According to local historians, Bago got its name from the “bago” plants which used to grow “luxuriantly in this locality.” They were probably referring to the “malabago” or the sea rosemallow, alternatively called “bago” in Tagalog.
The barrio’s earliest inhabitants were the Andal, Perez and Gamboa families. Another barrio, named Quilo, was once part of Bago.
Japanese soldiers forced all able-bodied men of the barrio to dig trenches at Soro-soro hill without pay. These trenches would be part of their defenses against the US Army. The Japanese also confiscated livestock and poultry from the barrio’s inhabitants.
