Dumaguete, officially the City of Dumaguete (Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Dumaguete), is a 3rd class

component city and capital of the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2015
census, it has a population of 131,377 people. [4] It is the capital and most populous city of the province
of Negros Oriental.

Dumaguete is referred to as a university city because of the presence of four universities and a number
of other colleges where students of the province converge to enroll for tertiary education. The city is
also a popular educational destination for students of surrounding provinces and cities in Visayas and
Mindanao. The city is best known for Silliman University, the first Protestant and American university in
the country and in Asia.[6][7] There are also 18 public elementary schools and 8 public high schools. The
city's student population is estimated at 45,000.[1]

The power source of the city comes from the geothermal power plant in Palinpinon, Valencia. The city
has redundant fiber optic lines and is a focal point for telecommunications. It is the landing point for
fiber optic cables linking it to the whole Visayas, Manila (the capital of the nation) and cities south of
Luzon, as well as to other cities north of Mindanao. Scholars have been pushing for the city's inclusion in
the tentative list of the Philippines for future UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination.

Etymology

"Dumaguete" was coined from the Cebuano word dagit, which means "to snatch". The word dumaguet,
meaning "to swoop", was coined because of frequent raids by Moro pirates on this coastal community
and its power to attract and keep visitors, both local and foreign. In 1572, Diego López Povedano
indicated the place as Dananguet, but cartographer Pedro Murillo Velarde in 1734 already used present
name of Dumaguete for the settlement.[9]

History

Capital after Division

The island of Negros was divided into the provinces of Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental by a royal
decree executed by Governor General Valeriano Weyler on January 1, 1890. Dumaguete was made the
first and only capital of the new Negros Oriental Province.

Philippine Revolution

During 1898, months after the arrival of Emilio Aguinaldo from exile, the Negros Revolution suddenly
broke-out. Negros Occidental Province, which was still ruled by the Spanish authorities, eventually
surrendered to the Negrense Revolutionary Forces after a battle on November 6. They then began a
week-long march which captured Dumaguete on the 24th. By this time, the Spanish forces had left the
entirety of Negros. The "Negros Republic" was then proclaimed on November 27th.
World War II

Imperial Japanese forces landed at Dumaguete on 26 May 1942, after the fall of the Philippines, and all
of Negros Oriental Province surrendered shortly thereafter. Resistance against the Japanese occupation
continued by guerilla groups in the inner mountains, where many native residents had fled to. The local
Negrense guerillas attacked the remaining Japanese officials and troops on August 6, 1945, and after
their victory they welcomed combined American and Filipino forces that formally liberated Negros
Oriental.

Geography

Rizal Boulevard

Dumaguete has a land area of 3,362 hectares (8,310 acres), situated on the plains of the southeastern
coast of the large island of Negros, near the mouth of the Banica River. Of the province's 19
municipalities/towns and 6 cities, Dumaguete is the smallest in terms of land area. It is bounded on the
north by the town of Sibulan, on the south by the town of Bacong and on the west by the town of
Valencia.

As a coastal city, it is bounded on the east by the Bohol Sea and the Tañon Strait, serving as a natural
border of southeastern Negros Island Region to the neighboring Central Visayas. The city's topography is
generally flat from two to six kilometers from the shoreline. It slopes gently upwards to the adjoining
municipality of Valencia. The highest ground elevation is located at the boundary of the municipality of
Valencia, about one hundred meters above mean sea level. About 93% of the land have slopes of less
than 3%. The remaining areas have 3% to 5% slope.

Climate

Dumaguete has a tropical savannah climate, bordering a tropical monsoon climate according to the
Köppen Climate classification with two distinct seasons. Namely; a dry and a wet seasons. The wet
season covers the period from June to November, and the dry season starts from December to May, the
hottest being April and May. The average maximum temperature is 34.3 °C and the average minimum
temperature is 22.9 °C for the past years. The relative humidity of the locality for the past years was 78¾
% with the month of December registering the highest.

Climate data for Dumaguete (1981–2010, extremes 1910–2012)

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Year
Record high °C (°F) 33.7

(92.7) 34.2

(93.6) 34.2

(93.6) 36.8

(98.2) 36.2

(97.2) 37.4

(99.3) 36.6

(97.9) 36.7

(98.1) 37.0

(98.6) 36.1

(97.0) 34.7

(94.5) 34.2

(93.6) 37.4

(99.3)

Average high °C (°F) 29.0

(84.2) 29.2

(84.6) 30.0

(86.0) 31.0

(87.8) 31.7

(89.1) 31.6

(88.9) 31.3

(88.3) 31.7

(89.1) 31.5

(88.7) 31.0

(87.8) 30.5

(86.9) 29.7

(85.5) 30.7

(87.3)

Daily mean °C (°F) 26.8

(80.2) 26.8

(80.2) 27.3

(81.1) 28.1

(82.6) 28.6

(83.5) 28.2

(82.8) 27.8

(82.0) 27.9

(82.2) 27.8

(82.0) 27.7

(81.9) 27.7

(81.9) 27.2

(81.0) 27.7

(81.9)

Average low °C (°F) 24.5

(76.1) 24.3

(75.7) 24.6

(76.3) 25.2

(77.4) 25.4

(77.7) 24.9

(76.8) 24.3

(75.7) 24.2

(75.6) 24.2

(75.6) 24.4

(75.9) 24.8

(76.6) 24.8

(76.6) 24.6

(76.3)

Record low °C (°F) 19.3

(66.7) 19.8
(67.6) 19.6

(67.3) 18.9

(66.0) 20.7

(69.3) 20.7

(69.3) 19.8

(67.6) 20.5

(68.9) 18.0

(64.4) 20.8

(69.4) 20.4

(68.7) 19.8

(67.6) 18.0

(64.4)

Average rainfall mm (inches) 82.0

(3.23) 61.4

(2.42) 46.3

(1.82) 53.7

(2.11) 81.8

(3.22) 129.7

(5.11) 122.7

(4.83) 110.6

(4.35) 127.3

(5.01) 156.7

(6.17) 138.7

(5.46) 107.3

(4.22) 1,218.4

(47.97)

Average rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm) 13 10 8 6 10 14 16 13 15

16 14 15 150

Average relative humidity (%) 83 82 81 78 78 79 80 80 81

82 81 82 81
Source: PAGASA[10][11]