History
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Higaonon Manobo settlement of Bayug[edit]
Iligan was first settled by Higaonon Manobos on Bayug island, now in Barangay Hinaplanon, four kilometres north of the present city centre. It was a settlement of sea dwellers.
In Dapitan, Datu Pagbuaya of Panglao received the Spaniard Miguel Lopez de Legazpi's agents in 1565. Later, Pagbuaya's son Manooc was baptized as Don Pedro Manuel Manooc. Sometime afterward by the end of the 16th century, Manooc subdued the Higaonon Manobo settlement of Bayug and turned it into one of the earliest Christian settlements in the Philippines.
Spanish rule[edit]
Although Bayug survived other raids from other enemies, especially Muslims from Lanao, the early settlers and Christian converts moved their settlement from Bayug to Iligan, which the Augustinian Recollects founded in 1609. During Christianization, the Spaniards in Iligan received a hundred Spanish soldiers as colonists and protection forces.
The Jesuits replaced the Recollects in 1639. Iligan was the Spaniards' base of operations in attempting to conquer and Christianize the Lake Lanao area throughout its history. A stone fort called Fort St. Francis Xavier was built in 1642 where Iliganons sought refuge during raids by bandits. But the fort sank due to floods. Another fort was built and this was named Fort Victoria or Cota de Iligan.[citation needed]
In 1850, because of floods, Don Remigio Cabili, then Iligan's gobernadorcillo, built another fort and moved the poblacion of the old Iligan located at the mouth of Tubod River west of the old market to its present site.[citation needed]
Being the oldest town in Northern Mindanao, Iligan was already a part of the once undivided Misamis Province by the year 1832. However, it did not have an independent religious administration because its diocese by then was based at Misamis, the provincial capital. It was one of the biggest municipalities of Misamis Province.[citation needed]
The Spaniards abandoned Iligan in 1899, paving the way for the landing of the American forces in 1900.[citation needed]
American rule[edit]
U.S. army camp Overton in Iligan in 1900
Iligan, c. 1903-1913
In 1903, the Moro Province was created. Iligan, because of its Moro residents, was taken away from the Misamis Province. Then, Iligan became the capital of the Lanao District and the seat of the government where the American officials lived and held office. Later in 1907, the capital of the Lanao District has transferred to Dansalan.
In 1914, under the restructuring of Moroland after the end of the Moro Province (1903–1913), Iligan became a municipality composed of eight barrios together with the municipal district of Mandulog. After enjoying peace and prosperity for about 40 years, Iligan was invaded by Japanese forces in 1942.[citation needed]
The liberation of Iligan by the Philippine Commonwealth forces attacked by the Japanese held sway in the city until 1944 to 1945 when the war ended. On November 15, 1944, the city held a Commonwealth Day parade to celebrate the end of Japanese atrocities and occupation.
After WW2[edit]
Establishment of the Iligan Steel Mill[edit]
Main article: Iligan Steel Mill
This section needs expansion with: a discussion of the impact of the steel industry on the local industry of Iligan. You can help by adding missing information. (December 2023)
The Iligan Steel Mill was established in 1952 as a government-initiated project of the National Shipyards and Steel Corporation (NASSCO). After NASSCO applied for a $62.3 million loan from the United States–based Eximbank to fund projects, the latter suggested a transfer of the facilities' management to the private entity. The company was sold in 1963 to Iligan Integrated Steel Mills, Inc. of the Jacinto family.
Cityhood[edit]
Main article: Cities of the Philippines
Using the same territorial definition as a municipality, Iligan became a chartered city of Lanao del Norte on June 16, 1950 by virtue of Republic Act No. 525. The bill was authored by then congressman of Lanao, Mohammad Ali Dimaporo, who was protege to the late Senator Tomas Ll. Cabili.
It was declared a first-class city in 1969 and was reclassified as First Class City "A" on July 1, 1977, by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 465. In 1983, Iligan was again reclassified as a highly urbanized city.
Rising conflicts during the late 1960s[edit]
Main article: First term of the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos
The election of Ferdinand Marcos as President of the Philippines saw a large influx of Christian groups settling in Mindanao, displacing many locals and resulting in numerous land ownership conflicts. The Marcos administration encouraged these new settlers to form militias, which were eventually nicknamed the Ilaga. The Ilaga were often associated with committed human rights abuses targeted at the Moro and Lumad people. This resulted in a lingering animosity and a cycle of violence between Moro and Christian communities which still persists today. Despite this local violence, prominent Moro thought leaders were mostly not politically active until the news of the 1968 Jabidah massacre ignited the Moro insurgency. Reports of Moro men being recruited into the Philippine Army and then being massacred when they had a dispute with their commanding officers led to the conviction that Moros were being treated as second class citizens. Ethnic tensions arising from this led to the formation of secessionist political movements, such as Cotabato Governor Datu Udtog Matalam's Muslim Independence Movement and Lanao del Sur congressman Haroun al-Rashid Lucman's Bangsamoro Liberation Organization.
Additionally, the 1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis led to social unrest throughout the country, and violent crackdowns on protests led to the radicalization of many students, with some joining the New People's Army, bringing the New People's Army rebellion to Mindanao for the first time.
Iligan during martial law and Marcos administration[edit]
Main articles: Marcos dictatorship, Moro conflict, and Human rights abuses of the Marcos dictatorship
Towards the end of the last term allowed to him by the Philippine Constitution, Marcos placed the Philippines under Martial Law in 1972, which had the effect of further increasing tensions in Mindanao. It marked the beginning of a 14-year period of one-man rule, historically remembered for its human rights abuses In Iligan, one incident documented by a 1975 fact finding mission of Amnesty International documented the killing of twelve detainees, which was staged the incident to make it look like a prison break.: "31"  The witness was himself detained without a warrant at the time, and was regularly being subjected to torture and forced labor.
The proclamation of Martial law also helped escalate the moro secessionist situation by banning political parties and organizations. The formal establishment of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) one month after Marcos' proclamation of Martial Law thus marked a shift to a more military phase of the Moro conflict, taking in the members of the former BMLO, and attracting members who had become dissatisfied with the MIM. Lanao del Sur and Iligan itself were deeply affected by the conflict, with the Armed Forces of the Philippines' conflicts with MNLF and its later splinter group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) affecting combatants and civilians alike.
Aside from political groups, Marcos' proclamation of Martial law also shuttered press outlets - television stations, national newspapers, weekly magazines, community newspapers, and radio stations - throughout the country, including in Iligan and Lanao del Sur. The 14 years of the Marcos dictatorship saw the killings of many Mindanao journalists, with prominent examples being Bulletin Today Lanao provincial correspondent Demosthenes Dingcong, Philippine Post Iligan correspondent and radio commentator Geoffrey Siao, and DXWG Iligan commentator Charlie Aberilla.
Numerous activists arose from Iligan during the 1970s, despite significant personal risks. These included Iligan natives such as prominent Nurse empowerment advocate Minda Luz Quesada (who would later be invited to the Philippines' 1987 Constitutional Convention); Electrical workers' union leader David S. Borja; religious youth organizer Edwin Laguerder; activist professor and writer Ester Kintanar of the MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology; and even activist politicians such as Masiding Alonto Sr. who was a prominent supporter of opposition leader Ninoy Aquino. Some of these activists were eventually killed in the pursuit of their beliefs, including farm workers organizers James Orbe and Herbert Cayunda.
Dingcong, Quezada, Borja, Kintanar, Laguerder, Alonto Sr., Orbe, and Cayunda were all later recognized by having their names inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance of the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani, which honors those who fought for the restoration of democracy and against the authoritarian regime of the time.
Contemporary history[edit]
1997 Asian financial crisis[edit]
This section needs expansion with: further details of the economic recovery after the reopening of the National Steel Corporation. You can help by adding missing information. (December 2023)
During the 1997 Asian financial crisis Iligan City experienced a severe economic slowdown. A number of industrial plants were closed, most notably the National Steel Corporation.
The city began to see some economic recovery with the reopening of the National Steel Corporation, which was renamed Global Steelworks Infrastructures, Inc. (GSII) in 2004.
As of 2025 the plant is still closed.
Lone district[edit]
Republic Act No. 9724, an Act separating the City of Iligan from the First Legislative District of the Province of Lanao del Norte was approved, by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on October 20, 2009. This legislative change elevated Iligan to the status of a lone congressional district, providing it with greater political autonomy and representation.