Tagu

City

m
History of tagum
 Tribes

Mandaya Maguindanaon Kagan

• Tagum was originally inhabited by Mandaya, Maguindanaon, and Kagan tribes.

• Mid-1800s, Part of Sultanate of Maguindanao, ruled by Datu Bago with capital in

Pinagurasan (now Davao City).

• Spanish led by Don Jose Cruz de Uyanguren arrived in 1848 to conquer Tagum.

• Datu Bago and his warriors resisted for three months but eventually abandoned
Tagum to the Spanish.

• Spanish renamed the settlement Nueva Vergara in 1848, later renamed Davao in
1867.

• Datu Bago relocated to Hijo (Barangay Madaum), continued resistance until his
death in 1850. Buried in Barangay Pagsabangan, where his descendants continue to
honor him.
• Muslim tribes, led by their datus, continued resisting Spanish rule long after
Datu Bago's death in 1850.

• Governor Don Jose Pinzon y Purga aimed to establish settlements for

Mandayans at Hijo River, causing outrage among Moro tribes fearing land loss.

• In 1861, datus of Hijo River plotted and successfully assassinated Governor

Pinzon and 8 colleagues.

• Successive governors of Davao persisted with reduction plans, establishing

settlements at Hijo, Bincungan, and Pagsabangan by 1885.

• Moro Kalagans retaliated with attacks on Mandayan settlements, resulting in

prolonged conflict until American arrival in 1899.
 Rise to
Townhood
• Spanish authority in Davao ended after the Philippine Revolution, with Americans assuming
control.

• American prospectors arrived in 1906, establishing plantations at Busaon, Bincungan, and

Hijo.

• Tagum became a municipal district of Davao on March 10, 1917, under Act No. 2711, with
its government center at Hijo in present-day Barangay Madaum.

• Transformation of Tagum started in October 1929 with the arrival of Christian immigrant
Sulpicio Quirante, followed by settlers from Cebu, Luzon, and Visayas, leading to the
formation of the Magugpo Homesteaders' Association and land development initiatives.
• In 1932, Engineers Ignacio and Alib, with 15 laborers, surveyed the trail for the National
Highway.

• Before the highway's construction, travel from Davao City to Tagum relied on boats via the
Hijo and Tagum Rivers.

• Early landmarks in Magugpo, including a school, teacher's cottage, rest house, and chapel,
were built by the Homesteaders' Association in the early 1930s, marking the community's
initial infrastructure development.
• In 1941, Assemblyman Cesar Sotto sponsored a bill to incorporate Tagum from a municipal
district into a municipality.

• Tagum officially became a town on June 23, 1941, through Executive Order No. 352 by
Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon, maintaining Hijo as its seat of government.

• Manuel Baura Suaybaguio and Sulpicio Quirante were appointed as the first Mayor and Vice
Mayor respectively.

• The outbreak of World War II in December 1941 devastated Magugpo, leaving only five
houses standing after liberation.
Contemporary
History
• The local government of Magugpo was established with its first election in 1947, with
Manuel Baura Suaybaguio remaining as Mayor and Lucio Berdida becoming Vice Mayor.

• Magugpo was officially renamed Tagum through a municipal council resolution, and in 1948,
Mayor Suaybaguio relocated the seat of government from Hijo to Magugpo Poblacion.

• Panabo Municipality was created the following year, with Vice Mayor Lucio Berdida
appointed as its first Mayor, leading to Macario Bermudez becoming Tagum's Vice Mayor.
In the 1950s, under the administrations of
Mayors Eliseo Villanueva Wakan and
Hermigildo Baluyo, Tagum saw
significant development including road
construction, establishment of the
Municipal Hall, Municipal Health Center,
and a public market donated by the
Pereyras family.
Tagum's economy flourished due
to the booming abaca and coconut
industries in the early 1950s,
attracting traders from neighboring
municipalities.
The establishment of Holy Cross College
(now St. Mary's College) and Mindanao
Colleges (now University of Mindanao)
in Tagum bolstered its educational
offerings, positioning the town as a
potential educational center outside
Davao City.
Tagum became the capital town of Davao
del Norte province in 1967, following the
division of Davao into three provinces: Del
Norte, Del Sur, and Oriental.
Cityhood
Tagum achieved elevation from a second to a
first-class municipality during the 1990s,
increasing its financial resources through
Internal Revenue Allocation (IRA) and local
revenues under Mayor Victorio R. Suaybaguio,
Jr.'s leadership from 1988 to 1998.
Tagum expanded its barangays in 1995, dividing
Barangay Poblacion into Barangay Magugpo
North, South, East, and West to accommodate its
increasing population and urban growth.
Tagum achieved a significant
milestone in the 1990s with its
conversion from a municipality to a
component city of Davao del Norte
through Republic Act 8472,
sponsored by Congressman
Baltazar Sator and Senator Vicente
Sotto III, following public hearings
and approvals in both houses of
Congress.
As City of
Tagum
U n d er th e l ead er s h i p of M a y or Rey T. U y,
Tag u m Ci ty has f ocu s ed on ra p i d
u r b a n i z a ti on , i n f ra s tr u ctu re d ev el op m en t,
a n d i m p rov i n g p u b l i c f a ci l i ti es , s u p p or ted by
th e Ci ty Leg i s l ati v e Cou n ci l a n d LGU
org an i z a ti on s .
• K n ow n f or i ts f es ti v e s p i r i t, Tag u m ea r n ed
th e ti tl e " P a l m Tre e Ci ty of th e
P h i l i p p i n es " i n 2 0 0 6 a n d b oa s ts u n offi ci a l
re cords l i ke th e ta l l es t Ch r i s tm a s tre e i n
th e cou n tr y a t 1 5 3 f eet, l oca ted at
F re ed om P a r k , an d th e wor l d 's l arg es t
i ro n wood ro s ar y a t Ch r i s t Th e K i n g
Ca th ed ra l .
• Tag u m a ch i eved s econ d F i r s t-Cl as s ci ty
s ta tu s i n D a v ao R eg i on i n 2 0 0 8 , wi th a n
i m p re s s i v e com b i n ed i n com e re cog n i z ed
by th e D ep ar tm en t of F i n an ce an d
D ep a r tm en t of th e I n ter i or an d Local
G ov er n m en t.
Thank you!