Santiago, Agusan del Norte

Santiago, officially the Municipality of Santiago (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Santiago; Tagalog: Bayan ng Santiago), is a municipality in the province of Agusan del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 28,657 people.^[5]

Santiago
Municipality
Municipality of Santiago
Santiago River and its dam
Flag Seal
Map of Agusan del Norte with Santiago highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Santiago Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 9°16′N 125°34′E
Country	Philippines
Region	Caraga
Province	Agusan del Norte
District	2nd district
Founded	January 1, 1937
Chartered	1969
Named after	St. James the Great
Barangays	9 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Franklin D. Lim
• Vice Mayor	Zenaida C. Lim
• Representative	Ma. Angelica Amante-Matba
• Municipal Council	Members Brendo P. Acierto Sulpicio T. Dedumo Benjie L. Montes Esmeraldo R. Acierto Jr. Luzmindo M. Pascua Lutgardes M. Dolaoco Nestor M. Monteclaro Danilo G. Pablo Sr.
• Electorate	15,159 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	275.61 km2 (106.41 sq mi)
Elevation	267 m (876 ft)
Highest elevation	1,059 m (3,474 ft)
Lowest elevation	23 m (75 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	33,877
• Density	120/km2 (320/sq mi)
• Households	5,858
Economy
• Income class	4th municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	41.8 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 240.9 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 581 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 121.7 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 73.43 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Agusan del Norte Electric Cooperative (ANECO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	8608
PSGC	1600210000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)85
Native languages	Agusan Butuanon Cebuano Higaonon Tagalog Surigaonon
Website	www.santiagoadn.gov.ph

History

In the later part of 1898, a group of natives fleeing from the municipality of Jabonga settled in a place recognized by the municipality of Cabadbaran as barrio Santiago, However, in 1924 the Aciga River swelled its banks, destroying all properties, crops and animals along it. This forced the inhabitants of Santiago, Cabadbaran to transfer to barrio Jagupit. In 1936, the same river wrought extensive damage which made the inhabitants decide to transfer at the foot of the hill, particularly at Sitio Paypay, which was inhabited by two groups of natives-the Manobo and the Mamanwa.

The construction of the national highway, which passes thru sitio Paypay, lured more people to settle in the place.

On April 26, 1959, the name Paypay was changed to Santiago through Republic Act 2170,^[6] in honor of Senior Santiago or Saint James.

In 1964, the barrio officials of Santiago indicated their desire to become a separate municipality. Finally, on June 15, 1969, the barrios of Santiago and Jagupit were separated from Cabadbaran and constituted into the new municipality of Santiago, through Republic Act 5242.^[7]

Geography

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 275.61 square kilometres (106.41 sq mi) ^[8] constituting 10.09% of the 2,730.24-square-kilometre- (1,054.15 sq mi) total area of Agusan del Norte.

Climate

Climate data for Santiago, Agusan del Norte
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	27 (81)	27 (81)	28 (82)	29 (84)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	28 (82)	28 (82)	29 (83)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	23 (73)	22 (72)	22 (72)	23 (73)	24 (75)	25 (77)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	24 (74)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	210 (8.3)	161 (6.3)	123 (4.8)	85 (3.3)	148 (5.8)	186 (7.3)	164 (6.5)	157 (6.2)	141 (5.6)	190 (7.5)	223 (8.8)	200 (7.9)	1,988 (78.3)
Average rainy days	21.0	16.8	18.5	18.2	24.9	27.7	28.4	27.0	26.1	27.6	24.6	22.0	282.8
Source: Meteoblue[9]

Barangays

Santiago is politically subdivided into 9 barangays.^[10] Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

PSGC	Barangay	Population			±% p.a.
		2024[11]		2010[12]
160210002	Curva	8.3%	2,828	2,041	▴	2.31%
160210010	Estanislao Morgado	6.0%	2,027	1,347	▴	2.90%
160210003	Jagupit	9.4%	3,179	2,254	▴	2.43%
160210005	La Paz	5.6%	1,888	1,520	▴	1.53%
160210007	Poblacion I	18.8%	6,374	5,442	▴	1.11%
160210011	Poblacion II	14.1%	4,785	3,931	▴	1.38%
160210008	San Isidro	8.8%	2,972	2,334	▴	1.70%
160210009	Tagbuyacan	7.5%	2,525	2,086	▴	1.34%
	Total		33,877	20,955	▴	3.42%

Demographics

Population census of Santiago

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1970	5,005	—
1975	6,470	+5.28%
1980	7,663	+3.44%
1990	12,775	+5.24%
1995	15,616	+3.83%
2000	17,925	+3.00%
2007	18,931	+0.76%
2010	20,955	+3.77%
2015	24,200	+2.78%
2020	28,657	+3.62%
2024	33,877	+4.10%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[13][14][12][15][16]

In the 2020 census, Santiago had a population of 28,657.^[17] The population density was 100 inhabitants per square kilometre (260/sq mi).