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Tuguegarao, officially Tuguegarao City ({{lang-ibg|Siyudad nat Tugegaraw}}; {{lang-itv|Siyudad yo Tugegaraw}}; {{lang-ilo|Siudad ti Tuguegarao}}; {{lang-tl|Lungsod ng Tuguegarao}} {{IPA-tl|tʊgɛ̝gäˈɾɐw|}}) and referred to by locals as Tugue, is a {{PH wikidata|income_class_ordinal}} component city in the {{PH wikidata|country}}. It is the capital of the province of Cagayan and the regional and institutional center of {{PH wikidata|region}}. With a population of {{PH wikidata|population_total}}, according to the {{PH wikidata|population_as_of}},{{PH census|current}} it is a major urban center in the Northeastern Luzon, a primary growth center and one of the fastest growing cities in the Philippines.

Dubbed as the “Gateway to the Ilocandia and the Cordilleras,”^[5] the city, on the southern border of the province, is located where the Pinacanauan River empties into the Cagayan River and is surrounded by the Sierra Madre Mountains to the east, Cordillera Mountains to the west, and the Caraballo Mountains to the south.

The highest temperature ever recorded in the Philippines—{{Convert|42.2|C|F}}—hit Tuguegarao on August 19, 1912^[6] and May 11, 1969.^[7][8]

Etymology

There are several legends about the origin of the name. One is a species of palm tree called taraw in the area.

The most accepted version is the Ibanags' reply to the Spaniards when the latter asked for the name of the place — Tuggi gari yaw ("this was cleared by fire").^[9]

On the other hand, historical evidence that might provide clues to the origin of the city's name comes from the fact that in 1591, the place was listed as a Spanish encomienda, which was originally a pre-colonial settlement called Tubigarao.^[10]

History

Tuguegarao was occupied by American troops on December 12, 1899. Drastic improvements in Tuguegarao were discerned over the course of provincial administrations—the first Provincial Capitol was completed in 1909. A town hall and public market were built, the provincial high school was founded in a former private residence, and the Cagayan State University (originally a trade school) was founded by American educator Claude Andrews. Cagayan National High School was built in 1923.^[9]

During World War II, the city and its airfield of some significance was captured by the Japanese Imperial Army on December 12, 1941 as part of the Japanese invasion of Aparri. The General Headquarters of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, Philippine Constabulary and the USAFIP-NL units was activated on 1942 to 1946 and stationed in Tuguegarao.

Sitio Capatan was elevated into a barrio (or barangay) of Tuguegarao on April 3, 1959, by Republic Act no. 2107.^[11]

In 1975, Tuguegarao was declared as the capital and seat of the regional government of Cagayan Valley (Region II) being the region's geographic center with adequate facilities and amenities needed by such. Multistory buildings were constructed in the poblacion greatly changing Tuguegarao's skyline in the 1980s and 1990s.

Hotel Delfino siege

The Hotel Delfino siege was a bloody coup attempt that happened on March 4, 1990, when suspended Cagayan governor Rodolfo "Agi" Aguinaldo and his armed men of 200 seized Hotel Delfino in Tuguegarao. Brigader General Oscar Florendo, his driver, four members of the civilian staff, and several other people were held hostage for several hours. A gunfight was launched to kill Aguinaldo and his men but one of the suspended governor's men was found dead in a checkpoint shootout, Brig. Gen. Florendo and 12 others were also dead and 10 more wounded. Aguinaldo was slightly wounded in a car gunfight but eventually escaped and hid in the mountains.

Cityhood

Tuguegarao became a component city after a plebiscite held on December 18, 1999. Randolph Sera Ting was the first mayor of the new city. On July 2, 2007, Delfin Telan Ting was elected as the second mayor. After the 25-year political domination of the Tings, former police general Jefferson Soriano won over re-electionist Delfin Ting in the 2013 local elections.^[12]

Geography

Tuguegarao's location is in the southern portion of the province. The city is bordered by Iguig to the north; to the west by the Cagayan River alongside Solana; Peñablanca to the east; and to the south by Enrile and San Pablo, Isabela. The city is almost encapsulated by the Cagayan River in the western and southern side, which explains for its northward expansion, and the Pinacanauan River, a tributary of Cagayan River, in the eastern part. Small bodies of waters are found in the city, such as the Balzain Creek which spans the barangays of Caritan Sur and Balzain. Currently, the creek is continuously drying up due to eutrophication and the uncontrollable growth of water lilies.

Historically, the town was inhabited by Irayas and Itawes who lived and mainly relied on fishing, farming, hunting and livestock raising. In addition, ancient natives have ventured on weaving cloth and making of household and farm implements.^[13]

The city is {{Convert|483|km|mi}} north of the country's capital, Manila, which is an hour by plane and ten hours of land travel.^[14]

Barangays

Climate

Tuguegarao experiences a tropical climate, with only a slight difference between summer and winter temperatures, and high year-round humidity. The average temperature during March and April is {{Convert|38|C|F}},^[16][17] one of the highest in the country.

On August 19, 1912 and May 11, 1969,^[6][8] the highest temperature in the Philippines was recorded in Tuguegarao at {{Convert|42.2|C|F}}.^[7] Thus, the city was tagged as the "Hottest City in the Philippines". Unusually, in months—usually lasts from December to February—where the cool northeast monsoon or locally as amihan surges, temperatures in the city drop to as low as {{Convert|15|C|F|abbr=}}—in 2017^[18]—especially in early mornings. Locals parallel the chills felt with that in Baguio.^[19]

Demographics

In the {{PH wikidata|population_as_of}}, the population of Tuguegarao was {{PH wikidata|population_total}} people{{PH census|current}} with a density of {{convert|{{sigfig|{{PH wikidata|population_total}}/{{PH wikidata|area}}|2}}|PD/km2|disp=or}}. It is the most populous and densest city in the Cagayan Valley region. Most of the inhabitants are Ilocanos, Ibanags and Itawes. {{citation needed|date=August 2015}} Some are of Chinese and Indian descent.

Economy

Within the past three decades, its economy gradually shifted from agriculture to secondary/tertiary economic activities such as trading, commerce and services. The shift was ushered by Tuguegarao’s role as the Regional Government Center and Center of Commerce in Northern Luzon.^[24] In early 2016, Tuguegarao City was named as one of the ten emerging cities in the 2015 Next Wave Cities report, conducted by Department of Science and Technology - Information and Communications Technology Office (DOST-ICTO).^[25]

Retail and business process outsourcing

Large retail operators have shown significant interest to the growth and increase of land value in cities throughout the Philippines. They are seen as highly developed urban centers where a lot of economic activities take place, and is important to urbanization and development.

Tuguegarao is eyed as a center of exponential growth for commerce, industry and service, strengthening its stature as the capital of the Cagayan Valley Region.

In July 26, 2018,^[29] the mixed-use complex shopping mall Robinsons Place Tuguegarao owned and operated by Robinsons Land Corporation opened to the public as the first full-service mall in Cagayan, the second Robinsons mall in the Cagayan Valley Region and the 50th in the Philippines.^[30] The complex includes a Go Hotels branch,^[31] the first in the region, a budget hotel brand under the same mall operator.

A few kilometers away from Robinsons Place Tuguegarao, DoubleDragon Properties, a subsidiary of SM Investments Corporation is currently constructing CityMall Tuguegarao which will open in 2019.

Other notable shopping centers include the Tuguegarao City Commercial Center, formerly known as the Mall of the Valley; FCI Citimall, the first shopping mall in Northern Luzon; Brickstone Mall; Primark Town Center Tuguegarao, former site of Paseo Reale Mall; Unitop Mall Tuguegarao; Mart One Department Store and more.

Following the opening of 7 Eleven stores in Nueva Vizcaya, and Isabela provinces, the Philippine Seven Corporation expanded its reach to the Cagayan with two branches in the city at College Avenue, near University of Cagayan Valley and at the new Valley Hotel Tower Mall in Balzain.^[32]

The city has seen a significant growth of auto-hub companies with the presence of car showrooms in the city. Car brands such as Mitsubishi, Hyundai, and Toyota have set up their dealerships in the different parts of the city, mostly located along the major highways of the urbanity. The largest of which is from Toyota located at Carig Sur near the city hall.

The City Government of Tuguegarao, through the city's Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Council hosted a meeting with IT-BPO companies Sitel Philippines Inc. and Lee Chiu Property Consultants, Inc. on September 2018 to discuss the possibilities of locating their companies in the city. Initial steps have been made for the establishment of an IT park and a township where BPO companies could locate.^[33][34]

Banking and real estate

Tuguegarao City, as the seat of the regional capital of Cagayan Valley, houses the regional headquarters of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas located at the Regional Government Center in Carig Sur. As of 2019, a total of 53 banks are operating in the city such as BPI, BDO, Chinabank, RCBC, EastWest, UnionBank, Robinsons Bank, PNB, Bank of Commerce, Landbank, UCPB, Philippine Postal Savings Bank and others.

Major real estate developers Ayala Land — Avida Settings Tuguegarao — and Vista Land — Camella Tuguegarao and the expansion of Camella Cagayan (soon Camella Cagayan Trails) — are constructing their housing developments in Cagayan Valley.

Education

Due to its high incidence of universities, Tuguegarao has been dubbed as the Center of Education in Cagayan Valley. It is home to prestigious and internationally recognized schools such as St. Paul University Philippines — the main campus of the St. Paul University System — and the University of Saint Louis — one of the CICM schools.

Two of the top state universities are also in Tuguegarao City — the CSU Athena (Andrews Campus), and CSU Red Eagle (Carig Campus) — producing national topnotchers in board examinations. Both universities have their own administration and are separated from each other.

Other schools in the city include the University of Cagayan Valley, John Wesley College, Medical Colleges of Northern Philippines - International School of Asia and Pacific, F.L. Vargas College, Maila Rosario College, Credo Domine College, City Technological Institute, Cagayan Metropolitan Institute of Technology, STI College, AMA Computer College, and other educational institutions.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) was established through the enactment of the Technical Education and Skills Development Act of 1994, which encourages the full participation of and mobilize the industry, labor, local government units, and technical-vocational institutions in the skills development of the country's human resource. The TESDA complex and facilities are located in Carig Norte. Numerous technological and vocational institutes can also be found in the city.

Tuguegarao has one Jesuit educational institution located along Bagay Road—the Global Reformed University.

Other notable schools in the city include Cagayan National High School, the oldest and biggest secondary school in the region in terms of student population, Tuguegarao City Science High School, a state-owned secondary institution, Ke Bing School, a private Chinese school, Methodist Christian School, a Christian school in Central Business District, and Saint Claire Montesorri, a catholic school in San Gabriel. The state-owned secondary institution of Tuguegarao City West High School started operations on June 4, 2012.

Students from different countries like China, Congo{{dn|date=April 2019}}, India, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Korea come to study at the city's universities. Most of the students come to study undergraduate and graduate degrees in sciences.

Infrastructure

Currently, Tuguegarao City has two major public markets, namely, the Don Domingo Public Market — located in the upper part of Poblacion serving as the convergence of agricultural and aquatic products from neighboring towns and provinces — and the Tuguegarao City Commercial Center — formerly known as Mall of the Valley and is located at the Central Business District, receiving the highest daily foot traffic.

The city hosts a number of event centers which allow the city to host many provincial and regional gatherings such as the Cagayan Sports Complex, Tuguegarao City Peoples' Gymnasium and the Cagayan Coliseum.

The water system of Tuguegarao is administered by the Metropolitan Tuguegarao Water District, which also serves the nearby municipalities such as Iguig and Solana. Meanwhile, electric services are provided by Cagayan Electric Cooperative which has its office in Solana, Cagayan. Telecommunication services are primarily offered by huge telephone companies such as PLDT and Bayantel, while mobile services are handled by Globe Telecom, Smart Communications, Sun Cellular, Touch Mobile, and Talk N' Text. High-speed DSL and optical Internet subscriptions are offered by RBC Cable, PLDT and Globe Telecom.

Tuguegarao City houses the headquarters of the Philippine National Police in Cagayan Valley in Camp Marcelo A. Adduru in Alimannao Hills.

Healthcare

Being the regional center, Tuguegarao hosts major hospitals which serve people in the Cagayan Valley region. Cagayan Valley Medical Center, the largest medical facility in the Cagayan Valley with a bed capacity of 500, is situated in the city. The largest privately owned facility in the region is the 250-bed Dr. Ronald P. Guzman Medical Center, a tertiary level hospital.^[35] St. Paul University Philippines has an affiliate hospital in Tuguegarao, the St. Paul Hospital. Cagayan's oldest existing private hospital, the Dr. Domingo S. De Leon General Hospital, formerly Clinica De Leon, is also situated in the city.

Other hospitals in the city are the government-owned and run Tuguegarao City People's General Hospital and the Holy Infant Hospital^[35] as well as the privately owned Divine Mercy Wellness Center.^[36]

Culture

The Afi Festival is an annual festival every August, celebrated in commemoration of the city's patron saint, San Jacinto de Polonia whose feast day falls on August 16.^[37] It came from the Ybanag word afi, meaning fire.^[38]

The concept of the "Afi" started in 2014, renaming the former Pav-vurulun Festival. It reiterates and reaffirms the origins of the city's name. Stories say the place where the city center now stands was once “a wilderness that was cleared by fire” through kaingin (slash and burn farming).^[37] The main event of the celebration is its opening day, where thousands of students convene for a field demonstration at night as torchbearers. In 2017, 3500 students from Cagayan National High School and Cagayan State University - College of Human Kinetics danced with torches at the sports complex. The city is attempting to beat Indonesia's world record of 3,777 torchbearers in the festival's next edition.^[39]

Other highlights of the weeklong celebration include the street dancing competition and drum and lyre competition, where various elementary and secondary schools participate, everyone clad in vibrant costumes and props. Both are usually held at the city's central business district on Bonifacio Street (Calle Commercio). Other events include the Bangkarera competition, a rowing competition in two categories which aims to promote sustainable fishing along the Pinacanauan River, which flows to the Cagayan River, a pansit festival featuring a pansit-eating contest, a Nuang Karera (Carabao race), a Kabayu Karera (horse race), among others.^[40]

Before the additions and revisions to the native festival, there was Maskota Festival. Also called the Dance of Lovemaking, it features Maskota, a wedding dance prevalent in the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela, with movements described as "spontaneous, lively and extravagantly expressive." It was danced to the rhythm of the verso with the sincosinco accompaniment. Back then, indigenous materials were utilized for the costumes. Materials come from various local harvests such as coconut sprouts, betel nuts, corn leaves and atchuetes, which serves as natural coloring.^[41]

Local government

Tuguegarao City is governed by a city mayor, designated as local chief executive, and by a city council, composed of the vice mayor and the city councilors, as the legislative body, in accordance with the Local Government Code.^[42] They are voted to office through an election, held every after three years. As a component city, the provincial government of Cagayan has political jurisdiction over local transactions of the city government.

City Officials

A series of events resulted in changes in the elected officials. Last February 10, 2017, then City Mayor Atty. Jefferson P. Soriano stepped down from office following an order from the Ombudsman to dismiss him for grave misconduct. Soriano voluntarily called the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to facilitate the turn over of the mayoralty office to then Vice Mayor Bienvenido de Guzman II.^[44] Roughly after seven months, following the order of the Court of Appeals Fourth Division (CA) for "immediate" reinstatement of Mayor Jefferson P. Soriano, on September 6, 2017, Soriano took oath of office. The CA disagreed to the Ombudsman's dismissal order—stating that he committed grave misconduct—and that the mayor only committed simple misconduct. According to the decision, he should only be penalized with three months suspension instead of dismissal from service.^[45]

Transportation

Transportation and infrastructure plays a major role in keeping the Tuguegarao's economy up and running and nearby towns in play. Due to continued growth, daytime population in the city has increased with primary reasons for commuting for commerce, work and notably education due to the city's being known for having several institutions. Over the years, Tuguegarao evolved, expanded and grew, so did its transportation network to keep up with the growing demands of people for ease of access to reliable methods and transit flexibility.

Public transport

A cultural icon of the Philippines with a unique design, Tuguegarao's tricycles offer shared vehicle for hire services for small groups of passengers on a common route over short distances.

Tuguegarao also serves as a vital hub for local, regional and national transportation. Buses operate regional routes from Tuguegarao to Baggao, Aparri, Santiago, and many neighboring cities, towns and municipalities. It also is an end-of-the-line stop for many coaches running inter-city and national routes mostly coming from Metro Manila such as GV Florida, Victory Liner, Dalin Bus Liner, Five Star, Pangasinan Solid North to name a few.

To the east side are vans that ply north and south Claveria, Santa Praxedes, Aparri, Santa Ana, Alcala, Lasam and Junction Luna, Abulug in Cagayan, Santiago, Roxas, Ilagan and Cauayan in Isabela, Luna and Kabugao in Apayao. There are also mini buses plying to Lasam, Allacapan, Claveria, Santiago and Roxas. Then to the west are jeepneys with routes to Iguig, Tuao, Enrile, Tabuk and Rizal in Kalinga and some mountainous barrios, all of which lie on the west side of the river.

Kalesas run within the city, mostly near popular points of interest, and are part of the city's tourism but most of these are limited within the downtown area.

Main roads

Regional transport in Tuguegarao is vulnerable given its lack of distribution of arterial roads and inadequate traffic engineering planning and discipline.

• The Buntun Highway-Luna Street network is a major four-lane road network of Tuguegarao that forms part of the National Route 51 (N51). It is the only road that serves west-side traffic to Tuguegarao. It links Tuguegarao to the western side of the Cagayan River via the Buntun Bridge, further towns from the west side most notably the municipalities of Solana and Enrile, the Philippine highway network and the Santiago-Tuguegarao Road.

• The Balzain Highway-Cagayan Valley Road is another major four-lane road network of Tuguegarao, part of Cagayan Valley Road that comes through Balzain and Carig, that forms part of the Asian Highway 26 (). It is the only road that serves north-bound traffic to Tuguegarao coming from the east side of the Cagayan River and most of Cagayan Valley. It also links Tuguegarao to surrounding municipalities, most notably Iguig and Peñablanca. These two main arterial networks serves as the backbone for the majority of Tuguegarao's internal and inter-regional transportation.

• The Tuguegarao City West Diversion Road is an {{convert|8.99|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} four-lane road under construction which starts from Barangay Carig traversing Barangays Linao, Atulayan, Bagay and Buntun, aiming to decongest the Tuguegarao highway and provide alternative routes to nearby municipalities like Solana. The road project is divided into four phases expected to be completed by 2022.^[46]

Air

The Tuguegarao Airport handles domestic flights within the Philippines and serves the general area of Tuguegarao and its surrounding municipalities, and is capable of handling Boeing-737-sized aircraft. It is the 23rd busiest airport in the country as of 2017 statistics. Classified by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines as a Principal Class 1 domestic airport, small aircraft, helicopters and army cargo aircraft also utilize the airport. Cebu Pacific, Sky Pasada and PAL Express are the domestic airlines which operate routes to and from the city. As of 2017, the airport is undergoing rehabilitation and expansion consisting of terminal upgrades and widening of runway, for night landing capabilities, and taxiway. The upgrades cost ₱56.65 million which are part of the Tuguegarao Airport Development Project by the Department of Transportation and Communications.^[47]

A proposed international airport, serving the Cagayan Valley Region, will be constructed at the eastern portion of the city—somewhere in barangays Dadda or Tagga—as suggested by City Mayor Bienvenido de Guzman II and former mayor Atty. Jefferson Soriano. Originally, as proposed by the Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba, the airport was to be located at the tri-boundary area of Tuao, Piat and Solana towns but was later shelved after a forum.^[48]

Gallery

Notable people

• Rommel Adducul, former professional basketball player and coach
• Ricardo Baccay, third bishop of the Diocese of Alaminos, and former auxillary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao.
• Eulogio Balao, former soldier and politician
• Philip Butel, Caloocan Supremos basketball player
• Rachelle Anne Cabral, archer in the 2012 Summer Olympics
• Noel A. Coballes, retired Lieutenant General and Commanding General of the Philippine Army (2013-2014)
• Ralph Guzman, broadcaster and journalist
• Benito Antonio T. de Leon, retired AFP military officer

References

External links

• Official Website of Tuguegarao
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20131004104825/http://census.gov.ph/ Philippine Census Information]
• TuguegaWOW | Tuguegarao City