The expedition of Ferdinand Magellan that arrived in the Philippines on March 16, 1521, and the succeeding expeditions in the following decades, have not been able to reach the island of Negros. It was only in 1571 or fifty years later when Legaspi came that the island of Negros was discovered by the Spaniards. Historical accounts compiled by Prof. Caridad Aldecoa-Rodriguez, a renowned local historian, have in her book , "Oriental Negros and the Philippine Revolution”, that while anchored in the island of Bohol, Legaspi dispatched a frigate to reconnoiter the coasts of the islands that were visible from that point.
Most people in Dumaguete are fluent in English. The local dialect spoken here is Cebuano, and the national language is Tagalog.
Legaspi and his men found the natives inhospitable, but there were plenty of food in the island. It was during the time of Legaspi that distributions of big tracts of land (encomiendas) to 15 encomenderos residing in Cebu and Iloilo was done. Three of the encomiendas were the rios de Tanae (Tanjay), “Davi” (Dauin) and “Monalongon” (Manalongon) in the southern part of Oriental Negros. Tributes collected were, however, sent to Cebu or Iloilo governments where funds of Negros were administered. It was in 1734, that a separate military district government was established in the island.
As settlements in Oriental Negros continually grew and swelled out to other points along the coast, the sugar cane plantation expanded just as fast. Meantime, the government officials who resided in Bacolod could hardly cope up with government functions and rarely visited the Oriental part due to the inadequacy of roads and difficulty in communication facilities. Consequently, the socio-economic life of the Oriental Negrenses suffered a great setback. There was a pressing need for more officials to supervise closely government functions such as strengthening defenses against devastating Moro raids, apprehending and trying criminals, and opening of more curacies.
A petition to separate Oriental Negros from Negros Occidental was presented to the Governor General, recommending the town of Dumaguete as capital. Thirteen years later, Governor General Valeriano Weyler, in compliance with a royal decree dated October 25, 1889, established Oriental Negros as a separate province on January 1, 1890 with an estimated population (the Negritos living in the hinterland had no accurate counts) of 94,782 consisting of 17 towns of Guihulngan, Jimalalud, Tayasan, Ayungon, Manjuyod, Bais, Tanjay, Amlan, Ayuquitan, Sibulan, Dauin, Nueva Valencia, Bacong, Dumaguete, Zamboanguita, Siaton and Tolong. The appointed Politico-Militar was Joaquin Tavera.
The new province left no time concerning itself with local administration and development. Public works and other needs of the towns were attended to with public funds. A court of peace was put up in every town, and, at the provincial capital town, a Court of First Instance. But in the later part of 1898, Oriental Negros rebel forces under the leadership of Don Diego de la Viña, succeeded in driving the Spanish forces and government officials from all towns. On November 25, 1898, the Provincial Revolutionary Government of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo was established in Dumaguete, the capital town, with Don Demetrio Larena as Presidente.
On April 9, 1901, the Second Philippine Commission under the Chairmanship of William H. Taft, arrived in Dumaguete. On May 1, 1901, the civil government under American rule was established. On the same year, August 28, 1901, Dr. David S. Hibbard founded Silliman Institute now Silliman University.
In 1924, Hon. Herminigildo Villanueva was elected Governor and a Capitol Building was erected. The province experienced real war in a grand scale when World War II broke out in December 1941. The war, aside from the physical devastation wrecked throughout the province, also left painful scars which up to this date remain unhealed. But the people came out stronger and more determined. However, the people found out that the political independence they gained did not equate economic independence and self-sufficiency.
The struggle for the improvement of the quality of life still remains a quest for every Negrense along with the rest of the Filipino nation. Ninety years after 1901, the Local Government Code of 1991 (LGC) was made into law and took effect in January 1, 1992. With the advent of the LGC, a new era in local government finance and administration of reelectionist Governor, Dr. Emilio C. Macias II spearheaded Oriental Negros in the development of the ‘90s.
