Maramag, officially the Municipality of Maramag ( ceb, Lungsod sa Maramag; tl, Bayan ng Maramag), is a 1st class
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
Bukidnon
Bukidnon(), officially the Province of Bukidnon ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bukidnon; fil, Lalawigan ng Bukidnon; hil, Kapuroan sang Bukidnon; Binukid and Higaonon: ''Probinsya ta Bukidnon''), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the ...
, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 108,293 people.
History
![Landing Fields - Philipines - Mindanao Island - NARA - 68160190](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Landing_Fields_-_Philipines_-_Mindanao_Island_-_NARA_-_68160190.jpg)
Maramag from “''Ag Ramag''”, a contracted Manobo term for “''Ag Ramag Ki Dini''”, which as freely translated, means “Let us eat our breakfast here.” The story as officially published by the late Prescioso Velez Abellanosa Sr. (a former municipal mayor) goes that the Manobos were constantly in conflict with the
Maranaos for supremacy over the locality. Each time they set out for the battle they would stop on the bank of
Pulangi River
The Pulangi River ( Cebuano pronunciation IPA uˈlaŋi, also spelled Pulangui, is one of the major tributaries of the Rio Grande de Mindanao, an extensive river system in Mindanao, Philippines. With a length of , it is the longest river in Buk ...
where flat stones that serve as their tables abound the area. Atop of these, they would draw their plans and eat their breakfast. This habit becomes their practice that even in times of peace and as a sign of good faith, these “Lumads”, the natives or early settlers invite others who happen to pass by to partake meals with them. Maramag then was a picnic ground were one can rest and take his meal as a short respite either from travel, trekking, hunting and trapping or from battle.
Through the years, even Christians (referred to as "Dumagats", literally 'seaborne/coming from beyond the sea') started to come and settle near the place. They too would stop and eat their meals on these big flat stones during hunting trips or as they travel on foot from one valley to another. As more and more Christian settlers occupied the surrounding places, Ag Ramag became more commonly called as Maramag – a homonym or a contraction of the original Manobo term “Ag Ramag”.
The political history of the municipality traces back in 1916 when the late Deputy Governor Cenon R. Paulican positively declared that people from different parts of the country began settling in the area. Years later, the people informally elected a leader among them as the incipient local government started to take form. They called their leaders “Captain”. These leaders normally remained in office for as long as their political abilities and faithfulness to duty would allow; Monarchial in so many ways although an election process is in place. This system prevailed up to the Second World War.
In 1945, the first appointed Mayor was put in place to head the municipal government followed by two others. The first election for the position of the Municipal Mayor was held in 1951. The election for the members of the Barrio Council was held in 1955. From then on, ten other Municipal Mayors were either appointed or elected in the past 56 years up to the present.
Maramag was formally created as a municipality through Executive Order No. 272 issued by then President
Carlos P. Garcia
Carlos Polestico Garcia (November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971) was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the eighth president of the Philippines. A l ...
on July 1, 1956. The Poblacion of Maramag was formerly located in Barangay Base Camp, three kilometers away from the present Poblacion. After World War II and upon the completion of the Sayre Highway, people started to move along the highway in a linear then nodal fashion and later concentrically forming the Poblacion today, composing Barangay North and South Poblacions.
The municipal boundaries between Maramag, Pangantucan and Kibawe were established in 1935 by the then deputy Governor Cenon Paulican. Then, Maramag, with the organization of the former barangays Don Carlos and Quezon into regular municipalities, was reduced to its present area of about 58,198.98 hectares. As reported too, in the late sixties, a Memorandum of Agreement between Maramag and Valencia, Bukidnon was forged as to their common boundaries. Purportedly, the Lumbo Creek, as it flows to the Pulangi River defines the demarcation between the two municipalities.
![Central Mindanao University, entrance gate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Central_Mindanao_University%2C_entrance_gate.jpg)
The current seat of the government of Maramag consists of two barangays: the North and South Poblacion. When the
Central Mindanao University
Central Mindanao University (CMU; fil, Pamantasan ng Gitnang Mindanao) is a research state university located in the heart of Mindanao Island, province of Bukidnon, Philippines. Founded in 1910, it is one of the oldest premier universities in ...
(CMU) is transferred to Musuan, Dologon, Maramag, Bukidnon from Managok, Malaybalay, Bukidnon, the municipality became the host of the premier agricultural school in Mindanao.
The municipality likewise served as the nodal point of the major national roads of the province to the different places of Mindanao namely: the Bukidnon–Wao (Lanao del Sur) road the Bukidnon – North Cotobato Road and the Bukidnon – Cagayan de Oro Road.
Maramag boasts its agricultural importance to the development of the province. It has the Crystal Sugar Corporation with a rated capacity of 6,000 tons per day. As of 1999, the total area planted to sugarcane was 20,500 hectares, which ranked as the number one crop. Corn ranks second with 10,800 hectares planted and rice accounts for the third major crop in the municipality with the irrigated areas reaching 4,900 hectares.
The National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR)
Pulangi IV Hydroelectric Plant with a rated capacity of 255 megawatts is found in Maramag. The Power Plant contributed the Mindanao Grid.
In terms of environment, the municipality plays a vital role in the protection of the Bukidnon Watershed. Thirty percent of the land, approximately 17,340 hectares, of Maramag has been designated as forest land. These include the protected forest (10.45%), production forest (85.85%) and buffer zones (3.7%). The forest area categorized under the NIPAS is the 1,939.62 hectares within the confines of Mt. Kalatungan Range, the third highest mountain of the country.
Maramag also boasts a number of spectacular springs, which had contributed to its esteemed title, "The Land of Springs". Because of its prominence within the municipality, it attracted many tourists from near and afar to feel and indulge upon the cold and crystalline waters.
Geography
![Ph bukidnon maramag political map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Ph_bukidnon_maramag_political_map.png)
Maramag, a landlocked municipality of Bukidnon, is approximately southeast of
Cagayan de Oro City
Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region, covering ...
, around south of
Malaybalay
Malaybalay, officially the City of Malaybalay ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Malaybalay; Bukid language, Bukid and Higaonon language, Higaonon: ''Bánuwa ta Malaybaláy''; fil, Lungsod ng Malaybalay), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classificat ...
City, from
Davao City
Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...
and from
General Santos City
General Santos, officially the City of General Santos,; hil, Dakbanwa sang Heneral Santos; Maguindanao: ''Ingud nu Heneral Santos''; Blaan: ''Banwe Dadiangas''; Tboli: ''Benwu Dadiangas''; Filipino: ''Lungsod ng Heneral Santos'' and abbrev ...
.
It is bounded on the north and north-eastern by the municipality of Valencia; on the east by the municipality of Quezon; on the south by the municipality of Don Carlos; and on the west by the municipality of Pangantucan, all within the Province of Bukidnon. It is located within the geographic coordinates of 7°41’, to 7°58’ North latitude and 124°47’ to 125°14’ East longitude.
Maramag covers a total land area of and politically divided into 20 barangays. The largest barangay is Kuya.
Topography
![MaramagNightAerial](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/MaramagNightAerial.jpg)
Maramag is bounded in the North-East by mountain ranges of Mount Kilakron and
Mount Kalatungan
Mount Kalatungan, also known as Catatungan, is a volcanic mountain located in the province of Bukidnon in the southern Philippines. It is a stratovolcano with no known historical eruptions and classified by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology ...
. Among its important landmarks are the Adtuyon Plateau and the
Musuan Peak
Musuan Peak or Mount Musuan , also known as Mount Calayo (, literally "Fire Mountain") is an active volcano in Maramag, Bukidnon, on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. It is south of the city of Valencia, province of Bukidnon, and sout ...
, at the base of which lies the
Central Mindanao University
Central Mindanao University (CMU; fil, Pamantasan ng Gitnang Mindanao) is a research state university located in the heart of Mindanao Island, province of Bukidnon, Philippines. Founded in 1910, it is one of the oldest premier universities in ...
(CMU), a
state university
A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, territory or federal district. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country.
State univers ...
at
Musuan
Maramag, officially the Municipality of Maramag ( ceb, Lungsod sa Maramag; tl, Bayan ng Maramag), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bukidnon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 108,293 people.
Histo ...
, Barangay Dologon.
The municipality is well distributed in terms of slope gradients. The eastern and central sections of Maramag except in some patches are characteristically flat but undulated towards the northern and western boundaries of the area.
Areas having slopes of 0–18 percent occupies almost half (48.84%) of the entire municipality with the 0-3% slope category accounting for 26.47 percent. Another slope category with considerable area is the 8-18% occupying around 9,014.76 hectares and comprising 17.27 percent of the total land area. The largest area in Maramag in terms of the slope grouping is the 18-30%, which comprised 27.39 percent of the land area or an equivalent area of 14,297.30 hectares. The very steep hills and mountains (50% and above in slope) in Maramag occupy only 6,566.63 or 12.58% of the total land area. These areas are located mostly in the western and northern boundaries of Maramag.
Water bodies
Bodies of water abound the area, the Baguic-ican River in the east, flowing downstream as tributary of
Muleta River
The Muleta River is a river draining the southern central portion of the province of Bukidnon in the southern island of Mindanao, Philippines. It is one of the major tributaries of the Pulangi River, which drains into the Rio Grande de Mindanao in ...
that drains in the South to Don Carlos; and the Maramag River whose tributaries upstream originates from the central portion of the municipality, which flows further towards the
Pulangi River
The Pulangi River ( Cebuano pronunciation IPA uˈlaŋi, also spelled Pulangui, is one of the major tributaries of the Rio Grande de Mindanao, an extensive river system in Mindanao, Philippines. With a length of , it is the longest river in Buk ...
. Another tributary to Pulangi River that flows within the area are the Kibalagon Creek and the Kulaman River, both found in the North East.
Only
Pulangi Watershed is identified to have an influence on the availability of water resources in Maramag.
Climate
Barangays
Maramag is composed of twenty
barangay
A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...
s, further subdivided into 204
sitio
A ''sitio'' (Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own barangay if its popul ...
s or
purok
A ''purok'' ( en, district or zone) is a division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a purok often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay ...
s. Five barangays are categorized as urban: Base Camp, Dagumba-an, Dologon, North and South
Poblacion
''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippines, Philippi ...
s; and fifteen as rural.
Demographics
In the 2020 census, the population of Maramag, Bukidnon, was 108,293 people, with a density of .
Ethnicity
The population in the municipality is a mixture of different tribal origins. We can observe people speaking in different dialects/languages which are an implication of being foreign or in migrant to the locality.
Based from historical accounts, the original inhabitants of Maramag came from the blood of Manobos and Maranaos. Through the years, Christians or Dumagats started to come and settle in the area. Among them, Cebuano tongue predominated the place, while other majority groups find their living in all the corners of Maramag, although Lumads can still be found.
Languages and dialects
As shown in the Calendar Year 2000 Census of Population, the inhabitants of Maramag is composed of 77 carried ethnic groups. Cebuano is the dominant group among these carried ethnic groups. Other ethnic groups of higher headcount include Boholano, Hiligaynon/Ilonggo, Bukidnon, Ilocano and Tagalog.
Economy
![Ph bukidnon maramag waigresort](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Ph_bukidnon_maramag_waigresort.jpg)
Maramag is home to inland aqua-culture
hatcheries
A hatchery is a facility where eggs are hatched under artificial conditions, especially those of fish, poultry or even turtles. It may be used for ex-situ conservation purposes, i.e. to breed rare or endangered species under controlled condit ...
and Techno Demo Farm where agricultural technology is developed. The Dole Banana Plantation has a total area of 800 hectares. The plantation contributes to the supply of bananas exportation of the known DOLE Company.
Industries include mulberry production, mineral and purified drinking water production, and sugar processing.
![RRVikingsLake](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/RRVikingsLake.jpg)
Tourism sect is booming with spring resorts scattered around the municipality, namely Waig, RR, MGM, Edlimar, Enchanted and Rockstar spring resort.
Screenshots Cafe which opened in 2016 provided home theater facilities, the first of its kind in Bukidnon.
Electric power is generated at the Pulangi IV Hydro Electric Plant in Barangay Camp 1. With rated capacity of 255 megawatts, the power plant supplies power to various provinces of Mindanao.
The Maramag Public Wet Market was named as the cleanest wet market in the country by numerous blogging award-giving bodies.
Pati CR! Palengke sa Bukidnon, tinaguriang pinakamalinis na wet market sa Pilipinas
/ref>
References
External links
Maramag
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
br>Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Bukidnon
Populated places on the Rio Grande de Mindanao