Malangas

The name Malangas got its name from a sitio later named Malangas Gamay, probably of Spanish origin. Though the exact origin of “Malangas” is unclear, the word itself might have Spanish origins, probably taken from the word “Malanga” which means “Taro” (Colocasia Esculenta to Botanists) in English (“Taro” is called “Gabi” in Filipino), as the natives of Malangas might have been planting this crops during the time when the Spaniards paid them a visit.

Malangas is one of the oldest municipality of its former province, Zamboanga del Sur.

The municipality was created through Republic Act No. 654, issued on June 16, 1951, during the leadership of President Elpidio Quirino, upon separation of twenty barrios from Margosatubig in the old province of Zamboanga.^[6]

After the partition of Zamboanga, Malangas became part of Zamboanga del Sur, and its territory was later reduced. In 1956, six barrios and sitios, along with parts of Kabasalan, were separated to establish Siay.^[7]

In 1977, Imelda was created, constituting seven barangays, including Sta. Fe which would be the seat of government in the newly-created municipality, detached from Malangas, along with parts of Siay and Alicia.^[8]

A booming coal town during the 1900s, and the mother town of various towns namely Buug, Diplahan, Imelda, part of Siay in Zamboanga Sibugay and the towns of Bayog and Kumalarang in Zamboanga del Sur.

For much of its modern history, from the 70's up until the mid 2010's, Malangas was governed by the Tura political family/clan. Starting with strongman Mayor Cecilio G. Tura, whose no-nonsense approach to crime and injustice endeared him deeply to his constituents. He was followed by his politically savvy daughter Mayor Denia Tura-Tapodoc, who also served as Board Member in the undivided province of Zamboanga del Sur. After suffering a setback when she lost the vice-gubernatorial bid in the early 90s, she would run and return as Mayor for most of the 90s until 2001. Another daughter would take the mantle in 2001 when Mayor Cecille L. Tura won her first term as Mayor of Malangas. She would serve as Mayor until 2010. Then as vice-mayor until 2013.

The town is Located on the south-eastern tip of Zamboanga Sibugay province. It is bounded on the east by Dumanquilas Bay and south by the Celebes Sea. The total distance from Manila to Malangas, Philippines is 492 miles (792 km). This is equivalent to 792 kilometers or 428 nautical miles (793 km). It is two and a half hours away from Pagadian city, 45 minutes drive from the Provincial capital, and 133 kilometers away from the city of Zamboanga.

Malangas also includes the island of Muyong, having endowed with white sand beaches, and other of uninhabited islands near the shorelines. Mainland area are steeply sloping terrain of hills and mountains. Due to its topography and elevation the town do not experience flooding.

The indigenous people of the area now known as Malangas were the Malangeneous.

The large majority of the population of Malangas is Roman Catholic (87%). Other religions represented are Protestant (3%), and Islam (10%).

Poverty incidence of Malangas

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]}

Coal mining has been in operation in Malangas since the early 1930s, which strengthens the local economy as well as that of the entire province Zamboanga Sibugay. In 1938, the Malangas Coal Reservation was established.^[23] Although the scale of the present operations is relatively modest, the production is of considerable national significance. There are relatively large deposits of coal and this estimates to contain nearly 10 million tons of coal (according to Frederick L. Wernstedt, Joseph Earle Spencer) some of which is of coking quality - a small quantity to be sure, but one that gains added significance in light of the general overall shortage of mineral fuels in the Philippines. The present production of Malangas coal is being shipped to the Iligan Industrial area.

The rest of Malangas is still heavily dependent on agriculture and aquaculture, while in the coastal areas there is also commercial fishing.

Manufacturing:

• Rice and Corn Milling
• Coffee Milling

Malangas is endowed with several islets that are ideal for resort development. One of these is Isla Muyong, comparable to Buluan island of Ipil. One characteristic that they have in common is their white sand beaches. Others are also sprawled in some of the town's coastline.

The most notable beach in Malangas is the Municipal Government owned beach resort, located in Bunker, the site of the town's coal port. Many people who live in the nearby towns like it because of the proximity of the place.

Malangas is home to one of the satellite campuses of Western Mindanao State University, the state university in western Mindanao region which is ranked sixth among 68 universities all over the country, according to a survey on the Top Academic Institutions in the Philippines conducted by the Commission on Higher Education. Head office of the university is in Zamboanga City The campus is located at the mountain hill of the town viewing the Dumaguillas Bay and neighboring islets.

• Malangas Coal Reservation