MUNICIPALITY OF BAYABAS
Bayabas was created as the 12th Municipality of Surigao del Sur on November 20, 1961 by virtue of Executive Order No. 452 issued by the late President Carlos P. Garcia, and was formally inaugurated, organized and separated from its mother Municipality of Cagwait and Tago on May 3, 1961. It was categorized as a 5th Class Municipality under the Local Government Finance Memorandum Circular No. 97-3(71) dated May 21, 1997.
At its birth as a town, it had only Cabugo, Bayabas, La Paz and Panaosawon as her barangays with Bayabas as the seat of Government. In ensuing years, Barangays Amag, Cagbaoto and Magobawok were created and the original name of Barangay Bayabas which was the seat of Government was change to Barangay Balete which now constitutes, together with Barangay Magobawok, as Poblacion barangays. The name Bayabas is retained as the name of the entire Municipality.
Before the immigrants came in 1917, the original inhabitants of Bayabas were the first wave of Boholano settlers when the place started becoming a community. Her name was derived from a big trunk of guava tree near the seashore where fishermen from La Paz and Tago used to take their shelter. Bayabas is the native name for guava tree or its fruit and from then on the place was called Bayabas.
During 1943 and 1944 much of the east cost of Mindanao was occupied by the Japanese, Bayabas was not occupied, although at times Japanese navy ships anchored in the harbor off the coast of the town. As the Japanese occupied an increasing number of area coastal towns, refugees trickled into town. The prewar rector of San Nicolas School, in Surigao City, was one of a number of priest who sought refuge to Bayabas. Food supplies soon failed to reach town from the outside, since Japanese troops disrupted distribution.
It was in 1918 when Bayabas was then a Sitio of La Paz became a barrio of Tago, but in 1953 this became a barrio of Cagwait when latter separated from Tago to become a new town.
Boholanos came by waves in Bayabas and they comprise about 90% of the original inhabitants, 8% are of mixed origin and 2% belongs to the Manobo tribe that settled in Sitio Tagkariit that lately became one of the communities of CADT 153 in 2010. After the World War II up to recent years intermarriages took place between migrants and settlers that composed the present inhabitants as conglomeration of people of different provincial and regional origin.
Accounts of Manobo elders who are the claimants of CADT 153 where Sitio Tagkariit, Panaosawon is one of the seven (7) communities of its claimants, that their ancestors took refuge in the East Diwata mountain ranges during the height of clan wars and tribal conflicts in Agusan Provinces. They settled in the mountains of “Liangan” which is now the Municipality of Lianga and they spread north and settled in the mountains and brush lands north of East Diwata mountains up to the wide plains of Tago in which later subdivided and created Cagwait and eventually Bayabas.
It was said that the Boholonons came and settled in the area sometime in 1917 where the used to trade laundry soap, bolos, testiles, blankets and other domestic products. Most of the traders had permanently settled in the area because of fear to encounter bad weather while cruising the Surigao waters back to Leyte or Bohol. The only means of transportation before was by boat called “Bandong”, it is a huge boat made of wooden planks without outrigger or “katig” and it was sailed thru a “gakit”, it is a canvass of piece of cloth from flour bags spread as sheets an sewn together to become a sail. The presence of the Boholanos in the lowlands prevented the Manobos to settle in the coastline instead they moved in the uplands and settled in the valley of Panaosawon. It was the tribe who gave names to their places of abode like in Panaosawon River wherein their ancestors usually wash or “saw-saw” the hunted wild animals in the river; the mountains of Panaosawon is called “Maitom” because of Magkono trees that formed as dark and thick forest cover; Tagkariit was named after the birds called “tagkaro” that nestled in the grasslands of the river bank; while Kagbuhangin is names after rich fine sand deposit of a stream that flows from Subayan mountain down to Tagkariit where the Phil. Sailfin Lizard lay and burrow their eggs in the fine sand.
Sitio Tagkariit in Panaosawon became one of the communities of CADT 153 sometime in 2009 that delineated around 5,000 hectares of territory that eventually added up to the land area of the Municipality that accounted at present to 11,874 hectares.
The Municipality propagated the culture of the Boholonos being traditional seafarers and celebrated “Gakit Festival” since 2005 and later institutionalized per Municipal Ordinance No. 1 series of 2006 conducted every 19th of November of each year while the Manobo tribe in Tagkariit still practiced their customary laws and traditions in their community such as performing rituals before farm clearing, before planting, harvesting or even before going out for hunting. The cultural practices and traditions of the Manobo Tribe are contained in the Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP) of CADT 153.
The local government structure of Bayabas has two (2) branches, the Executive Branch that composed of the different mandated offices and headed by the Municipal Mayor that is elected and has three (3) years in his/her term of Office while the Legislative Branch is headed by Municipal Vice Mayor who is also elected with three (3) years term of Office. The Legislative Branch is composed of eight (8) elected Sangguniang Bayan Members and two (2) Ex-Officio Members from President of Sanggunian Kabataan and President of Liga ng Barangay
Bayabas is located between Tago and Cagwait. The Tago River separates the municipalities of Tago and Bayabas. Bayabas is consist of seven barangays mostly located along the coastlines. Though Bayabas is a small municipality, it is also abundant in natural resources especially seafoods.
Bayabas is politically subdivided into 7 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.
