Quezon, officially the Municipality of Quezon (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Quezon; Tagalog: Bayan ng Quezon),

is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bukidnon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a
population of 109,624 people.

HISTORY

EARLY 1900S

Back in the days, this bucolic land that we now know as Quezon in the Province of Bukidnon was a vast
ocean of grassy fields gently rising to verdant mountains. The nomadic Manobo tribe sparsely populated
the area and lived mostly along riverbanks, around the edges of thickly-forested hills or near lush
watersheds which Quezon is abundantly blessed with. Blissfully, the tribesmen foraged for most of their
needs and relied mainly on the abundance of nature. For all their other needs such as salt and clothing,
they traded abaca, preserved meat, and beeswax with neighboring communities within the province.

In the early 1900s, the ranching settlers arrived and raised cattle in the sprawling grasslands that
stretched across the western part of Quezon.

After the Second World War, an influx of migrants from other parts of the country such as the
neighboring province of Misamis Oriental and the islands of Bohol, Cebu, and Ilocos from up north
began arriving in Quezon. Both Manobos and settlers lived harmoniously with each other. There was an
abundance of food and the residents had everything they needed to make a living from – rice, corn,
coffee, vegetables, meat, rubber, coconut, and even fiber. Whatever surplus they had they would haul in
rafts across the Pulangui River in Opalon and trade them with neighboring communities. Migrants
entered Quezon through the same route as there were neither roads nor bridges back then.

THE MIDDLE OF THE CENTURY

Quezon, then called Barangay Kiokong of the Municipality of Maramag, saw its first major economic
breakthrough in the middle of the 20th century. Don Jose Fortich, one of the very first ranching settlers
to set up home in the area, put up the biggest rice and corn mill right in the center of Quezon’s would-
be commercial district. In 1957, a bailey bridge was built over the Pulangui River, connecting Barangay
Kiokong to its mother Municipality to the west and increasing the inflow of migrants even more. Foreign
investors entered Quezon and pioneered the logging industry, which cleared a majority of the arable
plains that became available for the expansion of farmlands. Bida Timber Corporation established the
timber industry in what is now known as Barangay Dumalama.
Shortly thereafter, another logging company, NAREDICO, opened up for business. The latter is known to
have had the biggest saw mill in the history of Quezon, harvesting forest resources from Salawagan, San
Roque, Linabo, and Gamot, all the way to the boundary between Quezon and the Municipality of San
Fernando. Logging operations lasted for so many years, until it dwindled and made way for the
construction of the Bukidnon-Davao Road that opened for better economic opportunities for the
residents of Quezon.

THE BIRTH OF A MUNICIPALITY

Through the efforts of community leaders who aspired for self-sustainability and develop their own
natural resources, Quezon became a Municipality in 1966. From Barangay Kiokong of the Municipality of
Maramag, it was officially recognized as the Municipality of Quezon by virtue of R.A. 4802.

Despite its being a first-class municipality, Quezon took some time to move forward with its
development goals on account of the precarious peace situation in the area. Due in part to its
mountainous topography, Quezon had been an ideal hotbed of communist movements that infiltrated
the local government since the mid-1980s. The latter’s presence hampered progress and threatened the
lives and properties of both local and foreign investors.

MOVING FORWARD

In 2016, the passage of several national laws drastically improved the country’s peace process and
addressed long-standing social issues, allowing the town to surge onward. By virtue of Executive Order
No. 70 s. of 2018, “Institutionalizing the Whole-of-Nation Approach in Attaining Inclusive and
Sustainable Peace…” more popularly known as the End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC)
Program of the national government, the Municipal Government of Quezon, under the administration of
Hon. Mayor Pablo Lorenzo III tenaciously pushed for the efficient delivery of basic government services
to far-flung areas and intensified its efforts to end the local communist armed conflict.

Through effective governance, a thriving economy, and the cooperation of its resilient and highly-
adaptable citizens, the Municipality of Quezon is well on its way to achieving sustainable peace and a
brighter, prosperous future for all.

Nature of business

SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE
The Municipality of Quezon has a total land area of 71,128 hectares, 33.35% of which is devoted to
agricultural use. Aptly named the Sugar Capital of Bukidnon, the sugar milling industry powers the
town’s local economy. Quezon is also home to Busco Sugar Milling Co., one of the country’s largest
sugar mills in terms of milling capacity and sugar milling district. Busco has helped boost the local
economy and has generated thousands of jobs since the 1970s.

While being relatively new in Quezon, the pineapple industry has also flourished. Del Monte Philippines,
Inc., for instance, started its first pineapple operations in the Municipality in 2008 and established a
fresh fruit packing house in Barangay San Jose shortly thereafter. Davao Agri-Ventures Corporation, Inc.
or DAVCO also engages in pineapple production within the municipality.

Corn and lowland rice plantations also take up a majority of the total agricultural land area. The
remaining parcels of land dedicated to agricultural use are utilized for growing seasonal crops and
vegetables, as well as permanent crops such as coconut and rubber.

Utilizing 3.76% of Quezon’s total land area, cattle production is another local economic driver. Among
the pioneers in this industry are Ozamis Agricultural Development, Inc. (OADI), Kiantig/Fortich Farm
(now Kiantig Development Corporation or KDC), and Rancho Montalvan Inc. (RMI), in Brgy. San Jose, and
Circle T Farms. These ranches breed cattle and supply live animals for local consumption and meat
retailers in neighboring urban communities and cities. Small-time cattle and swine farmers also
contribute to the local meat industry.

As per the 2014 data, the labor force participation rate is at 73.92%, 85.39% of which are farmers,
forestry workers, and fisherfolks, 12.92% are laborers and unskilled workers, 1.29% are employed in
government agencies and private corporations, while the remainder of the working group is in the
service and sales industry.