Camalaniugan, officially the Municipality of Camalaniugan (; ; ), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan (; ; ; isnag language, Isnag: ''Provinsia nga Cagayan''; ivatan language, Ivatan: ''Provinsiya nu Cagayan''; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Cag ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,236 people. This town is home to the oldest Christian bell in the Far East and is also the birthplace of Don Vicente Nepomuceno, the esteemed author of "Historia Nac Cagayan", a historical book written in the

Ibanag language The Ibanag language (also ''Ybanag'' or ''Ibanak'') is an Austronesian language spoken by up to 500,000 speakers, most particularly by the Ibanag people, in the Philippines, in the northeastern provinces of Isabela and Cagayan, especially in Tu ...

Etymology

The town was named after the "malaniug" trees which grew in abundance during the early years. In Fr. Jose Bugarin's Ibanag dictionary "malaniug, a wild palm...Camalaniugan, place where there are many of these lsoa town in this province."

History

Camalaniugan was founded on June 15, 1596, a rather early date because of its proximity to Nueva Segovia (Lallo). San Jacinto de Polonia was selected as their patron saint. The early settlers were the Ibanags and Ilocanos, both peace-loving citizens. They built their houses along the banks of 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 ...

. They brought with them their knowledge of farming and skills in making weapons. According to the story related by the elders, among these "happy" settlers was Guiab, a famous strongman and leader of Camalaniugan. He did not like the missionaries. Because of this, he was arrested and later hanged from a malaniug tree by order of Juan Pablo Carreon. For years the people suffered injustice. Between 1887 and 1888, Fray Marcelino Cascos, O.P., built a convent. It was in this convent where Col. Daniel Tirona billeted his men after arresting the missionaries when he occupied the town in 1898 after landing his vessel, the ''Compania de Filipinas''. The town has a church dedicated to San Jacinto or Saint Hyacinth which houses the oldest

church bell A church bell is a bell in a church building designed to be heard outside the building. It can be a single bell, or part of a set of bells. Their main function is to call worshippers to the church for a service of worship, but are also rung o ...

(''Sancta Maria, 1595'') in the far east.

Geography

Camalaniugan is situated from the provincial capital

Tuguegarao Tuguegarao ( or ), officially the City of Tuguegarao (; ; ; ), is a 2nd class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 ...

, and from the country's capital city of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Barangays

Camalaniugan is politically subdivided into 28

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s while some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, 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 bar ...

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Camalaniugan was 25,236 people, with a density of .

Economy

Government

Local government

Camalaniugan is part of the first legislative district of the province of Cagayan. It 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 Cagayan governs the town's public education system. The division office is a field office of the DepEd in

Cagayan Valley Cagayan Valley (; ), designated as Region II, is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines. Located in the northeastern section of Luzon, it is composed of five Provinces of the Philippines, Philippine provinces: ...

region. The Camalaniugan Schools District Office governs the public and private elementary and high schools throughout the municipality.

Primary and elementary schools

* Alilinu Elementary Schools * Asbury UMC Learning Center * Bulala-Fugu Elementary School * Camalaniugan Central School * Casili Elementary School * Catotoran Elementary School * Dugo Elementary School * Fusina Elementary School * Joaquin Dela Cruz Elementary School * Minanga Elementary School * Our Lady of Fatima Integrated School of Dugo * Ziminila Elementary School

Secondary schools

* Camalaniugan National High School * Camalaniugan National High School - Catotoran Annex * Felipe Tuzon Agricultural School * Lyceum of Camalaniugan

References

External links

Camalaniugan Blog
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Cagayan Populated places on the Rio Grande de Cagayan