Zamboanga Sibugay Day in the Philippines Date in the current year: February 24, 2024

Zamboanga Sibugay is one of three provinces in the Zamboanga Peninsula (part of Mindanao island), the other two being Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte. The first Spanish settlement on the peninsula was founded in 1569; it quickly became a major Spanish stronghold in Mindanao. The province of Zamboanga, named after and centered around Zamboanga City, played an important role in the Spanish-Moro conflict between Spanish conquistadors and the Moro people of Mindanao.

After the end of the Philippine-American War and the cession of the Philippines to the United States under the Treaty of Paris of 1898, General Vicente Álvarez and the Zamboangueño Revolutionary Forces founded the short-lived Republic of Zamboanga. Álvarez formally declared the independence of Zamboanga from Spain on May 28, 1899. The revolutionaries had actual control over Zamboanga City and claimed control over the islands of Mindanao, Basilan, and Sulu.

The Republic of Zamboanga was dissolved in March 1903, and the American colonial government incorporated Zamboanga in Moro Province, which also included the regions of Cotabato, Davao, Jolo, and Lanao. Zamboanga City became the capital of the newly established province. In 1914, Moro Province was reorganized into the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, consisting of seven provinces: Agusan, Bukidnon, Cotabato, Davao, Lanao, Sulu, and Zamboanga. The department was dissolved in 1920, and Zamboanga became an independent province.

During the World War II, most of the province was occupied by Japanese forces. The Zamboanga Peninsula was liberated by joint American and Philippine forces in 1945. In 1952, Zamboanga Province was partitioned into Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur.

The first attempts to partition Zamboanga del Sur into two new provinces were made as early as the 1960s, but all bills regarding the partitioning that were filed in the Philippine Congress remained unacted. Finally, a bill proposing the creation of the Zamboanga Sibugay Province from the Province of Zamboanga del Sur submitted by Congressman George T. Hofer was adopted and signed into law by President Joseph Estrada in 2000.

To ratify the law, a plebiscite was held on February 22, 2001. Registered voters of Zamboanga del Sur and Pagadian City were asked whether they approved or disapproved of the creation of Zamboanga Sibugay. More than 200,000 people participated in the plebiscite, and its results were announced on February 26: 70% of voters approved of the creation of the third province in the Zimbuanga Peninsula.

Ipil was designated as the capital of the newly established province, and George T. Hofer was first appointed and then elected as the province’s first governor. Zamboanga Sibugay Day is celebrated on February 24, between the day when the plebiscite took place and the day its results were announced.