Ilagan, officially the City of Ilagan (; ; ), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 158,218 people making it the most populous city in the province. As of 2022, it holds the title as the most number of voters in the province with 101,050 electorates.
With a total land area of , it is the largest city on the island of Luzon and the fourth largest city in land area in the Philippines, after Davao City, Puerto Princesa, and Zamboanga City.
Etymology
From an inversion of the Ibanag word nagali which means move or transfer in the English language, due to the relocation of the site of the capital from Naguilian Baculod to its present site in barangay San Vicente. The move was due to the economy and security of the town. Another etymology, according to Fr. Julian Malumbres, Ilagan derived its name from the word laga, an Ibanag word for smallpox during the town's founding in 1686 when the disease was widespread.
History
Early history
The town was then called by its native Gaddang settlers as Bolo during the pre-Spanish conquest era. It is one of the populous settlements during that period and the site of the vast tobacco plantation in the region making it one of the most important economic areas in northern Luzon.
Spanish colonial era
In 1581, Governor-General Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa sent Capt. Juan Pablo Carreon to explore Cagayan Valley as well as to establish missions. Among the Spanish missionaries who penetrated deeply into the region was Pedro Jimenez, who founded Ilagan.
The town of Bolo was founded by the Dominicans in 1619 in honor of Saint Ferdinand of Castile. The old Bolo was situated on the western side of Cagayan River in what is known today as barangay Naguilian-Baculod. The cultural shock brought by the dominating social and economic regulations introduced by the Spanish authorities propelled the natives to dissent in the Mallig and the Ilagan-Tumauini territories in what was known as the Gaddang Revolution. The natives abandoned their settlement after burning their church and houses until 1622 when the Spanish government pardoned and exempted them from paying tribute within three years. After the Gaddang revolt, the natives re-established their settlement upon the efforts of Fr. Pedro Jimenez in 1678 on the east side of the river thereby giving the legendary name for Ilagan which is the reverse of the word nagali meaning move or transfer. The Dominicans accepted the settlement as an ecclesiastical mission given the name San Fernando de Ilagan in honor of its patron, Saint Ferdinand of Castile.
Foundation
On May 4, 1686, Ilagan was founded and missionaries converted the natives to Christianity. Ilagan was made the capital town of Cagayan Valley when Brig. Manuel Sanchez Mira was then the governor of the whole territory.
In 1763, Ilagan was the scene of the revolt led by Dabo and Juan Marayag against the collection of tribute, the enforcement of tobacco monopoly committed by the friars during the Spanish colonization.
On May 1, 1856, Ilagan became the capital town when Isabela de Luzon was founded.
American colonial era
Present-day Ilagan is an area that was detached from the old province of Nueva Vizcaya. The first municipal president of the town, Rafael Maramag, added luster to the history of his hometown by becoming the first governor of the province of Isabela after its reorganization by the Americans in 1901.
On August 4, 1901, the American occupation under the United States-Philippine Commission enacted the Provincial Government Act 210 that re-established Isabela and other provinces in the Philippines. Rafael Maramag, a former municipal president (mayor) of Ilagan was appointed as the first governor. The act then re-established Ilagan as the provincial capital.
On November 13, 1925, Gaffud approved a resolution filed by all Municipal Presidents of the Isabela (the counterpart of the present-day Mayors' League) following a four-day convention. The resolution called for the erection of a monument in honor of the country's National Hero José Rizal in Ilagan public plaza located in barangay Bagumbayan.
Japanese occupation
The fortunes of Isabela as a province and Ilagan as a town followed a similar path to the rest of the country's history as a commonwealth nation and as a free republic in 1942, the Japanese occupation, liberation, political and military independence to this day.