Divilacan, officially the Municipality of Divilacan ( ilo, Ili ti Divilacan; tl, Bayan ng Divilacan), 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 Isabela,

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 5,827 people.

Etymology

Divilacan was derived from the native Dumagat compound word ''vilican'', meaning "fish and shell." The word ''di'' implies origin. Therefore, Divilacan literally means “where fish and shells abound.”

History

Divilacan was a former remote ''sitio'' of ''Barrio'' Antagan in the neighboring town of

Tumauini Tumauini, officially the Municipality of Tumauini ( ibg, Ili nat Tumauini; ilo, Ili ti Tumauini; tl, Bayan ng Tumauini), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...

. It became a separate municipality on June 21, 1969, by virtue of Republic Act No. 5776.

Geography

Divilacan is one of the four coastal municipalities of the province of Isabela facing the

Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean east of the Philippine archipelago (hence the name), the largest in the world, occupying an estimated surface area of . The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea. Its ...

to the east. The town is bounded to the north by

Maconacon Maconacon, officially the Municipality of Maconacon ( ilo, Ili ti Maconacon; tl, Bayan ng Maconacon), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 3,977 people, making ...

, Tumauini to the west,

Ilagan City Ilagan, officially the City of Ilagan ( ibg, Siudad nat Ilagan; ilo, Siudad ti Ilagan; fil, Lungsod ng Ilagan), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popula ...

to the southwest,

Palanan Palanan, officially the Municipality of Palanan ( ilo, Ili ti Palanan; tl, Bayan ng Palanan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 17,684 people. It was in Pal ...

to the south and the Philippine Sea to the east.

Barangays

Divilacan is politically subdivided into 12

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. * Dicambangan * Dicaruyan * Dicatian * Bicobian * Dilakit * Dimapnat * Dimapula (

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippines, Philippi ...

) * Dimasalansan * Dipudo * Dibulos * Ditarum * Sapinit

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Divilacan was 5,827 people, with a density of .

Economy

Government

Local government

The municipality 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

Congress representation

Divilacan, belonging to the first legislative district of the province of Isabela, currently represented by Hon. Antonio T. Albano.

Education

The Schools Division of Isabela 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 ...

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.

Infrastructure

Divilacan is accessible via sea and air. The town is served by the Maconacon Airport in the neighboring town of

which connects this isolated town to

Cauayan Airport Cauayan Airport ( Filipino: ''Paliparan ng Cauayan'', Ilokano: ''Pagtayaban ti Cauayan'') is an airport serving the general area of Cauayan, a city in Isabela province in the Philippines. It is one of three commercial airports in Isabela, the ...

, in

Cauayan City Cauayan, officially the City of Cauayan ( ilo, Siudad ti Cauayan; ibg, Siudad nat Cauayan; fil, Lungsod ng Cauayan), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...

. The construction of an 82-kilometer Ilagan-Divilacan Road through the protected Sierra Madre mountains is on-going to open access to the coastal towns of Divilacan, Palanan and Maconacon. The approved budget contract of the project amounting to P1.5B, will pass through the foothills of the 359,486-hectare Northern Sierra Madre mountain ranges. The project will improve an old logging road used by a defunct logging company until the 1990s. It will start in Barangay Sindon Bayabo in

and will end in Barangay Dicatian in this town. The project is started in March 2016 and is expected to be completed in 2024.

References

External links

Municipal Profile at the National Competitiveness Council of the Philippines

Divilacan at the Isabela Government WebsiteLocal Governance Performance Management System
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Isabela (province)