| Echague | |
|---|---|
| — Municipality — | |
| Map of Isabela showing the location of Echague. | |
|
Echague
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Cagayan Valley (Region II) |
| Province | Isabela |
| District | 4th District, Isabela |
| Founded | |
| Barangays | 64 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Dr. Melinda G. Kiat |
| Area | |
| • Total | 680.80 km2 (262.9 sq mi) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 67,553 |
| • Density | 99.2/km2 (257/sq mi) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+8) |
| ZIP code | 3309 |
| Income class | 1st class; partly urban |
| Population Census of Echague | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | Rate | |
| 1995 | 56,119 |
|
|
| 2000 | 61,101 | 1.84% | |
| 2007 | 67,553 | 1.39% | |
Echague also referred to as the "Queen Town of Isabela" is a first class municipality under the fourth district province of Isabela, Philippines. It is 344 kilometers north of Metro Manila. According to the latest census, it has a population of 67,553 people in 12,045 households.
Contents |
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 on May 1, 1856 that created the Province of Isabela consisting of the towns of Gamu, Angadanan, Bindang (now Roxas) and Camarag (now Echague), Carig (now Santiago City) and Palanan. The new province was named in honor of Queen Isabela II of Spain.
Fr. Pedro Salgado, the Dominican writer, in volume I of his "Cagayan Valley and Eastern Cordillera (1581-1898)," wrote that Echague town in Isabela used to be called Camarag, the name of a big tree then common in the place.
The city was founded in 1752 and ecclesiastically placed under the patronage of St. Joseph on May 12, 1753.
History says missionaries wanted to transfer the town from the banks of the Cagayan River to the Ganano River 10 kilometers away. The people rebelled because the soil was more fertile along the Cagayan River. But in 1776, they were forcibly transferred.
Some 72 years later, the people returned to Camarag, now named Echague after Rafaél de Echagüe y Bermingham, Spanish governor-general at that time.
Echague is politically subdivided into 64 barangays.
|
|
|
Echague Town Fiesta named as the "Bacao Festival" celebrated every March 15 to 19. This is also in celebration of the feast day of Saint Joseph the Worker, and at the same time the corn harvesting season of the town.
Universities:
Main Secondary Schools:
Main Elementary Schools:
|
|||||||||||