Santa Maria (; ; ), officially the Municipality of Santa Maria, 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 25,758 people.

Etymology

Santa Maria, a former barrio of San Pablo, is named after Doña Maria, the firstborn child of Don Pablo Marasigan, a Spaniard, and Doña Masid, a native.

History

In 1703, the hamlet of ''Santa Maria de Luzon'' was established as a pueblo and detached from Cabagan (now San Pablo town), with Don Martin Masigan serving as governor. The establishment of the town was credited to the influential Masigan family, whose roots were in the place and have served as the town's chief executives for most of its history. On December 4, 1879, a royal order legally split the historic town of Santa Maria from Cabagan, with Dominican Fray Exequiel Pinilla serving as ''cura parroco''. The Masigan family's influence led to the town's secession. As it neighbors the Cordillera mountains, the town served as a starting point for Spanish military expeditions to conquer the Kalingas, who nevertheless continued to trade in the town.

Geography

Santa Maria is from the provincial capital Ilagan, 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

Santa Maria is politically subdivided into 20

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 ...

. * Bangad * Buenavista * Calamagui North * Calamagui East * Calamagui West * Divisoria * Lingaling * Mozzozzin Sur * Mozzozzin North * Naganacan *

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 ...

1 * Poblacion 2 * Poblacion 3 * Quinagabian * San Antonio * San Isidro East * San Isidro West * San Rafael West * San Rafael East * Villabuena

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Santa Maria, Isabela, was 25,758 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 Santa Maria 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 polls 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

Santa Maria, 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: ...

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

Primary and elementary schools

* Balagan Elementary School * Bangad Elementary School * Buenavista Elementary School * Calamagui Elementary School * Calamagui North Elementary School * Dacque Primary School * Divisoria Elementary School * Mozzozzin Elementary School * Naganacan Elementary School * Poblacion 03 Primary School * San Antonio-Lingaling Elementary School * San Isidro East Elementary School * San Isidro West Elementary School * San Rafael Elementary School * Sta. Maria Central School * Villabuena Elementary School

Secondary schools

* Buenaventura G. Masigan National High School * Naganacan-Villabuena National High School * Santa Maria High School

Notable personalities

Mutya Johanna Datul Mutya Johanna Fontiveros Datul (born April 17, 1992) is a Filipino fashion and commercial model, actress, and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Supranational 2013, making her the first Asian and first Filipino to win Miss Supranational. She ...

Miss Supranational 2013 Miss Supranational 2013 was the fifth Miss and Mister Supranational, Miss Supranational pageant, held at the Minsk Sports Palace in Minsk, Belarus on 6 September 2013. This is the first edition of the pageant to be held outside of Poland. Ekate ...

References

External links

Municipal Profile at the National Competitiveness Council of the Philippines

Santa Maria at the Isabela Government WebsiteLocal Governance Performance Management System
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationMunicipality of Santa Maria
{{Authority control Municipalities of Isabela (province) Populated places on the Rio Grande de Cagayan