Butuan City

Located at the Northeastern part of Agusan Valley sprawling across the Agusan River is Butuan City, known for its colorful history and culture. BUTUAN is a term believed to have originated from the sour fruit “Batuan”. Others opined, it came from a certain “Datu Buntuan”, a chieftain who once ruled Butuan. Scholars believed, it came from the word “But-an”, which literally means a person who has sound and discerning disposition. Whichever theories appear credible depends on the kind of people residing in Butuan, for whatever is said about them, Butuan continues to live on.

Butuan’s history, culture, arts and people date back to the 4th century as showcased in museums which makes Butuan an exciting source of cultural artifacts in Mindanao.

As early as the 10th century, according to the Chinese Song Shi (history), people from Butuan had already established trading relations with the kingdom of Champa in what is now South Vietnam.
By the 11th century, Butuan was the center of trade and commerce in the Philippines. The best evidence to prove this fact is the discovery of 9 balangays (The BUTUAN BOAT) and other archeological finds in the vicinities of Butuan City, particularly in Ambangan, Libertad near the old EL RIO de BUTUAN and MASAO River.

Welcome to a City that has seen over 1,683 years of recorded history! The original site of the First Easter Mass in Philippine Soil, here, the present nurtures the past and vice-versa. While the future waits promisingly in the wings. Come up close!

Butuan City was originally located in Pinamanculan by the banks of the Masao River, a kilometer away from barrio of Libertad. Finding the Place less ideal because of the Flood, the people moved to Baug, now the municipality of Magallanes, at the mouth of the Agusan River. They again transferred to Lapaca, now known as Linungsuan in Barrio Banza about five kilometers inland of Agusan River. Still troubled by floods, the people once more settled, this time in the present site of the city proper.

A description of Butuan is not complete without infusing it with the significance of the Agusan River and its tributaries that provide the valley with rich soil from periodic floods. Its serpentine route through the city and two Agusan provinces provided the people with easy means of transportation for trade and commerce encouraged settlement along its banks. The Agusan River greatly helped the booming of the “Logging Industry” which earned Butuan the name “Timber City of the South.”

Butuan City sprawls across the Agusan River nine kilometers from its mount. Towards this, to the north and seaward, run fertile Ricelands. Halfway around the city to the southwest, roll the gently sloping hills over Mount Mayapay. To the east, the majestic Hilong-Hilong and Diwata mountain ranges protect the entire valley from fierce Pacific storms.

It is very difficult to pinpoint the exact time when the name Butuan first emerged. Certainly, the name Agusan came into being upon the creation of the province in 1914. Before this, the entire area had been known as BUTUAN, as can be born out by old historical records.

Location
Northeastern part of the Agusan Valley sprawling across the Agusan River with a population of about 315,000 (per 2007 census)

Area
81,728 hectares
27 Urban Barangays
59 Rural Barangays

Income

Based on the 2007 Report of the Commission on Audit (COA), Butuan, the only highly urbanized city in the region since 1985, is the 28th richest city in the country with an annual gross income of P811 million. The city is expected to enter the exclusive billionaire's row before the end of 2010.

Dialect
Multi-lingual predominantly Butuanon, Cebuano (predominant) and Tagalog

Climate
Dry – March to September
Wet – October to February

Temperature
Minimum – 66 F
Maximum – 85 F

Local Holidays
May 19 – City Fiesta (in honor of St. Joseph the Worker )
August 2 – Adlaw Hong Butuan (Charter Day Anniversary)

What to Wear
Lightweight clothing is recommended. Informal clothing is acceptable when visiting churches or offices. For formal occasions, the traditional barong tagalong is accepted for men. Bars, restaurants and hotels have no dress code but it is considered improper to wear shorts and slipper.

Business and Banking Hours
Butuan City is the commercial and entertainment center of the Caraga region. It has all the amenities of a highly urbanized center . Christians and Muslims living here enjoy the peace and progress of the city. There are almost 30 commercial banks operating without noon break and with ATMs 24/7. Nightlife is vibrant with bars closing at 3:00 a.m. the following day. Gaisano Mall has operated in the city since 2004 while Robinsons sets to construct its mall here in the city manifesting the strong purchasing power of the locality. Filinvest, one of the largest real estate developers in the country, has started its construction of an upscale subdivision project. More low-cost and highend housing projects are sprouting in the outskirts of the city evident of the city's strong market. Several fastfood chains from Manila have their own outlets here. There are numerous internet cafes charging as low as P5 per hour while WiFi ready establishments are available. Telcos Sun, Globe and Smart provides telecommunication services in the city and nearby areas.

Convention Facilities /Hotel Accomodation
Butuan City has hotels with complete amenities and convention facilities which can accommodate between 50 to 2,000 people. Prominent of these are the Almont Inland Resort, Dottie's Place and Convention Center, Goat Together Hotel , the Balanghai Hotel. and the new 7-story Prince Hotel . Numerous regional and Mindanao-wide conventions were held here as well as national conventions. These establishments can provide audio-visual equipment upon request. , There are also budget hotels in downtown Butuan like Hotel Karaga, Royal Plaza Hotel, Butuan Luxury Hotel, Emerald Villa Hotel, Almont City Hotel, Luciana Inn ,Embassy Hotel, to name a few. I

Educational institutions

Butuan City is the cultural and educational center of the region. Father Saturnino Urios University (former Urios College) and Butuan Doctors College are producing topnotchers in nursing board exam while the Caraga State University ( formerly Northern Mindanao State Institute of Science and Technology ), is among the top schools in the country in geodetic engineering producing topnotchers in its board exam. FSUU is listed as among the top 20 colleges/universities in the country by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) due to its exemplary performance in consistently producing passers in the licensure exams for CPA, lawyers, nurses , civil engineers and teachers . Recently, FSUU made it in the top 10 of the civil engineering board exam. It is also one of the top 200 universities in Asia, according to the 2011 QS Asia University rankings. St. Joseph Institute of Technology is also producing passers in nursing, engineering, LET and criminology exams. It is constructing a state of the art maritime school funded by Norway at the nearby municipality of Buenavista. Successful sailors and marine engineers are products of SJIT.

There are four tertiary hospitals in the city, 2 private hospitals, namely, the MJ Santos Hospital and Butuan Doctors Hospital, and 2 public hospitals, namely, Agusan del Norte Provincial Hospital and Butuan Medical Center, capable of providing quality health service to the people of the city. Other private hospitals are the Caraga Hospital and the Holy Child Colleges of Butuan Hospital.

The Butuan City Water District provides potable water to the people of the city with the Taguibo river watershed as its main source. Mineral water of different brands are available in all grocery stores, drugstores, hotels and restaurants while there are establishments offering purified drinking water.

How to get there
Butuan is accessible by plane or boat from Manila and Cebu. Land transportation to any point of Mindanao is available.

Air
The Bancasi Airport is undergoing expansion to accomodate more airbuses. Daily flights from Butuan to Cebu and Manila are being served by Cebu Pacific, and Philippine Airlines. The Bancasi airport is the 12th busiest airport in the country according to the Air Transportation Office statistics accommodating about 308,000 passengers for 2008 alone. It has various food outlets within the vicinity for pasalubong. During Christmas season, lechon from Butuan are common sight being transported to Manila, for its crispiness and taste.

Sea
Butuan is easily accessible by boat from Manila, Cebu , and Bohol via the Nasipit port, 18 kms. from city proper. Daily trips to Cebu are served by Cebu Ferries, Gothong Southern and Sulpicio Lines. While Superferry travels twice a week to Manila. Fares vary according to accommodations. Lumber products , bananas, and other agricultural products are transported to Manila and Cebu.

Land
Orange colored tricycles are common in Butuan. They go around and even outside the city proper. Jeepneys are used in the main city streets, with corresponding route numbers. Cars for rent are available upon request in most hotels and at the airport, but all are not metered, so remember to agree on the fee before boarding. Green colored taxis are also available in the city. Buses ply the routes from Butuan to other cities and provinces of Mindanao. Aircon buses to Cagayan de Oro charge P335.00 while going to Davao City is P460. There are also airconditioned vans going to these cities charging lower fares. For Dvao - P350 and CDO - P250.

Reference City Government of Butuan http://www.butuan.gov.ph/