Saguday, officially the Municipality of Saguday (Ilocano: Ili ti Saguday; Tagalog: Bayan ng Saguday), is a municipality in the province of Quirino, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 17,137 people, making it the least populated municipality in the province.[3]
Etymology
The naming of Saguday was done by Jose Cardenas of San Jose, Nueva Ecija, the grandfather of former Mayor Leandro G. Cardenas who came to visit his relatives in Saguday. The word Saguday is an Ilocano term which connotes that one possesses good traits and blessed with clean mind, heart and soul.
History
Saguday was formally founded on June 21, 1959 as a regular municipality of Nueva Vizcaya by virtue of House Bill No. 2541, authored by Leonardo B. Perez, then Congressman of the Lone District of Nueva Vizcaya which pursuant to the provisions of Article VI, Section 20 (1) of the Philippine Constitution, became a law without the signature of President Carlos P. Garcia, entitled Republic Act No. 2519. Pursuant to Section 1 of this law, the seven barrios composing the Municipality of Saguday were as follows: La Paz, Saguday (now Rizal and Magsaysay), Salvacion, Santo Tomas which were separated from the Municipality of Diffun; while Dibul, Mangandingay and Tres Reyes were separated from the Municipality of Aglipay.
Originally, Saguday was a barrio of the Municipality of Santiago, Isabela, however, upon the final settlement of the boundary dispute between Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya, Saguday became a regular barrio of Diffun by virtue of an Executive Order No. 386, issued by then President Elpidio Quirino.
The first settlers of Saguday were spearheaded by the adventurous and hardworking Ilocanos composed of the families of Corpuz, Cortez, Cabiles, Guzman and Bacani who hailed from the Province of Pangasinan, the Pagbilao and Olonan family from Ilocos Region, and the families of Cardenas, and Tomas from the Province of Nueva Ecija, who all came to exploit the vast virgin lands and forest of this very promising valley.
On August 16, 1959, the founding set of local officials to govern the town appointed by President Garcia assumed office, with Luis C. Lucas, Sr. as the Mayor, while Nicanor Pagbilao as the Vice Mayor.
Saguday was initially a municipality. Barangay Cardenas was created in 1980 pursuant to Sangguniang Bayan Resolution No. 02, while Barangay Gamis was founded in 1981, pursuant to Resolution No. 05. At present, Saguday is a 5th Class Municipality due to its limited income which is attributed to scarce resources.
Upon the creation of the Municipality of Saguday, the urban core was divided into two barrios: District I now Barangay Magsaysay has been the seat of the Municipal Government from then up to present, and District II now Barangay Rizal.
Geography
Barangays
Saguday is politically subdivided into 9 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
Saguday, belonging to the lone congressional district of the province of Quirino, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.
The Schools Division of Quirino governs the town's public education system.[19] The division office is a field office of the DepEd in Cagayan Valley region.[20] The office governs the public and private elementary and public and private high schools throughout the municipality.
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