Margosatubig, officially the Municipality of Margosatubig ( ceb, Lungsod sa Margosatubig; Subanen: ''Benwa Margosatubig'';

Chavacano Chavacano or Chabacano is a group of Spanish-based creole language varieties spoken in the Philippines. The variety spoken in Zamboanga City, located in the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao, has the highest concentration of speakers. ...

: ''Municipalidad de Margosatubig''; tl, Bayan ng Margosatubig), is a 3rd 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 ...

Zamboanga del Sur Zamboanga del Sur ( Cebuano: ''Habagatang Zamboanga;'' Subanen: ''S'helatan Sembwangan/Sembwangan dapit Shelatan''; Chavacano: ''Zamboanga del Sur''; tl, Timog Zamboanga; mdh, Pagabatan Sambuanga), officially the Province of Zamboanga del Sur, ...

Philippines 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 ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 38,660 people.

History

The Subanens were believed to be the first people to have settled in this land, right near the swift flowing river that now traverse the Margosatubig Pilot School and Guiwan district. “Malagus Tubig” was the original name of the town, which was taken after the swift river current that kept changing its course towards the mouth of the

Dumanquilas Bay Dumanquilas Bay (alternatively spelled Dumanguilas Bay) is an arm of the Moro Gulf on the southern side of the Zamboanga Peninsula in western Mindanao island in the Philippines. It is shared between the provinces of Zamboanga del Sur on the easter ...

. In the 15th century, the Spaniards arrived and found that its bay is a natural refuge from bad weather for their ships. Soon it became their choice settlement changing Malagus Tubig (Marugusaig) to its present name Margosatubig. They built a huge stone fort on top of a hill that served as their bastion against Moro pirates who used to raid the settlements along the Dumanquillas Bay and its vicinity. The fort was known as Cotta Heights. In 1963, it was demolished and is now the site of

Pax High School PAX high school is a private Catholic secondary school in the town of Margosatubig, in the province of Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines founded by Fr. Rosalino Pascua, S.J. in 1963. The school is electronically gated. It has Computer, Science and ...

. The Spaniards reigned for years and left as their heritage most evidently, the Chavacano dialect. Suffice it to say that more than a hundred years ago, Margosatubig already existed as a settlement of migrants and natives in the 19th century. From 1917 to 1936, Margosatubig stayed as a municipal district of the city of Zamboanga. During the Commonwealth Government and by virtue Executive Order No. 17 dated December 23, 1936 signed by President

Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his dea ...

, Margosatubig finally became a regular and distinct municipality with eight original barrios. It can be said that Margosatubig is the oldest town in Zamboanga del Sur; older even than the undivided Province of Zamboanga. In 1950, the barrios of Punta Flecha, Pitogo, Qugbay, Balong-balong, Libertad and Dumanguilas were transferred to the newly created town of

Dimataling Dimataling, officially the Municipality of Dimataling ( ceb, Lungsod sa Dimataling; Subanen: ''Benwa Dimataling''; Chavacano: ''Municipalidad de Dimataling''; tl, Bayan ng Dimataling), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Zamboanga del ...

In 1951, the barrios of Malangas, La Dicha, Diplo, Gusem, Buug, Matinaw, Gaulan, Tinungtungan, Manangon, Lindang, Luop, Silupa, Minsulao, Paruk, Lubing, Balabao, Mali, Baluran, Sampuli and Bacao, all from Margosatubig were separated to form the town of Malangas. Margosatubig, in spite of being a pioneer town, still remained isolated and reachable only by sea craft. In 1976, it was finally opened to the rest of Zamboanga del Sur by an asphalt road connecting it to Pagadian. This was facilitated by the Zamboanga del Sur Development Project undertaken by the Philippine-Australian Development Assistance Programme (PADAP), and its Electrification by ZAMSURECO-1 followed in 1979.

Geography

Climate

Barangays

Margosatubig is politically subdivided into 17

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 ...

Demographics

Economy

References

External links

Margosatubig Profile at PhilAtlas.com
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Zamboanga del Sur