Santiago is politically subdivided into 8 barangays.
Climate
History
In the later part of 1898, a group of natives fleeing from the municipality of Jabonga settled in a place recognized by the municipality of Cabadbaran as barrio Santiago, However, in 1924 the Aciga River swelled its banks, destroying all properties, crops and animals along it. This forced the inhabitants of Santiago, Cabadbaran to transfer to barrio Jagupit. In 1936, the same river wrought extensive damage which made the inhabitants decide to transfer at the foot of the hill, particularly at Sitio Paypay, which was inhabited by two groups of natives-the Manobo and the Mamanwa. The construction of the national highway, which passes thru sitio Paypay, lured more people to settle in the place. On April 26, 1959, the name Paypay was changed to Santiago through Republic Act 2170, in honor of Senior Santiago or Saint James. In 1964, the barrio officials of Santiago indicated their desire to become a separate municipality. Finally, on June 15, 1969, the barrios of Santiago and Jagupit were separated from Cabadbaran and constituted into the new municipality of Santiago, through Republic Act 5242.
In 1972, the first elected Mayor was Nenita Morgado. She served her terms of office until 1986. On April 1, 1986, Secretary Aquilino Pimentel designated Franklin D. Lim as the OIC, Municipal Mayor of the Municipality of Santiago. He served his terms of office until 1998. From 1998 to 2007, Zenaida C. Lim served as the elected Mayor of Santiago. From 2007 to 2013, Franklin D. Lim became the elected Mayor of Santiago. He was elected President of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines - Agusan del Norte Chapter, and subsequently became the LMP National Auditor during his term. From 2013 to 2016, Zenaida C. Lim became the Mayor of Santiago. Various improvements were experienced by the constituents particularly on improving rural accessibility, reducing rural poverty, and increasing household incomes. Also in 2015, the Municipality of Santiago passed four areas of Seal of Good Local Governance under the DILG, namely: Financial Housekeeping, Business-Friendliness, Peace and Order, and Environmental Protection. On June 30, 2016, Franklin D. Lim served his term of office as the elected Mayor of Santiago. On November 29, 2017, the LGU received an Award being an SGLG Awardee under the DILG at Manila Hotel, Manila, and became a recipient-LGU for the Performance Challenge Fund. The LGU passed seven core areas of SGLG, namely: Good Financial Housekeeping, Business-Friendliness and Competitiveness, Disaster Preparedness, Social Protection, Peace and Order, Environmental Management, and Tourism, Culture and the Arts. On June 30, 2019, Franklin D. Lim also served his term of Office as the elected Mayor of Santiago. He was elected President of the LMP Agusan del Norte Chapter in July 2019, and subsequently became the LMP National Treasurer during the LMP Executive Committee and National Directorate Elections.
