Basay, officially the Municipality of Basay, is a 4th class municipality in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 28,531 people.
The town is home to the highly significant Minagahat language, the indigenous language of Southern Negros as listed by the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino. The language is vital to the culture and arts of the people.
Basay is from Dumaguete.
History
Upon its separation from Bayawan in 1971, Basay became Oriental Negros’ westernmost town, with Negros Occidental at its rear. Diocesan chronicles reveal that it was already a far-flung outpost in the nineteenth century. It perked up in the 70s when CDCP and INKO arrived to mine its copper and iron magnetite.
Basay is agricultural, with sugar cane, rice, corn and copra as major crops. Fringing its shoreline is the Mindanao Sea, considered the richest fishing waters in the country.
Three major rivers running parallel from north to south traverse the town. Balatong Point, also known as Punta Tambongon, was the landing site of a submarine bearing the biggest shipment of WWII ammunition for Negros Oriental. The party was headed by Col Jesus Villamor, acting on the personal direction of Gen Douglas MacArthur who was then in Australia.
The coves and shallow caves on the shoreline of Nagbo-alao are said to be enchanted. The Negros cave frog is endemic to Basay. Its Pagatban River is home to the alligator. Bal-os and Cabcaban springs are important sources of potable water as well as sunny picnic sites. Yardahan is a fishing village with fine swimming areas and game-fishing activities.
Basay is approximately a two-hour-and-a-half drive from Dumaguete.
Geography
Basay is located in the south of Negros Island on the coast of the Sulu Sea.
Barangays
Basay is politically subdivided into 10 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
Actin
Bal-os
Bongalonan
Cabalayongan
Cabatuanan
Linantayan
Maglinao
Nagbo-alao
Olandao
Poblacion
Climate
Demographics
Economy
Education
The public schools in the town of Basay are administered by one school district under the Schools Division of Bayawan City.
Elementary schools: Basay Central School — Burgos Street, Poblacion Bongalonan Elementary School — Bongalonan Cabalayongan Elementary School — Sitio Cansan-a, Cabalayongan Cabatuanan Elementary School — Cabatuanan Cabigti-an Elementary School — Sitio Cabigti-an, Maglinao Cleomenes Consolacion Fortugaleza Memorial Elementary School (formerly Actin ES) — Actin Datag Elementary School — Sitio Datag, Maglinao Don Pablo Carmen Blanco Utzurrum Memorial Elementary School — Nagbo-alao Linantayan Elementary School — Linantayan Maglinao Elementary School — Maglinao Monsale Elementary School — Bal-os Olandao Elementary School — Olandao Tiabanan Valley Elementary School — Sitio Sandig, Bongalonan
High schools: Andres V. Fortugaleza National High School (formerly Actin NHS) — Actin Bal-os National High School — Bal-os Basay National High School — Sitio Daro, Nagbo-alao Maglinao National High School — Maglinao