Established in the thirteenth century, the town’s name had been acquired by accident. Thinking that the Spaniards came to ask the route along the river, the native answered “Makato” which meant “that way”. The Spaniards recorded the name Makato in 1800, thinking it was the name of the town. In 1901, the town merged with Tangalan to form the new municipality of Taft, named after the then
Governor-General of the Philippines and future
United States President,
William Howard Taft. But in 1917, it was reverted to its former name. In 1948, the
arrabal of Tangalan, comprising the
barrios of Tondog, Jawili, Dumatad, Afga, Baybay, Dapdap, Pudyot, Tagas, Tamalagon, Panayakan, Vivo, Lanipga, Napatag and Tamoko, was separated from Makato to form the municipality of
Tangalan. ==Geography==