Pagadian City

by Ben Beiske

Pagadian City

www.pagadian.org

Pagadian City (Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Pagadian; Filipino: Lungsod ng Pagadian) is located in the province of Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines. It houses the regional government seat of Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9) in the island of Mindanao.

An iconic symbol of Pagadian is its uniquely designed tricycle built to adopt to the city’s hilly terrain. The locals claim with pride that it is the only place in the Philippines that one can see a public transport inclined at about 25-40 angle.

Contents

1 Geography and Topography

2 Climate

3 History

4 Timeline

5 Languages and Dialects

6 Festivals

7 Governance

8 Economy

9 Tourist attractions

10 Education

11 Infrastructure

12 Fast Facts

13 Notes

14 References

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Geography and Topography

Pagadian City view from Rotonda

Situated on the northeastern side of the Western Mindanao region, Pagadian is the capital city of Zamboanga del Sur province. It is bounded by the municipalities of Tigbao and Dumalinao on the southwest, Lakewood on the west, Labangan on the east and northwest, and Midsalip on the north.

About 45% of the total city area is steeply sloping terrain of hills and mountains on the northwestern portion that covers an estimated 15,090 hectares. Mt. Palpalan, Mt. Begong, Mt. Pinokis, and Mt. Sugar Loaf are the four tallest peaks. Areas in the direct north as well as the central part, have gentle to moderate slopes, making up 47% of the total. The remaining 8% is level or nearly level, and makes up most of the eastern and the southern parts of the city. The urban area covers about 845.48 hectares. Elevation of the urban area of the city ranges from 1 MSL (mean sea level) near Pagadian Bay to about 100 MSL in the area of Barangay San Jose.

The Tiguma, Bulatoc, Gatas, and Balangasan Rivers, drain to Pagadian Bay and serve as natural drainage.

Due to its topography and elevation, most of the city’s 54 barangays do not experience flooding. The low-lying southern and eastern part of the city, though, do sometimes experience flooding, most especially during heavy rains.

Climate

It is located within the tropics of the northern hemisphere which has pronounced dry season from January to March and rainy season from April to December. The region is generally not affected by tropical storms and typhoons as it is located outside the Philippine Typhoon Belt. Temperatures range from 22.2 C (72.0 F) to 32.9 C (91.2 F). The prevailing winds are the southwest wind that blow shot gust wind from over the sea during dry seasons going northeast, and the trade winds brought about by the mountain range. Rainfall distribution is moderate from 2,500 mm to 3,000 mm annually.

History

Origin of the Name

The city proper and surrounding areas of Muricay, Tawagan Sur and White Beach was originally named “Talpokan,” an indigenous word that means “a place of numerous springs”.

During the early part of the 20th century, the place was called “Pangad-ye-an”, a Visayan word that means,”a place to be prayed for” because of a Malaria epidemic that nearly wiped out the early christian population, majority of which came from the Visayas. An alternative theory suggests that it was named after a bird that the native inhabitants call “Gagadian”. However, the officially accepted version on how it came to be called “Pagadian” is derived from the Iranun language “pagad” (wait) and “padian” (market). The area had been a trading post and market during the Maguindanao Sultanate period.

Early Settlers

The first inhabitants were the Subanens, a tribe native to the Western Mindanao Region. Then the Muslim settlers arrived sometime in the 15th century, established a flourishing community and introduced the Islam faith.

In the early part of the 20th century, the Muslim inhabitants were under the leadership of Datu Akob, an Iranun Datu whose daughter caught the fancy of Datu Macaumbang, also an Iranun (Sultan of Taga Nonok) from the Municipalities of Malabang and Tukuran. With the approval of Datu Akob, Datu Macaumbang married the beautiful Bai Putri Panyawan Akob. At the same time the 1st cousin of Datu Macaumbang (Sultan of taga Nonok), Datu Mama Lapat Jamerol an Maranao – Iranun Datu, married the second daughter of Datu Akob, Bai Putri Concona Akob. Upon the death of Datu Akob, his son-in-law, Datu Macaumbang assumed leadership and established the territorial boundaries of the present city proper, from Balangasan River in the West, to Tawagan Sur River in the East. Because of the prevalent banditry and piracy in his settlements at that time, Datu Macaumbang requested the assistance of the Philippine Constabulary. A detachment led by Col. Tiburcio Ballesteros from Malangas stationed themselves at Dumagoc Island. The arrival of the soldiers restored peace and order thereby attracting the influx of settlers from far-flung regions of the Visayas and Luzon, and from the neighboring places in Mindanao.

Spread of Christianity

See also: Roman Catholic Diocese of Pagadian

Sto.Nio del Cebu

Christian settlers started arriving in the early part of the 20th century, most of which came from Cebu, as evident on the veneration of the Santo Nio de Ceb. The increasing Christian population prompted the creation of the Parish of Pagadian in 1938 and was administered jointly by the Jesuits, Columban and Filipino priests. The original Sto. Nio Church of Pagadian was right across the city plaza, built on the site where the San Jose Parish church now stands; Fr. Sean Nolan,SSC served as the first parish priest. The present Sto. Nio Cathedral is now located in Santiago District and was built in 1968.

Pagadian Parish became a diocese on November 2, 1971 and is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Ozamiz. Msgr. Jesus B. Tuquib served as the first bishop and was installed on February 24, 1973. At that time, the Columban Fathers took care of the apostolic services for the first 13 parishes in the newly-formed diocese. They also took after the missions of the Jesuits.

Currently, the Diocese of Pagadian has 24 parishes and covers a population of 711,244. The diocese covers the city and 21 other municipalities in the northern and eastern parts of Zamboanga del Sur.

The city celebrates its Annual Fiesta every 3rd Sunday of January in honor of its patron saint, the Holy Child Jesus (Sto. Nio) which also coincides with the feastday of Cebu City.

Timeline

Date/Year

Significant Events

1800′s

The present-day Pagadian had its beginnings as a sitio of Margosatubig.

July 1927

It became a barrio under the Municipal District of Labangan, Zamboanga upon the implementation of Executive Order no.70.

1934

Director Teofisto Guingona, Sr. was commissioned by Philippine Governor-General Leonard Wood to find out the possibility of transferring the seat of government of the Labangan municipality to another place; a conference was called together with the Datus and the early christian settlers. The idea of transferring the seat of the Labangan Government to Pagadian was at first largely opposed by the Christians. Eventually, a consensus was reached when the designated committee led by Datu Balimbingan of Labangan and with the consent of Datu Macaumbang surveyed the western part of the present area and found Talpokan, a part of the barrio of Pagadian, deemed as a suitable place for such transfer. At the same time, Datu Macaumbang donated 260 hectares of land to Christians who were willing to transfer to the area.

March 23, 1937

Pagadian became a municipality through Executive Order 77. Its ascendancy was due to the eager initiative of then Assemblyman Juan S. Alano. The Hon. Jose Sanson was appointed as the acting mayor. After his brief tenure, a regular election was held with the Hon. Federico Jamisola as the first officially elected municipal mayor. The Municipality of Pagadian was formed by merging the municipal districts of Labangan and Dinas, as a result, making Labangan a barangay under its former barrio. The newly created town had 19 barangays.

June 6, 1952

Congressman Roseller T. Lim authored R.A. 711 dividing Zamboanga into two provinces – Norte (north) and Sur (south).

September 17, 1952

Pagadian became the capital town of the newly-established province of Zamboanga del Sur.

June 21, 1969

It became a chartered city through R.A. 5478, becoming the third city in the Zamboanga Peninsula (Administrative Region).

August 16, 1976

The city was one of the hardest hit areas in the Moro Gulf earthquake and tsunami of 1976, considered as the most devastating tsunami disaster in the Philippines in recent times. Pagadian was the major city in the area that was struck by both the earthquake and tsunami and sustained the greatest number of casualties.

November 12, 2004

Despite Zamboanga City government’s opposition to the transfer, Pagadian became the Regional Center for Region IX- Zamboanga Peninsula. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s decision to transfer the regional offices was based on Executive Order 429 issued by then President Corazon Aquino in October 1990.

Languages and Dialects

Majority of Pagadianons speak the Cebuano language (part of the Bisaya family of languages). The national language, Filipino (Tagalog) is widely understood and is the native tongue of a small percentage of the population. Iranun, Maguindanao, Maranao, Tausug, and Samal dialects are used by the Muslim community, however, the dialect of the indigenous Subanen people is in danger of being lost[citation needed] as younger generations prefer to use Cebuano instead. Remaining percentage of the population are classified as Ilonggo, Chavacano and Ilocano speakers. As in the case with the rest