Gonzaga, Cagayan

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Gonzaga
Municipality
Municipality of Gonzaga
Flag of Gonzaga, Cagayan.png
Flag
Gonzaga Cagayan.png
Seal
Ph locator cagayan gonzaga.png
Map of Cagayan with Gonzaga highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Gonzaga, Cagayan
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Gonzaga
Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 18°15′41″N121°59′49″E / 18.2614°N 121.9969°E / 18.2614; 121.9969
Country Philippines
Region Cagayan Valley
Province Cagayan
District 1st district
Barangays 25 (see Barangays)
Government
  [1]
 • Type Sangguniang Bayan
 •  Mayor Marilyn S. Pentecostes
 •  Vice Mayor Jessie G. Gaspar
 •  Representative Ramon C. Nolasco Jr.
 •  Electorate 27,767 voters (2025)
Area
[2]
 • Total
567.43 km2 (219.09 sq mi)
Elevation
42 m (138 ft)
Highest elevation
249 m (817 ft)
Lowest elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (2020 census) [3]
 • Total
41,680
 • Density73/km2 (190/sq mi)
 •  Households
9,685
Economy
 •  Income class 1st municipal income class
 •  Poverty incidence
10.58
% (2021) [4]
 •  Revenue ₱ 347.7 million (2022)
 •  Assets ₱ 715.7 million (2022)
 •  Expenditure ₱ 270.5 million (2022)
 •  Liabilities ₱ 103.7 million (2022)
Service provider
 • ElectricityCagayan 2 Electric Cooperative (CAGELCO 2)
Time zone UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code
3513
PSGC
0201514000
IDD  :  area code  +63 (0)78
Native languages Ibanag
Ilocano
Dupaningan Agta
Tagalog

Gonzaga, officially the Municipality of Gonzaga (Ilocano : Ili ti Gonzaga; Tagalog : Bayan ng Gonzaga) , is a municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 41,680. [3]

Contents

History

Pre-Colonial Period and Etymology

The original inhabitants of Gonzaga were Negritos, especially Aeta tribes. The first recorded name of the area was Gampao, an Aeta word meaning 'mountainous,' which was later changed to Wangag ('river').

Spanish Era

In the eighteenth century, groups of Ilocano-speaking immigrants arrived in several waves by sea and land, gradually displacing the Aeta in lowland areas.

Wangag was given ecclesiastical recognition on February 23, 1869, as a barrio of Buguey. In 1917, the American-controlled Insular Government renamed the settlement Rumang-ay (Ilocano for 'to be progressive'). The following year, it was renamed after the first Filipino Governor of Cagayan, Gracio P. Gonzaga. The town was officially seceded from Buguey on January 1, 1918, via an Executive Order of Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison. [5]

World War II

Days after the Imperial Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, the Tanaka Detachment sailed south from Japanese Formosa as a main invasion force against the American-held Commonwealth of the Philippines. They landed on the northern coasts of Luzon, including Gonzaga, on December 10, 1941 at the outbreak of the Second World War in the Pacific.

Geography

Gonzaga is located at the north-eastern part of Cagayan, bordered by Santa Ana to the north-east, Santa Teresita to the west, and Lal-lo to the south.

Gonzaga is 123 kilometres (76 mi) from Tuguegarao, 604 kilometres (375 mi) from Manila, and 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from Santa Teresita.

It has a total land area of 56,743 hectares (140,220 acres), the majority of which remains undeveloped. It has large stretches of virgin forests, especially throughout the mountainous areas of the Sierra Madre mountain range. The highest elevation in the municipality is 1,130 metres (3,710 ft) above sea level, located at the Mount Cagua in Barangay Magrafil.

The majority of the municipality's 40 kilometres (25 mi) coastline is mostly along the Babuyan Channel to the north, although it is also bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the southeast. The eleven coastal barangays contain a total of 139 hectares (340 acres) of beaches, 69 hectares (170 acres) of mangrove forests and 348 hectares (860 acres) of coral reefs. [6]

Barangays

Gonzaga is politically subdivided into 25 Barangays, including four urban barangays which constitute the Poblacion area. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

  • Amunitan
  • Batangan
  • Baua
  • Cabanbanan Norte
  • Cabanbanan Sur
  • Cabiraoan
  • Callao
  • Calayan
  • Caroan
  • Casitan
  • Flourishing (Poblacion)
  • Ipil
  • Isca
  • Magrafil
  • Minanga
  • Rebecca (Nagbabacalan)
  • Paradise (Poblacion)
  • Pateng
  • Progressive (Poblacion)
  • San Jose
  • Santa Clara
  • Santa Cruz
  • Santa Maria
  • Smart (Poblacion)
  • Tapel

Climate

Climate data for Gonzaga, Cagayan
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)24
(75)		25
(77)		28
(82)		31
(88)		31
(88)		31
(88)		30
(86)		30
(86)		29
(84)		28
(82)		26
(79)		24
(75)		28
(83)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)20
(68)		20
(68)		21
(70)		23
(73)		24
(75)		24
(75)		24
(75)		24
(75)		24
(75)		23
(73)		23
(73)		21
(70)		23
(73)
Average precipitation mm (inches)150
(5.9)		106
(4.2)		84
(3.3)		48
(1.9)		103
(4.1)		115
(4.5)		134
(5.3)		156
(6.1)		136
(5.4)		240
(9.4)		246
(9.7)		300
(11.8)		1,818
(71.6)
Average rainy days1914.312.810.817.718.921.523.322.120.420.322.2223.3
Source: Meteoblue [7]

Demographics

Population census of Gonzaga
YearPop.±% p.a.
1918 3,339—    
1939 8,682+4.66%
1948 10,811+2.47%
1960 12,519+1.23%
1970 17,686+3.51%
1975 19,316+1.78%
1980 22,467+3.07%
1990 26,536+1.68%
1995 27,997+1.01%
2000 32,079+2.96%
2007 35,424+1.38%
2010 36,303+0.90%
2015 38,892+1.32%
2020 41,680+1.37%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [8] [9] [10] [11]

In the 2020 census, the population of Gonzaga, Cagayan, was 41,680 people, [3] with a density of 73 inhabitants per square kilometre or 190 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy

Poverty incidence of Gonzaga

10
20
30
40
2000
32.88
2003
34.23
2006
19.90
2009
16.61
2012
13.37
2015
13.10
2018
12.19
2021
10.58

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]

Gonzaga is primarily an agricultural municipality, with more than half of the workforce employed primarily as either farmers or fishers. Approximately 5,500 hectares (14,000 acres) of agricultural land are currently under production, the majority of which are dedicated to rice farming. [20]

Government

Local government

Gonzaga is part of the first 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 councillors are directly elected by constituents in polls held every three years.

Elected officials

Members of the Municipal Council
(2025–2028)
PositionName
CongressmanRamon C. Nolasco
MayorRellie S. Dalmaceda
Vice-MayorSherryl Anne C. Gaspar
CouncillorsQuirino S. Jara
Oscar G.Idmilao
Ferdinand L.Baclig
Atty. Jun Alibania
Jayson Joe Castillo
Cecilia G. Morales
Orlando B. Rasos
Nanding Solatre

Local chief executives

NameYears
Francis Torres1918-1921
Leandro Zuniega1922-1924
Teodoro Castro1925-1927
Francisco Torres1928-1931
Cesario Peralta1932–1940, 1945–1946
Frederico Navarro1941
Cayatano de la Cruz1942–1945, 1948–1951, 1960–1967
Delfin Baltazar1952-1955
Claro P. Nuñez1956-1959
Romarico Salvanera1967-1968
Francisco T. Baclig1968-1986
Hermogenes T. Baclig1986-1987
Juan B. Naval1987
Ricardo M. Paddayuman1988-1990
Atty. Arsenio P. Gonzales1990-1998
Epifanio G. Gaspar1998-2007
Rosendo P. Abad2007-2010
Engr. Carlito F. Pentecostes, Jr.2010–2014
Rene Salvanera2014-2016
Marilyn S. Pentecostes2016–2025
Rellie S. Dalmaceda2025-present

The 2012 film The Mistress , starring John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo, was partly shot in the town.

Education

The Schools Division of Cagayan, a division office and field office of DepEd in the Cagayan Valley region, is responsible for the implementation of the town's education system, ensuring adherence to educational standards set by the government in order to provide quality education for all students. In both public and private elementary schools, including high schools within the municipality. The Gonzaga West District Office oversees all public and private elementary and high schools in the town. [21]

Primary and elementary schools

  • Amunitan Elementary School
  • Batangan Integrated School
  • Baua Central School
  • Cabanbanan Norte Elementary School
  • Cabanbanan Sur Elementary School
  • Cabiraoan Elementary School
  • C.Dela Cruz Elementary School
  • Calayan Elementary School
  • Callao Primary School
  • Caroan Elementary School
  • Casitan Elementary School
  • Gonzaga North Central School
  • Gonzaga South Central School
  • Isca Elementary School
  • Ipil Elementary School
  • Laoc Elementary School
  • Magrafil Elementary School
  • Minanga Elementary School
  • Pateng Elementary School
  • Rebecca Elementary School
  • San Francisco Elementary School
  • San Jose Elementary School
  • Sta.Cruz Elementary School
  • Sta. Clara Elementary School
  • Sta.Isabel Elementary School
  • Sta.Maria Elementary School
  • Tapel Elementary School

Secondary schools

Higher educational institutions

Notable personalities

References

  1. ↑   Municipality of Gonzaga | (DILG)
  2. ↑ "2015 Census of Population, Report No. 3 – Population, Land Area, and Population Density" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. Quezon City, Philippines. August 2016. ISSN   0117-1453. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Census of Population (2020). "Region II (Cagayan Valley)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority . Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  4. ↑ "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  5. ↑ Physico-Socio-Economic and Political Profile 2007
  6. ↑ Municipal Coastal Environmental Profile 2005
  7. ↑ "Gonzaga, Cagayan: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  8. ↑ Census of Population (2015). "Region II (Cagayan Valley)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority . Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  9. ↑ Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region II (Cagayan Valley)" (PDF). Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. National Statistics Office . Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  10. ↑ Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region II (Cagayan Valley)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. National Statistics Office.
  11. ↑ "Province of". Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Poverty incidence (PI):". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Estimation of Local Poverty in the Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. November 29, 2005.
  14. ↑ "2003 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. March 23, 2009.
  15. ↑ "City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates; 2006 and 2009" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. August 3, 2012.
  16. ↑ "2012 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. May 31, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Municipal and City Level Small Area Poverty Estimates; 2009, 2012 and 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. July 10, 2019.
  18. ↑ "PSA Releases the 2018 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. December 15, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  19. ↑ "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  20. ↑ Physico-Socio-Economic and Political Profile
  21. ↑ "Masterlist of Schools" (PDF). Department of Education. January 15, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
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