Prior to 1856, there were only two provinces in the Cagayan Valley Region: Cagayan and Nueva Vizcaya. The Province of Cagayan at that time consisted of all towns from Tumauini to the north in Aparri and all other towns from Ilagan southward to Aritao comprised the Province of Nueva Vizcaya. In order to facilitate the work of the missionaries in the evangelization of the Cagayan Valley, a royal decree was issued May 1, 1856 that created the Province of Isabela consisting of the towns of Gamu, Angadanan and Gamarang (now Echague) Carig (now Santiago City) and Palanan. The new province was named in honor of “Her Royal Highness Queen Isabela II” of Spain. Although the province did not play a major role in the revolt against Spain, it was in Palanan where the final pages of the Philippine Revolution was written when the American forces led by Gen. Frederick Funston finally captured Gen Emilio Aguinaldo on March 23, 1901.
The Americans built schools and other buildings and instituted changes in the overall political system. The province’s economy, however remained particularly agricultural with rice replacing corn and tobacco as the dominant crop. World War II stagnated the province’s economic growth but it recovered dramatically after the war.
Isabela today is one of the premier provinces of the north, one of the more progressive in the country and Santiago, the commercial center of Region 02 has been declared an independent-component city thru a plebiscite last July 3, 1994 under RA 7720.
OVERVIEW
Geography
Home to the Yogads and Gaddangs, the province is divided into three physiographic areas. The eastern area, straddled by the Sierra Madre Mountain Range, is rugged and thickly forested. Substantial portion is uncharted and unexplored hinterlands and home to a rich variety of flora and fauna while some are government reservations. The western area is a sprawling fertile valley hemmed by the Central Cordillera and is criss-crossed by the mighty Cagayan, Siffu and Magat Rivers. Its mountains rise to a peak of about 6,000 feet and is home to one of the world’s
largest remaining low-altitude rainforests with numerous unknown endemic species of flora and fauna and exceptional biological diversity. The area is popularly known as the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park (NSMNP).
Location
The province is located in the northeastern part of Luzon. It is bounded on the north by the Province of Cagayan, on the south by Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and Aurora, on the west by the Provinces of the Cordillera Administrative Region and on the east by the Pacific Ocean.
Area and Population
Isabela comprises an aggregate land area of 10,665 square kilometers, representing almost 40 percent of the regional territory. It is the largest province in the region and the second largest province in the country in terms of land area. Based on the year 2000 census of population, the province has a population of 1,287,575 with population density of approximately 120.73 persons per square kilometer.
Climate
Generally, the province has two types of climate. The eastern and coastal areas experience moderate rainfall more or less distributed throughout the year while Western Isabela has more pronounced wet and dry seasons. The average temperature is recorded at 27.1 degrees Celsius.
Political Subdivision
The province has 35 municipalities, 1055 barangays and is divided into four congressional districts. Santiago is an independent-component city while Cauayan is a component city, Ilagan is the capital town while Cauayan is the industrial center.
Language/Dialect
Major dialects in Isabela are Ilocano followed by Ibanag, Yogad and Gaddang. People especially in the capital and commercial centers speak and understand English and Pilipino.
Major Industries
Agriculture is the major industry of the people of Isabela. Farming is highly mechanized as most of the agricultural lands are irrigated.
With the presence of the Isabela State University, joint ventures and other foreign assisted projects are viable while the Magat Dam Tourism Complex contribute to the high productivity in agriculture. It is also the hub of trade and commerce and other economic activities due to its central location in the region. The wood industry used to be a top earner for the province but due to the logging ban imposed in the Cagayan Valley Region, activities in this industry considerably declined. However, furniture making using narra and other indigenous forest materials/products like Gmelina continue to exist.
Potential investments are in fisheries and tourism. Isabela has a fertile fishing ground on the Pacific Coast. The reservoir of the Magat Dam is utilized for fishcage operations for tilapia production for domestic market. Tourism is relatively a new industry being developed in the province especially in the coastal areas. Support services and accommodation facilities are likewise being developed.
ACCESSIBILITY BY AIR
1. Cauayan Airport is the base of CYCLONE Airways with
routes to Palanan and Maconacon.
Contact Person:
Capt. Honorio Camposagrado
President /Gen. Mngr
Address: Cauayan Airport
Cauayan, Isabela
Tel. (078) 634-5387
Fax. (078) 652-2368
REACT Frequency: 1650 Century
Contact: Roselle/Ruby Domingo
No. of Planes: 3; 6 Seater plane
Fare: P1,000.00/pax
It is believed that the history of the province dates back over 25,999 years ago with Stone-Age race of dark skinned kinky haired pygmies whose descendants, that the Nomadic Aetas (Negritos), can still be found roaming the mountains and forest of Eastern Isabela today. The Indonesians arrived 5,000 years ago, followed by the three waves of Malays between 200 BC and 1,500 A.D. These pagan ancestor of the Ibanags, Gaddags, Yogads, Kalingas and other original tribes of the Valley built a civilization based on corn agriculture and organized around the fundamental political unit, the barangay.
The Spaniards arrived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries and introduced Christianity, encomienda (forerunner of the municipality) and tobacco monopoly. Spanish rule was extremely oppressive so the natives rose in revolt on several occasions, most notably in the 18th century under the leadership of Dabo and Marayag.
A new wave of immigration begun in the late 19th and early 20th century with the arrival of the Ilocanos who came in large numbers. They now constituted the largest group in the province. Other ethnic groups followed and Isabela became the "melting pot of the north".
The formal history of the province dates back on May 1, 1856, when by a Royal decree, Isabela was curved from the existing provinces of Cagayan and Nueva Vizcaya with the town of Ilagan as its capital. The province was named in honor of " Her Royal Highness Queen Isabela II" of Spain at the time when Urbiztondo was the Governor-General of the Philippines.
Although the province did not play a major role in the revolt against Spain, it was in Palanan where the final pages of the Philippine REvolution was written when the American forces led by General Funston finally captured General Emilio Aguinaldo in that frontier town on March 23, 1901.
The Americans built schools and other infrastructures and instituted changes in the overall political system. The province's economy, however, remained primarily agricultural with rice replacing corn and tobacco as the dominant crop. The second World War turned back the province's growth and economy but it recovered dramatically through the concerted efforts of its people and officials.
Today, Isabela is the premier province of the North and one of the most progressive in the country.
Many historian have wrote about the province but Fr. Ambrocio Manaligod, STD has another version about the history of Isabela as narrated in the following pages.
Before 1856 there was no Isabela province.
From 1851, the Spanish conquistadors established the "Ciudad de Nueva Segovia" in what is Lallo-c today, up to 1939 the entire Cagayan Valley was one large province which the Spaniards called "La Provincia del Valle de Cagayan". Out of this vast territory, two new provinces were created in 1839. One retained the old name "Cagayan" which comprised all towns from Aparri to Tumauini, its capital transferred from Lallo-c to Tuguegarao. The other bearing the name "Nueva Vizcaya" was composed of all towns from Ilagan to the Caraballo del Sur, inclusive of Catalangan and Palanan, with Camarag (now Echague) as its Capital.
Then in 1856, Isabela became a province with the name "Isabela de Luzon" to distinguish it from other "Isabelas" in the Philippines. To comprise it, Carig, (now Santiago), Camarag, (now Echague), Angadanan, (now Alicia), Cauayan, Calanusian, (now Reina Mercedes), Gamu and Ilagan were detached from Nueva Vizcaya, while Tumauini and Cabagan were taken from the province of Cagayan. It was placed under the Jurisdiction of a Governor with capital seat at Ilagan.
It was from 1597 to 1899 which comprised the three centuries of Spanish domination in the Cagayan Valley mastermind by the Spanish Dominicans Friars. These religious priests were the chief and main agents of the Spanish sovereignty through their works of Christianization and colonization, aided strongly by the military, the Alcaldes Mayores and the Gobernadorcillos.
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