• Mayor                                -  Hon. Fidel E. Garcia, Jr.
• Vice Mayor                      -  Hon. Teodulo F. Cepeda
• Sangguniang Bayan Members:

-  Hon. Rossini P. Paraan

-  Hon. Ronnie R. Cambalon

-  Hon. Canesio C. Montaus

-  Hon. Benedicto G. Magpale

-  Hon. Rafael A. Ramo, Jr.

-  Hon. Maya Mispah D. Giango

-  Hon. Jary P. Mondejar

-  Hon. Melchor S. Beltran

-  Hon. Rodrigo A. Calumba – Liga ng mga Punong Barangay President

-  Hon. Juvy D. Cuyos, SK Federation President

The Municipality of Tubay is a ten-minute ride to Cabadbaran, the proposed capital town of the province; a 35-minute ride to Butuan City, the regional capital of Caraga Region XIII; 45-minute ride to Bancasi Airport; an hour ride to Buenavista-Nasipit-Carmen (BueNasCar) Industrial Corridor where the International Port is located and a 45-minute ride to Lake Mainit, the tourism center of Agusan del Norte in the eastern side.

The municipality has a total road length of 82.914 kilometers, 13.79% or 11.432 kilometers are provincial roads, 7.03% municipal road and 23.08% Barangay roads.  Provincial Roads are made of 70.34% gravel and 29.66 concreted while Barangay Roads are made of 40.06% earth fill, 50.56% gravel and 9.39% concreted.  The national highway (Daang Maharlika) comprises of 15.18% concreted while the rest are 10.96% gravel and 73.86% earth fill situated along the coastal area. The municipal roads mostly located along the poblacion area are 46.23% concreted and 53.77% gravel.  It has three bridges and seven concrete or bailey bridges.

The present primary modes of transportation are motorcycles easing the transportation needs of the locality.  Where there are no access roads, coastal barangays are reachable thru motorized bancas/pump boats. 

The road network of Tubay going to the junction of national highway is classified as good.  Tubay was a recipient of infrastructure funds from the USAID Program of Road Construction on Asphalting.  Presently, the National Secondary Coastal Access Road has yet to be constructed which will principally link Surigao del Norte and Agusan del Norte along the coastal area and the Lake Mainit Eco-tourism Zone (LAMETE) which covers the municipalities of Jabonga, Kitcharao, Santiago and Tubay.

Sea Transport Service                                                                

Sea faring travelers from Tubay has to go to the only existing/alternate international port situated in the Municipality of Nasipit and two sub-ports of entry situated in Butuan City and Barangay Masao.  Nasipit port serves both foreign and inter island vessels route, all throughout the archipelago of the Philippines.  This port caters to both service handling of bulk cargoes and passengers bound regularly for Manila, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Iloilo and to other domestic ports of call.  It is also a foreign transshipment point of cargoes from abroad.

Water Supply                                                                                

Tubay has abundant sources of water and natural springs.  However, the water system is up to Level 2 only.  Water system service therefore needs to be expanded and improved in order to cater to the water demands of the projected number and type of consumers, from residential to industrial and commercial.

Sewage and Solid Waste Disposal

Tubay does not have a Comprehensive Waste, Water and Solid Disposal System.  All households depend on septic tanks and pit privy system in discharging human wastes.  The Code of Public Safety (M.O. #1-96) especially on waste and sanitation is enforced as part of the requirements of applicants of new buildings/houses before granting them building permits.

Rudimentary methods of disposing solid waste in Tubay are still practiced.  Communal compost pits are strategically installed in every puroks and households.

Communications                                                                      

A landline telephone serviced by Philcom is used at the municipal hall.  Other available means of communication are Cellular phones (SMART & Globe Cell). Butuan City and the City of Cabadbaran (35 and 10 minute-ride from Tubay) also provide other means of telecommunication services like PT&T, PHILCOM, BAYANTEL & CRUZTELCO for IDD (International and National Direct Dial) long distance calls.

Power                                                                                                                                                                

The power supply of Tubay comes from the Maria Cristina Hydroelectric Plant and Power Barge in Nasipit.  It is distributed by the Agusan del Norte Electric Cooperative (ANECO).  However, the three coastal barangays of Tinigbasan, Tagpangahoy and Binowangan are using solar-generated energy as their power means.

Identified as one of the growth centers in the Caraga region by the Provincial Development Council, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has approved the conversion of the 210-hectare area owned by JC Agri Development Corporation into Tubay Agri-Industrial Processing Center (TAPCEN) with the owners, JC Agri Development Corporation, as its site developer.

TAPCEN, located at Poblacion Barangay Doña Rosario, is approximately 86 kilometers from Surigao City and 33 kilometers from Butuan City, 63 kilometers from the Nasipit International Port and 5 kilometers away from the fabulous beaches of the municipality.  If fully operational, TAPCEN will generate employment opportunities for 15,000 to 20,000 workers and will generate substantial export earnings, encourage and stimulate local industries.

The purpose of establishing TAPCEN is to absorb the abundant supply of agricultural production in the lake-zone and neighboring areas of the municipality.  The area is expected to be equipped with cold storage and processing facilities, an area for cattle fattening and a slaughter facility as well as forest product processing.  Post-harvest facilities, fish processing and the canning facilities, which is presently operating with the abundant “tamban” species as raw material, are also located in the area.

Industries encouraged in the TAPCEN area are agri-based manufacturing operations; technology based companies and allied manufacturing activities.

Some of the key priority projects for Mindanao, affirmed by the recent Mindanao Business Conference, are the establishment of a major food manufacturing and setting up of a coco-coir processing facility in the Tubay Agri-Industrial Processing Center (TAPCEN).

The coco-coir facility will be capable of transforming various coconut waste materials into marketable products like coco fiber and dust for horticultural applications with countries like Australia, Germany and Japan as principal markets. First stage processing will be done at the village level, increasing downstream economic activities at the barangay level and contiguous areas.

Other preferred industries to be located in the TAPCEN area are the following:

 a)     Agri-based Industries

• Feed mill
• Coco-coir factory
• Copra soil manufacturing
• Organic fertilizer processing
• Veneer manufacturing

b)     Aqua-based Industries

• Blast freezing and cold storage facility
• Fish processing plant
• Fish cannery (existing AMS Canning Corporation)
• Ice plant

c)     Light Industries

• Stone craft factory – which utilizes Tubay stones in its production
• Machine and equipment fabrication
• Ceramic and roof tile factory
• Abaca paper pulp factory
• Semi conductors and electronics parts industry utilizing marine
• Household elements found in Tubay
• Furniture factory
• Rubber molding facility
• Metal fabrication
• Stone ornament processing

d)     Food manufacture and processing industries

• Pineapple cannery
• Mango processing plant
• Peanut plant and soya
• Vegetable processing plant
• Nata de coco factory
• Coco juice plant
• Slaughter house
• Dairy factory

Identified as one of the growth centers in the Caraga region by the Provincial Development Council, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has approved the conversion of the 210-hectare area owned by JC Agri Development Corporation into Tubay Agri-Industrial Processing Center (TAPCEN) with the owners, JC Agri Development Corporation, as its site developer.

TAPCEN, located at Poblacion Barangay Doña Rosario, is approximately 86 kilometers from Surigao City and 33 kilometers from Butuan City, 63 kilometers from the Nasipit International Port and 5 kilometers away from the fabulous beaches of the municipality.  If fully operational, TAPCEN will generate employment opportunities for 15,000 to 20,000 workers and will generate substantial export earnings, encourage and stimulate local industries.

The purpose of establishing TAPCEN is to absorb the abundant supply of agricultural production in the lake-zone and neighboring areas of the municipality.  The area is expected to be equipped with cold storage and processing facilities, an area for cattle fattening and a slaughter facility as well as forest product processing.  Post-harvest facilities, fish processing and the canning facilities, which is presently operating with the abundant “tamban” species as raw material, are also located in the area.

Industries encouraged in the TAPCEN area are agri-based manufacturing operations; technology based companies and allied manufacturing activities.

Some of the key priority projects for Mindanao, affirmed by the recent Mindanao Business Conference, are the establishment of a major food manufacturing and setting up of a coco-coir processing facility in the Tubay Agri-Industrial Processing Center (TAPCEN).

The coco-coir facility will be capable of transforming various coconut waste materials into marketable products like coco fiber and dust for horticultural applications with countries like Australia, Germany and Japan as principal markets. First stage processing will be done at the village level, increasing downstream economic activities at the barangay level and contiguous areas.

Other preferred industries to be located in the TAPCEN area are the following:

 a)     Agri-based Industries

• feed mill
• coco-coir factory
• copra soil manufacturing
• organic fertilizer processing
• veneer manufacturing

b)     Aqua-based Industries

• blast freezing and cold storage facility
• fish processing plant
• fish cannery (existing AMS Canning Corporation)
• ice plant

c)     Light Industries

• stone craft factory – which utilizes Tubay stones in its production
• machine and equipment fabrication
• ceramic and roof tile factory
• abaca paper pulp factory
• semi conductors and electronics parts industry utilizing marine
• household elements found in Tubay
• furniture factory
• rubber molding facility
• metal fabrication
• stone ornament processing

d)     Food manufacture and processing industries

• pineapple cannery
• mango processing plant
• peanut plant and soya
• vegetable processing plant
• nata de coco factory
• coco juice plant
• slaughter house
• dairy factory

Today, the bulk of Tubay’s economic activities are affixed mainly to the typical sari-sari stores, family-run small handicraft making businesses, food processing, soap making and the drastically new mining operations.

In last year’s count, the following lines of businesses were accounted for during the annual business mapping survey:

 While most of these activities have augmented the local revenues of the municipality, a bigger portion of the economic growth opportunities of Tubay in the area of tourism and other industrially viable undertakings are still lying in waiting for the right prospects and utilization.  So that when its natural environs are soundly exploited with a sustained-integrity, then the town of Tubay would not only become a boom town but also a progressive town whose wise use of its natural resources would lead a life of prosperity.

Economic Development Profile

The role of Agusan del Norte in regional development is to promote crop production of domestic and commercial consumption as well as to promote agro-industrial development.

             Tubay, as a predominantly agricultural town, supports this role due to its abundant supply of root crops, coconuts, bananas, and fish, which are traded in neighboring municipalities.  The productions of these crops are limited in the backyard scale serving as cash crops to augment the livelihood of the farmers.  If raised into a commercial scale, these crops will supply the province’s domestic need for these agricultural products.  Its surplus will either be used as raw materials for other by-products or will be preserved to maintain their distinct features and be distributed throughout the region.  The on-going reforestation activities of the denuded areas are expected to produce trees of commercial value.

Selective logging will be implemented to support the logging industry of the province.  Aside from hard timber, Tubay will support the production of locally available construction materials with its voluminous supply of old coconut trees for coco lumber, pebbles, adobe, sand and gravel.  The municipality will also be able to support the mining industry of the region with its metallic and non-metallic deposits, which are partially explored.

                  Tubay has a total land area of 13,800 hectares occupies 5.33% of the total land area of the province of Agusan del Norte. The urban area covers 2.97% of the total land area while the rural areas cover the dominant 97.03%. Specifically, the top 3 barangays vis-à-vis areas covered: Barangay Tagmamarkay (19.78%), Doña Telesfora 11.41% and Sta Ana (20.5%).  

Slope Classification

                  Approximately 31.14 percent of the municipality’s land area has slopes of 0-3%. These areas are along the Kalinawan River that traverses the municipality from Mainit Lake towards the Butuan Bay.  Areas with slope of 18% & above comprise 55.38%. These areas occupy both the eastern and western boundaries of the locality.  In between these two slope categories are rolling and hilly areas that cover 13.48 percent.

Soil Types

Land Classification

Forest/timber area is 7,518.03 hectares or 54.57% while alienable and disposable area is 6,281.97 hectares or 45.43%. Total built-up area is 148.5 hectares, which is 2.36% of the total alienable and disposal lands.

Existing General Land Use     

      A total of 7,212.04 hectares or 52.26% of land in the municipality are forest area. The area devoted for agricultural use is 4,847 hectares or 35.12%, mineral land is 598.50 hectares or 4.34%, Body of Water is 522.96 hectares or 3.79%, open grass land is 471 hectares or 3.41 and the built-up area covers only 148.5 hectares or 1.08%

 With a total population density of 136 persons/sq.km., the town is considered as a low density area.  Rural barangays have a population density of 112 persons/sq.km. while the urban barangays with a population density of 906 persons/sq.km. is classified as a high density area.  Poblacion 1 has the highest density of 956 persons/sq.km. and Barangay Lawigan is the lowest with 39 persons/sq.km.

Personnel Complement

The LGU organizational structure of Tubay is composed of thirteen offices of which nine are mandatory and the remaining four optional.  It employed a total of seventy (70) personnel, four (4) of which are temporary, twelve (12) casual workers and forty two (42) permanent employees and twelve (12) elected officials.  The office of the Mayor, Sangguninag Bayan, Treasurer’s Office and Health Offices covers the bigger percent of the employees. Each office is being supervised by its respective department head with the Office of the Mayor directly supervising these offices.

Electorate

            During the May 10, 2007 national and local elections, 54 precincts functioned in the municipality. Number of registered voters totaled to 11,749. Of this number, registered voters who actually voted was 9,966 or 85% while 1,783 or 15% failed to vote. While during the barangay elections last October 21, 2007, there are 13,166 registered voters, 10,164 who actually voted or 77% and 3,002 or 23% failed to vote.

Population Size and Growth Trend 

As to Year 2007 census, the town has a population of 18,674 with a growth rate of 0.79.  From a high growth rate of 4.68 in 1960 and 3.50 in 1970, it dropped to 0.71 in 1980.  Cause of this low growth rate is low economic activity aggravated by a serious peace and order problem.  Population increased by 3,153 and a 2.34 growth rate in 1990 before dropping again to the growth rate of 1.17 in 2000.

Urban-Rural Population

            The municipality has a total of 13 barangays – 2 urban and 11 rural. The 2007 census showed that 3,560 or 19.06% lived in the urban areas and about 15,114 or 80.94 % lived in the rural areas.

Population by Sex

In 2007, male population is 9,676 or 51.82 % of the total population of the municipality while female population is only 8,998 or 48.18%.

Labor Force

             Male population has more than 1,886 employed than the female population; this is because of the Mining Company that hires mostly male in its industries and operations. They also have more unemployed by 71but lower in “Not in the Labor Force” by 1,489 compared to the female populations.

The municipality has one main health center, five barangay health stations and four heath centers.  The main health center is staffed with one health officer, one health nurse one sanitary inspector, one medical technologist, one health midwife, one clerk and one utility worker while BHCs/BHS’s are manned with one midwife and barangay health worker.  Since the municipality has no private hospital or clinic cases for further management and treatment are referred to the nearest district hospital.

Around 2.72 for every 1,000 population die here in 2000, low compared to the provincial rate of 3.3 but high compared to the 2.27 benchmark attained by one municipality in Agusan del Norte.

The municipality’s infant mortality rate of 4.25 per 1,000 live births is much lower than that of Agusan del Norte’s 9.51. But it is still too high in this province where two municipalities hit a zero infant death.

Such high morbidity rate also couldn’t be done away. The malnutrition rate here is high at 215.56 per 1,000 populations, too high compared to the provincial rate of only 124.

Such high malnutrition level could just also be the case. The residents here are eating only 60% of the required intake, too low compared to the provincial food nutrient intake adequacy level of 86%.

The sanitation condition in the place exacerbates the condition. Around 91.04% are utilizing sanitary toilets but only 62.02% of its residents have access to sanitary sources of water.

All these deficiencies in the health development condition show in the causes of death here. Hypertensive vascular  and Heart Diseases are the two leading causes of death in the place, all traceable to a deficient or faulty diet, unsanitary surroundings and physical abuse either through overwork or unhealthy lifestyle.

Religious Affiliation

       Most of the 63.66% of the residents are believers of the Roman Catholic faith, Aglipayans comprise 26.74%, Iglesia ni Kristo 2.41%, Evangelicals 3.35% and the other 3.84% are followers of the other congregations.

Mother Tongue/Ethnicity

                  By their dialect, those from the islands in the Visayas fronting the northeastern side of Mindanao mainland are the places where most of the municipality’s current residents came from. They comprise 97.80% of the present mix – Cebuano, the dominant one (94.94%), Boholano (1.97%), Hiligaynon/Ilonggo (0.35%), Ilonggot (0.43%), Waray (0.11%). Migrants from the Luzon island up north of the country’s expanse also mix up with the presence of Tagalog speaking residents (0.12%). The other 0.70% of the current population originates from the Mindanao region – Butuanon (0.10%), Kamigin (0.11%), Manobo (0.14%), Davao Chavacano (0.11%) and the Surigaonon (0.24%). What may have remained of the original inhabitants of the place comprise only 1.38% of the ethnic mix.

Tubay is located in the northern portion of the Province of Agusan del Norte. It lies 9⁰ 9’ 37” north latitude and 125⁰ 31’ to 128⁰  37’ east longitude. Its boundaries are Jabonga and Santiago to the north; Butuan Bay to the west, Cabadbaran to the south; Santigao to the east. It is approximately 86 kilometers and 39.1 kilometers from Surigao City and Butuan City, and 232 kilometers from Cagayan de Oro City.  It is situated in the heart of the CARAGA Region.

Political Subdivision

            Tubay has 2 Urban barangays and 11 Rural barangays, namely: Poblacion 1 and 2, Binuwangan, Cabayawa, Doña Rosario, La Fraternidad, Lawigan, Sta Ana, Tagpangahoy, Tagmamarkay, Tinigbasan, Vicotry and Doña Telesfora.

                Topography                                                             

The municipality is made up of flat and rolling lands.  Mountain ranges rise on both the eastern and western boundaries forming valleys fed by the waters of four rivers and tributaries.  The eastern mountains are part of the Diwata mountain range that forms a natural boundary between Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Sur.  The second highest peak in Agusan del Norte, Mt. Mabaho, is overlooking Tubay with an elevation of 1,823 meters above sea level. The low-lying hills on the western bay provide a natural barrier of Lake Mainit forcing its water to flow through the entire length of Tubay feeding its agricultural lands as it flows down to Butuan Bay.

                 Climate             

Tubay’s climate, like the other northern municipalities in the Province of Agusan del Norte, has no pronounced dry season. Average temperature of 31.6 degrees while relative humidity has an average of 86.4%. Average rainfall is very low at 6.2 mm with November and February recording the highest of 25.4 mm and 12.6 mm respectively. The prevailing wind direction is east northeast.

Since 1898, Tubay was a prosperous town. But when the Americans visited Tubay and Cabadbaran, they were convinced that the latter was the better place for the seat of government. Therefore in 1903, Tubay was reduced to a barrio to give way to its equally thriving neighbor, Cabadbaran.  Although reduced to a barrio status, it still remained the center of commercial activity due to the presence of Chinese merchants. Booming business in Tubay was still noticeable until the fabulous 20’s when the navigable Jabonga River was the chief artery of its copra and hemp traffic. However, when the road connecting Tubay-Santiago and Cabadbaran was finished, business in Tubay began to decline and trade through the Jabonga River disappeared.

On October 20, 1947, Tubay regained its township status by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 44 signed by then President Manuel A. Roxas and by Republic Act No. 44 of the same year.