Republic Act (RA) 533 issued on June 16, 1950 established the Municipality of Tabuk under the Sub-Province of the former Kalinga-Apayao which eventually served as the capital town of the same when the old Mountain Province was eventually divided into four independent provinces, namely, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga-Apayao and Mountain Province which replaced the then Sub-Province of Bontoc by virtue of RA 4695 or the Division Law. Like other localities around the country, the town was characterized by its rolling hills, vast grasslands and lush forests that was inhabited by indigenous peoples from Kalinga and Apayao.
Because of its fertile land, it slowly became an agricultural area where vast tacks of rice farms, and cattle raising areas were developed that led to earning its identity as the rice granary of Kalinga. On the other hand, it helped Kalinga also earn its identity as the rice granary of the Cordillera because of the presence of more than 15,000 hectares of rice producing lands in the province.
Recently, Tabuk celebrated its 74th founding anniversary as a municipality and the 17th cityhood anniversary that featured the city’s state of growth and development over the past decade. Further, it also heighted its 23rd Matagoan festival that allowed it to establish its identity as the City of Life being a melting pot of various cultures not only from the Cordillera but also from the different parts of the country.
Tabuk holds the distinction of being the third largest city in the country in terms of land with an area of more than 700.1 square kilometers. Davao holds the distinction of being the largest city in the country with a land area of more than 2,000 square kilometers followed by Ilagan City in Isabela.
In the past, Tabuk had been having some problems related to peace and order because of the conflicts among members of different tribes in Kalinga that depicted a bad image of the city. However, as years passed, the peace and order situation in the city started to dramatically improve with the implementation of stringent law enforcement activities and operation coupled with the enforcement of the so-called ‘bodong’ among feuding and non-feuding tribes and complimented by the inter-marriages with other cultures that paved the way for development to start flourishing in the city.
In 2007, RA 9404 established Tabuk as a component city of Kalinga which was subsequently ratified by the city’s electorate that paved the way for investors to consider it as one of the areas to conduct their respective businesses. Famous food chains, financial institutions, hotels and recreation areas among others started to sprout in strategic areas in the city that contributed in providing people with employment opportunities and the conduct of economic activities and sources of livelihood for them to sustain the living condition of their families.
With the fast-paced development in the city, Tabuk will most likely become the second chartered city in the Cordillera in the near future. No doubt, Tabuk was able to prepare for the expected influx of businesses in the city because of its conducive environment for investors coupled with the readily available wide road networks and identified investment areas. Moreover, it was also able to predict the massive conversion of agricultural lands to residential areas that is why the local government already placed the necessary limitations in its Comprehensive Land Use plan (CLUP, particularly that no agricultural land within 100 meters from the center line of the roads will be allowed to be converted into residential or industrial uses. It was also able to define and declare the industrial and economic zones to prevent the problems that it might encounter in the future unlike in other major cities where zoning remains to be a serious concern.
No less than Kalinga Rep. Allen Jesse C. Mangaoang declared that partnership between his office and the local government headed by Mayor Darwin C. Estran֮ero is strong that is why important focus should be given in the development efforts to ensure that the same will be done pursuant to existing norms to avoid a repeat of the experiences of other cities to be able to sustain the good pace of growth and development in Tabuk.
While Tabuk does not have the cool weather condition like Baguio, it will surely be the next wave city in the region as it was able to already prepare for it with the putting in place of appropriate policies because of the presence of visionary leaders who put premium on the interest of the populace.
Local governments need visionary leaders not self-righteous ones who pretend to be clean but actually have questionable track records in their public and private lives and that they to cover up their failures is to look for petty issues to ride on just for publicity’s sake or subject their perceived non-allies to trial by publicity just to appear righteous.
