Santa Praxedes, officially the Municipality of Santa Praxedes (; ; ), 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 4,434 people, making it the least populated municipality in the province.

History

The town's original names were Capan-awan and Langangan (Lang-ga-ngan), which means "Sagapa", a round piece of rattan work to hold in place earthen pots, Municipal officials then petitioned for a change of name through Representative Benjamin Ligot. Under Republic Act No. 4149 which he authored in 1966, Langangan was renamed into Sta. Praxedes in honor of the name of Congressman Ligot’s mother, Doña Praxedes Ligot. The town was formerly part of Claveria until 1922. The first settlers were known to be the emigrants from the provinces of

Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur (), officially the Province of Ilocos Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital of Vigan, while Candon is ...

(from the municipalities of Sinait and

Magsingal Magsingal, officially the Municipality of Magsingal (; ) is a 1st class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 31,308 people. Etymology The name of the municipality came from ...

) and

Ilocos Norte Ilocos Norte (), officially the Province of Ilocos Norte (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region. It is located in the northwest corner of Luzon island, bordering Cagayan and Apayao to t ...

(from the municipalities of

Pasuquin Pasuquin, officially the Municipality of Pasuquin (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 29,678 people. T ...

, Badoc and Pinili). The early settlers in this municipality were the Agamanos, Agnir, Aguinaldo, Aguirre, Agullana, Bumanglag, Estabillo, Llapitan, Madamba, Pagdilao, Ragsac, Rivera, and the Sanchez families. There have been moves by the municipal council to regain political control over some barangays of the neighboring municipality of Claveria, particularly the barangays of Cadcadir, Lablabig, Mabnang, Union, Kilkiling and Siam-Siam. These barangays were once part of Santa Praxedes but lost them when the municipality was transferred to the provincial jurisdiction of Ilocos Norte.

Geography

It borders the

municipality of Pagudpud to the west; Calanasan, Apayao, to the south-west;

Claveria, Cagayan Claveria, officially the Municipality of Claveria (; ; ), is a municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 31,900 people. Claveria is from Tuguegarao, from Manila, from Kabugao, ...

, to the east. It also shares a third of the area of the Calvario National Park along with the municipality of Pagudpud.

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

directly to the north of

Luzon Island Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, a ...

via

Luzon Strait The Luzon Strait (Tagalog: ''Kipot ng Luzon'', ) is the strait between Luzon and Taiwan. The strait thereby connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea in the western Pacific Ocean. This body of water is an important strait for shipp ...

to Bashi Channel. The central plain is situated in a valley enveloped by the Cordillera Mountains. It is also one of the coastal towns of Cagayan that does not have direct road access to its seacoast due to the high mountains surrounding it. Santa Praxedes 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

Santa Praxedes is politically subdivided into 10

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 ...

. The

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 ...

of the municipality consists of two barangays, Centro-Uno and Centro-Dos, which are situated in the valley surrounded by the northern tip of the Cordilleras. * Cadongdongan * Capacuan * Centro I (

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 II (

) * Macatel * Portabaga * San Juan * San Miguel * Salungsong * Sicul

Climate

As in the other part of the country, the municipality has two seasons: the wet and dry seasons. It has a longer wet season, unlike most parts of the country that enjoy almost equal periods of wet and dry seasons. The wet season normally starts in the last week of May and lasts up to the end of January. It is during the later months of this season that the famous "gamet" or "

nori Nori is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, usually made from species of the red algae genus ''Pyropia'', including ''P. yezoensis'' and ''Pyropia tenera, P. tenera''. It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is generally made in ...

" grows along its rocky seacoast. The dry season starts by the end of January till the end of May.

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Santa Praxedes was 4,434 people, with a density of .

Language

Ilocano is the main language but a portion of the population also speaks

Isneg The Isnag people (also referred to as Isneg, Yapayao and Apayao) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to Apayao province in the Philippines' Cordillera Administrative Region, though they are also found in parts of Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, and ...

(locally known as Yapayao) as part of the population hailed from the Calanasan, Apayao, when the municipality was a part of the former Kalinga-Apayao province.

Economy

Economic activity consists mainly of fishing, farming and tourism. Currently, the local government is further developing both Portabaga Falls Park and Resort in Barangay Portabaga, and Mingay Beach Camp in Barangay San Juan.

Tourism

There is a lot of potential of the town in ecotourism but due to undeveloped infrastructure, tourism spots such as Sicul Falls and Hotsprings as well as Macatel Falls were seldom visited. * Portabaga Falls Park and Resort - a single-drop waterfall having four downstream catch pools * Mingay Beach Camp - a newly opened tourist destination that can be reached through a 30-45 minute hike from the top of the mountain in Barangay San Juan, or a 30-45 minute boat ride from Barangay Taggat Norte, Claveria * Kimmansir Beach - a beach with white rocks situated near the boundary of Cagayan and Ilocos Norte. * Likid Falls and Bondor Falls in Barangay Sicul * Mapudot Hotspring in Barangay Cadongdongan * Bunot River in Barangay Cadongdongan * Kimmatiguid Falls in Barangay Salungsong - a series of 11 water falls that is suitable for canyoneering * Macatel Falls in Barangay Macatel

Government

Local government

Santa Praxedes is part of the second 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 municipal councilors are elected directly by the people through an election held every three years.

Elected officials

Controversy

Being a small town and the fact that its inhabitants are related by ancestry, recent political development created friction among political clans. Among other factor is that politicians are mainly late-comer emigrants from neighboring municipalities and provinces thus in the 2016 national election, claims of illegal voters or "flying voters" were uncovered by the local election office. Such controversy was resolved before election.

Transportation

The municipality is north of

via Laoag and northwest of

, the province's capital. Bus companies serving the town are GV Florida Transport (

– Junction Luna v/v via

Laoag Laoag (), officially the City of Laoag (; ), is a component city and capital of the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 111,651 people. It is the province's most populous settlement, ...

), GMW Trans (

–Tuguegarao/Santiago) and Claveria Tours Transport (Laoag - Claveria) on a daily regular basis.

Communication

Although it has a small population, it enjoys full coverage of

Smart ''SMart'' was a British CBBC television programme based on art, which began in 1994 and ended in 2009. The programme was recorded at BBC Television Centre in London. Previously it had been recorded in Studio A at Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingha ...

and

Globe A globe is a spherical Earth, spherical Model#Physical model, model of Earth, of some other astronomical object, celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but, unlike maps, they do not distort the surface ...

cellular networks which residents use to connect to the Internet.

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 Sta. Praxedes Schools District Office governs the public and private elementary and high schools throughout the municipality.

Primary and elementary schools

* Cadcadir Elementary School * Cadongdongan Elementary School * Capacuan Elementary School * Kilkiling Elementary School * Lablabig Elementary School * Mabnang Elementary School * Sta. Praxedes Central School * Taggat Norte Elementary School * Taggat Sur Elementary School * Union Elementary School

Secondary school

* Sta. Praxedes High School

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Cagayan