Santiago, officially the City of Santiago (; ; ; ), is a 1st class independent component city in the Cagayan Valley region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 148,580 people.
It is formerly known as Pueblo de Carig during the time of the Spanish, it is located between southwestern part of Isabela and northwestern boundary of Quirino in Northeastern Luzon island of the Philippines. It is the gateway to the vast plains of Cagayan Valley.
Santiago is situated south of Ilagan, the provincial capital, and north of Metro Manila. The city sits on a vast area of predominantly flat and fertile land in the Cagayan Valley, surrounded by the Caraballo Mountains to the south, the Great Sierra Madre to the east and the Cordillera Mountain Range to the west alongside the Magat River.
Though statistically grouped by the Philippine Statistics Authority and geographically located within the boundaries of the province of Isabela, as well as part of the province's 4th District, Santiago City is administratively and legally independent from the province as stated in Section 25 of the Local Government Code.
Etymology
The origin of the name of Santiago can be drawn from the first native settlement discovered by the early Spanish missionaries at the bank of the old Carig River (now Diadi River) from which its original name, Carig, was derived. When the Spanish settled in, it was named Pueblo of Santiago Apostol de Carig, with Santiago as the Spanish name of Saint James the Apostle. In the early 1950s, the Municipal President Vicente Carreon changed the name to simply Santiago.
History
Carig was initially established in 1743 at the foothills of mount Dalayag between present-day Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya. A few years later, it was moved to its present location 15 kilometers away. Carig was also the site of a military garrison established by the Spaniards as a base for expeditions against unconquered tribes in present-day Ifugao and Quirino and to guard the mountain pass to Nueva Vizcaya.
The early inhabitants of Santiago were the Gaddangs and the Ibanags.
Santiago was originally a part of the province of Cagayan (comprising the whole Cagayan Valley region), which was reorganized as a political subdivision in 1583 with Nueva Segovia (now Lallo) as its capital.
When the province of Nueva Vizcaya was created in 1839, Santiago became part of the new province. On May 1, 1856, when the province of Isabela was carved out by a Royal Decree, Santiago was among the towns relinquished to the newly created province. The first five barrios after the Cadastral survey in 1927 were Patul, Batal, Nabbuan, Buenavista and Dubinan.
It was said that there were only about three Filipino-owned sari-sari stores in Santiago in 1917. The settlers acquired most of their merchandise and other provisions from Chinese traders in Echague, the landing zone for products intended for Santiago and other towns, owing to its proximity to the Cagayan River.
It was when the Villaverde Trail was opened when things were set in motion. It facilitated the entry of immigrants from various provinces in Luzon to the Cagayan Valley and Santiago absorbed a sizable share of these travelers. The new route served as an impetus for growth and introduced new technologies and business opportunities, and made Santiago a melting pot of different cultures.
In 1942, during World War II, the Japanese forces entered and occupied Santiago. In 1945, the town was liberated by the Filipino soldiers of the 1st, 2nd, 12th, 13th and 15th Infantry Division and the USAFIP-NL 11th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, the 1st Constabulary Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary and the recognized guerrilla fighter units. Santiago survived through the war, although badly damaged, and from then on developed to become the leading trading and commercial city in Cagayan Valley.
Cityhood
On December 17, 1993, the bill converting Santiago into an independent component city was approved by the House of Representatives spearheaded by the then Mayor Jose "Pempe" Miranda. In the following year, the Senate Committee on Local Government approved another public hearing dated February 23, 1994.
On May 5, 1994, President Fidel V. Ramos signed Republic Act 7720. The plebiscite was held on July 6, 1994, showed that voters approved this conversion, making Santiago the first city in Cagayan Valley and 5th independent component city, after Cotabato City, Dagupan, Naga, and Ormoc.