strong and stable form of government was finally erected. The Spanish authorities adopted the local form of government that was already existing but placed the officials under the absolute control of the Spanish government. The settlement came to be known as the “pueblo”, and its head variously called either “Datu”, “Capitan” or “Cabeza de Barangay”.
The politico-military commandancia of Dapitan until the end of the Spanish domination in 1898 was still dependent on Misamis. It was only during the revolutionary period that Dapitan became an integral part of the Filipino forces in Zamboanga.
During the American occupation, Dapitan continued to be a part of Zamboanga, one of the two districts comprising the Provincia Mora. Dapitan remained a part of Zamboanga province until 1952 when it was divided into two provinces, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur.
The first election for the Provincial Governor of Zamboanga took place in 1922. Atty. Florentino Saguin, a Dapitanon, won over two opponents who were leading citizens and political veterans of Zamboanga City. In the second regular election in 1925, another Dapitanon, Don Jose Aseniero, was elected governor of the province.
