Cauayan, Isabela

Etymology

Cauayan have its name from the word Kawayan meaning bulo in the Ilocano language, the early settlers of the place. How it got its name is vaguely told by the natives. In the tale, early Spaniards reached the place found abundant bamboo trees along creeks that circled the town site of Bulod, Sipat, Bungkol, and Marabulig creeks where few families lived. It was also a common to see crocodiles basking under the cluster of bamboo along the creeks in the early morning sun.

Another version of how the town was named is this way: One day the miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin Mary disappeared. For many weeks, a tireless search was undertaken but it was nowhere to be found. Then one day in October the image was found among the bamboo groves. Not a single sign of mishandling or scratch was detected on the image.

History

Cauayan used to be a big municipality in terms of land area. With the creation of the neighboring municipalities of Luna (Antatet) Cabatuan, Reina Mercedes (Callering), Aurora and San Mateo, however, the land area was reduced to about 336.40 square kilometers.

Establishment

Cauayan town was once a part of the province of Cagayan. When Nueva Vizcaya was created as a province in 1839, Cauayan was transferred to it. On May 1, 1856, the province of Isabela was created by a Royal Decree, Cauayan was again administratively transferred, this time to Isabela. Founded in 1740, Cauayan antedates the establishment of Isabela by 116 years. The town site was first located in a place called Calanusian along the Cagayan River. After a series of disastrous floods, the town site was moved to its present location.

Government

The Current Executive (Mayor) and the Legislative (Vice Mayor and City Councilors) officials of the city.

Mayor: Bernard Faustino M. DyVice Mayor: Leoncio Dalin Jr.City CouncilorsEdgar De LunaArco MerisGarry GaluteraEgay AtienzaDoc Kokoy MallillinAlejandro Iii UyDanilo AsiritSalcedo ForondaReynaldo UyBagnos MaximoGil GuzmanJay-jay TalaveraNico pinto

Barangays

Cauayan City is politically subdivided into 65 barangays.

Economy

Cauayan is a third class city in the province of Isabela. Cauayan City has been selected to host the Proposed Isabela Special Economic Zone and the Regional Agro-Industrial Growth Center. There are over 2,422 commercial establishments that include distributors, wholesalers and retailers.

Agriculture

Cauayan city is a surplus producer of rice and corn. A total of 24,004 hectares or 69.9% hectares is utilized for palay production and corn production. Average yield per hectare per cropping is 4.5 MT for rice and corn. Other products include livestock and poultry, fruits and vegetables, and fishery products such as hito (cat fish) and tilapia. The National Irrigation Administration has an office in the city.

Banking and Finance

As of the year December 31, 2015, Cauayan has a total of 30 banks, with a total volume of bank deposits at Php 17.5 billion. There are six banks based in the city namely PR Bank (Philippine Resources Savings Bank), FICO Bank (First Isabela Cooperative Bank), Rural Bank of Cauayan, North Pacific Banking Corp., Common Wealth Rural Bank Inc., and Golden Rural Bank of the Philippines. PR Bank is the largest of this six with 46 branches all over the Philippines, second is FICO Bank with 31 branches all within in Luzon, and third is Rural Bank of Cauayan with 19 branches all within the Cagayan Valley. PR Bank is the 15th largest thrift bank in the Philippines in terms of assets at 9.6 Php billion.

Commerce

Recently, SM Prime opened a new mall in Cauayan City, the SM City Cauayan is situated in District II, National highway, Cauayan City, the former site of Isabela Colleges. SM City Cauayan is the first SM Supermall in Region II which caters at least 1 million residents of the province and neighboring states. SM City Cauayan is the first non-premier SM Supermall to offer Al-fresco malling experience, tapping the clean and fresh air that the city has to offer.

SM City Cauayan also delivers new stores, national and international brands, giving Cauayan City and other neighboring towns and cities the opportunity to experience high-end shopping on a vibrant and elegant environment—and most notably is the Japanese clothing line Uniqlo. The Cauayan, Isabela branch of UniQlo is the first in Northern Luzon. KFC, Kenny Rogers,and Max's Restaurant are also expected to open a branch in SM City Cauayan, the companies's first stores in Cagayan Valley.

The new city mayor also confirmed the investment of Robinsons Land Corporation in the city. Construction of Robinsons Place Cauayan will start soon and will be closely monitored by the city government, the mayor added. Puregold, a large retail chain in the Philippines, is currently operating two supermarkets in Cauayan. Some notable local shopping centers such as Talavera Square Mall and Primark Town Center Cauayan, which just just opened June 2016, has continue to take a significant part of the local commerce industry.

Philippine coffee shop/restaurant YAH! Coffee originated in Cauayan City, Isabela. Its first store is located along Barangay Cabaruan, Cauayan City. The emerging business opened a new store in Santiago City last February 9, and its second store in the City of Cauayan at SM City Cauayan. YAH! Coffee will also open new stores in Tuguegarao, Cagayan and Quezon City later this year.

Small Restaurants also made their part to the industry like Kinomo Restaurant, Hap Chan, and is located at San Fermin, Cauayan City.

Big real estate developers like Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc. also entered the city with the opening of Camella Cauayan and Lumina Cauayan

Culture

Gawagaway-yan Festival of Cauayan City is a celebration of the city’s bountiful livelihood and merriment for the ethno-linguistic groups residing in Cauayan. It also traces and gives due recognition to the ancestry of Cauayenos from the ethno linguistic group called Gaddang and recognizes the diversity of the cultural groups residing in Cauayan City through streetdancing, float parade and other indigenous activities.

Cauayan traces its roots to the people of Gaddang, who the city celebrates during the annual festival of Gawagaway-yan. This celebration features a street dance competition, a float parade and assorted activities that different ethno-linguistic groups participate in.

Its ease at growing mushrooms has established Cauayan as the “Mushroom City of the North.” Do not leave the city without visiting the Mushroom Center and trying the delicious local mushrooms cooked in a delightfully unfamiliar way, like tempura, sisig and lumpia.

The city was once tobacco land, and there are still reminders of this past at the Old Tabacalera Warehouse, known as Compania General de Tabacos de Filipinas during the Spanish period. This local tobacco industry was a massive enterprise going all the way back to 1881, when it first started supplying the Tobacco Monopoly of the Spanish government. The old Tabacalera Warehouse is part of Hacienda San Luis, an eco-tourism park in the city.

Aside from the majestic view of Cagayan river from the 250m long and 30 ft high zip line, Hacienda San Luis is a home for cultural heritage. Museo San Luis features how tobaccos are made for the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade. It also showcases sculptures of St. Luis (Louis) and several masterpieces.

Infrastructure

In Cauayan City, there is a difference in the adequacy of infrastructure facilities in urban and rural areas. Generally, the closer the area is to the main service center of the city, i.e. the Poblacion, the better are the facilities for production and distribution of goods and services. The analysis in this sector is based on the existing infrastructure facilities and those considered in the pipeline for 2002–2006 implementation. No projects are as yet programmed beyond 2006 in higher levels of government.

Public Transport

The existing infrastructure Provision for Transport of Cauayan City is shown in Table 41. The city has a total of 512.27 kilometers of roads. Roads are classified into national, provincial, municipal/city and barangay roads including NIA access roads. All of the 18.16 kilometers of national roads are concrete roads while more than two-thirds of the 42.904 kilometers of Provincial roads are graveled and 17.86 kilometers of city roads are concrete roads, about 97.40% or 340.16 kilometers of barangay roads are gravel roads while the 56.40 kilometers of NIA access road is only 2.22% concrete. By type of pavement, the total of 512.27 kilometers of roads in the city, only 12.37% or 63.322 kilometers is concrete and 87.68% is graveled accounting to 448.948 kilometers. However, all settlement areas are provided with roads.

Roads

The national roads allow the operation of various bus and jeepney operators in the City of Cauayan and neighboring towns and areas to transport passengers and cargo to any point of Luzon, making the City of Cauayan one of the transport pivotal points in the Cagayan Valley.

The 18.16 kilometers of national roads in the City of Cauayan provide mobility and access to the neighboring towns, provinces and regions. This road is the Cagayan Valley Road (CVR). The CVR is the Cagayan Valley section of the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway, also known as the Maharlika Highway.

The CVR from Alinam to Tagaran is the city’s longest stretch of concrete road. This road links the City of Cauayan to the rest of the region, to Region 03 and National Capital Region in the south and to Region 01 in the north.

The proposed Cauayan City Diversion Roads include the Minante I- Marabulig-I – Dadap (Mun. of Luna) – San Fermin – Tagaran with an approximate length of 12..5 kilometers; the Alicaocao – Turayong – District II – Labinab – District I – Minante I Diversion Road (4.8 km); and the San Fermin – Tagaran via CRAIGC (4.2 km) These Diversion Roads when constructed will improve the settlements, the movement of goods and services and even the flow of traffic in the city. The estimated construction cost for these tree (3) projects will reach PhP 119.5 million including drainage and 4 bridges.

Of the 59.66 kilometers of provincial roads, only 28.09% or 16.756 kilometers are concrete and the rest are all gravel roads constituting 42.904 kilometers accounting to about 71.91%.

Approximately 61.3% of city streets or 17.860 kilometers are concrete while 38.70% or 10.950 kilometers are gravel roads. In order for business to flourish in the poblacion, all city streets need to be concreted within the plan period.

Of the total 512.27 kilometers of roads within Cauayan, about 11.01% or an aggregate length of 56.40 kilometers is NIA access roads constructed and maintained by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA). However, in 1997, NIA turned over these roads to the city government for maintenance.

The barangay roads are important as they provide mobility and access in the settlement areas. With each new settlement area, barangay roads are initiated with private homeowners’ efforts, provided the road is donated to the government, for concreting and maintenance. The government later on augments the private road development.

Barangay roads totals 349.24 kilometers or 68.17% of the total 512.27 kilometers of roads in the city. Of this length, 97.40% or 340.16 kilometers are graveled. Only about 9.080 kilometers or 2.60% are concrete.

The provision of heavy equipment necessary in the construction and maintenance of roads and other infrastructure facilities and utilities is of high importance in order for the city government to enhance mobility thereby increasing productivity.

Road Density

The standards for road provision are 2.40 kilometers for every 1,000 urban population and 1.50 kilometers for every 100 hectares of arable land in the rural areas. Presently, the rural road density (km/km²) is placed at 1.52 topping the list in the entire province in terms of rural road density. With 35.575 kilometers of roads in the 5 barangays with a CY 2000 population of 31,037, the city of Cauayan has an urban road density of only 0.872 kilometers per 1,000 urban populations. Additional roads must be constructed in the poblacion to hasten development. On the other hand, it has 313.665 kilometers in the 60 rural barangays with 23,501.21 hectares of arable land. This means a road density of only 1.33 kilometers for every 100 hectares of arable lands in the rural barangays. This implies that more roads have to be constructed in the rural barangays to fully support socio-economic development.

Bridges

The city’s road network includes 20 permanent bridges, 6 of which are reinforced concrete deck girder (RCDG) bridges. Thirteen concrete overflow bridges and one steel bridge account for a total aggregate length of 431.5 lineal meters. Two RCDG bridges along the Maharlika highway have recently been replaced under the Tulay ng Pangulo Program of former President Fidel Ramos and were inaugurated in 1999 by no less than President Joseph Estrada. However, The Alicaocao Overflow Bridge spanning 66 meters was hit by disastrous flood in 1998 causing the bridge to collapse particularly at the Carabbatan Chica portion. Replacement of the said bridge is crucial to the development of the other side of the Cagayan River since this is the only route going to that place except when you take Naguilian Bridge via Minanga in the municipality of Naguilian, which is a tormentous stretch aside from causing delay. Several overflow bridges within the city also needs immediate replacement and around 16 bridges and 18 RCCP culverts more need to be constructed/replaced in order to make the city road network system efficient.

Terminals

Cauayan road network is supported with privately owned terminals for jeeps and buses located at Barangay San Fermin. SM City Cauayan has built a terminal beside the mall to support the public transportation in/out of the Cauayan.

Bus Companies

Dalin Liner

Victory Liner

GV Florida Transport

Five Star Bus Company

An inter-provincial bus terminal with an estimated cost of PHP 70.00 million needs to be constructed in this rapidly urbanizing city to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the city’s transportation system and to provide additional prime commercial area and needed tourism support services.

Airport

The city airport located at Barangay San Fermin completes the infrastructure provision for transport for the city of Cauayan with provincial and regional impact. It is a secondary airport as per BAT classification. The airport runway has a total length of 2,500 meters and 30 meters wide capable of accommodating Boeing 737s. It is equipped with VHF Omni Range Transmitter, VHF Air/Ground single band radio and provided with fire-fighting equipment and facilities. It is likewise provided with facilities for arriving and departing passengers. The entire airport facility is provided with a perimeter fence.

At present, the facility is undergoing upgrading of facilities intended to accommodate international cargo flights. When completed, it is also expected that normal operations of the Philippine Airlines will resume which is very crucial in the commerce and industry sector of the city. This is very timely since Cauayan City has been selected to host the Proposed Isabela Special Economic Zone and the Regional Agro-Industrial Growth Center.

Cebu Pacific Air fly in Cauayan four times weekly (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays) utilizing an Airbus A320 aircraft. But now, it will fly daily as per publication of the airline dated 29 October 2016. This includes flight every Tuesday and Thursday effective 08 November 2016 to 25 March 2017 and every Sunday starting 18 December 2016 until 25 March 2017

Communication

Communications facilities include PLDT, DIGITEL, PILTEL, BAYANTEL, RCPI, PT&T, BUTEL, Globe, Smart and Sun Cellular Communications. Philpost, LBC, JRS Express, FedEx, DCI Express, and EXL Express move mails. Broadcast media is provided by 5 FM and 2 AM station, a cable TV facility while a number of Internet Café have established their operations in the city. Nowadays, the most important means of communication with relatives and friends is thru internet. This was being provided by the NSCV internet connections plus the MYDSL and SmartBro broadband. The LGU likewise is utilizing handheld radio transceivers covering all barangays in city and the province as well with bases at the city hall, city police and fire protection offices.

Health Facilities

The health needs of the city is served by a district hospital and 5 private hospitals; RHU-1 & RHU-2, 22 BHS, a puericulture Center, 13 private medical clinics, 11 private dental clinics, a rehabilitation center for the disabled, and the Cauayan Microscopy Center. These medical facilities has a total of 255 beds. Health personnel includes 41 medical doctors, 16 dentist, 74 nurses, 84 midwives, 10 medical technicians, 7 sanitary inspectors, 7 paramedics, 250 Brgy. Health Workers and 148 Community Volunteer Health Workers both in the public and private sector.

Education

The City Schools Division of Cauayan has a total 64 public and 14 private elementary schools, eight public and seven private secondary schools, two universities and four private colleges.

Colleges:

High schools:

Elementary schools:

Twin towns – Sister cities

International Cities

Rustavi, Kvemo Kartli, Georgia