San Agustin, Isabela

San Agustin, officially the Municipality of San Agustin (Ilocano: Ili ti San Agustin; Tagalog: Bayan ng San Agustin), is a municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 22,096 people.

Etymology

The town derived its name from Saint Augustine of Hippo.

History

The town was created by virtue of Executive Order No. 269 by then President Elpidio Quirino on September 28, 1949.

In the old days, the present site of San Agustin was a hinterland inhabited by headhunting Ilongots and some scattered bands of Aetas locally known as "Pogot". It was then a part of the municipality of Echague. From this town sailed forth a band of pioneers led by Juan Gumpal, Antonio Pintang, and Vicente Taguiam. They penetrated the wilderness and explored the valleys along both sides of the Cagayan River. They put up scattered settlements which were often plagued by malaria, and marauding Ilongots and Pogots but the pioneers stayed put and in the end they were able to befriend Ilongots and Aetas and at survived malaria. Not long after the scattered settlements grew into sitios and one of them was Lakay-lakay (named after the creek) on the western side of the Cagayan River. The place is now "Masaya Centro", the seat of the municipal government of San Agustin.

When Jones was organized into an independent municipality in 1921, 30 barrios were separated from the municipality of Echague and one of them was Masaya. Because all the barrios of Jones prospered and since there were no good roads connecting the barrios at that time, the people of Masaya and adjoining barrios petitioned the President of the Philippines to organize the barrios into a regular town.

In 1959, the barrio of Uldogan was renamed Laoag.

San Agustin is the home of the Nuang Festival the annual celebration in honor of the sturdy carabao and in recognition of the highly successful Carabao Upgrading Program of the local government, through the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist and its cooperating agencies and stakeholders. The program was commenced in 1993 by then Mayor Jesus M. Silorio. This was continued under the successive administrations of Mayor Virgilio A. Padilla and Mayor Operaflor A. Manuel. Under the latter's leadership, the Festival was started.

Geography

San Agustin is situated 93.22 kilometres (57.92 mi) from the provincial capital Ilagan, and 398.83 kilometres (247.82 mi) from the country's capital city of Manila.

Barangays

San Agustin is politically subdivided into 23 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of San Agustin, Isabela, was 22,096 people, with a density of 79 inhabitants per square kilometre or 200 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy

Poverty incidence of San Agustin

Government

Local government

As a municipality in the Province of Isabela, government officials at the provincial and municipal levels are voted by the town. The provincial government has political jurisdiction over most local transactions of the municipal government.

The Municipality of San Agustin 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 the municipal councilors are elected directly by the people through elections held every three years.

Barangays are also headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain, Barangay Council, whose members are called Barangay Councilors. The barangays have SK federation which represents the barangay, headed by SK chairperson and whose members are called SK councilors. All officials are also elected every three years.

Elected officials

Congress representation

San Agustin, belonging to the Fourth legislative district of the province of Isabela, currently represented by Hon. Joseph S. Tan.

Education

The Schools Division of Isabela governs the town's public education system. The division office is a field office of the DepEd in Cagayan Valley region. The San Agustin Schools District Office governs the public and private elementary and high schools throughout the municipality.