Aparri (Ibanag: Ili nat Aparri; ; ), officially the Municipality of Aparri, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,839 people. It sits at the mouth of the Cagayan River, the longest river in the Philippines. Aparri is 101 km from Tuguegarao and 582 km from Manila. Aparri is a bustling municipality and the primary growth center of Northern Cagayan. It serves as the center of education, commerce and culture in the northern part of the Region which includes towns of the first and second districts of Cagayan as well as the towns of Apayao and some towns of Ilocos Norte. It serves as the show window of commerce and finance,economic transformation, information technology, livelihood development, fashion and culture, leisure and entertainment, agricultural modernization, and course good local governance. Aparri has an approximate income of ₱250 million. The valley has been one of the largest tobacco-producing sections in the Philippines, and the town has a considerable coastwise trade. It has a meteorological station located in Barangay Punta where the Cagayan River meets the Babuyan Channel. It also administers Fuga Island, which is part of the Babuyan Group and is much closer to Claveria.

Etymology

The origin of the name Aparri has been disputed. One version says that the town was named by Spanish conquistador Juan Pablo Carreron, who upon landing there in 1581, named the town after the colloquial word for supper in his hometown. Another version claims that the name comes from the Spanish word aparte, or "separate", referring to the town's separation from Camalaniugan and Buguey in 1680. Yet another version says that the town's name comes from the Ibanag word apparian, a place where there are many priests.

History

Aparri was formerly Japanese trading post because of its location at the northern tip of Luzon at the mouth of the Cagayan River. It was the main area for trade for Japan on the island of Luzon. Much of the area was once home to the native Ibanag people, who were at the time in alliance with Japan as an early form of an informal protectorate city-state. It was formally established under Spanish rule in 1605 after the Spanish Crown seized the Philippines and made it part of the Spanish East Indies. The river where Aparri is in was the site of the famed 1582 Cagayan battles, the only major skirmish between Spanish Tercios and Japanese ronin (masterless samurai). Since it was on the route of Spanish Galleons during the great tobacco monopoly in the 16th to the 17th centuries, Aparri was therefore made one of the major Spanish ports of the Galleon Trade on May 11, 1680. The original inhabitants of this town were the Ybanags. Later, as the Spaniards settled and because of its strategic location, Ilocanos and Chinese people settled in the area. In 1771 it was raided by Moro vessels from Jolo. Towards the end of the Spanish occupation and in 1901, at the start of the American occupation, attempts were made to make Aparri the provincial capital of Cagayan, all of which were unsuccessful. During the Philippine Revolution, Aparri was the site of the landing of soldiers of the Philippine Revolutionary Army led by Daniel Tirona, which marked the beginning of the end of Spanish rule in Cagayan Valley, on 25 August 1898. In 11 May 1926 Joaquín Loriga and Eduardo Gallarza landed on his first-ever long way in autogyro from Spain to Manila. Before the outbreak of World War II, it became a transshipment point for smuggled goods from China, Taiwan, and other neighboring Southeast Asian nations. Aparri was one of the first places occupied by the Japanese in their invasion of the Philippines during the war, landing there on December 10, 1941. Donald Blackburn's guerrilla forces and the local troops of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Constabulary supported the Sixth United States Army Force B, in the capture of Aparri on 20 June 1945. On February 19, 2023, Vice Mayor Rommel Alameda was shot and killed along with five others in an ambush in Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya.

Geography

Barangays

Aparri is politically subdivided into 42 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Aparri, was 68,839 people, with a density of undefined PD/km2.

Economy

Tourism

Aparri is known for its foods such as the "bulung-unas", or Ribbon Fish (aka Belt Fish), which are in abundance during January and early February. "Kilawin naguilas-asan" is a fillet of smaller "bulung-unas" which are leftover baits, soaked in Ilocos vinegar, seasoned with salt and pepper, finely cut onions and ginger. Ludong, a variety of Pacific salmon, is the Philippines' most expensive fish, ranging from 4,000 pesos to 5,000 per kilo. Because of its price and its distinct taste and smell, it is also nicknamed "President Fish". Caught only in the Aparri delta when, after a heavy rainfall, these fish are washed down by the fast raging water from the south, down to the mouth of the Cagayan River where it meets the Babuyan Sea. Freshwater fish by nature, the salt water contributes to their super delicious taste. Ludong is available only in the rainy months of October and early November. Aparri's attractions also include its sandy beaches and town fiesta. May 1 to 12 of every year, the town's fiesta celebrates the patron saint San Pedro Gonzales of Thelmo with nightly festivities at the auditorium, crowning of Miss Aparri beauty pageant and the "Comparza." It is home to the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary and the Shrine of San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila. Holy Week is celebrated in Aparri with the observance of Holy Thursday and Good Friday in the town churches. On the early hours of Easter Sunday, the "Domingo Sabet" celebrates the meeting of Jesus and the Holy Mother after the resurrection.

Government

Local government

Aparri, belonging to the first legislative district of the province of Cagayan, 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 councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.

Elected officials

Education

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

Media

Aparri's main media outlet is radio. The following are radio and TV stations in the town

Radio

TV Stations

Notable personalities

Government

General information