In a community still steeped in tradition, a local family with Spanish roots continues to lead this Zamboanga del Norte city’s famed bottled sardines industry which has its origin in the recipe of their matriarch. For over five decades, the name Montaño has been synonymous with Dipolog bottled sardines, even as new players had cropped up in the last 15 years. Rightly so, as according to Ernie Rojo, local economic development and investment promotions officer, they were able to trace the beginning of what is now a gourmet product out of the lowly “tuloy” or herring to the dining table of the family of spouses Jose Montaño and Concepcion Macias Montaño.

Rosauro, R. D. (2025, January 12). Tradition lives on in every bottle of Dipolog sardines. Phlippine Daily Inquirer, p. A5.