"Bislig was first listed as a pueblo in the Augustinian Recollects' 1622 report after they took over the Caraga mission from the Jesuits. Its establishment as a town was part of a March 1, 1621, accord between Fray Pedro Arce, OAR, bishop of Cebu, and the Recollect Superior. Bislig became a city through Republic Act No. 8804, enacted on August 16, 2000, and approved in a plebiscite on September 18, 2000. The name "Bislig" is believed to come from the core of a rattan vine used as strings for musical instruments. Another theory links it to an old Filipino gold weight, equivalent to 9–9.5 carats, referring to the hardness of a 12-karat gold mixture when gold dust was used as currency."