Santa Catalina, Negros Oriental

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Santa Catalina is a municipality in Negros Oriental, Philippines, about 94 kilometers from Dumaguete. It covers 523.10 square kilometers and features mostly rolling hills, with some flat and steep areas. The town has 8 rivers and 27 springs. As of 2024, it has a population of 80,382 people and about 18,356 households. The main languages are Cebuano and Magahat, with Tagalog also spoken; the Minagahat language, native to southern Negros, is important to local culture.

The town name comes from the image of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, which is kept in the community chapel. Santa Catalina was formerly called Tolong. In the 1500s–1600s, Spanish missions began in the area, which included settlements known as Lunsod, Secopan, and Cawitan. The name Tolong came from a phrase meaning “The Three of You.” The poblacion moved to its present coastal site, and the Recollect friars built a church and other buildings around 1751. A balete tree near the old Tribunal House remains as a symbol of the old town.

In 1890, Negros Oriental became a separate province with Dumaguete as its capital. During the American period, Tolong Nuevo and Tolong Viejo were formed, with Tolong Nuevo becoming Bayawan. World War II brought Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, and Tolong Viejo served as a guerrilla base until liberation in 1945. On December 17, 1947, President Manuel Roxas renamed the area Santa Catalina, making it the 26th municipality of Negros Oriental. Tolong Nuevo became Bayawan, and the Tolong name disappeared.

Santa Catalina has a first-class municipal government with a mayor, vice mayor, and municipal council. As of 2025, about 49,144 people are eligible to vote. The town is divided into 22 barangays.

Economy and services include total revenue of about PHP 412.2 million (2022), assets around PHP 1,103 million, expenditures of PHP 297 million, and liabilities of PHP 257.2 million. The poverty rate was 32.22% in 2021. Electricity is provided by NORECO 2, and the ZIP code is 6220. The area falls in the PST time zone (UTC+8).

Education in Santa Catalina is organized into four school districts under the Schools Division of Negros Oriental, overseeing public schools across the town.