Piat, officially the Municipality of Piat (; ; ), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 24,805 people.
Piat is dubbed as the "Pilgrimage Center of Cagayan Valley" because of the thousands of devotees and tourists who come here to pay homage. It is the home of Our Lady of Piat which continues to be the source of inspiration and object of devotion of many Catholics in the region.
Etymology
There are quite a few conjectures on how Piat got its name. One has it is that it derives from "pias," an Ilokano word, in Ibanag "addulu" and in Tagalog, "kamiyas." Another has it that the word comes from "aggapiya," meaning "healer, masseuse," and a more credible version has it that it is derived from the Ibanag and Itawes word "piya" which means "goodness, kindness, health." The latter words were said to have come from a healer or masseur who lived in the area.
From Fr. Jose Bugarin's Dictionary "Pia-t, a tree, and the name of a town in the province in the Ytaves (Itawes) district."
History
The original people were the Itawes; at present, there are many Ibanag, Ilokano, Tagalog, Kapampangan and other speakers. There are also families of Spanish and American descent. The head of the family was called "urayan" or "baruwang" and the council of elders "Kammaranan." There were also war leaders and braves called "mengal," and priestesses called "anitera" from the Spanish word called "anito" or "minangilu" in Ibanag, "mangilut" in Itawes and "baybaylan" in Bisayan; there were few priests among the ancient people.
In 1596, the Dominican Provincial, Fr. Miguel de San Jacinto named Piat as a mission in the Itawes region comprising the towns of Tabang, Malaueg, Tuao and Piat. The encomenderos then were Pedro Barreda, Juan de Arranda and Isabel de Cardona. In 1604, the Bishop, Diego de Soria, negotiated for more missionaries for the Itawes region. To help in the pacification and evangelization of the region, the Dominicans introduced the devotion to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary: in 1604, they brought the images of Our Lady from Macau and first enshrined it in Lallo, later bringing it to Piat in 1622.
Geography
It is located in the south-west part of Cagayan province in what is known as the Itawes Region, along which the Rio Chico runs west, south, and north-west of the town until it debouches into the Rio Ibanag somewhere near Nassiping.
Barangays
Piat is politically subdivided into 18 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.
Apayao
Aquib
Baung
Calaoagan
Catarauan
Dugayung
Gumarueng
Macapil
Maguilling
Minanga
Poblacion I
Poblacion II
Santa Barbara
Santo Domingo
Sicatna
Villa Rey (San Gaspar) Villa Reyno Warat
Climate
Demographics
In the 2020 census the population of Piat, Cagayan, was 24,805 people with a density of .
Economy
Government
Local government
As a municipality in the Province of Cagayan, government officials in the provincial level are voted by the electorates of the town. The provincial government have political jurisdiction over local transactions of the municipal government.
The municipality of Piat 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.
Barangays are also headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain, Barangay Council, whose members are called Barangay Councilors. The barangays have SK federation which represents the barangay, headed by SK chairperson and whose members are called SK councilors. All officials are also elected every three years.
Elected officials
Congress representation
Piat, belonging to the second legislative district of the province of Cagayan is represented by Samantha Louise V. Alfonso in the house of representatives.
Education
The Schools Division of Cagayan governs the town's public education system. The division office is a field office of the DepEd in Cagayan Valley region. The office governs the public and private elementary and public and private high schools throughout the municipality.