Valencia, officially City of Valencia and often referred to as simply Valencia City, is a 2nd class component city in the province of Bukidnon, Philippines.According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 192,993 people.[3] Valencia attained its city status after the ratification of Republic Act 8985 in January 12, 2001.The city is the most populous among all cities and municipalities, a
nd the 6th largest in terms of area in the province of Bukidnon. It is also the most populous inland/landlocked city in Mindanao. The territory that now comprises the city of Valencia were former thirteen Barangays of the City of Malaybalay, Bukidnon. The earliest inhabitants in the area presently comprising part of the Poblacion were Bukidnon natives who founded a settlement along the banks of Pulangi River and the confluence of the Panglibatuhan River. The pioneers were led by Datu Sebastian Manangkila together with the families of the Binalhays, Laugas, Dongogans, Gua-ans, Lanayans, and the Arenzos. The first site of the settlement was a sitio named “Panglibatuhan” because the area was thickly forested by tree species called by the natives as “Malibato trees”. In 1911, on-room barrio school was opened, and its first teacher was the late Leon Galorport. That school site is approximately the present location of the Poblacion Barangay High School. Galorport, who came from his hometown, Valencia, Bohol named the school “Valencia School”. When the sitio became a barrio of Malaybalay, the resident agreed to name it “Valencia”. Finally, when the southern portion of Malaybalay was separated as a new municipality, the petitioners agreed to name the municipality as “Valencia”. The barrio which was Valencia is now Barangay Poblacion and is the seat of the city government of Valencia. The rich natural resources found in the territory eventually attracted Christian settlers from the highly populated coastal areas of Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon islands. Immigration of Christian settlers to the area started in the middle 1930s. During the Second World War, the continued migration of Christian settlers further increased the population of the area from 13,898 in 1960 to 64,541 in 1975. The population grew to 181,556, according to the 2010 census conducted by the National Statistics Office in 2010.
