Gonzaga, officially the Municipality of Gonzaga, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 41,680. The 2012 film The Mistress, starring John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo, was partly shot in the town.

History

Pre-Colonial Period and Etymology

The original inhabitants of Gonzaga were Negritos, especially members of Aeta tribes. The first recorded name of the area was Gampao, an Aeta word meaning 'mountainous,' later changed to Wangag ('river').

Spanish Era

In the eighteenth century, groups of Ilocano-speaking immigrants arrived in several waves by sea and land, gradually displacing the Aeta in the lowland areas. Wangag was given ecclesiastical recognition on February 23, 1869, as a barrio of the Municipality of Buguey. In 1917, it was renamed Rumang-ay (Ilocano for 'to be progressive'). The following year, it was renamed after the first Filipino Governor of Cagayan, Gracio P. Gonzaga. The town was officially partitioned from Buguey on January 1, 1918, via the Executive Order of Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison.

World War II

Japanese troops of the Tanaka Detachment from Formosa, as a main invasion force, landed on several locations in Northern Luzon, one of which is the town of Gonzaga, on December 10, 1941.

Geography

Gonzaga is located at the north-eastern tip of the province of Cagayan, bordered by the municipality of Santa Ana to the north-east, the municipality of Santa Teresita to the west, and the municipality of Lal-lo to the south. Gonzaga is 123 km from Tuguegarao and 604 km from Manila. It has a total land area of 56743 ha, the majority of which remains undeveloped. It has large stretches of virgin forests, especially throughout the mountainous areas of the Sierra Madre mountain range. The highest elevation in the municipality is 1130 m above sea level, located at the Mount Cagua in Barangay Magrafil. The majority of the municipality's 40 km coastline is mostly along the Babuyan Channel to the north, although it is also bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the southeast. The eleven coastal barangays contain a total of 139 ha of beaches, 69 ha of mangrove forests and 348 ha of coral reefs.

Barangays

Gonzaga is politically subdivided into 25 Barangays, including four urban barangays which constitute the Poblacion area. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Gonzaga, Cagayan, was 41,680 people, with a density of undefined PD/km2.

Economy

Gonzaga is primarily an agricultural municipality, with more than half of the workforce employed primarily as either farmers or fishers. Approximately 5500 ha of agricultural land are currently under production, the majority of which are dedicated to rice farming.

Government

Local government

Gonzaga, 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 councillors are elected directly by people through an election which is held every three years.

Elected officials

Local chief executives

Education

The Schools Division of Cagayan, a division office and field office of DepEd in the Cagayan Valley region, is responsible for the implementation of the town's education system, ensuring adherence to educational standards set by the government in order to provide quality education for all students. In both public and private elementary schools, including high schools within the municipality. The Cagayan State University Gonzaga Campus is also an educational institution in the municipality of Gonzaga.

Notable personalities