Governance
The newly created municipality was governed by duly elected gobernadorcillos like:
| Term | Gobernadorcillios/Mayors |
|---|---|
| 1853–1855 | Don Juan Cavales |
| 1856–1857 | Don Antonio Prima |
| 1858–1859 | Don Eulogio Cavales |
| 1876–1878 | Don Patricio Tubia |
| 1885–1887 | Don Nicolas Idjao - When he became gobernadorcillo, he transferred the poblacion (seat of government) to the barrio of Libagon, being a native to the place. The Poblacion (town proper) of Sogod then became Sogod Viejo (sometimes called Sogod Del Norte), meaning Old Sogod and Libagon became Sogod Nuevo (sometimes called Sogod Del Sur), meaning New Sogod. |
| 1887–1889 | Don Eleuterio Faelnar |
| 1891–1893 | Don Luis Espina |
| 1893–1895 | Don Nicolas Idjao |
| 1895–1897 | Don Luis Espina - It was also during this time that the seat of the parish was transferred to Libagon. |
| 1903–1904 | Captain Don Benito Faelnar - He became the first Capitan Municipal (equivalent to present-day Mayor), the seat of government was transferred to Poblacion Sogod. |
| 1904–1905 | Capitan Ladislao Decenteceo - He transferred the seat of government again from Poblacion Sogod to Barangay Consolacion. He was proclaimed winner after Faelnar run for re-election and lost. The voting process was done by whispering the name of a candidate of the voter's choice to the municipal secretary. |
| 1905–1907 | Capitan Dionisio Labata - He is the first candidate in the town who won the first election of municipal president by balloting (replacing the Capitan Municipal), serving for 1905 to 1907. |
| 1908–1912 | Capitan Gregorio Leviste |
| 1912–1916 | Don Vicente Cariño - as municipal president (the term "Capitan Municipal" was defunct, after the arrival of the Americans and changed it to municipal president), the seat of government was restored to Sogod, being centrally located while Barangay Consolacion in the southern extreme of the municipality. On October 16, 1913, Libagon was made an independent municipality, appointing the first municipal president of Libagon, Mariano Espina. |
| 1917–1919 | Don Estanislao Flores |
| 1920–1922 | Don Floro Espina |
| 1923–1925 | Don Filomeno Mercado |
| 1926–1931 | Don Gervacio Cadavos - Governed the municipality after its return. Cadavos was later succeeded by Severino Macasocol, who due untimely death, served as mayor only for several months in 1941 to 1942. |
| 1941–1942 | Severino Macasocol |
| 1943–1944 | Hospicio Labata |
| 1944–1947 | Francisco Villamor |
| 1950–1951 | Cecilio Gonzales |
| 1952–1955 | Gregorio Bagares |
| 1956–1959 | Jovencio Caday |
| 1960–1964 | Jose Veloso |
| 1964–1986 | Ignacio Siega |
| 1986 – November 30, 1987 | Doctor Gonzalo D. Yong Jr. |
| December 1, 1987 – January 1, 1998 | Oscar T. Rio |
| January 2, 1998 – March 27, 1998 | Doctor Gonzalo D. Yong Jr. |
| March 28, 1998 – June 30, 1998 | Amalia M. Yap |
| July 1, 1998 – June 30, 2004 | Doctor Edmundo R. Villa |
| July 1, 2004 – Present | Shefferd Lino Siengco Tan |
- On the 2004 Philippine General Elections, Shefferd Lino Siengco Tan won against the incumbent mayor, Doctor Edmundo Reyes Villa. During his term, the municipality undergoes multiple changes and become the leading progressive center in the province. Again, Tan was reelected as municipal mayor of Sogod in the 2007 elections, after a close-fisted fight against the opponent, Colonel George Rabusa, a resigned top military official that served the municipality for a couple of years. During those days, the municipality was appointed by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) as "election hotspot", because tensions abrupt between the two parties.
- Tan was also running for reelection for the 2010 Philippine General Elections. Fortunately, he won a landslide victory against the former mayor, Ignacio "Igning" Siega, to whom he served the town for twenty years. Siega's known development in the town during the Marcos regime was the improvement and building the first stable municipality hall which was made out of concrete and wood. This time, this is the third term where he is the mayor of Sogod, serving the municipality for three straight consecutive years (July 1, 2004-June 30, 2007; July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2010 and July 1, 2010 until present).
- To date, Sogod has a total population of 42,460 distributed among forty-five (45) barangays on a land area of 19,270 hectares or 192.7 square kilometers. Being the center of Southern Leyte mainland, Sogod has become the link between Leyte province and the Pan-Philippine National Highway. The town has still an untapped economy which could contribute to its development as another commercio-industrial center giving socio-economic lifeblood to trade and culture in the Eastern Visayas Region.
Read more about this topic: Sogod, Southern Leyte, Municipal History
Famous quotes containing the word governance:
“He yaf me al the bridel in myn hand,
To han the governance of hous and land,
And of his tonge and his hand also;”
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?–1400)