Pamplona, Cagayan

Pamplona, officially the Municipality of Pamplona (Ibanag: Ili nat Pamplona; Ilocano: Ili ti Pamplona; Tagalog: Bayan ng Pamplona), is a municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 24,781 people.^[5]

Pamplona
Municipality
Municipality of Pamplona
St. Peter the Martyr Parish Church of Pamplona, Cagayan
Flag Seal
Map of Cagayan with Pamplona highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Pamplona Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 18°27′58″N 121°20′33″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Cagayan Valley
Province	Cagayan
District	2nd district
Founded	1842
Named after	Pamplona, Spain
Barangays	18 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Digna G. Puzon-Antonio
• Vice Mayor	Arnie Angelica Sampaga - Fernandez
• Representative	Baby Aline V. Alfonso
• Electorate	16,231 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	173.30 km2 (66.91 sq mi)
Elevation	50 m (160 ft)
Highest elevation	783 m (2,569 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	25,182
• Density	150/km2 (380/sq mi)
• Households	5,850
Economy
• Income class	4th municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	11.96 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 175.1 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 421.5 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 133.5 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 54.33 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Cagayan 2 Electric Cooperative (CAGELCO 2)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	3522
PSGC	0201518000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)78
Native languages	Ilocano Ibanag Atta Tagalog
Website	www.pamplona-cagayan.gov.ph

History

Pamplona is the result of the merging of two villages during the Spanish era - Abulacan (now barrio San Juan) and Masi. Abulacan was founded by the ecclesiastical authorities on April 30, 1757, with San Juan Nepomuceno as the patron saint. Sometime in 1842, Vicar Pedro Montenegro, O.P. convinced the people to unite the two towns. The vicar named it "Pamplona" in memory of his hometown Pamplona in Spain.

An agreement was also made that there would be two patron saints of Pamplona: San Juan Nepomuceno and San Pedro de Martir. This is the reason why the town fiesta is celebrated for two days and the images of the two patron saints are carried during religious processions. The town fiesta is celebrated every April 29.

In 1919, some of the prominent people of Pamplona recommended the transfer of the same to Bidduang, a barrio of Pamplona. The transfer was made on November 16, 1919, during the administration of municipal president Esteban Meneses by order of General Wood. In 1928, on the sixth year of the administration of municipal president Paulino Ifurung, one of his last acts was the transfer of the municipal government back to its old site, Pamplona, by then called "Albano."

Most interesting spot is the mouth of the Pamplona River. It saw history in the making for it was the starting point of Salcedo and his conquistadores when they explored Cagayan in 1572. Because of the river's strong current and unpredictable floods, Mayor Nicolas B. Aquino built in 1955 a concrete levee along Barangay Masi. He also built an irrigation system. It was the first of its kind in Cagayan.^{[citation needed]}

In the late 1960s, Special Forces Regiment head Orlando Dulay allegedly ordered then-trainee Victor Corpus to assassinate mayor Anselmo Galano, but Corpus decided not to follow through with the order.^[6]

On August 5, 2016, Vice Mayor Aaron Sampaga was assassinated in his friend's compound in Barangay Masi by motorcycle-riding gunmen. Sampaga had previously served three terms as mayor of Pamplona, during which his then-vice mayor Edwin Ifurung accused him of being involved in the 2014 murder of his brother, barangay councilor Edmund Ifurung.^[7][8]

Geography

Pamplona is situated 140.67 kilometres (87.41 mi) from the provincial capital Tuguegarao, and 647.67 kilometres (402.44 mi) from the country's capital city of Manila.

Barangays

Pamplona is politically subdivided into 18 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

• Abbangkeruan
• Allasitan
• Bagu
• Balingit
• Bidduang
• Cabaggan
• Capalalian
• Casitan
• Centro
• Curva
• Gattu
• Masi (formerly Zimigui-Ziuanan^[9])
• Nagattatan
• Nagtupacan
• San Juan
• Santa Cruz (Pimpila)
• Tabba
• Tupanna

Climate

Climate data for Pamplona, Cagayan
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	25 (77)	26 (79)	29 (84)	31 (88)	31 (88)	31 (88)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	28 (82)	27 (81)	25 (77)	29 (84)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	20 (68)	20 (68)	21 (70)	23 (73)	24 (75)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	24 (75)	23 (73)	23 (73)	21 (70)	23 (73)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	120 (4.7)	77 (3.0)	62 (2.4)	40 (1.6)	118 (4.6)	138 (5.4)	162 (6.4)	173 (6.8)	143 (5.6)	198 (7.8)	185 (7.3)	248 (9.8)	1,664 (65.4)
Average rainy days	16.9	12.2	11.5	10.6	18.7	20.1	21.2	23.3	20.8	16.9	16.5	20.0	208.7
Source: Meteoblue[10]

Demographics

Population census of Pamplona

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	3,089	—
1918	3,672	+1.16%
1939	7,650	+3.56%
1948	8,029	+0.54%
1960	10,026	+1.87%
1970	13,568	+3.07%
1975	14,965	+1.98%
1980	17,603	+3.30%
1990	16,775	−0.48%
1995	18,107	+1.44%
2000	20,142	+2.31%
2007	21,889	+1.15%
2010	23,236	+2.20%
2015	23,596	+0.29%
2020	24,781	+1.04%
2024	25,182	+0.39%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[11][12][13][14][15]

In the 2020 census, the population of Pamplona, Cagayan, was 24,781 people,^[16] with a density of 140 inhabitants per square kilometre or 360 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy

Poverty incidence of Pamplona

10 20 30 40 50 2000 41.65 2003 30.61 2006 19.70 2009 20.66 2012 26.71 2015 14.97 2018 16.40 2021 11.96 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]

Government

Local government

Main article: Sangguniang Bayan

Pamplona is part of the second legislative district of the province of Cagayan. It 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 municipal councilors are elected directly by the people through an election held every three years.

Elected officials

Members of the Municipal Council
(2019–2022)^[25]

Position	Name
Congressman	Samantha Louise V. Alfonso
Mayor	Digna G. Puzon-Antonio
Vice-Mayor	Arnie Angelica Sampaga-Fernandez
Councilors	Ria Angela G. Sampaga
	Marlon R. Yamongan
	John Fritz Herbert S. Roque
	Alicia L. Banham
	Laurence E. Daguna
	Leticia F. Echenique
	Felix M. Zimara
	Aristotle Y. Maquiraya

List of mayors

• Nicolas B. Aquino (1955 – 1963)
• Anselmo N. Galano (1963 – 1976)
• Antonio R. Ifurung (1992 – 1998)^[26]
• Aaron Sampaga (2007 – 2016)
• Arnie Angelica Sampaga (2016 – 2019)
• Digna Puzon-Antonio (2019 – present)

Education

The Schools Division of Cagayan governs the town's public education system.^[27] The division office is a field office of the DepEd in Cagayan Valley region.^[28] The Pamplona Schools District Office governs the public and private elementary and high schools throughout the municipality.^[29]

Primary and elementary schools

• Abbangkeruan Elementary School
• Allasitan Elementary School
• Bagu Elementary School
• Balingit Elementary School
• Bidduang Elementary School
• Cabaggan Elementary School
• Capalalian Elementary School
• Casitan Elementary School
• Curva Elementary School
• Masi Primary School
• Nagattatan Elementary School
• Pamplona Cenral School
• Pimpila Elementary School
• San Juan Elementary School
• Tabba Elementary School
• Tupanna Elementary School

Secondary schools

• Bidduang National High School
• David M. Puzon Memorial National High School
• Pamplona National School of Fisheries
• Pamplona Institute