San Gabriel , officially the Municipality of San Gabriel ( ilo, Ili ti San Gabriel; fil, Bayan ng San Gabriel), is a 4th class

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

La Union La Union (), officially the Province of La Union ( ilo, Probinsia ti La Union; Kankanaey'': Probinsyan di La Union;'' Ibaloi'': Probinsya ne La Union;'' pag, Luyag/Probinsia na La Union; Tagalog'': Lalawigan ng La Union),'' is a province in th ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 18,943 people. It is the largest municipality by land area in the province of

. One of the landlocked towns of the province, San Gabriel is bounded on the north by Santol with an imaginary line from a point in Ticor following the Malanas River; on the east by the Province of

Benguet Benguet (), officially the Province of Benguet ('';'' ; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Benguet; ilo, Probinsia ti Benguet; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the southern tip of the Cordillera Admi ...

with an imaginary line from the Bacawayan River Junction going south following a creek to Cabassitan River up to Barangay Duplas of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

, southwest by San Juan with an imaginary line from Duplas following the Cabassitan River westward to a point on a concrete monument near the place known as Alangigan and from this monument going north-west making an imaginary line to Sitio Bato crossing the Dayacos River, and on the west by

Bacnotan Bacnotan, officially the Municipality of Bacnotan ( ilo, Ili ti Bacnotan; fil, Bayan ng Bacnotan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of La Union, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,388 people. Econ ...

from Sitio Bato to a point in Lacong, from this point going straight with an imaginary line to Ticor, North of Sitio Matagectec, Barangay Lacong. San Gabriel is from San Fernando and from

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

History

San Gabriel was formerly known as

sitio A ''sitio'' (Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own barangay if its popu ...

“''Baka-Burnotan''”, derived from “''binnornutan''” (English: "

tug-of-war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a cert ...

"). The sitio was the meeting place of both Christians and pagan Kankanaey settlers from nearby sitios to graze their

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

while playing the game. The name was later shortened to "''burnotan''". The wide plain and fertile soil attracted Christian and pagan settlers, who later intermarried which led to the increase in population. On April 19, 1897, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

priest Father Redondo established a church in the area and introduced the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

to be Saint Gabriel, from which the town was later named. In 1906, San Gabriel was made into a township under the sub-province of

Amburayan Amburayan was an administrative division of the Philippines, existing as a politico-military ''comandancia'' from 1890 to 1902, and a sub-province from 1902 to 1920. Its territory encompassed most of the Amburayan River watershed, initially pred ...

Mountain Province Mountain Province is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Bontoc. Mountain Province was formerly referred to as ''Mountain'' in some foreign references. The name is usually short ...

, with the first ''Presidente'' being ''Don Pablo Waggay''. The township was converted into a municipal district of Amburayan in 1920, and into a municipality in 1922, following the settlement of a boundary dispute between La Union and Mountain Province. In 1947, San Gabriel was converted into a regular municipality by virtue of ''

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

No. 72'' issued by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (born Manuel Roxas y Acuña; ; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines, who served from 1946 until his death due to heart attacks in 19 ...

through the sponsorship of former House Speaker Pro-Tempore Francisco Ortega.

Geography

Barangays

San Gabriel is politically subdivided into 15

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...

s. These barangays are headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain,

Barangay Council The Sangguniang Barangay, also known as the Barangay Council, and formerly as the Rural Council and then the Barrio Council, is the legislative body of a barangay, the lowest form of government in the Philippines. The term is coined from the Tag ...

, whose members are called Barangay Councilors. All are elected every three years. * Amontoc * Apayao * Balbalayang * Bayabas * Bucao * Bumbuneg * Daking * Lacong * Lipay Este * Lipay Norte * Lipay Proper * Lipay Sur * Lon-oy *

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippine city or municipality, which may take up th ...

* Polipol

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of San Gabriel, La Union, was 18,943 people, with a density of .

Economy

San Gabriel is an agricultural town. In its early days, the people of San Gabriel were engaged mainly in highland farming as their means of livelihood. They produced rice, corn, sweet potatoes, and other root crops. As years passed, crop production decreased due to massive soil erosion in the uplands. Nevertheless, the inhabitants decided to improve their farming techniques and started making terraces. The perseverance of the people in constructing rice terraces and irrigation system along the hills and mountains of San Gabriel caused agricultural productivity to rebound. Bananas and tiger grass (" Thysanolaena maxina") are also abundant in San Gabriel, which harvests materials for soft broom production on a weekly basis.

Government

San Gabriel, belonging to the first congressional district of the province of

, 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.

Elected officials

Tourism

*Gumayenggeng Falls at Barangay Lipay *Katebbegan Fall at Barangay Lipay Proper *Bakes Falls and Lon-oy Spring at Barangay Lon-oy *Lineng Pool at Poblacion *Tinnag-Americano Falls at Barangay Polipol * Tangadan Falls located at Barangay Amontoc

Education

High schools

The town has 4 Public High Schools and 1 Private School. *

Saint Gabriel the Archangel High School In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

, former (San Gabriel Academy) is the only private school secondary in the municipality, a Christian School that demands love and discipline from all who join the SGA High School Family. * Balbalayang National High School * Lipay Integrated School * San Gabriel Senior High School * San Gabriel Vocational High School

Gallery

FvfSanGabrielLaUnion8473 19.JPG, Municipal hall File:FvfSanGabriel8379 37.JPG, Police station File:FvfSamGabrielLaUnion8518 20.JPG, Town center File:FvfLaUnion8413 15.JPG, Saint Gabriel the Archangel Church File:FvfSanGabriel8304 35.JPG, Rural landscape

References

External links

Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Philippine Census Information

Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of La Union