Why named with Argao?

The name Argao dates back to the Spanish period. Locals claim that their hometown got its
name from a tree called Sali-argaw, which are abundantly in the coastal areas of place during that
time.

The town of Argao is considered as one of the oldest towns in the province of Cebu, having been
founded by the Spaniards and established as a pueblo in the year1608. But prior to the arrival of
the Spaniards, what was then Argao was composed of several families that lived mainly by fishing
and farming, as many still do today.

According to stories passed on from generation to generation, the name of the town was derived
from an abundantly-growing plant in the area, known locally as "Sali-argaw". The story of Argao’s
name is very much like many other localities in the Philippines that derived their names from
popular flora or fauna found in the area.

As the story goes, a delegation of Spanish officials came to the town and asked a villager, some say a
fisherman, what the name of the town was. Obviously, not comprehending the foreign tongue, the
man presumed that the Spaniard was referring to the “Sali-argaw” plants in the area, as the
Spaniards were waving their arms to mean the entire place.

With this, the fisherman simply said “Sali-argaw”, and from that moment on the Spaniards
christened the area as el pueblo de Argao. On that very same day, legends further say, many more
Spaniards arrived to formalize the establishment of the pueblo and appointed Don Felipe Lucero as
the town’s first gobernadorcillo.