Bokod, Benguet

According to folklore, Bokod, once a heavily forested village, got its name from a man named Ebokot (or Ekbot), who introduced agricultural development to the area.^[6] Ebokot's name was associated with the village and was registered as a pueblo during the Spanish Regime.^[7]

Bokod was established as one of the 19 townships of Benguet during the American Rule with the enactment of Act No. 48 on November 22, 1900.^[6][7][8][9]

On August 13, 1908, Benguet was established as a sub-province of the newly created Mountain Province with the enactment of Act No. 1876. As a result, six townships of Benguet were abolished, among them were Ambuklao and Daclan which were integrated into the township of Bokod.^[6][7][9]

Executive Order No. 24 dated March 23, 1910, signed by W. Cameroon Forbes created the township of Bokod.^[10]

One of the principal infrastructure in Bokod is the Ambuklao Dam. Built in 1950 and opened in 1956, it is one of the most important hydroelectric facilities in Luzon.

On June 25, 1963, President Diosdado Macapagal issued Executive Order No. 42 converting eight (8) of the thirteen (13) towns (designated as municipal districts) of Benguet sub-province into regular municipalities. Bokod was among them.^[11]

On June 18, 1966, the sub-province of Benguet was separated from the old Mountain Province and was converted into a regular province. Bokod remained to be a component municipality of the newly established province.^[12]

The Municipality of Bokod is located at 16°29′29″N 120°49′48″E / 16.4914°N 120.83°E / 16.4914; 120.83. It is bounded by Kabayan on the north-east, Atok on the north-west, Tublay on the mid-west, Itogon on the south-west, and Kayapa on the east.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 274.96 square kilometres (106.16 sq mi) ^[13] constituting 9.93% of the 2,769.08-square-kilometre- (1,069.15 sq mi) total area of Benguet.

Bokod is situated 48.98 kilometres (30.43 mi) from the provincial capital La Trinidad, and 299.88 kilometres (186.34 mi) from the country's capital city of Manila.

Bokod is politically subdivided into 10 barangays.^[14] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

PSGC	Barangay	Population			±% p.a.
		2024[15]		2010[16]
141104001	Ambuclao	20.5%	3,301	3,013	▴	0.66%
141104002	Bila	9.2%	1,484	991	▴	2.94%
141104003	Bobok‑Bisal	7.8%	1,246	1,086	▴	0.99%
141104004	Daclan	10.9%	1,748	1,748		0.00%
141104005	Ekip	6.0%	962	806	▴	1.28%
141104006	Karao	6.9%	1,111	958	▴	1.07%
141104007	Nawal	3.8%	605	743	▾	−1.46%
141104008	Pito	6.6%	1,065	838	▴	1.73%
141104009	Poblacion	14.4%	2,314	1,964	▴	1.18%
141104010	Tikey	3.7%	599	501	▴	1.29%
	Total		16,071	14,435	▴	0.77%

In the 2024 census, Bokod had a population of 16,071 people.^[22] The population density was 58 inhabitants per square kilometre (150/sq mi).

Poverty incidence of Bokod

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]}

Bokod, belonging to the lone congressional district of the province of Benguet, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.

The Bokod Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[32]

As of 2014, Bokod has 37 public elementary schools and 3 public secondary schools.^[33][34][35]

• Benguet State University Bokod Campus (BSAT) (Ambangeg)

• Immaculate Conception School of Bokod, Inc. (Poblacion)

• 
  Municipal hall
• 
  Downtown Bokod
• 
  Immaculate Conception Parish Church
• 
  A road in town
• 
  Pine forests in Bokod