Town History

In 1609, Father Thomas Gutierrez, a Dominican missionary from Pangasinan, arrived to establish the first missionary settlement (subsequently called YTUY) which today actually comprises the towns of ARITAO, DUPAX, BAMBANG and parts of KAYAPA. Although the seat of the vast missionary settlement of YTUY was Aritao, which was established as early as 1609, it was not until 1747 that the first missionaries, Father Urmanza and Father Franco, arrived in Bambang. 

In 1751, Father Urmanza was transferred, leaving Father Franco alone attending to the spiritual needs of the new 16 converted natives. He then converged them in one site, what is now known as PUNAWA. There, the people settled once again at Tabangan Hill. 

In 1777, the people transferred to a place within the vicinity of a pit (“bang-bang”) were the warring Ilongots and Igorots buried their weapons to symbolize the end of their tribal feuds. Subsequently, the name Bambang is derived from the term “Bang-Bang”.