History and Government
Historical records show that Tayum got its name after the indigo plants which was commonly known to the Ilocanos as Tayum-tayum. There was a time when indigo flourished in Tayum, then a source of wealth to the Ilocanos. In Barangay Deet, a half kilometer away from the town proper, there was a big vat (Pagtimbugan) used in decaying the plant into a blue black dye called ”ngila”. The dye was used to color yarns of cotton.
At the beginning of the century, however, a powder dye from the Anilino factories of Germany came into popular use among Ilocano weavers, causing the death of the indigo industry.
The earliest historical accounts of Tayum date back to 1626 when one daring and adventurous priest, Father Juan Pareja, organized Tayum, also known as Bukaw. Sometime in 1569, another equally daring and adventurous Augustinian priest, Father Gabriel Alvarez, constructed a temporary chapel in Tayum during the time of his expeditions to Lepanto. It was however, in 1725 when Tayum was formally organized as a political unit under the Spanish Regime. Don Vidal Banganan served as the first gobernadorcillo.
From a mere “visita” of Bangued, Tayum metamorphosed into an independent mission in the year 1807 with the construction of the solid brick walled church under the successive Augustinian missions. The church was dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria whose feastday is celebrated every 25th day of November.
In 1904, Tayum became a barrio of Bangued. This was due to the deterioration of its peace and order at the time. Tayum ended as a barrio on December 31, 1907 with the designation of Don Pio Balmaceda y Belmonte as Teniente del Barrio. Balmaceda organized his men in effectively curbing lawlessness, thus restoring the town's peacefulness. Shortly afterwards, it regained its town status with Don Manuel Brillantes as its first president.
The following became chief executives of the municipality from 1908: Manuel Brillantes (1908-1909), Isidro Flores (1910-1912), Francisco Molina (1912-1916), Eriberto Cariño (1916-1919), Luis Brillantes (1919-1922), Dalmacio Flores (1922-1925), Jose Cariño (1925-1928), Eriberto Leanza (1928-1931), Teodoro Brillantes (1931-1934), Nicolas Arias (1934-1937), Severo Brillantes II (1942-1944), Felix Tuanquin (1945), Eufrocino Lalin (1947), Felix Tuanquin (1948-1963), Juanito Molina (1963-1967), Ceferino Cariño (1967-1971), Martin Alagao (1971-1976), Ireneo Molina (1976-1986) and Martin Alagao (1986-1998). At present, the municipal mayor is Col. Rogelio Elveña.
Tayum is politically subdivided into 11 barangays, namely: Budac, Bagalay, Basbasa, Bumagcat, Cabaroan, Deet, Gaddani, Patucannay, Pias, Poblacion and Velasco.
Tayum which occupies a land area of 4,734 hectares or 1.07% of the total provincial land area, is situated 5 kilometers away north of the capital town of Bangued. It is bounded by the municipality of La Paz on the west, by Dolores and Lagangilang on the north, by the municipality of Peñarrubia on the south and by Bucay on the east.
Tayum has rich natural resources such as bamboo, bolo, kiling, bikal and timber. Its land is classified as: agricultural - 3,308.66 has., residential - 125.00 has., pastureland - 669.60 has., industrial land - 38.60 has., streams - 1.24 has and unclassified forest land - 230.90 has.
Tayum has a total population of 12,346, a total number of households of 2,152 with an average household size of 5.68 and a population growth rate of 2.11% covering the year 1990-1995. Among Tayum's barangays, Velasco has the most number of households with 218 while Bumagcat has the least with 122.
Of the total municipal land area of 4,374.00 has., 76% or 3,308.66 has. is classified as agricultural. Of the total agricultural land area, however, only 1,093.00 has. are being cultivated and planted with palay, the main crop. Other sources of livelihood include fisheries and other industries such as bamboocraft, blacksmith, loomweaving, stuffed toy making, garments, hollow block making, brick making and other related crafts such as shoe repair shops and wood carving.
Tourist Attraction and Place of Interest
By: DILG-CAR, Copyright 1999
Vol. I - Local Government Units