The 98 Barangays of Zamboanga City
If you are traveling to Zamboanga City, (Philippines) you can’t help but notice the remarkable mountain to the north side of the city. The mountain is called Columbato which translates to “column of stone”. The tagalogs erroneously (early 90’s) called columbato as “pulong-bato”. Pulong in tagalog means “meeting”. Columbato became a meeting place in the 90’s during Holy week because of the station of the cross at the base of Mt. Columbato. Tagalog government employees of the department of tourism picked up on this error. It is Columbato and should never be referred to as pulong bato.
A brief history of Zamboanga City
The entire Zamboanga peninsula was Zamboanga province. Zamboanga city was the capital of the Zamboanga province. In October 12, 1936 Zamboanga city became a chartered city and was carved out from the province but remained as the capital of the province. In September 17, 1952, via Republic Act No. 711 Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte was carved out from the province and the Zamboanga province no longer existed.
- June 23, 1635 should be symbolically known as “Dia del Chavacano de Zamboanga.” Why you might ask? This was the day that a permanent foothold was laid on Zamboanga by the Spanish government with the construction of the San José Fort (Fort Pilar), and the subsequent evolution and proliferation of a unique dialect/language based on ancient Creole Spanish that is called Chavacano de Zamboanga.
- The Republic of Zamboanga – Republic of Zamboanga (Revolutionary Government of Zamboanga): May 18, 1899 – Nov 16, 1899 (de facto) – This was the timeline when the new republic was independent and free of any foreign influence. It was short lived. But the Chavacanos tried.
Zamboanga City does have one big sharp and irritating THORN on its side. That is the Bangsamoro (Muslim Homeland). Because of the Moros, fort pilar was built. The moros refuse to live under the umbrella of the laws of the Philippines, they want their Islamic laws to be the governing rule of the land.
Zamboanga is about peace and unity where all Filipinos with different creeds and ethnicity have ONE homeland. The Bangsamoro does not believe in the Philippine Homeland. They want to create their own Islamic Homeland.
Zamboanga City will continue to be the champion against the Bangsamoro. The Bangsamoro lied when it said that the moros were the original inhabitants of Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan. The Bangsamoro is uniting the Muslims (Moros) against the Non-Muslims. They are separating themselves from the rest of the Filipinos by establishing their own Islamic Homeland. Bangsamoro is not about UNITY. It is about separatism and dominance.
Zamboanga’s fort pilar defended against the invasion of the Moros in the 17th century and to this day Zamboanga City continues to defend against the attacks of the Bangsamoro. Zamboanga City will continue in its campaign against the Bangsamoro militias (terrorist groups), the MILF and the MNLF. The Bangsamoro is not about PEACE. It is about DOMINANCE and take over.
The MNLF attacked Zamboanga City last September 9, 2013 (21 day siege), lives were lost, properties destroyed, and over 100,000 residents were displaced. The zamboangueños will not ever forget this atrocity.
Information Bonus:
Zamboanga also connects you to all the places in the Philippines. Zamboanga connects you to every single Barangay, Municipality, City, Province and Region.
Just click on any of these links BARANGAY | MUNICIPALITY | CITY | PROVINCE | REGION.
Zamboanga is unique. It has 98 barangays and its own language.
Learn Chavacano de Zamboanga, The language of Zamboanga City
Chavacano is the unique native dialect of the city, a mixture of Spanish and various other local dialects and international languages, and is one of the oldest spoken language in the country reflecting a rich linguistic history of its people. English is widely spoken around town, and is the main language of education and international commerce. Numerous international languages, like German, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Italian, and Spanish, are spoken here, giving light to its historical importance as an international investment and destination haven for over three-hundred years.
Many pronounce the “V” as “B”. It is OK to pronounce V as B in our dialect. But please be educated. Go ahead and say it as chabacano but write it down as CHAVACANO.
Visit the interactive Chavacano online Dictionary. This is where you can collaborate and help keep the Chavacano dialect alive.