Palanan , officially the Municipality of Palanan (
Ibanag: ''Ili nat Palanan''; ; ), 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 ...
. It also served as the final capital of the
First Philippine Republic
The Philippine Republic (), now officially remembered as the First Philippine Republic and also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was a state established in Malolos, Bulacan, during the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish ...
from 1900 until the capture of President
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who became the first List of presidents of the Philippines, president of the Philippines (1899–1901), and the first pre ...
by the Americans during the
Philippine-American War in 1901. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 17,684 people.
Etymology
Since the location was surrounded by Aetas, the Ibanags from the lowland Isabela would warn their close friends with the term "''Palanammu''" which indicates uneasiness or caution. Similarly, some vagabond Tagalogs who arrived there either as a sanctuary during difficult sailing or pure adventure, dubbed the site "''Palatanan''" which is suggestive of the character of the residents. Eventually, the word transformed into its modern name "''Palanan''".
History
Unlike other towns in the Cagayan Valley, Palanan was established in 1625 by Spanish forces who arrived by boat from the Pacific coastal town of
Baler
A baler or hay baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay, cotton, flax straw, salt marsh hay, or silage) into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store. Often, bales are config ...
in Tayabas province (now part of
Aurora
An aurora ( aurorae or auroras),
also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
). As such, Palanan was initially a part of
Pampanga
Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...
before being transferred to
Laguna, Tayabas (now
Quezon Province; Tayabas became independent from Laguna),
Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...
,
Nueva Vizcaya and finally Isabela. Also, unlike the rest of Cagayan Valley, it was served by Franciscan missionaries rather than the Dominicans. The population of the town was natively Paranan, then subsequently augmented by local Negritos, migrants from Baler who are
Tagalogs
The Tagalog people are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Philippines, particularly the Metro Manila and Calabarzon regions and Marinduque province of southern Luzon, and comprise the majority in the provinces of Bulacan, Bataan, N ...
, and outlaws from Cagayan Valley, with the lingua franca of the settlement being Tagalog as opposed to Ilocano or Ibanag.
General Emilio Aguinaldo became President of the First Philippine Republic in 1900. He was captured on March 23 when Col. Frederick Funston led the Americans in 1901. It was in Palanan that one of the final chapters of the
Philippine–American War
The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...
was written on March 23, 1901, when
General Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by
American forces led by General
Frederick Funston
Frederick Funston (November 9, 1865 – February 19, 1917), also known as Fighting Fred Funston, was a General officer, general in the United States Army, best known for his roles in the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American ...
, who had gained access to Aguinaldo's camp by pretending to surrender to the Filipinos.
In 1978, the area around Palanan was proclaimed by President
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...
to be part of the Palanan Wilderness Area, a protected nature conservation area that was later expanded by President
Fidel V. Ramos
Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reached ...
to become the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park in 1997.
In the May 9, 2016 elections, Angelito A. Bernardo won a three-way mayoral campaign. However, due to his unexpected death shortly after the polls, Rodolfo M. Bernardo, the Municipal Vice Mayor-elect and first-elected Sangguniang Bayan member, and Elizabeth B. Ochoa took the oath of office as Municipal Mayor. On July 1, 2016, the Municipal Vice Mayor and other winning candidates attended the ceremony in Ilagan City, which serves as the provincial capital. Mayor Rodolfo M. Bernardo served as the local chief executive for five months and fifteen days before passing away in a car accident. According to the rules of succession, Vice Mayor Elizabeth B. Ochoa took the oath of office as Municipal Mayor and has remained in charge as the local Chief Executive ever since.
Geography

Palanan is one of the four
remote and isolated coastal towns 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 ...
on the east and separated from the rest of the province by the
Sierra Madre Mountains.
Barangays
Palanan is politically subdivided into 17
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 ...
.
* Alomanay
* Bisag
* Centro East (
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 ...
)
* Centro West (Poblacion)
* Culasi
* Dialaoyao
* Dibewan
* Dicadyuan
* Dicotkotan
* Diddadungan
* Didyan
* Dimalicu-licu
* Dimasari
* Dimatican
* Ditambali
* Maligaya
* Marikit
Climate
Demographics
In the 2020 census, the population of Palanan, Isabela, was 17,684 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 Palanan 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 in elections 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
Palanan, belonging to the
second legislative district of the province of Isabela, currently represented by Hon. Ed Christopher S. Go.
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: ...
region. The Palanan Schools District Office governs the public elementary and high schools throughout the municipality including schools located in
Dinapigue
Dinapigue (, sometimes ), officially the Municipality of Dinapigue (; ; tagalog language, Tagalog/kasiguranin language, Kasiguranin: ''Bayan ng Dinapigue''), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province ...
,
Divilacan, and
Maconacon.
Primary and elementary schools
Although some elementary schools are located outside Palanan, these are being managed by Palanan School District Office.
* Alomanay Elementary School
* Bicobian Elementary School (located in
Divilacan)
* Bisag Elementary School
* Bucal Sur Elementary School (located in
Dinapigue
Dinapigue (, sometimes ), officially the Municipality of Dinapigue (; ; tagalog language, Tagalog/kasiguranin language, Kasiguranin: ''Bayan ng Dinapigue''), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province ...
)
* Centro West Primary School
* Culasi Elementary School
* Dialawyao Elementary School
* Dibungko Primary School
* Dibutarek Elementary School
* Diddadungan Elementary School
* Didiyan Elementary School
* Dikadyuan Elementary School
* Dikaruyan Primary School (located in
Divilacan)
* Dimalicu-licu Primary School
* Dimasalansan Elementary School (located in
Divilacan)
* Dimasari Elementary School
* Dimatican Elementary School
* Dinapigue Central School (located in
Dinapigue
Dinapigue (, sometimes ), officially the Municipality of Dinapigue (; ; tagalog language, Tagalog/kasiguranin language, Kasiguranin: ''Bayan ng Dinapigue''), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province ...
)
* Dipadsanjan Primary School
* Disukad Elementary School
* Ditambali Elementary School
* Divilacan Central School (located in
Divilacan)
* Maconacon Central School (located in
Maconacon)
* Marikit Elementary School
* Palanan Central School
* San Isidro Elementary School
* Sapinit Primary School (located in
Divilacan)
* Taknalan Primary School
Secondary schools
Although some secondary schools are located outside Palanan, these are being managed by Palanan School District Office.
* Ayod Integrated School (located in
Dinapigue
Dinapigue (, sometimes ), officially the Municipality of Dinapigue (; ; tagalog language, Tagalog/kasiguranin language, Kasiguranin: ''Bayan ng Dinapigue''), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province ...
)
* Dibewan Integrated School (located in
Dinapigue
Dinapigue (, sometimes ), officially the Municipality of Dinapigue (; ; tagalog language, Tagalog/kasiguranin language, Kasiguranin: ''Bayan ng Dinapigue''), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province ...
)
* Dibulo Integrated School (located in
Dinapigue
Dinapigue (, sometimes ), officially the Municipality of Dinapigue (; ; tagalog language, Tagalog/kasiguranin language, Kasiguranin: ''Bayan ng Dinapigue''), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province ...
)
* Dinapigue National High School (located in
Dinapigue
Dinapigue (, sometimes ), officially the Municipality of Dinapigue (; ; tagalog language, Tagalog/kasiguranin language, Kasiguranin: ''Bayan ng Dinapigue''), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province ...
)
* Divilacan National High School (located in
Divilacan)
* Isabela School of Fisheries
* Maconacon National High School (located in
Maconacon)
* Palanan National High School
* Palanan School of Agriculture and Trades
* Reina Mercedes Integrated School (located in
Maconacon)
Infrastructure

The most common forms of transportation in Palanan are by horses, motorcycles,
tricycle
A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a Human-powered transport, human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) Three-wheeler, three-wheeled vehicle.
Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for pa ...
s, or an improvised motorcycles called ''
kuligligs''.
[Christian (2011-06-13)]
"Palanan and Maconacon"
Off the Beaten Track in the Philippines. Retrieved on 2023-03-16.[ Due to its isolation, the town can be reached quickest by a 23-30 minute flight in a six-seater, single-engine ''Cyclone Air'' ]Cessna
Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufactu ...
commuter plane from Cauayan. Palanan is served by Palanan Airport.[
By water, a boat ride from the neighboring town of Divilacan or in the towns of Dingalan and ]Baler
A baler or hay baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay, cotton, flax straw, salt marsh hay, or silage) into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store. Often, bales are config ...
in Aurora province in the south usually takes about two to three hours and six to seven hours, respectively.[Jay (2013-01-09)]
"Palanan - Isabela's Best Kept Secrets"
Lets Go Philippines. Retrieved on 2014-09-28.
There are no roads that connect Palanan to the rest of province as the town can only be reached by a plane or boat ride, or a multi-day hike over the Sierra Madres from the neighboring town of San Mariano, which could take about three to five days. However, there is a 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 Divilacan. 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
Palanan at the Isabela Government Website
Local Governance Performance Management System
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census Information
Municipality of Palanan
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Isabela (province)