Malaybalay
Malaybalay City, officially the City of Malaybalay, is a component city and capital of the province of Bukidnon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 190,712 people.
The city, dubbed as the "South Summer Capital of the Philippines", is bordered north by Impasugong; west by Lantapan; south by Valencia and San Fernando; and east by Cabanglasan and Agusan del Sur.
It was formerly part of the province of Misamis Oriental as a municipal district in the late 19th century. When the special province of Agusan and its sub-province were created in 1907, Malaybalay was designated as the capital of Bukidnon. It was then formally established as a municipality on October 19, 1907, and was created into a city on February 11, 1998, by virtue of Republic Act 8490.
Malaybalay City is the venue of the Kaamulan Festival, held annually from mid-February to March 10.
Etymology
According to the anthropologist and historian Ludivina Opeña, the name Malaybalay in historical records can be traced to the name of a spring along the Sawaga River. The original meaning is unknown. The name is often incorrectly given baseless folk etymologies due to its resemblance to Cebuano words.History
Historiographic accounts for Malaybalay are scarce, and conflicting narratives further obscure the actual history of the city due to the oral nature of passing information by the Indigenous peoples and the incomplete accounts of Spanish registries in the region.Precolonial history
Malaybalay is one of the few villages in central Mindanao that was founded by the natives. People who live in present-day Malaybalay and most of Northern Mindanao and parts of Caraga now call themselves Higaonon. Higaonon tribal chieftains claim a city was built at the confluence of the Kibalabag and Can-ayan Rivers, at which point the Tagoloan River begins and is considered a sacred place by the tribe. They never converted to Islam like the tribes in Cotabato and Lanao.Spanish period, 17th to 19th century
The Spanish, who arrived in the area in the 18th century, already saw thriving communities along the Tagoloan River. In 1815, the Province of Misamis was created, which included areas of present-day Bukidnon. However, some skirmishes with the Spanish administration existed, such as the burning of Kalasungay village in 1850 by Spanish authorities, although the cause of such incident is conflicting. Nonetheless it dispersed the survivors into neighboring villages such as Silae and Silipon. A group established a new settlement near the Sacub River, led by Datù Mampaalong. In June 15, 1877, in an accord between the Spanish government and Mampaalong with 30 other datù, their settlement called Malaybalay was incorporated into Misamis. At the same event, Mampaalong and his people embraced Christianity. Spanish registries incorporated Malaybalay as the pueblo Oroquieta, in the town of Sevilla, administered by the clergy. Other settlements, namely Kalasungay, Linabo, Silae, Valencia, Bugcaon, Alanib, Monserrat, and Lepanto were also incorporated into the town in separate occasions. Although Mailag was the designated town proper by the Spanish government, it was Linabo that served as the seat of town government. Malaybalay was then a barrio headed by an appointed cabeza de barangay.American occupation, 1898-1946
During the American occupation, administrative structure of Mindanao underwent complete overhaul. The Province of Misamis was dissolved forming the current provinces of Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental. Likewise, the Philippine Commission then headed by Commissioner Dean C. Worcester, Secretary of Interior and a member of the Philippine Commission proposed the creation of a province of Bukidnon. With it, the local administration of Sevilla was considered defunct.On August 20, 1907, the Philippine Commission Act No. 1693 was enacted creating the sub-province of Bukidnon. Malaybalay was then formally created as a municipality on October 19, 1907, replacing Mailag. It included the barrios of the former Sevilla except for Maramag, which became a separate Municipality. Dalwangan, formerly a village under Sumilao during the Spanish administration, was also incorporated within Malaybalay. When Bukidnon was declared as a regular province and become an independent political unit on March 10, 1917, by virtue of the creation of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu under Act 2711, Malaybalay was designated as its provincial capital.
World War II and Japanese occupation, 1942-1945
During the Second World War, in 1942, the Japanese occupation troops entered Bukidnon. They occupied Malaybalay, establishing a camp in Casisang. Guerrilla groups operating around Malaybalay made frequent raids on the Japanese camps from the time of the occupation until the arrival of the Americans. In 1945 American liberation forces, together with the Philippine Commonwealth Forces and Filipino guerrillas, liberated Malaybalay.Postwar Malaybalay
Malaybalay was one of the few municipalities and municipal districts comprising Bukidnon and in the decades that followed, several municipalities were created from Malaybalay's far-flung but populous barangays. These municipalities eventually became San Fernando, Valencia, Lantapan, and Cabanglasan. As the capital town, most economic activity was centered here until it shifted to the more centrally located Valencia, its daughter town. In 1980, Valencia overtook Malaybalay as the most populous municipality.Cityhood
On March 26, 1996, the Sangguniang Bayan of the municipality of Malaybalay passed Resolution No. 3699-96 petitioning to the House of Representatives for the conversion of Malaybalay into a city. Reginaldo Tilanduca, 2nd District Representative of Bukidnon at that time, filed House Bill No. 6275, proposing the creation of Malaybalay into a component city. On March 22, 1998, President Fidel Ramos signed the act that converted Malaybalay to a city, making it the first component city of Bukidnon.Geography
Malaybalay, the capital city of Bukidnon, is in the central part of the province. It is bounded in the east by the municipality of Cabanglasan and the Pantaron Range, which separates Bukidnon from the provinces of Agusan del Sur and Davao del Norte; on the west by the municipality of Lantapan and Mount Kitanglad; on the north by the municipality of Impasugong; and on the south by Valencia City and the municipality of San Fernando.The whole eastern and southeastern border adjoining Agusan del Sur and Davao del Norte is elevated and densely forested mountains, which is one of the few remaining forest blocks of Mindanao. The nearest seaports and airports are in Cagayan de Oro, which is 91 kilometers away.
Barangays
Malaybalay is politically subdivided into 46 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.These barangays are conveniently grouped into 5 geographical districts, namely the Poblacion District, North Highway District, South Highway District, Basakan District, and Upper Pulangi District.
Climate
The climate classification of Malaybalay falls under the Fourth Type or intermediate B type, which is characterized by the absence of a pronounced maximum period and dry season. Rain falls at a yearly average of and occurs throughout the year, though it is more intense during the summer season from April to September. Outside these months, January to March receive less rain and October to December are intermediate. Compared with the rest of the country, the climate in Malaybalay is moderate all year round and the area is not on the typhoon belt.Land area
The total land area of the city is, that is about 13% of the total area of Bukidnon. An estimated of 65% of this is classified as forestland/timberland and the remaining 35% is alienable and disposable areas: lands which could be used for purposes such as for agriculture or for industry.The city plays a strategic role in the protection of the headwater source of the Pulangi and the Tagoloan rivers because of its location the upper portion of both watershed areas. The Pulangi River then extends through the Cotabato provinces as the Rio Grande de Mindanao and to Cotabato City, where it empties into Illana Bay. The Tagoloan River, on the other hand, traverses northwestward toward Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, where it joins Macajalar Bay. These watershed areas provided potable water, irrigation, hydro-electric power, and recreation and tourism activities.
Topography and soil type
The average elevation of the city is above sea level. About 60% of the city's area has above 30% slope, characterized by steep hills, mountains, and cliff-like stream side. About 25% are level, gently sloping, and undulating. The rest are rolling and hilly.One of prominent geographical structure in the city is the Kitanglad Mountain Range, located in the western frontier, on its border with Lantapan and Impasugong. Some barangays are in the foothills of this mountain range. Steep hills are found in the central portion of the city, where the Tagoloan River headwater can be found. The Central Mindanao Cordillera, is on the eastern side of the city, in its boundaries with Agusan del Sur province. The Pulangi River cuts across the area between the hills in the central part and the Central Cordillera in the eastern part, creating a portion of the Upper Pulangi river valley. The southern portion of the city is made up of level to undulating area, a river valley created by the Sawaga River and the Manupali River, which are both tributaries of the Pulangi River.
About 66% of the city's soil is identified as undifferentiated mountain soil and the rest are clay. The predominant types of clay are Kidapawan, Alimodian and Adtuyon, which are generally good for agriculture.
Demography
Malaybalay is originally the home of the Bukidnon "lumads" or natives, but there has been an influx of settlers and immigrants from the Visayas and Luzon for the last four decades contributing to the growth of the population. The original inhabitants, the Bukidnons, have retreated to the hinterlands as the migrants continued to occupy and dominate the population centers in the city. Malaybalay is the second most populous political subdivision in the province, after Valencia.The historical growth of population of the city showed a variable pattern of growth. The first census of population was made in 1918 with Malaybalay having only 16,428 inhabitants. The 21 years from 1918 to 1939 was a low-growth period with the city's population growing at a 0.6% annually. This was then followed by a period of population decline until the post-World War II era, declining by 1.5% per year. The 12-year period from 1948 to 1960 is a period of high growth, when the city's population almost doubled from its 1948 level. This pace of growth continued until 1970, growing 6.7%. In 1970, Malaybalay has 65,918 inhabitants. A 5-year period of declining growth followed, the population dropped to 60,779. After the decline, Malaybalay's population has been increasing since then, growing by 3.4% from 1990 to 1995 and by 1.9% from 1995 to 2000.
The city is predominantly rural, with only 16% of the population in urban areas, 40% in urbanizing barangays and 46% in rural areas. Population is evenly distributed in the urban and rural areas. The urban areas are generally found on the confines of the Sayre Highway that traverses the city. The main urban population is found in the Poblacion-Casisang-Sumpong area. Secondary population centers includes barangays Aglayan, Bangcud, Kalasungay and San Jose.
Malaybalay has one of the lowest average population density in the province, second only to Impasug-ong with only 146 persons per square kilometer although there are barangays, especially in the Poblacion area, with high population density.
Cebuano and Binukid are prevailing mediums of communication in the city. More than half of the city's population are speakers of these languages. Hiligaynon is also spoken by the descendants of the Hiligaynon settlers in the city. Then there is also a significant Maranao-speaking Muslim community, especially in the city center and business trading places.