Aritao, officially the Municipality of Aritao, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 42,197 people. The ethnic minority called Isinai (the same term for the local spoken dialect) were the original residents of this town. Aritao is 30 km from Bayombong, 235 km from Manila, and 109 km from Baguio.

Etymology

The name Aritao came from the Isinai phrase Ari Tau "which stands for "Our King" (ari means king and tau means our) which refers to the legendary Isinai Chieftain Mengal, a fierce and brave king who resisted Spanish conquest of the Isinai territories around Ajanas and Ynordenan (the areas comprising what is now most of Aritao).

History

The town of Aritao was previously called Ajanas or Afanas. It was formerly the site of an Igorot fortress that was overrun by the Spanish in 1745 which was then further fortified by the colonists. Prior to that, the Spaniards had already established their first permanent settlement in Nueva Vizcaya in 1714 in the town of Buhay, now Barangay Santa Clara. Afanas was later renamedto Aritao, after an Isinay word “Ari-Tau”. In January 1767, the intrepid Spanish Missionary Manuel Corripio succeeded in persuading an Igorot King called Ari Mengal and his tribe to live in the town. These people were later converted into Christianity by Fr. Tomas Gutierrez. In 1776, there was a merger of Aritao with the settlements of Buhay, Mabatu and Pahipahi into one pueblo under the name of Aritao, which was approved by the colonial authorities, with the town center being confirmed to be in the old Aritao. During the American Era on 30 June 1917, through the initiative of Councilor Jose Aleman, the application for township of Aritao to higher authorities was finally approved by the Secretary of the Interior. During World War II, Japanese troops entered Aritao in 1942 and were pushed out by Allied forces in 1945 after heavy fighting in the village of Kirang, which lay on the foot of the Cordillera mountain trails towards Baguio.

Geography

Barangays

Aritao is politically subdivided into 22 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Climate

Demographics

Economy

Government

Local government

Aritao, belonging to the lone congressional district of the province of Nueva Vizcaya, 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 Nueva Vizcaya 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.

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