Tuba, officially the Municipality of Tuba, (Ilocano: Ili ti Tuba; Tagalog: Bayan ng Tuba), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 48,312 people.[5]
Tuba was originally a barrio[7] of the township of Baguio in the early 1900s under the American Occupation of the Philippines.[8]
It was separated from Baguio upon the latter's conversion into a chartered city on September 1, 1909,[9] and became part of the township of Twin Peaks in Benguet.[7]
Twin Peaks was abolished as a township on December 11, 1911, with the issuance of Executive Order No. 77 by American Governor General William Cameron Forbes, creating the township of Tuba.[7][8]
On June 25, 1963, President Diosdado Macapagal issued Executive Order No. 42 and by operation of Section 2 of Republic Act No. 1515, the municipal District of Tuba was converted into a regular municipality.[10]
Tuba is 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from Baguio, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from the provincial capital La Trinidad, and 280 kilometres (170 mi) from Manila.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 295.97 square kilometres (114.27 sq mi)[11] constituting 10.69% of the 2,769.08-square-kilometre- (1,069.15 sq mi) total area of Benguet.
The municipality's urban area comprises the barangays of Poblacion and Camp 3, having a composite land area of 83.85 square kilometres (32.37 sq mi), or 19.31% of the total land area.
Topography
Tuba's topography is generally characterized by irregular rugged terrain and steep slopes with several mountain peaks rising from the table land itself. Mount Santo Tomas, the highest peak in the municipality[12] soars to 2,252 metres (7,388 ft) above sea level.[13][unreliable source]
Four major rivers/streams and 49 tributary/minor rivers and creeks intersect the landform and serve as the drains of the municipality.
Barangays
Tuba is politically subdivided into 13 barangays.[14] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
Mining is a major part of the economy of Tuba.[28] The town's mining industry began upon the discovery of gold in the province of Benguet during the early 1930s.[29] Since 1958, Philex Mining Corporation, the largest gold and copper producer in the Philippines, has been operating the first underground block cave mine in the Far East at Padcal in Barangay Camp 3.[30][31]
Tailings from the copper and gold mines have wreaked havoc on the local environment: the Bued River, which runs through Tuba, is heavily silted and requires frequent dredging.[32][33]
A few abandoned mining sites such as those of Benguet Exploration Mine and Black Mountain, Inc. have been left unattended for years, which pose a threat to the local population and the environment.[34]
Tuba, belonging to the lone congressional district of the province of Benguet, 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.
^ abc"LGU-Pugo-History". Provincial Government of La Union (official website). Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2014. (Note: Pugo was part of the municipal district of Benguet Province until February 4, 1920)
^McManus, Liana T.; Chua, Thia-Eng, eds. (1990). The Coastal Environmental Profile of Lingayen Gulf, Philippines. Manila, Philippines: International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations/United States Coastal Resources Management Project. p. 69. ISBN9711022494.
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