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TANGUB CITY |
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The chain of events
that led to the creation of Tangub as a city started in 1929,
some sixty-four years ago, when it became a municipality by
virtue of an executive order by American Governor-General Dwight
Davis. In this process, Tangub was separated from its mother
municipality of Misamis, now Ozamiz City. The new municipality
of Tangub then included all the barrios of the present
municipality of Bonifacio, formerly known as Digson. Bonifacio
became a municipality, shortly before the outbreak of the Second
World War with Hon. Demetrio Fernan as municipal mayor.
Tangub City is flanked by the municipality of
Bonifacio in the south and Ozamiz City in the north. It is in
the southern part of Misamis Occidental. From the mountain
barangays of Owayan, San Antonio, Salimpuno, Kimat or Hohohoy,
one can see the splendor of Tangub City's entire landscape
stretching into the Panguil Bay - an alluring sight that can he
a balm to a distraught and depressed heart.
The records at the National Census and Statistics
Office in Ozamiz City shows that Tangub City has a total land
area of 141.54 square kilometers. It is composed of 55
barangays. It’s agricultural with coconut accounting for about
62% of the total land area Coconut, corn, and rice farming are
the main occupation of the people; majority of those who are
residing along the coastal areas are engaged in fishing.
To understand the present about Tangub City, the
modern-day Tangubanons, the youth precisely, must make a
backward glance at the past. It will help them move foreword to
realize the goals of the National leadership for Philippines
2000. The name Tangub
was derived from the Subano word “Tangkob” which means a big
bamboo basket for storing rice. The ethnic Subanos or Suban-ons,
the first inhabitants of Tangub who dwelt near the rivers
subsisted on crops planted on burnt forest clearings known as 'kaingin”.
The Subano “datus” at that time include Laras Angcap of Upper
Caniangan and the neighboring barrios near the Malindang
Mountain, Ala Tagdulang of Lower Caniangan and the adjacent
barrios; Baluran Subano of Silangit and the neighboring barrios,
and Sandal Empil of Bintana and the neighboring barrios. Like
Laras Angcap, Sandal Empil of Bintana had several wives. His
wives were Dayano, Boriring, Magamay, Charing and Erea. Mr.
Andres Angcap, presently a “Timoay” leader and public Elementary
Schools Head Teacher and his sister, Mrs. Virginia Angcap
Maghuyop, Public Elementary Grades teacher of Sinacaban, Misamis
Occidental, are grandchildren of the late Laras Angcap. Mrs.
Francisca Sardual Compayan, also a Public Elementary Grades
Teacher, is a granddaughter of Baluran Subano.
When the team of Spaniards exploring the vicinity of a “kaingin”
site asked a Subano about the name of the place, he answered
“tangkob” thinking they were asking him about the name of the
big bamboo rice basket he was making. Because of the wide
communication gap, the Spaniards misinterpreted the Subano and
since then they began to call the place Tangob, omitting the
letter “K”. However, Christian settlers gradually changed the
letter “O” to “u”, with the passage of years “Tangob” at last
became “Tangub”.
Nourished by speculations of an abundant and
comfortable life ahead, Christian settlers from the island
provinces of Cebu, Negros, Bohol, Siquijor, and other parts of
the Visayas rushed to the new frontier that was Tangub. Tangub
was the land of promise; it became the symbol of hope for the
hard pressed who longed for a meaningful release from the curbs
of everyday life.
Trade and Commerce steadily boomed in Tangub with
the steady influx of hopeful migrants. Corn, rice, abaca and
other crops were abundant, and the Subanos, or suban-ons
bartered their land for goods brought in by the Christian
settlers. Twenty-four hectares of forestland or “anot” at that
time could be bartered with the Subanos for a wooden plow or a
bolo or for a dozen cans of salmon or sardines. Shortly, after
the arrival of Christian settlers, scores of Chinese merchants
came and blended with the farmer-settlers in the free climate of
the village with their skills and energy especially in the area
of trade and commerce. They helped to hasten the transformation
of the early settlements into civilized communities. Tangub City's
most prosperous period, according to Mr. Teofilo Pereyra, “nyor
Pilong” (deceased) of barrio Polao (now Barangay 7 was the
period from 1898 to 1910. The Christian settlers at that time
had continuously enjoyed bountiful harvest of corn, rice, and
abacca. A kilo of pork at that time cost only twenty-five
centavos (Php 0.25);
a cavan (twenty-five gantas of corn
cost only one peso (Php 1.00), sometimes eighty centavos (Php
0.80), sometimes less. A very good racehorse can be bought for
at about twenty-five pesos (Php 25.00), sometimes even less. A
pail (medium size)
of assorted good fish (til-ogon) cost only five centavos
(Php 0.05).
The prices of clothing materials
(dry goods) and other essential commodities were very,
very cheap.
Timoteo Engracia was appointed first “presidente”
(now called “Mayor”) of the municipality of Tangub. Being
history conscious, he believed that the name Tangub was
meaningless and failed to convey a historical value. So in
agreement with the equally history conscious members of the
appointed “consejo municipal” now Sangguniang Bayan, it was
decided to rename Tangub to “Regidor” in memory of Dr. Antonio
Ma. Regidor, a reformer. Nevertheless, the predominantly
Cebuano-Visaya speaking inhabitants, who had learned to love the
name “Tangub” demonstrated against the idea of changing the
town's name. Perhaps by force of superstition, or some other
reasons, they attributed the occasional killings in the town,
which were actually caused by unsettled boundary disputes, to
the new name that was given to the town. So with the help of the
late Senator Hon. Jose A. Clarin, the name Tangub was restores
to the municipality. Among the early Christian settlers of
Tangub were such sturdy pioneers as the Balatero and Magriño
families. Through the
efforts of Honorable Congressman William Chiongbian, Tangub
became a chartered city on June 17, 1967 under Republic Act
No.5136. However, by an act of the City Council under the
Administration of the late City Mayor, Honorable Alfonso D. Tan,
Tangub City's Charter Anniversary is celebrated on February 28.
It was to the credit of the late City Mayor Hon. Alfonso D. Tan
that Tangub City became the proud recipient of the following
commendations:
The History of Misamis Occidental: Its Cities and Municipalities |
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