Caba, officially the Municipality of Caba, is a 4th class municipality in the province of La Union, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 23,119 people. Caba was a part of the municipality of Aringay until the late-19th century when it was permanently separated to form its own entity. It has a land area of 4631 ha.

Etymology

History records show that this municipality used three names interchangeably: Caba, Cava, and Caua. According to a local historian Pedro Manongdo, two tales have persisted on how the town got his name. One group referred to an incident when a Spaniard asked an inhabitant the name of the place. The youth mistook the question as an inquiry to the name of the animal he was herding and answered “Cava.” The repetition of the name ended with Cava and later Caba. Another story sustained that Caba was the name given by a group of immigrants from barrio Caba, San Carlos, Pangasinan who settled in the community in the later years of the 16th century. In memory of the place where they came from, they named the new settlement CABA.

History

Establishment during the Spanish colonial era

Caba was founded as a settlement in 1598 by Augustinian Fathers with Don Agustin dela Cruz as the “first man to rule.” The settlement developed into barangay in 1692 with don Luis Manongdo as the Cabeza de barangay. It became a town in 1783 with Don Domingo Aragon as gobernadorcillo. Two other historians however have claimed different dates on the founding of Caba as a town. On one hand, Father Jose Braganza, SVD claims that Caba was founded in 1745 along with Aringay. On the other hand, Julian Martin claims that Caba was founded in 1844.

Revolt of Diego Silang

Caba is the birthplace of Diego Silang, the inspiration and the leader of the Ilocos Revolt of 1762-1763. During the Spanish period, Silang established an independent rebel government in Northern Luzon and agitated for reforms in and out of the government. However, Spanish authorities resorted to assassinating him with the help of one of his followers who betrayed him with a shot in his back on May 28, 1763. The assassin's bullet did not however smother the flame of Silang rebellion. His wife Gabriella took the torch of leadership and by her own right, continued the rebellion heroically. Four months later, she was captured by Spanish forces and was executed publicly in Vigan on September 20, 1763, thus ended not only the heroic adventure of the “Ilocandia’s Joan of Arc” but also Silang's revolt. A predominantly Roman Catholic municipality. In 1997 the Roman Catholic Church Celebrated its 400 years of Christianity basing on church's documents

During the American colonial era

In 1903, the Philippine commission reorganized the administrative and territorial set-up of municipalities in the country. Due to a meager population of financial difficulties, some smaller municipalities were integrated. Caba was integrated with Aringay while Santo Tomas to Agoo. In 1907, Executive Order no. 41 was issued which provided that Caba be separated from Aringay. The order took effect on January 1, 1908, thus Caba again became a regular municipality with Francisco Sobredillo as Chief Executive.

During World War II

Caba, along with the nearby towns of Agoo and Bauang were the first places the Japanese invasion force sought to control during the main effort to capture Luzon at the beginning of World War 2 - now known as the Japanese Invasion of Lingayen Gulf. Capturing the three towns which were connected by a high quality road, but protected on one side by the ocean and the other by the sea, meant that the Japanese forces were easily able to establish a secure beachhead. Once they had done so, they launched attacks against defense forces at San Fernando, La Union and Rosario, La Union, and from there they deployed southwards across the plains of Pangasinan and Tarlac to take Fort Stotsenburg in Pampanga, then Bulacan, and finally Manila.

During the Marcos dictatorship

The beginning of the 1970s marked a period of turmoil and change in the Philippines because Ferdinand Marcos had used foreign debt to fund too many public works projects as he headed his 1969 reelection campaign, which led to the 1969 Philippine economic crisis and the First Quarter Storm protests. La Union residents mostly did not speak up about the economic stresses they were experiencing, but when Marcos declared martial law in 1972, Caba was included with the rest of the country. Marcos' efforts to consolidate political power did not get much resistance in the La Union, including Caba, and La Union residents mostly did not speak up about the economic stresses they were experiencing. This was because Marcos took advantage of strong political ties to La Union, and allowed the powerful family factions (which had dominated La Union politics since before the American colonial era) to stay in place.

Later 20th Century

After Marcos fled into exile after the civilian-led 1986 People Power revolution, Edgar T. Bacungan was appointed OIC mayor under the new Provisional Revolutionary Government. He was then properly elected into office when the Fifth Philippine Republic was established, serving until 1992. In 1990, Caba was heavily affected by the 1990 Luzon earthquake.

Geography

Caba is located 248 km from Metro Manila and 21 km from San Fernando, the provincial capital.

Barangays

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

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Caba, La Union, was 23,119 people, with a density of undefined PD/km2.

Religion

Economy

Government

Local government

Just as the national government, the municipal government of Caba, is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judiciary. The judicial branch is administered solely by the Supreme Court of the Philippines. The LGUs have control of the executive and legislative branches. The executive branch is composed of the mayor and the barangay captain for the barangays.Local Government Code of the Philippines, Book III, Department of the Interior and Local Government official website. The legislative branch is composed of the Sangguniang Bayan (town assembly), Sangguniang Barangay (barangay council), and the Sangguniang Kabataan for the youth sector. The seat of Government is vested upon the Mayor and other elected officers who hold office at the Caba Town Hall. The Sanguniang Bayan is the center of legislation, stationed in Caba Legislative Building.

Elected officials

Tourism

Caba holds the records in the "Search for Cleanest and Greenest Municipality in La Union" (4th-5th Class Municipality Category in 2006, 2007 and 2008). It also claimed the Regional Level and National Finalist trophies, for Seal of Good Housekeeping trophies in 2010, including the 2010 Provincial Championship medal in the Search for Best Performing LGU Local Governance Performance Measurement System). Caba celebrates on April 15 to 18, the town fiesta and on June 24, the Feast of Saint John the Baptist.

Caba beach

Caba prime beaches are located along Lingayen Gulf in La Union.

Education

Elementary schools

Secondary schools

Colleges

Gallery