San Francisco, officially the Municipality of San Francisco ( ceb, Lungsod sa San Francisco; tgl, Bayan ng San Francisco), 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 ...

Agusan del Sur Agusan del Sur, officially the Province of Agusan del Sur ( ceb, Habagatang Agusan; Butuanon: ''Probinsya hong Agusan del Sur''; tl, Timog Agusan), is a province in Caraga region, Mindanao, Philippines. Its capital is the municipality of Prosp ...

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 80,760 people. The town serves as the center of trade and commerce in the province of Agusan del Sur. In 2013, San Francisco topped first as the "Most Competitive Municipality in the Philippines in 2012" according to the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) from out of the 163 first-class municipalities covered by their index. The protected area of the

Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary The Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in Agusan del Sur, Philippines declared by President Fidel V. Ramos. The marshland acts like a sponge, as it is nestled in the midwaters of the Agusan River drainage basin. Within its lakes, ...

can also be reached in San Francisco thru the Barangays Caimpugan and New Visayas. The town is known for the gigantic Toog Tree of Alegria, which is the most sacred tribal tree for many of the indigenous peoples of San Francisco. The town is also popular for its Irosin stone crafts, which has been the cottage industry of many indigenous families in the area for hundreds of years. Due to the town's commendable folk arts and crafts made in stone, many scholars have suggested for its nomination in the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Creative Cities Network The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a project of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which recognized creativity as a major factor in their urban development.

History

The birth of San Francisco is associated with the history of Agusan and

Surigao del Sur Surigao del Sur (Surigaonon language, Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Sur''; ceb, Habagatang Surigao; tl, Timog Surigao), officially the Province of Surigao del Sur, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located ...

. Before San Francisco became a municipality, it was part of the District of Gibong, which was then governed by Deputy Governor Francisco Cataylo. During this period, the district comprised the ''

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

s'' of Santa Ana, Caimpugan, Ebro, Borbon, La Caridad, Prosperidad, Azpetea and Los Arcos, with Santa Ana the seat of government. Like other ''barrio''s, Santa Ana comprised several

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, including Sitio Hagpa, which was the site of the present day San Francisco. Hagpa was coined from a

Manobo The Lumad are a group of Austronesian indigenous people in the southern Philippines. It is a Cebuano term meaning "native" or "indigenous". The term is short for Katawhang Lumad (Literally: "indigenous people"), the autonym officially adopte ...

word for "swampy" as the sitio was a small village nestled along the Adlayan River and inhabited by Manobo tribes. The opening of the Province of Agusan del Sur to most parts of Mindanao came during the government of President

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh president of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an aircraft disaster on March 17, 1957. An automo ...

who ordered the first road survey to be conducted by the Department of Highway in 1952. In early 1954, road construction began paving the way for the institution of public land subdivision and the in-migration of different local tribes and settlers from the various provinces of Mindanao,

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao ...

and

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

. ''Hagpa'' was later renamed ''San Francisco'' in honor of Deputy District Governor Francisco Cataylo. In early 1955, the first local government was established as San Francisco was created as a Municipal District. Francisca Tesoro Samson was appointed as the first Municipal District Mayor by then Provincial Governor Felixberto Dagani. On June 21, 1959, through ''Republic Act No. 2518'', San Francisco was officially created into a regular municipality of the Province of Agusan. In the same year, the first local officials of the municipality were elected with Atty. Paquito Fuentes as the first elected municipal mayor, who served for three consecutive terms of office. He was succeeded by his vice mayor, Cresencio Ausmolo who stayed in office by operation of law during the latter half-portion of his last term. Eight years after its creation as a regular municipality, on June 17, 1967, through ''Republic Act No. 4979'', the Province of Agusan was divided into the Provinces of

Agusan del Norte Agusan del Norte, officially the Province of Agusan del Norte ( ceb, Amihanang Agusan; Butuanon: ''Probinsya hong Agusan del Norte''; tl, Hilagang Agusan), is a province in the Caraga region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Cabadba ...

and Agusan del Sur, in which San Francisco was part of the latter. The continued growth of Agusan del Sur also saw the development of the municipality of San Francisco. Its growing population later paved the way for the creation of the municipality of Rosario through ''Republic Act No. 5760'' approved by President

Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the ninth president of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth vice president, serving from 19 ...

on June 21, 1969, just two years after the creation of Agusan del Sur. As a result, the several ''barrio''s of San Francisco including Bayugan III, Wasi-an, Santa Cruz, Cabawan, Cabantao, Marfil and Tagbayagan were incorporated in the newly created municipality. The ''barrio''s of Buenasuerte, Caimpogan, Pasta, Lapinigan, Ebro, New Visayas, Bayugan II, Borbon, Tagapua, Pisaan, Santa Ana, Hubang, Alegria, San Isidro, Das-agan, Ladgadan, Lucac, Bitan-agan and Poblacion consisting of five barrios as stated in ''PD No. 86'' dated December 31, 1972, remained to form part of the 39,253-hectare Municipality of San Francisco. The ''barrio''s of Rizal, Ormaca, Mate and Karaos were later created and added to form final 27 barangays of the present day San Francisco.

Geography

According to the

Philippine Statistics Authority The Philippine Statistics Authority (Filipino: ''Pangasiwaan ng Estadistika ng Pilipinas''), abbreviated as PSA, is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that ''collects, compiles, analyzes and publishes statistical inf ...

, the municipality has a land area of constituting of the total area of Agusan del Sur.

Climate

Barangays

San Francisco is politically subdivided into 27

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

In the 2020 census, San Francisco had a population of 80,760. The population density was .

Economy

San Francisco is the "Commercial Capital of

", serving as the primary commercial and service center in the province of Agusan del Sur. Situated within the crossroad leading to other production centers in the region, San Francisco serves as the primary distribution point of goods and people for the province. The presence of malls, hotels, health institutions, inland resorts, colleges, private/public national, provincial and local offices, restaurants, banks, communication and transportation facilities makes San Francisco the training convention center of the province and a favored place for tourists to stay. Mount Magdiwata also adds boost in its tourism sector.

Transportation

San Francisco have a bus terminal named, San Francisco Transport Terminal. All major buses including Bachelor Express,

Davao Metro Shuttle Davao Metro Shuttle Corporation (DMS), also known as Davao Metro Shuttle Bus Company, Inc., is a large bus company in Mindanao, Philippines. It operates bus transport services in and outside Davao Region with its headquarters, main garage and off ...

and GO Mindanao bound for Davao,

Butuan Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Butuan; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; fil, Lungsod ng Butuan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Caraga, Philippines. It is the ''de facto'' ca ...

, Surigao,

Tandag Tandag, officially the City of Tandag ( Tandaganon/ Surigaonon: ''Siyudad nan Tandag''; Cebuano: ''Dakbayan sa Tandag''; fil, Lungsod ng Tandag), is a 5th class component city and capital of the province of Surigao del Sur, Philippines. Accordi ...

and

Mangagoy Bislig, officially the City of Bislig ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Bislig; fil, Lungsod ng Bislig), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Surigao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 99,290 people. It is t ...

Philtranco Philtranco Service Enterprises, Inc. (Philippine Transportation Company) is a bus company in the Philippines, servicing routes to Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Caraga, Davao Region, and Northern Mindanao. It is the oldest bus operator in the Philipp ...

also serve San Francisco, to and from

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, i ...

. San Francisco also have another public transportation called

jeepney Jeepneys (), sometimes called jeeps (), are minibus-like public utility vehicles, serving as the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They are known for their crowded seating and kitsch decorations, which have become ...

and

multicab A multicab is a small light truck in the Philippines that is usually used as public transport. Just like jeepneys, they have fixed routes. Although, there are multicabs that serve as taxicabs where passengers go exactly where they want, as a ...

, their destination is

Prosperidad Prosperidad, officially the Municipality of Prosperidad ( ceb, Lungsod sa Prosperidad; tgl, Bayan ng Prosperidad), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Agusan del Sur, P ...

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...

Talacogon Talacogon, officially the Municipality of Talacogon ( ceb, Lungsod sa Talacogon; tgl, Bayan ng Talacogon), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Agusan del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 39,678 pe ...

and

Barobo Barobo, officially the Municipality of Barobo ( Surigaonon: ''Lungsod nan Barobo''; tl, Bayan ng Barobo), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Surigao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,146 peo ...

. Public Utility Van or PUV also served San Francisco, bound for Davao,

and

Tagum Tagum, officially the City of Tagum ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Tagum; fil, Lungsod ng Tagum), is a 1st class component city and capital of the Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 296,202 people making it th ...

Education

List of public and private educational institutions: * Agusan del Sur National High School * Alegria Elementary School * ACLC College of San Francisco * Bayugan 2 National High School (formerly Bayugan 2 Integrated School) * Buenasuerte Elementary School * Buenasuerte High School * Bitan-agan Elementary School * Caimpugan Elementary School *

Bukidnon State University Bukidnon State University, abbreviated as BSU and colloquially referred to as BukSU) is a provincial state university in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, Philippines. Formerly named Bukidnon State College, it became a university in 2007. The other univer ...

(''San Francisco - External Studies Center'') * Das-agan Elementary School * D.O. Plaza National High School * Divine Mercy Play School (Preschool & Kindergarten) * Enfant Cheri Study Centre * Karaos Elementary School * Ladgadan Elementary school * Lapinigan Central Elementary School * Lapinigan National High School * Light and Life Christian Learning Center (Pre-school & Elementary) * Mate Elementary School * Mount Carmel College of San Francisco, Inc. (Kindergarten, Elementary, High School & College) * New Visayas Elementary School * Ong Yiu Memorial Elementary School * Ormaca Elementary School * Pasta Elementary School * Pisaan Elementary School * Saint Francis Xavier College * San Francisco Colleges (High School & College) * San Francisco Pilot Central Elementary School (Kindergarten & Elementary) * San Francisco SDA Elementary School (Kindergarten & Elementary) * San Francisco SPED Learning Center * San Francisco West Central Elementary School (Kindergarten & Elementary) * San Isidro Elementary School * Southway College of Technology * Santa Ana Elementary School * Tagapua Elementary School

References

External links

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 ...

{{Authority control Municipalities of Agusan del Sur