Tubao, officially the Municipality of Tubao (; ), is a landlocked municipality in the province of La Union, Philippines. According to the , it has a population of people.
Historically, it is known as the "Home of the Native Tobacco" given its thriving tobacco industry. For several decades, the municipality played a significant role in the tobacco trade, with its town center featuring numerous large warehouses and trading posts dedicated to tobacco. In recent years however, corn has emerged as the town's primary agricultural product, with chichacorn being one of its most notable by-products.
The municipality has an average annual income of ₱42,803,624.
Etymology
The name Tubao is derived from the word "tuao," which is the sound made by the Rufous hornbill (Buceros hydrocorax), locally known as kálaw. According to legend, during the Spanish colonization, Tubao got its name when Spanish missionaries, led by Father Luis Gonzaga y Espinosa, ventured eastward from Agoo in their mission to spread Christianity. At that time, the area was a hinterland covered with dense forests.
While resting under the trees, the Spaniards distributed copies of the cartilla and catechism to the natives. As they rested, they were startled by a loud chorus of "tuao" sounds coming from the treetops. The calls of the kálaw (rufous hornbill) captured the Spaniards' attention and left them fascinated.
As Father Espinosa and his group continued their journey eastward, the distinct sound of "tuao" accompanied them, persisting throughout the forest. Upon returning from the expedition, Father Espinosa reported the name of the area as "Tuao." However, due to a clerical error in Spanish records, the name was transcribed as "Tubao," and this became the official name of the town.Ereccion de pueblos, La Union
History Early history The area now known as Tubao was historically part of the Aringay-Tonglo-Balatok gold trail, a significant trade route for gold. This route linked the highland settlements of the Ibaloi people in the southern Cordillera (Benguet) with the coastal plains. It followed the Ifugao River, also known as the Aringay River, which flowed into its delta at Alinguey, an early settlement in Aringay. From Alinguey, gold was transported to the nearby port settlement of Aroo, now the town of Agoo.
Small settlements of Pangasinense-speaking people originally inhabited the plains along the river, while the eastern mountainous areas were home to Cordilleran groups, primarily the Ibalois. These settlements actively engaged in trade and barter with the coastal communities of Agoo and Aringay, as well as with Ilocanos, Tagalogs, and foreign traders from China, Japan, and Maritime Southeast Asia. Goods exchanged included porcelain, silk, cotton, beeswax, gemstones, beads, and precious metals such as gold, which was highly valued both regionally and internationally.
Spanish Colonial Era With the arrival of the Spanish in the region, the settlements were organized into a ranchería and brought under the authority of Spanish colonial officials and Augustinian friars. The indigenous population was subjugated and required to convert to Christianity. The Pangasinense-speaking residents, who were the original inhabitants, were introduced to Spanish agricultural practices and socio-political systems, including the encomienda. Under this system, natives were obliged to pay tribute or taxes in the form of crops, cloth, or forced labor in exchange for protection and governance.
By the 18th century, Ilocano migrants began settling in the area, driven by population pressures and the oppressive conditions under Spanish rule in the Ilocos province. These migrants initially arrived in Agoo and Aringay, then part of Pangasinan province, and gradually moved inland to the fertile plains of Tubao. Intermarriage between the Ilocano settlers and the Pangasinan-speaking natives led to cultural assimilation, resulting in the population becoming predominantly Ilocanized in culture and language.
On October 29, 1849, Governor-General Narciso Clavería issued a decree creating the province of La Union by merging towns from Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur, and the Cordillera. This was reiterated on March 2, 1850, by Governor-General Antonio María Blanco, with Tubao, a barrio of Agoo and Aringay, as a founding town; and eventually confirmed by Queen Isabella II on April 18, 1854.
Establishment of Municipality of Tubao By the mid-1880s, Tubao emerged as a distinct barrio located along the eastern boundaries of Agoo and Aringay. The area was designated as a visita (satellite mission station) under the jurisdiction of the larger church district in Agoo. A non-resident clergy from Agoo periodically visited the settlement. The barrio was named San Isidro de Tubao, in honor of its patron saint, whose feast day is celebrated annually on May 14 and 15. On March 28, 1873, leaders and residents from nine barrios of Agoo (Macoton, Amboot, Caoigue, Pideg, Damosil, Masalip, Linapew, Anduyan, and Ambañgonan) and six barrios of Aringay (Santa Teresa, Copang, Calopaan, Bugarin, Guinitaban, and San Pascual) petitioned for the creation of a new municipality.Ereccion de pueblos, La Union: 13th bundle. This contains the "Expediente sobre la provincia de La Union, 1885," por El Señor Gobernador politico militar Federico Francia
The area of Pugo, then part of Tubao, was originally known as Ranchería Tulosa. In 1883, quail hunters renamed it Ranchería Pugo, after the local term for quail (pugo).
On July 20, 1885, Tubao was officially established as a town through a Superior Decreto. Shortly thereafter, on August 28, 1885, La Union’s Spanish Military Governor Federico Francia proposed a review of Aringay's borders to accommodate Tubao’s growing population. A bishop from Vigan, following a pastoral visit to Agoo and Aringay, also advocated for the establishment of a new town and initiated the construction of a chapel in Tubao.
On November 10, 1885, Real Orden No. 901 affirmed the Superior Decreto of July 20, officially recognizing Tubao as the "nuevo pueblo de Tubao." On November 16, 1885, Governor Francia formalized Tubao's status as the 14th town of La Union, formed from barrios ceded by Agoo and Aringay. The town was formally inaugurated on March 8, 1886, by Governor Francia.
Tubao Parish and the legacy of the Belgian missionaries During the Spanish period until the 20th century, Catholicism played a major role in the life of the people of Tubao. Tubao was a visita of the Parish of Agoo. A chapel and a convent of light materials were erected in 1884. Ten years later, the parish of Tubao was founded. Its first pastor, Father Juan Garcia arrived in March 1896. The cause of the delay was the subsidy to be voted upon in the Cortes Generales of Madrid. The missionary started gathering materials for a new church and a convent but could not carry out his plan as he left in January 1898; it took more than 30 years before these projects materialized.Baltazar, Florencio Sr. (1961) A Short History of Tubao Parish 12-13.
1896 (Heritage) St. Isidore the Farmer Parish Church
As of 2012, the St. Isidore the Farmer Parish Church of Tubao (canonically erected in 1896), 2509 La Union, celebrates its fiesta every May 15. It is under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of San Fernando de La Union (Dioecesis Ferdinandopolitana ab Unione, Suffragan of Lingayen – Dagupan, which was created on January 19, 1970, and erected on April 11, 1970, comprising the Civil Province of La Union, under the Titular, St. William the Hermit, February 10). The Church is under a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines from the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia. The Tubao Church is under the Vicariate of St. Francis Xavier with Vicar Forane, Fr. Joel Angelo Licos. The Church was rehabilitated and renovated in 1980 under Jose D. Aspiras.
American Colonial Era On March 8, 1900, during the Philippine–American War, the people of Tubao petitioned against the return of the friars.Scott, William Henry (1986) Ilocano Responses to American Aggression 1900-1901 186. On November 19, 1899, General Samuel Baldwin Marks Young, American commander in Northern Luzon marched through Tubao to Aringay then to Agoo. Later he "spent a week galloping in and out of Tubao and Salcedo" in pursuit of General Emilio Aguinaldo and his forces.Scott, William Henry (1986) Ilocano Responses to American Aggression 1900-1901 23.
Capt. Santiago Fontanilla, heading 130 men with four officers and 87 rifles, fought against the Americans. When he narrowly escaped capture in Kapangan, he abandoned personal equipment which included a horse and Colt .45 pistol both belonging to Colonel Gutierrez, his commander.Scott, William Henry (1986) Ilocano Responses to American Aggression 1900-1901 58.
Up to 1912, the condition of the young parish was unstable and precarious. The priests did not stay long and several times, Tubao was without a spiritual father. In 1908, it became again a visita, but of Aringay this time.
Conditions were better in Pugo. Although smaller and never given a pastor in the Spanish time, it had a Dutch-born resident priest since 1909, Rev. Gerard Martens. When Tubao lost its priest once more in 1911, the parishioners sent a petition to the bishop requesting his excellency to send a missionary of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae) in case no Filipino priest should be available. On 20 November 1911, Father Morice Vanoverbergh arrived from Bauko, a CICM sister mission of Bontoc. His stay was short. About 8 February 1912, he learned that Father Jules Sepulchre, one of the founders of the mission in Bontoc and Bauko, became ill upon his return to Bauko. Vanoverbergh went on horseback to visit him climbing the Santo Tomas mountain and arrived in Bauko on 14 February just in time for the burial, Sepulchre having died in Bontoc Hospital the day before. Vanoverbergh was asked by his superior to take over that mission. After two months, Father Martens was transferred to Tubao and stayed for eighteen years.
During his stint, Father Martens extended the boundaries of the church yard and constructed the main part of the church. He rebuilt in 1916 the chapel in barangay Santa Teresa and gave a school chapel to Caoigue in 1917 and an ermita to Anduyan in 1926. He acquired the rectory which was put up in Spanish time. He also started a primary school in Anduyan and Caoigue in 1913. In June 1915, he opened a Grade I class on the ground floor of the rectory or convent to be later named Tubao Catholic School and conducted a parish census. A Belgian missionary from the same congregation (Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae) Rev. Father Charles Beurms, assisted Father Martens and became the first director of the school. Father Martens also founded "The Apostleship of Prayer" (1912) and "Los Defensores de la Libertad" which later became the "Cabsat ni San Isidro."
In 1922, the first group of Belgian missionary sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Immaculati Cordis Mariae) arrived headed by Mother Marie Andrea and followed by Mother Marie Ambroise in 1923. The latter became the first principal for the Tubao Catholic high school with the opening of the First Year class. In 1924, the Second Year class was added.
The lot on which the church building and the convent of the Sisters were built on was bought from Doña Laureana Novicio de Luna, mother of the famous Luna brothers -- Juan Luna and Antonio Luna.