Divilacan , officially the Municipality of Divilacan ( Ibanag: ''Ili nat Divilacan''; ; Tagalog/ Kasiguranin: ''Bayan ng Divilacan''), 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 ...

of Isabela,

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 5,827 people.

Etymology

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

History

Divilacan was a former ''barrio'' of Tumauini. It became a separate municipality on June 21, 1969, by virtue of ''Republic Act No. 5776''. On April 12, 2024, the town is declared an insurgency-free municipality from the influence of CPP, NPA, and NDF, along with Maconacon. On October 24, 2024, Severe Tropical Storm Trami (Kristine) made landfall to this town causing big destruction along with other cities/municipalities.

Geography

The town is one of the four coastal municipalities of the province of Isabela facing the

Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a List of seas#Marginal seas by ocean, marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, Western Pacific Ocean east of the list of islands of the Philippines, Philippine Archipelago (hence the name) and the List of seas#Largest seas ...

to the east. The town is bounded to the north by Maconacon, Tumauini to the west, Ilagan to the southwest, Palanan to the south and the Philippine Sea to the east. Divilacan is situated from the provincial capital Ilagan, 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 ...

, via Ilagan–Divilacan Road.

Barangays

Divilacan is politically subdivided into 12

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 ...

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

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

) * 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

As a municipality in the Province of Isabela, government officials at the provincial and municipal levels are voted by the town. The provincial government has political jurisdiction over most local transactions of the municipal government. The Municipality of Divilacan 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 municipal councilors are elected directly by the people through an election held every three years. Barangays are also headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain,

Barangay Council The Sangguniang Barangay, known in English as the Barangay Council is the local government of a barangay, the smallest administrative division in the Philippines. Each of the 42,004 barangays in the country has its respective Sangguniang Baran ...

, whose members are called Barangay Councilors. The barangays have SK federation which represents the barangay, headed by SK chairperson and whose members are called SK councilors. All officials are also elected every three years.

Elected officials

Congress representation

Divilacan, belonging to the first legislative district of the province of Isabela, is currently represented by 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 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: ...

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

Primary and elementary schools

* Bicobian Elementary School * Dikaruyan Primary School * Dimasalansan Elementary School * Divilacan Central School * Sapinit Primary School

Secondary school

* Divilacan National High School

Infrastructure

Divilacan is accessible via sea and air. The town is served by the Maconacon Airport in the neighboring town of Maconacon which connects this isolated town to

Cauayan Airport Cauayan Airport 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 others being Palanan Airport in the town of Palanan and Maconacon Airp ...

, in Cauayan. 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 Ilagan City 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)