Solano, officially the Municipality of Solano (; ; ), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 65,287 inhabitants..
According to the BLGF 2021 data, the town of Solano has the highest locally sourced revenue (LSR) of all the municipalities in Region 2 making it one of the notable economic hubs in Cagayan Valley. This further solidified the status of Solano as the undisputed premier town of Cagayan Valley.
Solano, being the fastest-growing municipality in the region, is proposed to become Cagayan Valley Region's 5th City after Tuguegarao, Santiago, Cauayan, and Ilagan.
Solano is from Bayombong and from Manila.
History
In 1760, the original name of the town was Bintauan, then a Gaddang settlement that is now a barangay of Villaverde. The town was later moved and formally founded in 1767 by Father Alejandro Vidal, a Dominican priest who led a Spanish mission. In 1768, it was called Lungabang, from the Gaddang word for cave, lungab. The name was later changed to Lumabang by the Spaniards for convenience. In 1851, Governor General Antonio Urbiztondo declared Lumabang a barrio of Bayombong for not having sufficient inhabitants and revenue to maintain itself. Governor General Ramon Solano y Llanderal authorized the separation of Lumabang as barrio from Bayombong. In 1853, the first Ilocanos arrived, brought by Don Diego Lumicao, a former gobernadorcillo. In 1889, it was renamed Solano, in honor of Governor General Ramon Solano y Llanderal.
The town was redeveloped by Father Juan Villaverde in 1889, and the poblacion consisted of 14 parallel wide streets, each having a width of 20 meters. Streets run from north to south and east to west, forming 100 square blocks with an aggregate area of one hectare per block. Solano was the largest municipality in the province until two of its barangays, Caliat and Bintawan, were separated to become the municipalities of Quezon and Villaverde respectively. The land area of Solano was correspondingly reduced to 13,980 hectares. In 1957, the barrios of Ibung and Bintawan were separated to form the town of Ibung, later renamed as Villaverde.
Cityhood
House Bill No. 8727 was filed on February 15, 2021 for the conversion of the municipality into a component city in the province of Nueva Vizcaya. The failed to move beyond the committee on local government until the end of the 18th Congress.
The town is bidding again for cityhood in 2022 with the filing of House Bill No. 01736."
Geography
Barangays
Solano is politically subdivided into 22 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
Aggub
Bagahabag
Bangaan
Bangar
Bascaran
Communal
Concepcion (Calalabangan) Curifang (Sinafal) Dadap Lactawan Osmeña (Urban) Pilar D. Galima Poblacion North (Urban) Poblacion South (Urban) Quezon (Urban) Quirino (Urban) Roxas (Urban) San Juan San Luis Tucal Uddiawan Wacal
Climate
Demographics
Economy
Solano is the main commercial and financial center of Nueva Vizcaya. It also has the most number of fast food restaurants in the province, including Jollibee, Greenwich Pizza, McDonald's, KFC, Chowking, Mang Inasal, Red Ribbon, Goldilocks and more. Solano has the most number of banks among the municipalities in the entire region with 25 banks. Major banks such as Metrobank, Banco de Oro, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Philippine National Bank, Landbank, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, China Bank as well as rural and regional banks are based here.
Government
Local government
Solano, 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
Local chief executives
Spanish-era heads of government
Under the Spanish regime, Solano (then Bintauan) was ruled by a gobernadorcillo, which was elected by the cabezas de barangay (barangay heads) which represented the survival of the earlier tribal organizations and were responsible for the tributes of their groups. The cabezas were originally hereditary, but, in time, it became elective. The electors of the gobernadorcillo were current or former heads of the barangay and after 3 years of service became eligible for the office.