Abra (province)

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Abra
Province of Abra
Abra Valley.jpg
The Santa Catalina de Alejandria Church in Tayum, Abra.JPG
Abra Provincial Hall.JPG
Bucay Casa Real.jpg
San Quintin 2008 110.jpg
Abra River 1.jpg
PH-ABR Flag.png
Abra provincial seal.png
Abra in Philippines.svg
Location in the Philippines
OpenStreetMap
Abra (province)
Coordinates: 17°35′N120°45′E / 17.58°N 120.75°E / 17.58; 120.75
Region Cordillera Administrative Region
Founded March 10, 1917
Capital
and largest municipality
Bangued
Government
   Governor Dominic B. Valera (NUP/ASENSO)
   Vice Governor Maria Jocelyn V. Bernos (NUP/ASENSO)
   Legislature Abra Provincial Board
Area
[1]
  Total4,165.25 km2 (1,608.21 sq mi)
  Rank29th out of 81
Highest elevation2,467 m (8,094 ft)
Population
 (2020 census) [2]
  Total250,985
  Rank68th out of 81
  Density60/km2 (160/sq mi)
   Rank80th out of 81
Divisions
   Independent cities 0
   Component cities 0
   Municipalities
27
   Barangays 303
   Districts Legislative districts of Abra
Time zone UTC+8 (PHT)
ZIP code
2800–2826
IDD : area code +63(0)74
ISO 3166 code PH-ABR
Spoken languages
Website www.abra.gov.ph

Abra, officially the Province of Abra (Ilocano : Probinsia ti Abra; Tagalog : Lalawigan ng Abra), is a province in the Cordillera Administrative Region of the Philippines. Its capital is the municipality of Bangued. It is bordered by Ilocos Norte on the northwest, Apayao on the northeast, Kalinga on the mid-east, Mountain Province on the southeast, and Ilocos Sur on the southwest.

Contents

Etymology

Abra is from the Spanish word abra meaning gorge, pass, breach or opening. It was first used by the Spaniards to denote the region above the Banaoang Gap where the Abra River exits into the West Philippine Sea, thus the Rio Grande de Abra. [3]

History

Early history

The first inhabitants of Abra were the ancestors of the Bontocs and the Ifugaos. These inhabitants eventually left to settle in the old Mountain Province. Other early inhabitants were the Tinguians or Itnegs.

Spanish colonial era

In 1585, the Tinguians were mentioned for the first time in a letter from Father Domingo de Salazar to the King of Spain.

In 1598 Bangued was occupied by Spanish-Iloco forces. The Spanish established a garrison to protect their missionaries from head hunters so that they could Christianize the Tinguians and locate gold mines. This led to the Ilocano settlement of this area.

Bangued was under the care of the Spanish missions in Vigan and Bantay. Fr. Esteban Marin and Fr. Agustin Minon established a mission in Bangued as early as 1598. On April 5, 1612, Fr. Pedro Columbo became the first minister. It would seem that this actuation of the Augustinians was precipitated by the Dominican take-over of the ministry of Narvacan since the Dominicans wanted to convert Narvacan into a mission center to evangelize the other parts of Abra. To check this Dominican move, the Augustinians elevated Bangued to a ministry.

Fr. Juan Pareja OSA, a former parish priest in Bantay, led the conversion of the province. He came to Abra in 1626 and is reported to have converted as many as 3,000 inhabitants including the chieftain Miguel Dumaoal. He founded the mission of San Diego and later the ministry of Bangued. He established the following towns as visitas of Bangued: Tayum, Sabangan and Bucao (now Dolores). Inspired by Fr. Pareja these towns battled almost daily against the rancherias of Palang, Talamuy, Bataan, Cabulao, Calaoag, and Langiden.

Fr. Jose Polanco OP also contributed to the conversion of Abra. A man of austere mortification, he died in Abra in 1679 and was considered a saint by the locals.

Fr. Bernardino Lago OSA arrived in the early 19th century. In 1823, Fr. Lago began work in Pidigan. After 25 years the Christians were numbered about a thousand "baptized, living in community, with schools, church and municipal house, tilling the earth to support themselves and their children." Fr. Lago also founded the town of La Paz. Fr. Galende enumerates the foundation of the other towns of Abra:

Originally the area was called El Abra de Vigan ("The Opening of Vigan"). During the British Occupation of the Philippines, Gabriela Silang and her army fled to Abra from Ilocos and continued the revolt begun by her slain husband Diego Silang. She was captured and hanged by authorities in 1763.

In 1818, the Ilocos region was divided into Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur. On October 9, 1846, Abra became an independent province with the capital and residence of the provincial governor located in Bucay. In 1863 the capital was transferred to Bangued, the province's oldest town. It remained so until the arrival of the Americans in 1899.

American invasion era

In 1908, the Philippine Commission annexed Abra into Ilocos Sur in an attempt to resolve Abra's financial difficulties. On March 9, 1917 the Philippine Assembly re-established Abra as a province under Act 2683. [4]

Japanese occupation era

In 1942 Japanese forces occupied the Philippines and seized Abra.[ further explanation needed ]

Abra was liberated by the Filipino soldiers and guerrillas including Allied forces liberated the province of Abra in 1945 at the end of the Second World War.[ further explanation needed ]

Modern history

The revolutionary Marxist priest Conrado Balweg, who fought for the rights of the Cordillera tribes, began his crusade in Abra. After successfully negotiating a peace accord with Balweg's group in 1987 the Philippine government created the Cordillera Administrative Region, which includes Abra. [5] On July 27, 2022, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, jolted the province. Eleven people died (at least seven of them were from Abra) and more than 600 were injured. [6] A magnitude 6.4 aftershock three months later injured more than 100 people and caused additional damage. [7]

Geography

Abra is situated in the mid-western section of the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. It is bordered by the provinces of Ilocos Norte on the northwest, Apayao on the northeast, Kalinga on the mid-east, Mountain Province on the southeast and Ilocos Sur on the southwest. Abra has a total land area of 4,165.25 square kilometres or 1,608.21 square miles [8] .

The province is bordered by the towering mountain ranges of the Ilocos in the west and the Cordillera Central in the east. The Abra River runs from the south in Benguet to the west and central areas bisecting the Abra Valley. It is joined by the Tineg River originating in the eastern uplands at a point near the municipality of Dolores.

Administrative divisions

Abra is composed of 27 municipalities, all encompassed by Abra's lone congressional district. [8]

Ph fil abra.png
Municipality [lower-roman 1] [lower-roman 2] Population±% p.a.Area [8] Density(2020)Barangay
(2020) [2] (2015) [9] km2sqmi/km2/sqmi
17°35′47″N120°37′04″E / 17.5965°N 120.6179°E / 17.5965; 120.6179 (Bangued) Bangued 20.1%50,38248,163+0.86%136.4052.6637096031
17°22′44″N120°49′11″E / 17.3790°N 120.8198°E / 17.3790; 120.8198 (Boliney) Boliney 1.8%4,5513,573+4.71%210.0081.0822578
17°32′20″N120°43′00″E / 17.5388°N 120.7167°E / 17.5388; 120.7167 (Bucay) Bucay 7.4%17,95317,115+0.91%102.1639.4418047021
17°26′27″N120°51′26″E / 17.4409°N 120.8572°E / 17.4409; 120.8572 (Bucloc) Bucloc 1.0%2,3952,501−0.82%63.7724.6238984
17°27′30″N120°55′31″E / 17.4584°N 120.9254°E / 17.4584; 120.9254 (Daguioman) Daguioman 0.8%2,0192,088−0.64%114.3744.1618474
17°41′03″N120°39′35″E / 17.6841°N 120.6597°E / 17.6841; 120.6597 (Danglas) Danglas 1.6%4,0744,192−0.54%156.0260.2426677
17°38′56″N120°42′37″E / 17.6490°N 120.7103°E / 17.6490; 120.7103 (Dolores) Dolores 4.6%11,51211,315+0.33%47.4518.3224062015
17°40′35″N120°41′07″E / 17.6763°N 120.6853°E / 17.6763; 120.6853 (La Paz) La Paz 6.6%16,49315,437+1.27%51.4119.8532083012
17°39′48″N120°56′51″E / 17.6634°N 120.9474°E / 17.6634; 120.9474 (Lacub) Lacub 1.4%3,6123,403+1.14%235.5390.9415396
17°36′37″N120°44′04″E / 17.6103°N 120.7344°E / 17.6103; 120.7344 (Lagangilang) Lagangilang 5.9%14,91414,255+0.86%124.2047.9512031017
17°43′15″N120°42′21″E / 17.7207°N 120.7058°E / 17.7207; 120.7058 (Lagayan) Lagayan 1.8%4,4884,499−0.05%215.9783.3921545
17°34′37″N120°33′50″E / 17.5769°N 120.5638°E / 17.5769; 120.5638 (Langiden) Langiden 1.4%3,5763,198+2.15%116.2944.9031806
17°36′22″N120°53′36″E / 17.6061°N 120.8932°E / 17.6061; 120.8932 (Licuan-Baay) Licuan-Baay (Licuan)1.8%4,5664,689−0.50%256.4299.00184711
17°19′05″N120°41′43″E / 17.3181°N 120.6952°E / 17.3181; 120.6952 (Luba) Luba 2.6%6,5186,339+0.53%148.2757.25441108
17°33′49″N120°59′24″E / 17.5636°N 120.9899°E / 17.5636; 120.9899 (Malibcong) Malibcong 1.6%4,0273,428+3.11%283.17109.33143612
17°25′59″N120°42′17″E / 17.4331°N 120.7048°E / 17.4331; 120.7048 (Manabo) Manabo 4.6%11,61110,761+1.46%81.0831.3114036011
17°33′51″N120°39′08″E / 17.5642°N 120.6522°E / 17.5642; 120.6522 (Peñarrubia) Peñarrubia 2.8%6,9516,640+0.88%39.0715.091804709
17°34′13″N120°35′21″E / 17.5703°N 120.5893°E / 17.5703; 120.5893 (Pidigan) Pidigan 5.0%12,47512,185+0.45%49.1518.9825065015
17°25′00″N120°35′43″E / 17.4168°N 120.5954°E / 17.4168; 120.5954 (Pilar) Pilar 4.0%10,14610,223−0.14%66.1025.5215039019
17°27′18″N120°45′36″E / 17.4551°N 120.7599°E / 17.4551; 120.7599 (Sallapadan) Sallapadan 2.5%6,3896,622−0.68%128.6249.66501309
17°27′56″N120°36′06″E / 17.4656°N 120.6017°E / 17.4656; 120.6017 (San Isidro) San Isidro 1.9%4,7454,574+0.70%48.0718.56992609
17°41′00″N120°43′55″E / 17.6834°N 120.7320°E / 17.6834; 120.7320 (San Juan) San Juan 4.3%10,6889,867+1.53%64.0824.7417044019
17°32′34″N120°31′13″E / 17.5427°N 120.5203°E / 17.5427; 120.5203 (San Quintin) San Quintin 2.3%5,7055,438+0.92%66.5925.71862206
17°36′59″N120°39′19″E / 17.6165°N 120.6553°E / 17.6165; 120.6553 (Tayum) Tayum 5.9%14,86914,467+0.52%55.6821.5027070011
17°46′58″N120°56′38″E / 17.7828°N 120.9439°E / 17.7828; 120.9439 (Tineg) Tineg 2.0%4,9775,097−0.45%744.80287.576.71710
17°15′24″N120°43′32″E / 17.2567°N 120.7256°E / 17.2567; 120.7256 (Tubo) Tubo 2.3%5,6745,699−0.08%492.12190.01123110
17°26′16″N120°37′31″E / 17.4379°N 120.6253°E / 17.4379; 120.6253 (Villaviciosa) Villaviciosa 2.3%5,6755,392+0.98%102.9339.74551408
Total250,985241,160+0.76%4,199.721,608.2160160 303
  Provincial capital Municipality
  1. Former names are italicized.
  2. The globe  WMA button2b.png icon marks the town center.

Barangays

The 27 municipalities of the province comprise a total of 303 barangays, with Poblacion in La Paz as the most populous in 2010, and Pattaoig in San Juan as the least. [10] [8]

Demographics

The population of Abra in the 2020 census was 250,985 people, [2] with a density of 60 inhabitants per square kilometre or 160 inhabitants per square mile.

Abra's inhabitants are mostly descendants of Ilocano settlers and members of the Tingguian tribe. Based on 2000 census data, Ilocanos comprised

The predominant languages are Ilocano [12] and Itneg. [13]

Population census of Abra
YearPop.±% p.a.
1903 51,860    
1918 72,731+2.28%
1939 87,780+0.90%
1948 86,600−0.15%
1960 115,193+2.41%
1970 145,508+2.36%
1975 147,010+0.21%
1980 160,198+1.73%
1990 184,743+1.44%
1995 195,964+1.11%
2000 209,491+1.44%
2007 230,953+1.35%
2010 234,733+0.59%
2015 241,160+0.52%
2020 250,985+0.79%
Source: PSA [9] [10] [14]
Population by ethnicity (2000) [11]
EthnicityNumber
Ilocano
150,457 (71.94%)
Tingguian
39,115 (18.70%)
Ibanag
9,334 (4.46%)
Itneg
6,624 (3.17%)
Tagalog
869 (0.42%)

Others
2,175 (1.04%)
Other foreign ethnicity
16 (0.01%)
Not Reported
556 (0.27%)

Economy

As of 1990 there were 743 cottage industries in Abra of which 208 are registered with the Department of Trade and Industry. 59% are engaged in bamboo and rattan craft making, both leading industries in the area.

Abra's economy is agriculture-based. Its major crops are rice, vegetables and root crops. Commercial products include coffee, tobacco and coconut. Extensive grassland and pasture areas are used for livestock production.

Infrastructure

Power distribution

Abra electric utilities.svg

Government

List of former military and elected governors: [22]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangued</span> Capital of Abra, Philippines

Bangued, officially the Municipality of Bangued, is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 50,382 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bucay, Abra</span> Municipality in Abra, Philippines

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolores, Abra</span> Municipality in Abra, Philippines

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luba, Abra</span> Municipality in Abra, Philippines

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boliney</span> Municipality in Abra, Philippines

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malibcong</span> Municipality in Abra, Philippines

Malibcong, officially the Municipality of Malibcong, is a 5th class municipality in the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 4,027 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manabo</span> Municipality in Abra, Philippines

Manabo, officially the Municipality of Manabo, is a 5th class municipality in the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 11,611 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Quintin, Abra</span> Municipality in Abra, Philippines

San Quintin, officially the Municipality of San Quintin, is a 5th class municipality in the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 5,705 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tayum</span> Municipality in Abra, Philippines

Tayum, officially the Municipality of Tayum, is a 5th class municipality in the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 14,869 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tineg</span> Municipality in Abra, Philippines

Tineg, officially the Municipality of Tineg, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 4,977 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tubo, Abra</span> Municipality in Abra, Philippines

Tubo, officially the Municipality of Tubo, is a 4th class municipality in the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 5,674 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villaviciosa, Abra</span> Municipality in Abra, Philippines

Villaviciosa, officially the Municipality of Villaviciosa, is a 5th class municipality in the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 5,675 people.

References

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  2. 1 2 3 Census of Population (2020). "Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority . Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  3. "The Ilocos Review Volume 19 - 1987". The Ilocos Review. Arnoldus Press, Inc. ISSN   0019-2538.
  4. "Act No. 2683; An Act to Authorize the Segregation of the Subprovince of Abra from the Province of Ilocos Sur and the Reestablishment of the Former Province of Abra, and for Other Purposes". Supreme Court E-Library. March 9, 1917. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
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  6. Situational Report No. 15 for Magnitude 7 Earthquake in Tayum, Abra (2022) (PDF) (Report). National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. August 10, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
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  22. Gaioni, SVD, Fr. Dominic T., Historical Highlights of the Province of Abra From 1585 to 1920