Aparri ( Ibanag: ''Ili nat Aparri''; ; ), officially the Municipality of Aparri, is a

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

in the

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

of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,839 people. Aparri is a bustling municipality and the primary growth center of Northern Cagayan. It serves as the center of education, commerce and culture in the northern part of the region, which includes towns of the first and second districts of Cagayan, as well as the towns of Apayao and some towns of Ilocos Norte. It serves as the show window of commerce and finance, economic transformation, information technology, livelihood development, fashion and culture, leisure and entertainment, agricultural modernization, and good local governance. Aparri has an approximate income of

₱ The Philippine peso sign (₱) is the currency symbol used for the Philippine peso, the official currency of the Philippines. The symbol resembles a Latin script, Latin letter P with two horizontal strokes. It differs from the currency symbol u ...

250 million. The valley has been one of the largest

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

-producing sections in the Philippines, and the town has a considerable coastwise trade. It has a

meteorological station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...

located in Barangay Punta where the Cagayan River meets the Babuyan Channel.

Etymology

The origin of the name Aparri has been disputed. One version says that the town was named by Spanish conquistador Juan Pablo Carreron, who upon landing there in 1581, named the town after the colloquial word for supper in his hometown. Another version claims that the name comes from the Spanish word ''aparte'', or "separate", referring to the town's separation from

Camalaniugan Camalaniugan, officially the Municipality of Camalaniugan (; ; ), is a municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,236 people. This town is home to the oldest Christian bell in th ...

and

Buguey Buguey, officially the Municipality of Buguey (; ; ), is a municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 32,148 people. Buguey is from Tuguegarao, from Manila, and from Camalaniuga ...

in 1680. Still another version says that the town's name comes from the Ibanag word ''apparian'', a place where there are many priests.

History

Landing Fields - Philippines - Luzon Island - NARA - 68160848

Aparri was formerly

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese trading post because of its location at the northern tip of

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

at the mouth of the

Cagayan River The Cagayan River, also known as the Río Grande de Cagayán, is the longest river and the largest river by discharge volume of water in the Philippines. It has a total length of approximately and a drainage basin covering . It is located in ...

. It was the main area for trade for Japan on the island of Luzon. Much of the area was once home to the native

Ibanag people The Ibanag (also Ybanag and Ybanak or Ibanak) are an ethnolinguistic minority numbering a little more than half a million people, who inhabit the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, and Nueva Vizcaya. They are one of the largest ethnolinguistic mi ...

, who were at the time in alliance with

as an early form of an informal protectorate city-state. It was formally established under Spanish rule in 1605 after the Spanish Crown seized the Philippines and made it part of the Spanish East Indies. The river where Aparri is in was the site of the famed

1582 Cagayan battles The 1582 Cagayan battles were a series of clashes between the forces of the Spanish Philippines led by Captain Juan Pablo de Carrión and wokou (possibly led by Japanese pirates) headed by Tay Fusa. These battles, which took place in the vicinit ...

, the only major skirmish between Spanish Tercios and Japanese ronin (masterless

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

). Since it was on the route of Spanish Galleons during the great tobacco monopoly in the 16th to the 17th centuries, Aparri was therefore made one of the major Spanish ports of the Galleon Trade on May 11, 1680. The original inhabitants of this town were the Ybanags. Later, as the Spaniards settled and because of its strategic location, Ilocanos and Chinese people settled in the area. In 1771 it was raided by Moro vessels from Jolo. Towards the end of the Spanish occupation and in 1901, at the start of the American occupation, attempts were made to make Aparri the provincial capital of Cagayan, all of which were unsuccessful. During the

Philippine Revolution The Philippine Revolution ( or ; or ) was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year History of the Philippines (1565–1898), ...

, Aparri was the site of the landing of soldiers of the

Philippine Revolutionary Army The Philippine Revolutionary Army ( Spanish: ; ), later renamed Philippine Republican Army, was the army of the First Philippine Republic from its formation in March 1897 to its dissolution in November of 1899 in favor of guerrilla operation ...

led by

Daniel Tirona Daniel Tirona y Tria (July 22, 1864 — September 2, 1939) was a Filipino people, Filipino politician. He became infamous for causing divisions within the Revolutionary government in the Philippines#Historical revolutionary governments, Philippi ...

, which marked the beginning of the end of Spanish rule in Cagayan Valley, on 25 August 1898. In 11 May 1926

Joaquín Loriga Joaquín Loriga Taboada (23 September 1895 in Lalín – 18 July 1927 in Cuatro Vientos Airport) was a Galician aviation pioneer. In 1926 as a captain, together with two pilots and three mechanical engineers, completed the first long-distance flig ...

and Eduardo Gallarza landed on his first-ever long way in

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), gyroscope, gyrocopter or gyroplane, is a class of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. A gyroplane "means a rotorcraft whose rotors are not engine-d ...

from Spain to Manila. Before the outbreak of World War II, it became a transshipment point for smuggled goods from China, Taiwan, and other neighboring Southeast Asian nations. Aparri was one of the first places occupied by the Japanese in their invasion of the Philippines during the war, landing there on December 10, 1941. Donald Blackburn's guerrilla forces and the local troops of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; , ''HPP''; ) was a gendarmerie-type military police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Police. It was created by the Insular Government, American occupat ...

supported the

Sixth United States Army Sixth Army is a Theater Army (United States), theater army of the United States Army. The Army service component command of United States Southern Command, its area of responsibility includes 31 countries and 15 areas of special sovereignty in ...

Force B, in the capture of Aparri on 20 June 1945.Harkins, P., 1956, Blackburn's Headhunters, London: Cassell & Co. LTD On February 19, 2023, Vice Mayor Rommel Alameda was shot and killed along with five others in an ambush in Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya.

Geography

Aparri sits at the mouth of the

, the longest river in the Philippines. It administers Fuga Island, which is part of the Babuyan Group and is much closer to Claveria. Aparri is situated from the provincial capital

Tuguegarao Tuguegarao ( or ), officially the City of Tuguegarao (; ; ; ), is a 2nd class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 ...

, and from the country's capital city of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Barangays

Aparri is politically subdivided into 42

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s while some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, 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 bar ...

. * Backiling * Bangag * Binalan * Bisagu * Bukig * Bulala Norte * Bulala Sur * Caagaman * Centro 1 (

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

) * Centro 2 (

) * Centro 3 (

) * Centro 4 (

) * Centro 5 (

) * Centro 6 (

) * Centro 7 (

) * Centro 8 (

) * Centro 9 (

) * Centro 10 (

) * Centro 11 (

) * Centro 12 (

) * Centro 13 (

) * Centro 14 (

) * Centro 15 (

) * Dodan * Fuga Island * Gaddang * Linao * Mabanguc * Macanaya (Pescaria) * Maura * Minanga * Navagan * Paddaya * Paruddun Norte * Paruddun Sur * Plaza * Punta * San Antonio * Sanja * Tallungan * Toran * Zinarag

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Aparri, was 68,839 people, with a density of .

Economy

Tourism

Aparri is known for its foods such as the "bulung-unas", or Ribbon Fish (aka Belt Fish), which are in abundance during January and early February. "Kilawin naguilas-asan" is a fillet of smaller "bulung-unas" which are leftover baits, soaked in Ilocos vinegar, seasoned with salt and pepper, finely cut onions and ginger. Ludong, a variety of Pacific salmon, is the Philippines' most expensive fish, ranging from 4,000 pesos to 5,000 per kilo. Because of its price and its distinct taste and smell, it is also nicknamed "President Fish". Caught only in the Aparri delta when, after a heavy rainfall, these fish are washed down by the fast raging water from the south, down to the mouth of the Cagayan River where it meets the Babuyan Sea. Freshwater fish by nature, the salt water contributes to their super delicious taste. Ludong is available only in the rainy months of October and early November. Aparri's attractions also include its sandy beaches and town fiesta. May 1 to 12 of every year, the town's fiesta celebrates the patron saint San Pedro Gonzales of Thelmo with nightly festivities at the auditorium, crowning of Miss Aparri beauty pageant and the "Comparza." It is home to the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary and the Shrine of San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila. Holy Week is celebrated in Aparri with the observance of Holy Thursday and Good Friday in the town churches. On the early hours of Easter Sunday, the "Domingo Sabet" celebrates the meeting of Jesus and the Holy Mother after the resurrection.

Government

Local government

Aparri is part of the first legislative district of the province of Cagayan. It 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

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 Cagayan Valley (; ), designated as Region II, is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines. Located in the northeastern section of Luzon, it is composed of five Provinces of the Philippines, Philippine provinces: ...

region. There are two schools district office which govern both the public and private elementary and high schools throughout the municipality. These are Aparri East District, and Aparri West District.

Primary and elementary schools

* Aparri East Central School * Aparri Kete Chinese School * Aparri South Central School * Aparri West Central School * Backiling Elementary School * Bangag Elementary School * Binalan Elementary School * Bulala Sur Elementary School * Caroronan Primary School * Dodan Elementary School * Gaddang Elementary School * Linao Elementary School * Maura Elementary School * Minanga Elementary School * Nanappatan Elementary School * Navagan Elementary School * Paruddun Norte Elementary School * Plaza Primary School * Punta Elementary School * San Antonio Elementary School * Sanja Elementary School *Tallungan Elementary School * Zinarag Elementary School

Secondary schools

* Aparri East National High School * Aparri School of Arts and Trades * Aparri West National High School * Bukig National Agricultural and Technical School * Lyceum of Aparri * St. Paul School of Aparri

Higher educational institutions

* Cagayan State University (Aparri Campus) * Cagayan Valley Institute

Notable personalities

* Maja Salvador - actress, endorser, dancer, singer, host, producer, and talent manager. *

Kakai Bautista Catherine Herrera Bautista (born September 2, 1978), professionally known as Kakai Bautista (), is a Filipino actress, host, singer and comedienne. Career Bautista first started out as a theater actress. She was discovered by Ricky Rivero in 20 ...

- actress, host, singer, and comedienne. * Shirley Agrupis - Chairperson, Commission On Higher Education also A member of Board of regents in Cagayan State University.

Media

Radio

* Radyo Natin FM 102.1 (

Manila Broadcasting Company The Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC), doing business as the MBC Media Group, is a multimedia company in the Philippines. It is currently owned by the FJE Group of Companies of Fred J. Elizalde, which also operates hotels and Pasay-based amusem ...

) * Radyo Kidlat FM 103.9 (

Presidential Broadcast Service The Presidential Broadcast Service - Bureau of Broadcast Services (PBS-BBS) (Filipino: ''Pampanguluhang Serbisyong Pambrodkast - Kawanihan ng mga Serbisyong Pambrodkast''), is a state radio network owned by the Philippine government under th ...

)

TV Stations

* GMA TV-13 Aparri *

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

TV-9 Aparri (defunct)

References

External links

Government

* * Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census Information

General information

Aparri , Philippines , Britannica

Aparri Profile - Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index (dti.gov.ph)
{{Authority control Municipalities of Cagayan Populated places on the Rio Grande de Cagayan