Paracelis, officially the Municipality of Paracelis 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 ...

Mountain Province Mountain Province (; ; ; ; ; ) is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Bontoc while Bauko is the largest municipality. Mountain Province was formerly referred to as Mountain ...

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 31,168 people. Paracelis' population distribution is 37 percent urban and 63 percent rural. Urban settlement is on the west side of the town, a basin of low-level hilly-to-flat lands surrounded by mountains.

History

Paracelis was first settled by the Ga'dang ( Gaddang) ethnic group, who were migrants from

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: ...

. Through the years, Paracelis has become the main entry point to the rest of Mountain Province. The name Paracelis came into existence as early as the 1900s as part of the territorial

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 of Natonin within the District of Kalao. Paracelis became a regular town named Paracales with the enactment of Republic Act 3488 on June 16, 1962. The town was renamed Paracelis on June 18, 1966 under Republic Act 4738. The first appointed mayor was Benito Rafael. The first official site of the civil government was at Natta'longan, now currently within Barangay Bantay. The pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

government was short-lived and administration lasted under three local managements from 1917 to 1921. In 1962, the government center at Natta'longan was transferred to Anangka within the Rafael compound. The site was again transferred to a lot in Marat donated by the Gawwan family. In 1991, the officials of the municipal government transferred the government center to its current site in Poblacion. The government used to occupy a one-hectare lot that housed all the units. On December 25, 2007, the town's mayor, Cesar Rafael, was killed in an ambush in sitio Sinigpit, Barangay Butigue. Paracelis is currently a

melting pot A melting pot is a Monoculturalism, monocultural metaphor for a wiktionary:heterogeneous, heterogeneous society becoming more wiktionary:homogeneous, homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative bei ...

of migrants from different areas, such as the Gaddang, Balangao, Majukayong, Kalinga, and

Ifugao Ifugao, officially the Province of Ifugao (; ), is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Lagawe and it borders Benguet to the west, Mountain Province to the north, Isabela t ...

tribes, including Ilokanos. This migration has been instrumental on the fast rising urbanization of Paracelis in the last two decades. The town's current administration is introducing an urbanization plan for the municipality.

Geography

The Municipality of Paracelis is a border town of Mountain Province where it shares borders with Kalinga, Isabela and

provinces. In the north, its borders with the city of

Tabuk Tabuk may refer to: *Tabuk, Kalinga, the capital city of Kalinga province of the Philippines *Tabuk Province, a province of Saudi Arabia **Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, capital city of the province ** Tabuk Regional Airport *Expedition of Tabuk, a military ...

and the town of Tanudan. In the south, it is bordered by Alfonso Lista. In the north-east, it shares a border with

Quezon Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon () and historically known as Tayabas, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon Regions of the Philippines, region on Luzon. Lucena, a highly urbanized ci ...

, in the east with Mallig and Roxas in Isabela. In the west, it borders with

Natonin Natonin, officially the Municipality of Natonin (; ; ; ; ), is a municipality in the province of Mountain Province, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 10,339 people. Geography The Municipality of Natonin is bordere ...

. Due to hilly terrain, Paracelis has numerous zigzag roads in most parts, including access roads that connect the municipality to other border towns. On both sides of its zigzag roads, travelers can view the vast

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

field plantations alongside. Paracelis is situated from the provincial capital

Bontoc Bontoc may refer to: * Bontoc, Mountain Province, Philippines * Bontoc, Southern Leyte, Philippines * Bontoc people, an ethnic group from Central Luzon, Philippines * Bontoc language, spoken by the Bontoc people {{disambig, geo Language and ...

, 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

Paracelis is politically subdivided into 9 barangays. 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 and 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 ...

. * Anonat * Bacarri * Bananao * Bantay * Bunot * Buringal * Butigue * Palitod * Poblacion

Climate

Demographics

Language

The town of Paracelis is home to three indigenous languages, the ''Balangaw language'' and the ''Ga'dang language'' (similar to the Ga'dang language used in

Nueva Vizcaya Nueva Vizcaya, officially the Province of Nueva Vizcaya (; ; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya''; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region in Luzon. Its capital and largest town is Bayo ...

, Isabela, and

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 ...

), and the Majukayong. Ilocano is the lingua franca of the municipality.

Economy

The municipality of Paracelis depends on agriculture as its main engine of growth with corn as the main product, and bananas coming second. Livestock farming is also a fast-rising business, and with the NGP and reforestation program of the DENR fruit tree growing is on the rise as is with vegetable growing. Trade activities include the commerce of basic consumer goods, handicrafts, food business, and others. The municipal government is planning to pursue real estate development and tourism as its next engines of growth. Its location at the crossroad makes Paracelis a future trading hub in the Eastern Cordillera Growth Corridor, a primary growth center of the

Cordillera Administrative Region The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR; ; ), also known as the Cordillera Region and Cordillera (), is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines, situated within the island of Luzon. It is the only Landlocked co ...

Government

Local government

Paracelis, belonging to the lone congressional district of the province of

, 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

Members of the Municipal Council (2019–2022): * Congressman: Maximo Y. Dalog Jr. * Mayor: Marcos G. Ayangwa * Vice-Mayor: Lister M. Carlos * Councilors: ** Ruben T. Vicente ** Lito B. Basungit ** Marcelo T. Ambatali ** Victorino S. Bannaue ** John B. Banggolay ** Ateneo B. Gusimat ** Gaston G. Todco ** Marciano O. Lappao Jr.

Transportation

The only mode of transportation to and from Paracelis are buses and jeepneys plying to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

, Alfonso Lista and

. Going south, it takes approximately 1.5 hours to reach Alfonso Lista and 3 hours to Santiago from Paracelis. Going north, it takes approximately 2 hours to reach Tabuk . Going west to Natonin town proper, it takes less than an hour. Currently, there is no road access from the town proper going to Mallig in the east but there is road from its border Barangay Buringal to Mallig. As of 2017, there is concreting of the national highway from Butigue, Palitud, Anonat going to Roxas, Isabela

Education

The Paracelis Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.

Primary and elementary schools

* Addang Elementary School * Amolong Elementary School * Anonat Elementary School * Apalis Elementary School * Bacarri Elementary School * Bagabag Elementary School * Balindan Elementary School * Bananao Elementary School * Burayoc Elementary School * Butigue Alliance Learning Center * Butigue Elementary School * Cabuaan Elementary School * Camparadi Elementary School * Canabo Elementary School * Cassag Elementary School * Catao Elementary School * Catubangan Primary School * Dalanao Elementary School * Damsite Elementary School * Dannal Elementary School * Gassilang Primary School * Kabulalaan Elementary School * Kalao Elementary School * Labay Elementary School * Maab-abnot Elementary School * Makilo Elementary School * Marallag Elementary School * Minoli Elementary School * Mulliang Elementary School * Natta'longan Elementary School * Pacak Elementary School * Palitod Elementary School * Paracelis Central School * San Emilio Elementary School * San Rafael Elementary School

Secondary schools

Eight out of nine

s in Paracelis have their respective secondary institution. Annex campuses of major high schools in different barangays were converted into a regular and independent high schools. The list of secondary schools are as follows: * Bacarri National Trade and Agricultural School - Barangay Bacarri * Paracelis Technical and Vocational High School - Sitio Labay, Barangay Bantay * Anonat National Agricultural and Vocation High School (Formerly Bacarri National Trade and Agricultural School- Anonat Annex) - Barangay Anonat * Buringal National High School - Barangay Buringal * Butigue National High School - Barangay Butigue * Palitod National High School - Barangay Palitod * San Rafael National High School - Sitio San Rafael, Barangay Bananao * Paracelis National High School - Barangay Poblacion * Bacarri National Trade and Agricultural School - Bunot Extension - Barangay Bunot

Higher educational institution

Mountain Province State Polytechnic College Mountain Province State University (MPSU) is the only public university in Mountain Province, Philippines. It is mandated to provide higher professional, technical and special instructions for special purposes and promote research and extension ...

Health

A district hospital serves the people of Paracelis. Recently, the municipal mayor, Avelino C. Amangyen signed a memorandum of agreement at the Japanese Embassy in Manila with the

Japan International Cooperation Agency The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gr ...

(JICA) representatives for the construction of the rural health unit building.

References

External links

Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) is a systematic classification and coding for geographic areas in the Philippines. It classifies areas based on the country's four levels of administrative divisions: regions, provinces, municipalities ...

br>Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Mountain Province