Santo Tomas, officially the Municipality of Santo Tomas ( ibg, Ili nat Santo Tomas; ilo, Ili ti Santo Tomas; tl, Bayan ng Santo Tomas), is a 4th 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. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 24,528 people. In 1952, Santo Tomas lost two barrios when the barrios of Abut and Minagbag were transferred to the newly created town of Mallig. In 1961, those barrios were transferred to the newly created municipality of

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 ...

Geography

Santo Tomas is a landlocked municipality situated in the northern portion of the province of Isabela. It is bounded to the west by

, to the south by

Delfin Albano Delfin Albano, officially the Municipality of Delfin Albano ( ibg, Ili nat Delfin Albano; ilo, Ili ti Delfin Albano; tl, Bayan ng Delfin Albano), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

, to the southeast by

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 ...

, to the north and northeast by

Cabagan Cabagan, officially the Municipality of Cabagan ( ibg, Ili nat Cabagan; ilo, Ili ti Cabagan; tl, Bayan ng Cabagan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,8 ...

and the

Cagayan River The Cagayan River, also known as the Río Grande de Cagayán, is the longest river and the largest river by discharge volume of water in the Philippines. It has a total length of approximately and a drainage basin covering . It is located in t ...

Barangays

Santo Tomas is politically subdivided into 27

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.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Santo Tomas, Isabela, was 24,528 people, with a density of .

Economy

Farming is its primary source of income. The most widespread plantations were

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 and tobacco farms. Locals also raise livestock for extra income.

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

Santo Tomas, 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, ...

region. The office governs the public and private elementary and public and private high schools throughout the municipality.

References

External links

Municipal Profile at the National Competitiveness Council of the PhilippinesSanto Tomas at the Isabela Government WebsiteLocal Governance Performance Management System
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationMunicipality of Santo Tomas
Municipalities of Isabela (province) Populated places on the Rio Grande de Cagayan {{CagayanValley-geo-stub