Municipalities

Bislig City is a 4th class city in the province of Surigao del Sur, Mindanao Philippines. Bislig is approximately 208 kilometers northeast of Davao City, 152 kilometers south of Tandag (the provincial capital) and 158 southeast of Butuan City.

Bislig’s main tourist attraction is Tinuy-an Falls, known as the “Niagara Falls” of the Philippines. It is a white water curtain that flows in three levels about 55 meters high. It is one of the best waterfalls in the entire Philippines because of its majestic and unique natural formation. Its colorful picture was once appeared in the International Travel Magazine.

Barangay Mangagoy is the center of trade of the city. It houses national and local banks. Telecommunication is efficient — Internet, cellular phones, cable televisions and leased data lines are available. There are also good inns and hotels. Motorized tricycles, jeepneys, and buses ply its concrete roads and highways.

Bislig is the home of PICOP Resources, Inc., one of the largest paper mills in the country, and also formerly the largest paper mill in Asia. Its concession is a sanctuary of the Philippine Eagle.

A local dialect, called Kamayo (spelling uncertain), is sometimes used by the residents, though they usually use the more general Visayan language of the region.

In 2000, Bislig was converted into a city.

Bislig City is politically subdivided into 24 barangays.

Tandag is a 5th class city in the province of Surigao del Sur, Philippines. It is the capital city of Surigao del Sur. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 44,327 people in 8,449 households.

Tandag is politically subdivided into 21 barangays.

Before the Spaniards came, the aborigines of the province were the Mamanua and Manobo. Later, our Austronesian brothers from the Visayas came to settle with the natives. It was with the arrival of the immigrants that the province acquired its name from one of the natives, Saliagao, who lived near the mouth of the river.The name Saliagao was later pronounced Surigao by the inhabitants.

It is also said that long time ago, some Visayan fishermen forced by the strong current of the Surigao Strait, sought refuge in one of the huts somewhere in the province. The Mamanua who thought that these fishermen wanted to occupy the hut by force said “Agaw”, the term which was later given a prefix “Suri” by an immigrant.

Surigao formerly, was extended from what is known as Agusan, including the islands east of it and the northern regions of Davao and the capital of the province that time was Caraga and so the Spaniards called the people Caragas.

The aborigines of Surigao del Sur were a conglomeration and mixture of different racial types, namely: Mandaya, Mamanua, Mansaka and Manobo. These racial groups were of Malayan-Indonesian ancestry which took place thousand years ago. In the course of their migration, these primitive nomads were believed to have separated their ways in some portions of the archipelago in a spirit of adventure and search for food (i.e., during the pleisto scene of the glacial ages). It was believed further that they first settled in the northern island of the country who later took their bancas and reach the shores of Mindanao particularly in the Provinces of Surigao and Davao. They scattered among themselves in spots either in pairs or by family clans, retaining their own customs, dialects and ways of life.

There was no trace of exact dates and places of arrival. But it was known that this group of people were very nomadic and were the remnants of the present Mamanua and Manobo found in the wilderness of the northern part of Davao bordering the Province of Surigao. Their migratory movement was said to have come from the hinterlands of Agusan and along the foothills of western and southern part of Surigao del Sur. It was pointed out that the cause of migration was due to famine and occurrence of death from diseases believed caused by evil spirits.

The Province of Surigao del Sur was created as the 56th Philippine province on June 19, 1960 by virtue of RA 2786 and was formally organized or separated from its mother province, Surigao del Norte, on September 18, 1960.

At the time of its inception, it was classified as 4th Class province with an annual income of over P300,000.00. Seven years later, because of rapid increase of revenue collection particularly from the logging ventures, it has been reclassified as Ist Class B and in 1980 as Ist Class A with an estimated annual income of around P13,000,000.00. Presently, it is reclassified as 2nd Class with a revenueadding up to P315,888,300.63.

Honorable Recaredo B. Castillo was the appointed Governor and subsequently elected Governor and Honorable Vicente L. Pimentel as the first elected Congressman. Hon. Vicente T. Pimentel, Jr. is the eighth and incumbent Provincial Executive.

Originally the province had 13 municipalities. In subsequent years, six more were added raising the number to 19 with Tandag as its capital town. Now, one of its municipalities has been elevated to a city category and this is Bislig City.

Surigao is home to the Mamanwa and Manubo ethnic tribe. Their dances are showcased in a local festival called “Bonok-Bonok“, held at the feast of San Nicolas de Tolentino which is held annually on September 10. The Bonok-Bonok depicts the native folks’ merry-making to show gratitude to God for bountiful harvest and good health.

The Mamanwas and Manubo, the ethnic tribe of Surigao, have been converted to Christianism long ago, during the early times of the Spanish conquerors.