Naujan

The town of Naujan was established in 1639 under a Royal decree issued by King Phillip of Spain. Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, traces of an earlier civilization existed, as evidenced by the unearthed artifacts of Chinese origin dating from the Sung, Yuan, and the Ming dynasties in barangays of Dao and San Jose. This reinforces the theory that the natives of Naujan were the Chinese during those early years. Its name according to legend, came from the word, “nauhaw”, or “went thirsty”.

Still, the Mangyans that are of malayan descent are known to be the first inhabitants and were just pushed to the interior mountanous area due to the arrival of Christian settlers. They currently reside in the reservation areas of Barangays Metolza, Caburo, Balite, Paitan, Magtibay and Banuton.

In the 17th century, a Recollect priest built a church in Barrio Bancuro with walls made of stone. This served as the house of worship and at the same time as a fort and a place of refuge against the Moro invaders. However in 1824, the Moros were able to conquer them and burned the fort. The 1800s census showed that Naujan had 924 native families and 6 Spanish-Filipino families.^[6]

In 1898, the Moro raids ceased and the settlement was transferred to Matandang Naujan commonly known as Lumangbayan along the seacoast. At that time, the rebellion against Spanish rule started to break out in Mindoro.

Naujan has its on share of revolutionaries. Francisco Manalaysay had his own insurrectionary forces against the Spaniards. Captain Valeriano Gasic was then the Presidente del Municipal of Naujan. He went underground when the Americans started to rule Mindoro and declared him “tulisan”. He was eventually captured and was sentenced to life imprisonment. This was later commuted to five years in exile in the island of Culion, Palawan where he died. The guerilla movement against the Japanese Occupation was headed by Esteban Beloncio, Felix Boquio and Gomersindo Dela Torre. During the Martial Law years, Father Ed Dela Torre was the prominent son of Naujan who actively fought the dictatorship.

It covers a land area of 52,804.15 hectares (130,481.9 acres), making it the largest municipality in the province and accounting for 12% of the province's total land area. Naujan is 26 kilometres (16 mi) from Calapan. The town is bounded in the north of Calapan, in the northwest by the municipality of Baco, in the east by part of the Verde Island Passage and Tablas Strait, in the south by the town of Victoria, in the southeast by the town of Pola and in the southwest by the town of Sablayan, province of Occidental Mindoro.

The town of Naujan is a First-Class municipality and partially urban, has a population of roughly more than 109,122 people from 70 barangays according to a recent PSA 2024 Censu of Population report, has all the amenities of a town of its size. It has its own Town Plaza and its own Conference Center. It is also the home of the newly built Oriental Mindoro Sports Complex located in Barangay Santiago.

On January 4, 1905, under Act 1280, Naujan was recognized as a full-pledged municipality while its boundaries were permanently established in 1919.

Poverty incidence of Naujan

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]}

28th Sangguniang Bayan Elected Officials (2025):

• Municipal Mayor: Kgg. Henry Joel C. Teves
• Vice Mayor: Kgg. Candido J. Melgar Jr.
• Sangguniang Bayan Members:
  • Kgg. Keneth Wilson A. Viray, Councilor
  • Kgg. Jun S. Bugarin, Councilor
  • Kgg. Marion Francis F. Marcos, Councilor
  • Kgg. Joefel C. Ylagan, Councilor
  • Kgg. Elmar B. De Villa, Councilor
  • Kgg. Allan M. Balbacal, Councilor
  • Kgg. Michael Gregory D. Vargas, Councilor
  • Kgg. Princess Patricia Mhey R. Dolor, Councilor
  • Kgg. Ralph Jonnel C. Recto, Liga ng mga Barangay Provincial Federation President
  • Kgg. Pedro M. Aday, Liga ng mga Barangay Vice President
  • Kgg. Christian Kent C. Nagutom, SK Municipal Federation President
  • Kgg. Rogelio P. Banlugan, Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative

There are three schools district offices which govern all educational institutions within the municipality. They oversee the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[21] These are the Naujan East Schools District, Naujan South Schools District, and Naujan West Schools District.

• List of Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro
• Naujan Lake