Pagadian

According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 206,483 people. The city will be converted into a highly urbanized city by virtue of Proclamation No. 1247, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on November 8, 2021. This will take effect after ratification in a plebiscite. Pagadian began as a stop-over for traders who plied the road between the old Spanish fort-town of Zamboanga on the southwestern tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula and other bigger towns to the north of the old Zamboanga Province. Except for its sheltered bay and good fishing grounds, it was not a promising site because it is situated on steeply rolling terrain. In the course of its local history, waves of different kinds of people came to stay and eventually called themselves "Pagadianons". The iconic symbol of Pagadian is its uniquely designed tricycle built to adapt to the city's hilly terrain. It is the only place in the Philippines with a public transport vehicle inclined at about a 25-40° angle.