Malaybalay City Charter Day in the Philippines Date in the current year: March 22, 2024

Malaybalay is a 1st class component city and the provincial capital of Bukidnon, a landlocked province in the Mindanao region of the Philippines. The city is situated 2,000 feet above the sea level and surrounded by mountains and thick forest; thanks to its unique location, the weather in Malaybalay is wonderfully cool even during the hottest months of the year. Because of this, it has been dubbed as the “City in the Forest of the South” and “South Summer Capital of the Philippines”.

The earliest settlement in the area was founded by the Higaonon, an ethnic group within the Lumad people native to Mindanao. When the Spanish arrived in the region in the 18th century, they saw several thriving communities along the Tagoloan River. In 1815, the Spaniards created the Province of Misamis, which included the territory of present-day Malaybalay.

Even though the Spanish and the locals co-existed in relative peace, there were some skirmishes with the colonial administration. One of these skirmishes resulted in the burning of the village of Kalasungay in 1850. A group of survivors led by Datu (chief) Mampaalong founded a new settlement near the Sacub River and named it Malaybalay. In 1877, they reached an agreement with the Spanish administration, and Malaybalay was incorporated into the town of Sevilla (now Mailag), becoming a barrio administrated by a cabeza de barangay.

Following the defeat of the Philippines in the Philippine-American War, the new American administration split Misamis into two new provinces: Misamis Oriental and Misamis Occidental. Mailag (and, by extension, Malaybalay) became part of Misamis Oriental. In 1907, Bukindon was created as a sub-province, and Malaybalay officially became a municipality, while Mailag became one of its barrios. When Bukindon became a full-fledged province in 1917, Malaybalay was designated as the provincial capital.

During much of World War II, Bukindon was occupied by Japan together with the rest of the Philippines. While Malaybalay was occupied, several guerrilla groups operated nearby and carried out frequent raids on Japanese camps. The town was liberated in 1945 by the Allied forces together with Filipino guerrillas.

After the war, Malaybalay continued to grow, and several new municipalities were created of some of its barrios between the 1960s and the 1980s. They included San Fernando, Valencia, Lantapan, and Cabanglasan. In March 1996, the local legislature of Malaybalay petitioned the House of Representatives to grant Malaybalay the city status.

The petition was granted, and on March 22, 1998, President Fidel Ramos signed the act converting Malaybalay from a municipality into a component city. The anniversary of this event is now celebrated in Malaybalay as Malaybalay City Charter Day. It is normally a special non-working holiday, although there have been years when it was a working holiday.