Bagabag, officially the Municipality of Bagabag ( gad, Ili na Bagabag; ilo, Ili ti Bagabag; tl, Bayan ng Bagabag), is a 2nd class
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
Nueva Vizcaya
Nueva Vizcaya, officially the Province of Nueva Vizcaya ( ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Vizcaya; gad, Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya''; tl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Vizcaya ), is a landlocked province in the ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,985 people.
Bagabag is famous for its
buko pie
Buko pie, sometimes anglicized as coconut pie, is a traditional Filipino baked young coconut (malauhog) custard pie. It is considered a specialty in the city of Los Baños, Laguna located on the island of Luzon.
Buko pie is made with young co ...
(coconut pie) in the
Cagayan Valley
Cagayan Valley ( ilo, Tanap ti Cagayan; fil, Lambak ng Cagayan), is an administrative region in the Philippines, located in the northeastern section of Luzon Island. It is composed of five Philippine provinces: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nue ...
region and it is the gateway to the world-famous
Banaue Rice Terraces
The Banaue Rice Terraces ( fil, Hagdan-hagdang Palayan ng Banawe) are terraces that were carved into the mountains of Banaue, Ifugao, in the Philippines, by the ancestors of the Igorot people. The terraces are occasionally called the "Eighth ...
. It is considered the pineapple region of Nueva Vizcaya. The main crops produced are
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
,
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
,
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
,
mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...
, and
pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...
. Bagabag has the largest
tilapia
Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...
farming in the region. Main resources include agriculture, livestock, and fruit-bearing trees plantation. Main industries include furniture, hollow block factory, tilapia farming, buko pie, pineapple vinegar, and meat processing. Located in the northern part of the town is
Bagabag Airport, the only airport of Nueva Vizcaya, which serves the province and its surrounding area.
History
![Landing Fields - Philippines - Luzon Island - NARA - 68160928](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Landing_Fields_-_Philippines_-_Luzon_Island_-_NARA_-_68160928.jpg)
The natives of Bagabag are the
Gaddangs whose ancestors originally came from
Cagayan
Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the C ...
and
Isabela provinces. At the coming of the Spaniards, the natives were mostly settled along the
Magat River
The Magat River is a river in the Philippine island of Luzon with a total length of . It originates in the Nueva Vizcaya municipality of Aritao, where the Santa Fe River joins the Marang. It is the largest tributary of the Cagayan River by disc ...
where they had small farms of vegetables and rootcrops. They had also ricefields. Most of them, however, depended on fishing and hunting for their livelihood. The Spaniards found the
Igorot
The indigenous peoples of the Cordillera Mountain Range of northern Luzon, Philippines are often referred to using the exonym Igorot people, or more recently, as the Cordilleran peoples. There are nine main ethnolinguistic groups whose domains ar ...
s along the Lanog and Lamut Rivers and in the hills, east of the Magat River, they found the
Bugkalot
The Bugkalot (also Ilongot or Ibilao) are a tribe inhabiting the southern Sierra Madre and Caraballo Mountains, on the east side of Luzon in the Philippines, primarily in the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Nueva Ecija and along the mountain bor ...
s.
The town was formed on October 7, 1741, during the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
regime by a Dominican
friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
, Padre (Pe.) Antonio del Campo, at
sitio
A ''sitio'' (Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own barangay if its popul ...
"Nagcumventuan" a place now located between Pogonsino, Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya and Bangar, Solano, Nueva Vizcaya. The present name of the sitio bears proof to the fact that the Spanish priest constructed a church in the original town site.
Pe. Luis Sierra and Pe. Alejandro were among the first priests to settle in 1743. They organized the town in 1754. Due to the continuous erosion and flood from the
Magat River
The Magat River is a river in the Philippine island of Luzon with a total length of . It originates in the Nueva Vizcaya municipality of Aritao, where the Santa Fe River joins the Marang. It is the largest tributary of the Cagayan River by disc ...
and its increasing population, Pe. Vidal later transferred the town site to "Nassa" which is located between Barangays Lantap and Santa Lucia. The "Nassa" location was open and muddy throughout the year. Thus for the third time, Pe. Vidal transferred the town site to its present site where numerous buri palms were then growing. It was from this buri
palm
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm (ba ...
plant the name of Bagabag originated, the same being called by the natives as "
bagbag". No account could be given on the exact date of the year the present town of Bagabag was founded as the records were destroyed during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
In 1945, the combined United States and the Philippine Commonwealth troops together with the town's guerrillas attacked the Japanese Imperial forces in the Battle of Bagabag during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Geography
Bagabag is north of its provincial capital,
Bayombong
Bayombong, officially the Municipality of Bayombong ( gad, Ili na Bayombong; ilo, Ili ti Bayombong; tl, Bayan ng Bayombong), is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...
, and north of
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
. It is located in the northeastern part of Nueva Vizcaya with a total land area of . The
Magat River
The Magat River is a river in the Philippine island of Luzon with a total length of . It originates in the Nueva Vizcaya municipality of Aritao, where the Santa Fe River joins the Marang. It is the largest tributary of the Cagayan River by disc ...
, which runs parallel to the
Pan-Philippine Highway
The Pan-Philippine Highway, also known as the Maharlika Highway ( tl, Daang Maharlika; ceb, Dalang Halangdon), is a network of roads, expressways, bridges, and ferry services that connect the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao in t ...
(AH 26), is situated in the eastern part of the town proper.
Barangays
Bagabag is politically subdivided into 17
barangay
A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...
s.
These barangays are headed by elected officials:
Barangay Captain,
Barangay Council
The Sangguniang Barangay, also known as the Barangay Council, and formerly as the Rural Council and then the Barrio Council, is the legislative body of a barangay, the lowest form of government in the Philippines. The term is coined from the Tag ...
, whose members are called
Barangay Councilors. All are elected every three years.
Bordering Areas
*
Lamut, Ifugao
Lamut, officially the Municipality of Lamut is a 4th class municipality in the province of Ifugao, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 26,235 people.
Lamut has the following schools: Lamut Central School, San Franci ...
(north)
*
Diadi
Diadi, officially the Municipality of Diadi ( gad, Ili na Diadi; ilo, Ili ti Diadi; tl, Bayan ng Diadi), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 19,236 peop ...
(east)
*
Villaverde (west)
*
Quezon
Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon ( tl, Lalawigan ng Quezon), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon Regions of the Philippines, region on Luzon. Kalilayan was the first known name of th ...
(south)
*
Solano (southwest)
Climate
Demographics
The natives of Bagabag are the
Ga'dangs or Gaddangs whose ancestors originally came from the
Cagayan
Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the C ...
and
Isabela regions. The Gaddangs predominantly live in the town proper and they speak the
Gaddang language
The Gaddang language (also Cagayan) is spoken by up to 30,000 speakers (the Gaddang people) in the Philippines, particularly along the Magat and upper Cagayan rivers in the Region II provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela and by overseas mig ...
. Many
Ilocanos
The Ilocanos ( ilo, Tattao nga Iloko/), Ilokanos, or Iloko people are the third largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group and mostly reside within the Ilocos Region in the northwestern seaboard of Luzon, Philippines. The native language of the Ilo ...
and
Tagalogs
The Tagalog people ( tl, Mga Tagalog; Baybayin: ᜋᜅ ᜆᜄᜎᜓᜄ᜔) are the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines, numbering at around 30 million. An Austronesian people, the Tagalog have a well developed society due to their ...
have migrated and live in Bagabag.
Economy
Tilapia Industry
On January 11, 2008, the Cagayan Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) stated that
tilapia
Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...
fish production grew and
Cagayan Valley
Cagayan Valley ( ilo, Tanap ti Cagayan; fil, Lambak ng Cagayan), is an administrative region in the Philippines, located in the northeastern section of Luzon Island. It is composed of five Philippine provinces: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nue ...
is now the Philippines' tilapia capital. Production supply grew 37.25% since 2003, with 14,000 metric tons (MT) in 2007. The recent aquaculture congress found that the growth of tilapia production was due to government interventions: provision of fast-growing species, accreditation of private hatcheries to ensure supply of quality fingerlings, establishment of demonstration farms, providing free fingerlings to newly constructed fishponds, and the dissemination of tilapia to Nueva Vizcaya (in Diadi town). Former cycling champion Lupo Alava is a multi-awarded tilapia raiser in Bagabag. Chairman Thompson Lantion of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, a retired two-star police general, has
fishponds
Fishponds is a large suburb in the north-east of the English city of Bristol, about from the city centre. It has two large Victorian-era parks: Eastville Park and Vassall's Park (once the Vassall Family estate, also known as Oldbury Court). T ...
in La Torre,
Bayombong
Bayombong, officially the Municipality of Bayombong ( gad, Ili na Bayombong; ilo, Ili ti Bayombong; tl, Bayan ng Bayombong), is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...
. Also, Nueva Vizcaya Governor
Luisa Lloren Cuaresma
Luisa "Banti" Lloren Cuaresma (born January 18, 1955) is a Filipina politician who currently serves as the representative of the lone district of Nueva Vizcaya since 2016. Previously, she served as governor of Nueva Vizcaya
Nueva Vizcaya, ...
also entered into similar aquaculture endeavors in addition to tilapia production.
Government
![SanPedroBagabagNEjf6024](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/SanPedroBagabagNEjf6024.JPG)
Bagabag, belonging to the
lone congressional district of the province of
Nueva Vizcaya
Nueva Vizcaya, officially the Province of Nueva Vizcaya ( ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Vizcaya; gad, Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya''; tl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Vizcaya ), is a landlocked province in the ...
, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.
Elected officials
Education
The Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya governs the town's public education system. The division office is a field office of the
DepEd
The Department of Education (abbreviated as DepEd; fil, Kagawaran ng Edukasyon) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for ensuring access to, promoting equity in, and improving the quality of basic education. It ...
in
Cagayan Valley
Cagayan Valley ( ilo, Tanap ti Cagayan; fil, Lambak ng Cagayan), is an administrative region in the Philippines, located in the northeastern section of Luzon Island. It is composed of five Philippine provinces: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nue ...
region.
The office governs the public and private elementary and public and private high schools throughout the municipality.
References
External links
Local Government Unit of Bagabag*
Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>
Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Nueva Vizcaya