Tupi

Commonwealth Period: President Manuel Luis Quezon envisions developing Koronadal Valley and Allah Valley, leading to the establishment of the National Land Settlement Administration (NLSA) through Commonwealth Act No. 141. February 27: Major General Paulino Santos organizes and leads the first group of 62 settlers to Sarangani Bay, marking the beginning of settlement in Tupi and neighboring areas. Despite Japanese occupation, no major battles occur in the Tupi area. Post-war, settlers return to Tupi and continue development efforts. NLSA is renamed several times, eventually becoming the National Resettlement Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA) and later the Board of Liquidators. Development resumes in settlement areas; Koronadal becomes a municipality on August 12, 1947. Koronadal Valley Institute (KVI) is established as Tupi’s first secondary technical school, later renamed Matutum View Institute (MVI) but closes in 1951 due to new secondary schools opening. Gen. Paulino Santos Memorial Institute (GPSMI), Tupi’s first private secondary school, opens. First municipal officials are sworn in, and Tupi begins as a fifth-class municipality. President Carlos P. Garcia issues Proclamation No. 532, reserving specific lots in Tupi for public purposes like municipal buildings, market, and schools. Tupi’s territory is redefined with the creation of the Municipality of Tampakan, which separates from Tupi. A minor armed conflict involving Muslim separatists and the Armed Forces occurs, but it does not hinder Tupi’s overall development. Continued peaceful progress and economic growth in Tupi, occasionally challenged by minor skirmishes due to ethnic diversity, but generally harmonious. According to a legend, Tupi’s name derives from the “tufi” leaf, which early natives chewed near local springs. A visitor mistakenly interpreted their answer “tufi” as the place’s name, which evolved into “Tupi.” During the Commonwealth Period, sometime in 1939, the late Commonwealth President, Manuel Luis Quezon conceived the idea of developing the potential and gargantuan fertile lands of Koronadal Valley and Allah Valley. The concept of development paves the way for the enactment of Commonwealth Act No. 141 creating the National Land Settlement Administration (NLSA). The late Major General Paulino Santos, the foremost initiator or prime mover of development in South Cotabato and Sarangani Provinces, was commissioned as General Manager of the Settlement project which includes the Municipality of Tupi. On February 27, 1939, General Paulino Santos led the first and largest batch of settlers organized under the National Land Settlement Administration to the shores of Sarangani Bay. The 62 pioneers, who mostly came from Luzon, industriously tilled Cotabato’s fertile expanse of land. After this first influx of pioneers, thousands more from Luzon and Visayas migrated into the area. Settlement areas were then set up, large tracts of forested lands with huge trees were cleared to give way for the residential areas and roads were built to connect neighboring areas. Each settler was given a sizeable home lot and lands for cultivation. Basic services were initially provided. Educational facilities were likewise erected. Based on the historical account or interview with Barangay Captain Manuel Sunga (whose family was among the pioneer Pre-War Settlers), the first Elementary School was situated at the lot of a certain Mr. Roces located somewhere in Upper Tupi at the left side of the present National Highway going to Gen. Santos, the principal was a certain Mr. Posadas. As the country was embroiled during the Second World War, an elementary school likewise exists at the present lot being occupied by the Alliance Church, with the late Agustin Ferrariz, as its principal. During the period of liberation, the Elementary School rests the lower portion of the present Santos Hill Elementary School was run by missionaries of the Alliance Church; the principal o