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| blank1_name_sec2 = Major religions
| blank1_info_sec2 = Roman Catholicism
| blank2_name_sec2 = Feast date
| blank2_info_sec2 = August 16
| blank3_name_sec2 = Catholic diocese
| blank3_info_sec2 = Archdiocese of Tuguegarao
| blank4_name_sec2 = Patron saint
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Tuguegarao ( or ), officially the City of Tuguegarao (; ; ; ), is a 2nd class component city and capital of the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 167,297 people, making it the most populous city in Cagayan Province, Cagayan Valley and Northeastern Luzon.
A major urban center and primary growth center in the Northeastern Luzon, it is the regional center of Cagayan Valley and also its regional institutional and administrative center. The city is a convergence area for the provinces of Cagayan, Kalinga, Apayao and northern Isabela and one of the fast-emerging cities in the Philippines.
Dubbed as the "Gateway to the Ilocos Region and the Cordilleras," the city is located on the southern border of the province where the Pinacanauan River empties into the Cagayan River. It 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——hit Tuguegarao on May 11, 1969.(2013-04-04). "PAGASA: Hottest day so far this year in NCR at 35.2 degrees Celsius". GMA News Online. Retrieved on August 2, 2013.
The popular version based on legend is the Ibanags' reply to the Spaniards when asked for the name of the place: Tuggi gari yaw ("this was cleared by fire").
The origin of the city's name is unknown, but historical evidence suggests it was originally a pre-colonial settlement called Tubigarao. In 1591, the place was listed as a Spanish encomienda.
In the 1720s, Father Antonio Lobato, O.P. developed a layout of street network together with the construction of the cathedral. In 1839, the provincial capital was transferred to Tuguegarao from Lal-lo as the Cagayan-Manila road opened which spurred socio-economic progress.
With only a year left in his last constitutionally allowed term as president, Ferdinand Marcos placed the Philippines under Martial Law in September 1972 and thus retained the position for fourteen more years. This period in Philippine history is remembered for the Marcos administration's record of human rights abuses, (2025). 9780742510234, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9780742510234 particularly targeting political opponents, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who fought against the Marcos dictatorship. In Tuguegarao, Camp Marcelo Adduru became the province's main detention center for "political detainees," who were often never formally charged with a crime, and thus technically not counted by Marcos as "prisoners."
Others disappeared without the trace for daring to speak against Marcos, such as Romeo G. Crismo, a teacher at Cagayan Teacher's College and St. Louis College in Tuguegarao, who criticized the 1973 Philippine constitutional plebiscite as a sham election. He disappeared without a trace in August 1980 after unknown men tried to capture him in front of his students the day before. He was later honored by having his name inscribed on the wall of remembrance of the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani in recognition of his martyrdom while resisting authoritarianism.
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.
Cagayan is divided into three congressional districts, wherein the city is included in the Third District together with the other 6 southern municipalities.
Tuguegarao is located north of the country's capital city of Manila, which is ten hours of land travel. The city can be reached by an hour through plane travel.
There are 31 barangays in the city that are considered urban (highlighted in bold).
On May 11, 1969, the highest temperature in the Philippines was recorded in Tuguegarao at , beating the previous record of also measured in Tuguegarao in May 1912. Thus, the city was tagged as the "Hottest City in the Philippines". Unusually, in months—usually lasts from December to February—where the cool Amihan surges, temperatures in the city drop to as low as —in 2017—especially in early mornings. Locals parallel the chills felt with that in Baguio.
The seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese is at St. Peter Metropolitan Cathedral, one of the largest churches in the region.
There are also Protestants, Baptist, Church of Christ, Adventists, Born Again groups, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Philippine-based groups like the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, Iglesia ni Cristo and Members Church of God International that accounts to the city's population. These religious organizations have their own temples and churches sparsely located in the city. Some are Islam where their mosques are located at Centro 10 (Riverside) and Gosi Norte respectively.
On June 30, 2020, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), in partnership with the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) and Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC), named Tuguegarao as one of the 25 "digital cities" poised to be prospect growth areas of the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) sector in the country by 2025.
Currently, Tuguegarao 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.
SM Prime, the largest retail operator in the country, opened SM Center Tuguegarao Downtown on October 12, 2017, as its first mall in the city and in Cagayan. Its second mall, SM City Tuguegarao, opened on November 18, 2022, marketed as the largest mall in the Cagayan Valley Region.SM Prime Holdings Offer Supplement 2017. p. 30-31. SM Prime Holdings, Inc.'s Application for Permit to Sell
On July 26, 2018, rival Robinsons Malls opened the mixed-use complex shopping mall Robinsons Place Tuguegarao as the first full-service mall in Cagayan, including a Go Hotels branch, the first in the region. A few kilometers away is DoubleDragon Properties' CityMall Tuguegarao which opened on March 1, 2021, its first mall in the region.
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 its two branches in the city at College Avenue, near University of Cagayan Valley and at the new Valley Hotel Tower Mall in Balzain. There are currently more than eight branches of 7 Eleven stores as business expansion continues in the city.
The city has seen a significant growth of auto-hub companies with the presence of car showrooms in the city.
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. in 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.
Major real estate developers Ayala Land — Avida Settings Tuguegarao — and Vista Land — Camella Tuguegarao, Lessandra Cagayan and the expansion of Camella Cagayan (soon Camella Cagayan Trails) — are constructing their housing developments in Cagayan Valley. New condominiums developments are in the city these are Bayani Hall Lecaros, Bayani Hall Twin Towers developed by Vester Corporation and Rosevale Towers developed by Vista Estates.
The North Gateway Business Park is an mixed-use township development project located in Barangay Carig Sur, near the Regional Government Center. Launched on February 4, 2020, by real estate developer DataLand, it will feature a mixed-use superblock of retail shops, transport terminal, hotel and residential condominiums and a business park for BPO companies, financial institutions and major corporations. Nuciti by Vista Estates will become one of the future central business district of Tuguegarao spanning at 100-hectares of prime land currently it will house the Rosevale Towers, restaurants, cafes and in future developments it will feature commercial blocks, office buildings, meeting spaces, condotels, hotels, condominiums and commercial hubs.
New developments are aimed to spread within the metro area with the construction of a new bridge linking Solana and Tuguegarao. When opened, this bridge will help decongest traffic in Buntun Bridge.
Tuguegarao is governed by a city mayor, designated as local chief executive, and by a Sangguniang Panlungsod, composed of the vice mayor and the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, as the legislative body, in accordance with the Local Government Code. 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.
Barangays are also headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain, Barangay Council, whose members are called Barangay Kagawad. The barangays have SK federation which represents the barangay, headed by SK chairperson and whose members are called SK councilors. All officials are also elected every three years.
| Congressman | Joseph L. Lara | |
| Mayor | Maila Rosario T. Que | |
| Vice- Mayor | Rosauro Rodrigo G. Resuello | |
| Councilors | Charo Soriano | |
| Ronald S. Ortiz | ||
| Mark Angelo B. Dayag | ||
| Jude T. Bayona | ||
| Lope B. Apostol Jr. | ||
| Marc Aldous C. Baccay | ||
| Tirso V. Mangada | ||
| Dennis Ryan G. Avila | ||
| Myrna G. Te | ||
| Mariel Ayna T. Calimag | ||
| Karina S. Gauani | ||
| Anthony C. Tuddao | ||
The concept of the "Afi" started in 2014 which reaffirms the city's origins based on popular legend that the current city center was once “a wilderness that was Slash-and-burn.” 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.
Other highlights of the weeklong celebration include the street dancing and drum and lyre competitions, participated by elementary and secondary schools in the city, clad in their 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—a rowing competition in two categories which aims to promote sustainable fishing along the Pinacanauan River, which flows to the Cagayan River—pansit festival featuring a pansit-eating and pansit-cook off contests, Nuang Karera (Carabao race), Kabayu Karera (horse race), among others.
The predecessor to this was the Maskota Festival, an ode to the Maskota which is called the "Dance of Lovemaking." It is a wedding dance prevalent in the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela characterized by "spontaneous, lively and extravagantly expressive" movements, danced to the rhythm of the verso with the sincosinco accompaniment. In the olden days, indigenous materials were utilized for the costumes ranging from local harvests of coconut sprouts, betel nuts, to corn leaves and atchuetes as natural dye.
Pancit Batil Potun, widely known as Pancit Batil Patung, is a popular local noodle dish which directly translates to "pancit, beaten egg soup and egg on top." Several panciterias mushroom in all the city's corners, each with distinct styles of cooking and ingredients—miki, egg, minced carabao meat, vegetables and other specific toppings of choice. The city is also known for its own version of longganisa characterized with its salty and garlicky taste with variations using either pork or carabao meat.
Tuguegarao boasts elaborate Spanish-built churches such as the Ermita de Piedra de San Jacinto, known to locals as the San Jacinto Church, which houses the city's patron saint. It is an elevated chapel built by Dominican friars in 1604 regarded as the oldest brick structure in the city. The St. Peter Metropolitan Cathedral is the biggest Spanish colonial church in Cagayan Valley which was construction from 1761 to 1767 under the supervision of Fr. Antonio Lobato, OP. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao. Both churches underwent reconstruction due to damages brought by World War II.
Located in Barangay Centro 09, often called Bagumbayan by locals, is the Horno ruins, a Spanish-era brick kiln used to fire bricks for colonial structures including those in the Cathedral and San Jacinto Church.
St. Paul University Philippines was founded in 1907 as Colegio de San Pablo with the arrival of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres in Cagayan Valley. It served as a military garrison and hospital of the Japanese during the World War. Throughout the years, it has since become identified internationally having been the first private university in the Philippines to be ISO 9001 certified in 2000 by TÜV Rheinland. One of the most recognizable structures in the campus is the Our Lady of Chartres Chapel, reminiscent of French Gothic architecture, which was inaugurated during the university's centenary celebration.
South of the city is the Buntun Bridge, one of the longest bridges in the country spanning across the Cagayan River, the longest and largest river in the Philippines. Construction began in 1960 and was opened to traffic in 1969, linking the city to the second and third district municipalities of Cagayan and Apayao.
While tourist spots are sparse in the city, it has become the usual jump-off point of tourists to other destinations in the province such as the Callao Cave and Calvary Hills in neighboring towns Peñablanca and Iguig, respectively.
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, Dito Telecommunity, 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 houses the headquarters of the Philippine National Police for Cagayan Valley, located in Camp Marcelo A. Adduru at Alimannao Hills. As the region's institutional center, it is home to the majority of regional government offices, which are concentrated in the Regional Government Center at Barangay Carig Sur.
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.
Tuguegarao also serves as a vital hub for local, regional and national transportation. Buses operate regional routes from Tuguegarao to Baggao, Aparri, Santiago, Baguio, 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, and First North Luzon Transit.
To the east side are UV Express vans that ply north and south towards 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. To the west are jeepneys with routes to Iguig, Tuao, Enrile, Tabuk and Rizal in Kalinga and some mountainous and inland barrios including Callao, all of which lie on the western side of the river.
calesa 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. Taxicab are the newest mode of public transportation which are routed from the city to any point in Region 2.
Other hospitals in the city are the government-owned and run Tuguegarao City People's General Hospital and the Holy Infant Hospital as well as the privately owned Divine Mercy Wellness Center.
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 University, and other educational institutions. Proposals have also been unveiled for the establishment of a National University campus (possibly within the SM City complex), majorly owned and ran by SM Investments.
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, 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.
FM Stations:
Tourism
The Cagayan Museum and Historical Research Center houses an extensive collection of various artifacts and antiques of the province. In addition to animal fossils found in the valley, it houses extensive data on the discovery of Homo luzonensis by the National Museum. Formerly located in the Cagayan Provincial Capitol Complex, it has moved to the renovated historic provincial jail known as Tribunal de Tuguegarao. In front of the provincial museum are the refurbished century-old Rizal Park and Tuguegarao East Central School, the city's former municipio from the Spanish era until its conversion to a public elementary school in 1960.
Infrastructure
The city hosts a number of event centers—such as the Cagayan Sports Complex, Tuguegarao City Peoples' Gymnasium and the Cagayan Coliseum—thereby allowing it to host provincial and regional conventions and related gatherings.
Transportation
Transportation and infrastructure play a major role in sustaining Tuguegarao's economy and supporting nearby towns. As the city grows, its daytime population has increased, with residents commuting for commerce, work, and notably education—thanks to its reputation for housing several academic institutions. Over the years, Tuguegarao has evolved and expanded, and its transportation network has grown to keep up with the increasing demand for easily accessible, reliable, and flexible transit options.
Air
The Tuguegarao Airport handles domestic flights within the Philippines and serves the general area of Tuguegarao and its surrounding municipalities, capable of handling Boeing-737-sized aircraft. It is one of the top 20 busiest airports in the country and classified by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines as a Principal Class 1 domestic 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.
Land
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.
Main roads
Regional transport in Tuguegarao is vulnerable given its lack of distribution of and inadequate traffic engineering planning and discipline.
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. 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.
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 Tuguegarao—one of the CICM schools. The latter was the successor of the Ateneo de Tuguegarao, the country's fifth Ateneo ran by the Society of Jesus, established in 1945 but eventually closed in 1962 following the Jesuit exodus.
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Notable personalities
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Military
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External links
Official Websites
General Information
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