Cagayan Valley Region
BRIEF HISTORY:
CAGAYAN VALLEY has a distinct history. Long before the coming of the Spaniards into the valley, fishing villages existed on the banks and at the mouths of the rivers and creeks flowing into the sea. The Spaniards found natives inhabiting the narrow coastal plains in Northern Luzon and flood plains of the Cagayan River. These were the Ibanags, so called because they lived on the banks of the “bannag”, a native word for river. They were of the sturdy Indonesian type with a culture of their own. They maintained commercial intercourse with China, Japan and other neighboring countries. The early Ibanags kept their writings on barks of trees and bamboo, depicting the heroic deeds of their chiefs. These tales were used as songs by bards during victories in wars, on weddings and other important events and were therefore handed down from generation to generation like the famous epic of Biuag and Malana, chief of Malaueg (Rizal) and Maquilat (Cabagan Viejo).
When Don Juan de Salcedo explored Northern Luzon in 1567 he landed his forces at a place now called Mission, in the Municipality of Buguey located near what is believed to be the original mouth of the Rio Grande de Cagayan. In the course of centuries, the Cagayan river gradually straightened its meandering course by leaving a Rio Muerto or lagoon south of Buguey. The lagoon, believed to be the original mouth of the Cagayan River, measures about sixteen kilometers long and roughly one kilometer wide. (Source: Cagayan Souvenir Program ’68.)
It was however, in 1581 that the Spaniards headed by Captain Juan Pablo Carreon with his soldiers and their families settled in the region. Thereafter, Spanish missionaries gradually penetrated deeper into the valley, teaching and c
converting the natives. Lalloc was named Nueva Segovia by Juan Pablo Carreon in 1581 and was
visited by Juan Salcedo in 1572 and Luis Perez Dasmariñas in 1592. The Parish Church of Lallo was constructed under the direction and supervision of the Dominican Friars in 1588. Lalloc was the seat of Nueva Segovia created by Pope Clement VIII on August 14,1595 and continued to be so up to 1755 when it was transferred to Vigan.
Lallo was the capital of Cagayan Province from 1581-1839 when the Provincial Government was moved to the town of Tuguegarao which was made capital of Cagayan up to the present. The first Revolutionary Government was headed by Gov. Vicente Nepomuceno, appointive Governor in 1898. On April 10, 1910 Pope Leo XII proclaimed Tuguegarao as a Diocese.
Later, the Americans improved the educational and political system and introduced improvements in infrastructure.
Today, Cagayan Valley Region is one of the more progressive regions in the country.
OVERVIEW
Fr. Julian Malumbres in his “Historia de Cagayan” states that chronicles of Cagayan assert that the first Spanish explorers came into the Valley by way of the original mouth of the Cagayan river, now the present site of Mission, Municipality of Buguey. It is said that at that time the mouth of the river as well as the shores of the lagoon abound with “tagay” trees, hence the place was known as “Catagayan”. Gradually, for convenience of pronunciation the shortened “Cagayan”, permanently became the name of the province which was organized as one political subdivision of the archipelago in 1583 and which comprised the whole Cagayan Valley.
Today, Region 02 is composed of the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, the Cities of Santiago, Cauayan and Tuguegarao and the Island Province of Batanes. The Regional Center is Tuguegarao City, Cagayan while the industrial center is Cauayan City, Isabela.
Prov/City / No. of Towns / Capital Town / Commercial Center
Batanes
/ 6 / Basco / BascoCagayan / 28/ 1 city / Tugue-garao City / Tug. City;
Aparri, Gattaran & Tuao
Isabela / 35/ 2 cities / Ilagan / Ilagan, CauayanCity
Roxas
Nueva Vizcaya / 15 / Bayom-bong / Bayombong Solano, Bambang
Quirino / 6 / Cabar-roguis / Cabarroguis, Maddela Diffun
Santiago City
GEOGRAPHY
The Region is located on the northeastern part of mainland Luzon, covering an area of about 26,858.79 square kilometers. It has rugged terrain along its boundaries, with the Pacific Ocean bounding it on the east, the Bashi Channel on the north, the provinces of Nueva Ecija on the south, Quezon on the south east and the Cordillera in the west.
CLIMATE
There are two pronounced weathers, the dry which generally occurs beginning December up to May and wet from June up to November. Hot months are from March to May and extend up to August.
POPULATION
As of 2000, the Census of Population of the region is registered at 2,813,159.
Comparative Population Per Province
Source: National Statistics Office, Region 02
Province/City / 1995 / 2000
Batanes / 14,180 / 16,467
Cagayan / 787,775 / 993,580
Isabela / 1,062,179 / 1,073092
Nueva Vizcaya / 334,965 / 366,962
Quirino / 131,119 / 148,575
Santiago City / 98,542 / 110,531
Tuguegarao City / 107,275 / 120,645
Cauayan City / 92,677 / 103,952
Total / 2,536,035 / 2,813,159
DIALECTS
Major dialects spoken are Ilocano, Ybanag, Ytawes and Filipino. In Batanes, the people speak Ivatan. English is generally understood and spoken regionwide.
INDUSTRIES
Major industries are agriculture with rice and corn as main crops, livestock production of cattle, hog, carabaos and poultry, furniture making of rattan and other indigenous materials, fishing especially along the coast of Cagayan, Isabela and Batanes and Magat Dam in Isabela and also exportation of fruits, fruit preserves and vegetables.
TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES
Transportation facilities in the region are available at all times. There are about 15 transportation companies that ply the Tuguegarao-Manila route and vice-versa.
Transport facilities to the neighboring CAR are also available:
1. Bagabag town in Nueva Vizcaya serves Banaue, Ifugao via Lamut town
2. Enrile town in Cagayan serves Dagupan, Tabuk, Kalinga via Liwan, Rizal
3. Junction Libertad/Junction Luna in Abulug, Cagayan serves Luna, Pudtol,Sta. Marcela, and Flora towns of Apayao Province
4. Tuao town in Cagayan serves Kabugao town in Apayao via Conner and Pinukpok
Inter-regional transport is also readily available and runs the extensive road network of the region along the national highway and into the municipal roads to interior towns. Water transport facilities include cargo ships that dock in Aparri, and inter-island ship that dock at Port Irene in Sta. Ana and Claveria in Cagayan.
In Batanes, there is an acute shortage of inter-island transport from Batan to Itbayat and while Sabtang Island has a regular ferry that leaves from San Vicente Port in Ivana at 7 o’clock in the morning daily. In Sabtang Island, boats are available for Ivuhos Island trip at about P300.00 one way from Barangay Nakanmuan or Savidug. Chartered flight to Itbayat is available at P700.00 per person one way. There are about eighty registered passenger jeepneys and tricycles for public use in Batan Island. Other vehicles are owned by the government and some privately owned motorcycles. A cargo ship from Manila visits the island of Batanes once a month.
There are four domestic airports servicing the region- Tuguegarao City Domestic Airport, Cauayan City Domestic Airport, Basco Domestic Airport in Batanes while Bagabag Airport in Nueva Vizcaya services charter planes. Smaller airports/airstrips served by charter services are in Palanan and Maconacon, both are coastal towns of Isabela.
TRANSPORT FACILITIES
BUS COMPANIES
FLORIDA / (078) 846-2265BALIWAG / (078) 844-4325
VICTORY / (078) 844-0777
AUTOBUS / (078) 844-5519
DANGWA / (078) 844-1761
DELTRA TOURS / (078) 844-5675
EMC BUS / (078) 846-2196
NELBUSCO / (078) 682-8632
ROYAL EAGLE / (078) 682-6592
AIRLINE COMPANIES
1. ASIAN SPIRIT (Manila-Batanes)
2. Mnl: (02) 851-888
Tug. :(078) 846-2084; (078) 844-8141; 844-8142
Contact Person: Rudilyn or Cherry
3. AIR PHILIPPINES (Manila-Tuguegarao City)
Mnl(02) 855-9000
Fax: (02) 851-7922
Tug. Booking Ofc: Fax: (078) 846-7578
Contact Person: Abi
4. CHEMTRAD AVIATION
Tug. Booking Ofc:
Tel: (078) 844-3113
Contact Person: Jennifer
Route: Tuguegarao to Batanes and Palanan or Maconacon
4. CYCLONE AIRWAYS
Cauayan Booking Ofc
Tel # (078) 652-0913
Contact Person: Monet or Jasmine
Jasmin’s CP : 0917-574-3168
Route: Cauayan City to Palanan or Maconacon
5. PACIFIC AIR
Laoag Office: (077) 772-0663
COMMUNICATION FACILITIES
Government and private communication facilities are found all over the valley. Direct dialing and wireless cellular phones are also available. Smart Company operate in Batanes while Globe Company is still expanding its operation. Internet service providers are available in urban centers.
IMPORTANT CONTACT NUMBERS
DOT EMAIL:
DOT WEBSITE:
1.www.dotregion2.com.ph 2.www.visitmyphilippines.com
3. try all the Web Links.
BATANES
BRIEF HISTORY OF BATANES
The island-province of Batanes was created by a series of volcanic activities and other geologic forces when Mt. Iraya erupted around 325 BC.
In 1782, then Governor General of the Philippines Jose Basco y Vargas sent an expedition to undertake the formalities of getting the consent of the Ivatans to become subjects of the King of Spain. On June 26, 1783, Joseph Huelva Melgarjo became the first Governor of Batanes. The new province was named Provincia dela Concepcion and Governor Basco was named “Conde dela Conquista de Batanes” and the capital town was named after him.
By 1799, the Manila government was convinced that the Batanes provincial government was unable to support itself and it was decided to downgrade it. The office of the governor was abolished and Valero Bermudez was appointed alcalde.
By 1855, the Itbayat Mission was formally recognized, the same year when the era of the alcalde also ended and the governorship was restored indicating a mode of political and economic upswing. Fernando dela Cuevas was assigned Governor.
Around 1890, a mailboat was coming everythree months increasing the contact of the Ivatans with Luzon specially Manila. The export
of pork, lard and cattle increased. Galvanized iron became available.
On September 18, 1898 Katipuneros from Luzon hoisted their flag at Radiwan in Ivana. On
September 20, new sets of provincial and municipal officers were elected with Teofilo Castillejos as Governor.
In February 1900, the USS Princeton landed in Batanes to begin American rule. The province became a mere township the second time under Cagayan confirmed by the Provincial Government Act No. 83 of the American Government enacted February 6, 1901. Public School system was started. General health, hygiene and sanitation campaign was launched.
Batanes became a province again by the provision of Act 1952 enacted on May 10, 1909 and Otto Scheerer was appointed Governor of the province. The Manila government erected a wireless telegraph tower and station; better roads were built and an agricultural land was converted into an airport. When the Japanese arrived in Batanes on December 8, 1941 they bombed the airport and destroyed the wireless telegraph tower. Ivatan resentment turned to aggressive resistance in 1945. After the war and the Philippines got its Independence, contact with the rest of the country increased. The airport was rehabilitated, media and the radio communications have lessened cultural isolation. Infrastructure, electrification and deep sea fishing improved and a shift to rice from root crops as traditional subsistence was effected.
OVERVIEW
Batanes is home to the famous Ivatans, who are nationally acclaimed as the “True Insulares”.
The Island Province lies at the northernmost tip of the Philippines, on a vast expanse of wild waters where the Pacific Ocean merges with the China Sea. It is made up of three major islands, namely: Batan, Sabtang and Itbayat. Close by are seven islets including Amianan (the closest to Formosa or Taiwan). Thus, Batanes has been identified as the country's potential “gateway to East China”.
The Batanes Archipelago was formally annexed to the Philippine Islands under the Spanish rule on the 26th of June, 1783. The complete evangelization of the island took almost a century. Education, centered on the Catholic faith, was introduced with the religious work. Prior to the Spanish rule, the Ivatan ancestors had developed a unique culture of their own and the population then was placed at about 30,000, excluding those from Itbayat.
The Ivatan, like most Filipinos are of Malay stock. They traced their roots to early immigrants from Formosa, (Taiwan) as well as Spaniards, who came to the island in the 16th century. Being an insular people, the Ivatans have kept the purity of their gene pool. To this day, they have the features of their forebears – the Formosan’s almond eyes and the Spaniard’s aquiline nose. Their language is peppered with pidgin Spanish and spoken with the musicality of the Chinese tongue. The provincial capital itself bears the name of the official who brought the island under the Spanish rule in 1788 and served as its first Governor General (Basco).
The civil administration contributed much to the improvement of the towns by the construction of new buildings and bridges, opening of new roads, improving health and sanitation and most importantly, the setting up of a water supply system in Basco in 1890. The Spaniards introduced masonry in the construction of churches, ports and bridges.
Within the first century of Batanes Christianization, the need for regular communication with Manila was already felt. Local officials sent petitions to the Governor-General for government boats to come three to four times a year for deliveries instead of once a year. The economy of Batanes was dependent on regular transportation. Whenever typhoons struck, islanders suffered hunger and epidemics. Migration was unchecked as others sought work in mainland Luzon, thus the population was reduced to 8,279 in 1898.
Agriculture was promoted by the introduction of new technologies, crops, breeds of animals and in increasing the areas of arable land and grazing lands. With these improvements, trading with Cagayan, Ilocos and Manila was realized.
During the first ten years of the American regime, from 1899 to 1907, Batanes was reduced to a mere Municipality of Cagayan but was restored to its former status of a province in 1909.
The installation of a wireless telegraph station in Basco, frequent visits of ships and the construction of Basco Airport in 1935 mitigated the isolation of the province.
The Province of Batanes today boasts of undisturbed and unspoiled beauty of nature preserved by the peace-loving Ivatans. A complete eco-tourism destination, Batanes offers a kaleidoscope of natural beauty and ecological attractions from its rich marine resources to its verdant rolling terrain – all ideal for outdoor sports.