Tagkawayan, officially the Municipality of Tagkawayan (Tagalog: Bayan ng Tagkawayan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 54,003 people.

It is the easternmost town of Quezon, bordered to the east by the province of Camarines Norte and to the south by Camarines Sur in the Bicol Region. Tagkawayan is 148 kilometres (92 mi) from Lucena and 278 kilometres (173 mi) from Manila.

History

After the rise in population with the potential of an economic growth, a formal petition to convert barrio Tagcawayan into an independent municipality was launched. The said letter was sent to President Manuel L. Quezon through Tomas Morato. Antonio Lagdameo then laid out an "urbanization plan" was laid out for the proposed municipality.

On December 31, 1940, the barrios of Aloneros, Bagong Silang, Balogo, Cabibihan, Catimo, Danlagan, Kabugwang, Kandalapdap, Malbog, Monato, Mangayaw, Quinatacutan, Siguiwan, Tagkawayan, and Triumfo, then part of the municipality of Guinayangan, were separated and constituted into a new and separate municipality known as Tagkawayan, by virtue of Executive Order No. 316. The change took effect on the next day, January 1, 1941 (establishment of the town)

On March 7, 1941, the Guinayangan sitios of Aliji, Bamban, Bukal, Danlagan, Batis, Del Rosario, Manatong Ilaya, Manatong Munti, Malupot, San Luis, San Roque Manato, Santo Niño, and portions of Tuba part of the province of Tayabas were annexed to the municipality by virtue of Executive Order No. 330. On January 1, 1948, the barrio of Aloneros was returned to Guinayangan by virtue of Executive Order No. 78 signed on August 12, 1947.

Geography

Tagkawayan has a total land of 64,100 hectares (158,000 acres).

Barangays

Tagkawayan is politically subdivided into 45 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Climate

Demographics

Population census of Tagkawayan

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1948	11,231	—
1960	28,664	+8.12%
1970	32,697	+1.32%
1975	32,187	−0.31%
1980	31,381	−0.51%
1990	40,221	+2.51%
1995	40,866	+0.30%
2000	44,290	+1.74%
2007	46,878	+0.79%
2010	50,833	+2.99%
2015	51,832	+0.37%
2020	54,003	+0.81%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

Economy

Poverty incidence of Tagkawayan

10 20 30 40 50 2006 41.80 2009 23.67 2012 30.95 2015 23.82 2018 20.92 2021 4.26 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

Transportation

By Land

The municipality is connected to Metro Manila by the Quirino Highway, and daily rail services to and from Naga and Legazpi to the southeast are provided by Philippine National Railways.

To spur development in the municipality, the Toll Regulatory Board designated Toll Road 5 as the extension of South Luzon Expressway. A 420-kilometer, four-lane expressway starting from the terminal point of the now under construction SLEX Toll Road 4 in Barangay Mayao, Lucena City to Matnog, Sorsogon, near the Matnog Ferry Terminal. On August 25, 2020, San Miguel Corporation announced that it will invest in the project, which will reduce travel time from Lucena to Matnog from 9 hours to 5.5 hours.

Another expressway that will serve Tagkawayan is the Quezon-Bicol Expressway (QuBEx), which will link Lucena and San Fernando, Camarines Sur.

Notable personalities

• Gen. Guillermo Eleazar – Chief of Philippine National Police, 2021
• Mac Baracael – basketball player