Echague, Isabela

Echague
Municipality
Nickname(s): Queen Town of Isabela
Map of Isabela showing the location of Echague
Echague Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 16°42′N 121°39′E / 16.700°N 121.650°E / 16.700; 121.650Coordinates: 16°42′N 121°39′E / 16.700°N 121.650°E / 16.700; 121.650
Country	Philippines
Region	Cagayan Valley (Region II)
Province	Isabela
District	4th District of Isabela
Barangays	64
Government[1]
• Mayor	Melinda G. Kiat
Area[2]
• Total	680.80 km2 (262.86 sq mi)
Population (2010)[3]
• Total	74,680
• Density	110/km2 (280/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
ZIP code	3309
Dialing code	78
Income class	1st class; partly urban

Echague is a first class municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. It is 344 kilometres (214 mi) north of Metro Manila. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 74,680 people.^[3]

History

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 City 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.

Barangays

Echague is politically subdivided into 64 barangays.^[2]

Demographics

Education

Universities:

• Isabela State University (Main Campus)

Main Secondary Schools:

• ISU Laboratory High School
• Saint Dominic Human Development Center (SDHDC)
• School of St. Joseph the Worker
• Echague National High School
• Don Mariano Marcos National High School

Main Elementary Schools:

• Echague East Central School
• Echague West Central School
• Echague South Central School
• First Echague United Methodist School
• St. Dominic Montessori School (Elementary and Secondary)
• InterActive Children Learning School (Pre-School and Grade School)

References

External links

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Municipality of Echague
• Local Governance Performance Management System

	Alicia	Angadanan / San Guillermo
	San Isidro Santiago		Dinapigue
	Echague
		Jones / San Agustin	Maddela, Quirino / Dilasag, Aurora

v t e Province of Isabela Municipalities Alicia Angadanan Aurora Benito Soliven Burgos Cabagan Cabatuan Cordon Delfin Albano Dinapigue Divilacan Echague Gamu Jones Luna Maconacon Mallig Naguilian Palanan Quezon Quirino Ramon Reina Mercedes Roxas San Agustin San Guillermo San Isidro San Manuel San Mariano San Mateo San Pablo Santa Maria Santo Tomas Tumauini Component city Cauayan Ilagan Independent component city Santiago (Administratively independent from the province, but grouped under Isabela by the National Statistics Office)