Tukuran is derived from the word
tukod meaning 'to build' or 'to construct'. Its original inhabitants were Subanons, Maranaons, Maguindanaons, and Iranuns. Historically, Tukuran was a passing point of many merchants because of its location on the trade route. Merchants of different tribes regularly passed by the area, carrying with them their wares. These merchants usually came from the nearby provinces, most specifically, Zamboanga City and Southern Mindanao, as well as the places of
Lanao and the Misamis region (
Misamis Occidental and
Misamis Oriental). When the Spaniards came, they tried to control the trade route, building the famous Fort Militar that overlooks Tukuran and the northern part of
Illana Bay, as well as the so-called Spanish Trocha which then connected Tukuran directly to the regions of Lanao and Misamis. It came to be known as the Trocha de Tukuran (Trocha that means in
Meranau Afta or
Apazan). Close to the end of the century,in 1899, the
Muslims, under the leadership of Sultan Amay Untad Panduma, founded a settlement in Tukuran. They claimed to have come from the Iranon tribe. Since their number was large, they decided to divide themselves and settle in the neighboring sitios. Sultan Paduma's descendants succeeded him in ruling the group. The first wave of
Christian settlers followed a few years later, led by Feliz Ocampo, the grandfather of Felix Ocampo Sr. They hailed from far up north, in Manila. They chose to settle in the shores of Tukuran. They were later followed by the settlers from
Pangasinan together with their families and farming equipment. Before Tukuran became a municipality, it was a part of the municipality of Labangan, until November 29, 1958, when President Carlos P. Garcia, under the recommendation of the Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Board headed by Governor Bienvenido Ebarle, signed Executive Order No. 323 making Tukuran a municipality. The first municipal mayor appointed to head the municipality was Mayor Filomeno C. Villamero (who was then elected vice mayor of Labangan), with Sultan
Mamadra Panduma as the vice mayor. Vega won for the second time in the 1992 National Elections. The issue on the CPP-NPA struggle was eventually resolved due to the implementation of various projects which focused on both socio-economic and socio-cultural aspects. In the 1995 National Elections, Vega was set to run but then decided not to, for health reasons. Instead, he endorsed Isaias Barrido under the banner of Lakas-NUCD. Isaias Barrido won the election. By the advent of IRA the barangays comprising the municipality were provided with increased shares of the financial resources of the government with the aim of enhancing the delivery of basic services to the people for the second time he was elected. Municipal road concreting was one of his main programs, livelihood programs were his main focus. Because of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) from the National Government, many projects were completed during his administration. He continued the construction of municipal streets, hanging bridge, solar driers, water reservoir, basketball courts, and farm to market roads to fasten the development of rural barangays. The municipal streets and other newly constructed infrastructures under the Barrido administration had changed greatly the profile of the municipality. ==Geography==