Enrile (; ; ), officially the Municipality of Enrile, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 36,705 people.
Enrile lies on the southernmost part of Cagayan, bounded by Sta. Maria, Isabela to the south, by the mighty Cagayan River to the east, by Solana and Tuguegarao to the north, Kalinga to the west.
The town is predominantly an agricultural town where the majority of its population derive their income from farming. It has a land area of 18,450 hectares unevenly distributed to the 22-barangays of the municipality. Its main products are rice, corn, peanut, tobacco and vegetables.
It has a total population of 35,834 inhabitants. Its citizens are called Itawit because they speak the Itawit dialect. Ilocanos and Tagalogs have settled at the western barangays and have blended very well in the mainstream of Itawit life.
Etymology
The municipality was named after Spanish Governor-General Pasqual Enrile y Alcedo. Cabug was the original name of Enrile when it was a barrio of Tuguegarao. It was established as a separate town in September 1849 and named in honor of the Spanish Governor General Pascual Enrile during the Spanish regime.
History
The History of Enrile dates as early as 1690. According to Father Juan Paguere, it was just a wide and long stretch of virgin land located at the southernmost end of the province of Cagayan. In 1718, the colonial government ordered the place to become one of the barrios of Tuguegarao. It was named "Cabugag" or in short Cabug, the dialect term for hunchback for the first settler was a man with this deformity. So the place was named after him. The name "Cabug" is engraved on the town's first church bell which is still found in the steeple.
In 1724, the Dominican Friars thought of giving the barrios their Patron Saint. Cabug was given "Nuestra Señora de las Caldas". The prominent residents of the barrio had chosen the sixth day of August as her feast day. As year went by, the land area and population of the barrio increased with surprising rapidly. The Cagayan River which flowed close to the barrio site gradually changed its course and moved further towards Cataggaman as flood plains were formed. The non Christian inhabitants called Kalingas gradually deserted the barrio and moved westward to the Mountain Province. As a result, more agricultural lands were cleared and cultivated. Tobacco and corn are the chief crops of the people.
In September 1849, the colonial government ordered the separation of Cabug from the municipality of Tuguegarao to become a town by itself. The new town was named Enrile in honor of Governor Pascual Enrile who was responsible for building roads in the northern part of Luzon during those days. The separation of Enrile from Tuguegarao led to a change of its patron saint. The population unanimously adopted "Nuestra Señora de las Nieves" as its patron Saint. The fifth day of August was selected as her feast day.
Sinupac, a hinterland of Enrile, was the hiding place of Emilio Aguinaldo and his revolutionary forces when they retreated from pursuing American forces.
Geography
Enrile lies on the southernmost part of Cagayan, bounded by Sta. Maria, Isabela to the south, by the mighty Cagayan River to the east, by Solana and Tuguegarao City to the north and by the province of Kalinga to the west.
Barangays
Enrile is politically subdivided into 22 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.
Alibago
Barangay II
Barangay IV
Batu
Divisoria
Inga
Lanna
Lemu Norte
Lemu Sur
Liwan Norte
Liwan Sur
Maddarulug Norte
Maddarulug Sur
Magalalag East
Magalalag West (San Nicolas) Marracuru Roma Norte Roma Sur San Antonio San Jose (Barangay III-A) San Roque (Barangay III-B) Villa Maria (Barangay I)
Climate
Land Area
Enrile has a land area of 18,450 hectares unevenly distributed to the 22 barangays of the municipality and predominantly agricultural where the majority of its inhabitants derive their income from farming.
Topography
Enrile is bounded by hills and mountains on both North and West. Area with low elevation is about 20 meters above sea level at the Eastern part which lies close to the river boundaries. The highest elevation is found Northwest which is approximately 800 meters above sea level.
Demographics
In the 2020 census, the population of Enrile, Cagayan, was 36,705 people, with a density of .