Cauayan, officially the City of Cauayan (; Gaddang: Siyudad na Cauayan; ; ), is a component city in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the , it has a population of people.

Etymology Cauayan derives its name from the word Cawayan meaning bamboo or bulo in the Ilocano language, which was spoken by the early settlers of the area. Local aural history suggests that early Spaniards reached the place and found abundant bamboo trees along creeks that circled the town sites of Bulod, Sipat, Bungkol, and Marabulig creeks where a few families lived - and so that became the name of the area. It was also a common to see crocodiles basking under the cluster of bamboo along the creeks in the early morning sun .

An alternative version of how the town was named is also told. One day the miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin Mary disappeared. For many weeks, a tireless search was undertaken but it was nowhere to be found. Then one day in October the image was found among the bamboo groves. Not a single sign of mishandling or damage was detected on the image.

History Establishment The original inhabitants (as recorded by the Dominican vicar of Ilagan, Father dela Torre, who explored the area in 1736) were Gaddang. Cauayan town was once a part of the province of Cagayan.

Founded in 1740, Cauayan antedates the establishment of Isabela by 116 years. The town site was first located in a place called Calanusian along the Cagayan River. After a series of disastrous floods, the town site was moved to its present location.

When Nueva Vizcaya was created as a province in 1839, Cauayan was transferred to it.

On May 1, 1856, the province of Isabela was created by a Royal Decree, Cauayan was again administratively transferred, this time to Isabela.

Cauayan used to be a big municipality in terms of land area. With the creation of the neighboring municipalities of Luna (Antatet) Cabatuan, Reina Mercedes (Callering), Aurora and San Mateo, however, the land area was reduced to about 336.40 square kilometers.

Cityhood

On February 28, 2001, Republic Act 9017 was signed by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, converting Cauayan into a component city. It was ratified on March 30 of that year, after the voters voted in favor of cityhood.

Redistricting Cauayan is part of the 6th district while being surrounded by towns in the 2nd (Reina Mercedes, Naguilian, Benito Soliven and San Mariano), 3rd (Angadanan, Alicia, San Mateo and Cabatuan), 5th (Luna) districts, and 6th (San Guillermo) districts.

Geography Cauayan is centrally located in the province and in the entire stretch out of Cagayan Valley. It is situated from the provincial capital Ilagan, and from the country's capital city of Manila.

Barangays Cauayan is politically subdivided into 65 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

There are 14 barangays that are considered urban (highlighted in bold).

Alicaocao (Poblacion) Alinam Amobocan Andarayan Baculod Baringin Norte Baringin Sur Buena Suerte Bugallon Buyon Cabaruan (Poblacion) Cabugao Carabatan Chica Carabatan Grande Carabatan Punta Carabatan Bacareño Casalatan Cassap Fuera Catalina Culalabat Dabburab De Vera Dianao Disimuray District I (Poblacion) District II (Poblacion) District III (Poblacion) Duminit Faustino (Sipay) Gagabutan Gappal Guayabal Labinab Linglingay Mabantad Maligaya Manaoag Marabulig I Marabulig II Minante I Minante II Nagcampegan Naganacan Nagrumbuan Nungnungan I Nungnungan II Pinoma Rizal Rogus San Antonio San Fermin (Poblacion) San Francisco San Isidro San Luis San Pablo (Casap Hacienda) Santa Luciana (Daburab 2) Santa Maria Sillawit Sinippil Tagaran (Poblacion) Turayong (Poblacion) Union Villa Luna Villa Concepcion Villa Flor

Climate

Demographics

In the 2024 census, the population of Cauayan was 143,539 people, with a density of .

Languages Cauayan is dominated by Ilocano and Gaddang speakers. English, being one of the official languages is used primarily in communication for government publications, local newsprints, road signs, commercial signs and in doing official business transactions. Tagalog, another official language and is also considered the national language is used as verbal communication channel among residents.

Economy

Cauayan is a third class city in the province of Isabela. Cauayan has been selected to host the Proposed Isabela Special Economic Zone and the Regional Agro-Industrial Growth Center. As of 2016, there are over 3,418 registered business establishments that include distributors, wholesalers and retailers.

Agriculture Cauayan city is a surplus producer of rice and corn. A total of 24,004 hectares or 69.9% hectares is utilized for palay (rice) production and corn production. Average yield per hectare per cropping is 4.5 MT for rice and corn. Corn farmers in the city are also shifting to cassava farming due to huge losses brought about by the effects of climate change in the province of Isabela. Other products include livestock and poultry, fruits and vegetables, and fishery products such as hito (cat fish) and tilapia. The National Irrigation Administration has an office in the city.

Banking and finance As of 31 December 2021, Cauayan has a total of 34 banks, with a total volume of bank deposits at Php 27.5 billion. There are five banks based in the city namely FICO Bank (First Isabela Cooperative Bank), Rural Bank of Cauayan, North Pacific Banking Corp., Common Wealth Rural Bank Inc., and Golden Rural Bank of the Philippines. The largest of the five is FICO Bank with 39 branches in Region 1, 2, 3 & CAR, and second is Rural Bank of Cauayan with 19 branches all within the Cagayan Valley.

Commerce In 2014,VG Cabuag, February 19, 2013 "SM Prime profits hit P10.5B in 2012". SM PRIME. SM PRIME SM Prime opened its 49th mall in the country, SM City Cauayan which is the first SM Supermall in Cagayan Valley region.Krista Angela M. Montealegre, November 8, 2012 "SM group sets record capex for 2013". Interaksyon.com. Interaksyon TV 5 November 8, 2012 "SM Investments set P65B capex for '13". Balita.ph. Balita.ph It also hosts stores from international and local brands, giving Cauayan and other neighboring towns and cities the opportunity to experience high-end shopping on a vibrant and elegant environment—and most notably is the Japanese clothing line Uniqlo. Multi-national fast-food chains also have branches within the city. Puregold, a large retail chain in the Philippines, is currently operating two supermarkets in Cauayan.

Homegrown local shopping centers include Talavera Hypermart and Primark Town Center Cauayan, which opened in June 2016, has continued to take a significant part of the local commerce industry.

Culture Gawagaway-yan Festival of Cauayan is a celebration of the city's bountiful livelihood and merriment for the ethno-linguistic groups residing in Cauayan. It also traces and gives due recognition to the ancestry of Cauayenos from the ethno linguistic group called Gaddang and recognizes the diversity of the cultural groups residing in Cauayan through streetdancing, float parade and other indigenous activities.

Cauayan traces its roots to the people of Gaddang, whom the city celebrates during the annual festival of Gawagaway-yan. This celebration features a street dance competition, a float parade and assorted activities that different ethno-linguistic groups participate in.

The city was once tobacco land, and there are still reminders of this past at the Old Tabacalera Warehouse, known as Compania General de Tabacos de Filipinas during the Spanish period. This local tobacco industry was a massive enterprise going all the way back to 1881, when it started supplying the Tobacco Monopoly of the Spanish government. The old Tabacalera Warehouse is part of Hacienda San Luis, an eco-tourism park in the city.

Aside from the majestic view of Cagayan river from the 250m long and 30 ft high zip line, Hacienda San Luis is a home for cultural heritage. Museo San Luis features how tobaccos are made for the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade. It also showcases sculptures of St. Luis (Louis) and several masterpieces.

Government

Local government

As a component city in the Province of Isabela, government officials at the provincial and city levels are voted by the town. The provincial government has political jurisdiction over most local transactions of the city government.

The city of Cauayan is governed by a mayor, designated as its local chief executive, and by a city council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the city councilors are elected directly by the people through an election 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

+ Members of the Cauayan City Council (2022–2025) Position NameDistrict Representative(6th Legislative District the Province of Isabela) Faustino A. Dy VChief Executive of the City of Cauayan Caesar S. Dy Jr.Presiding Officer of the City Council of Cauayan Vice Mayor Leoncio A. Dalin Jr. Councilors of the City of Cauayan Edgardo A. Atienza Jr. Cynthia Q. Uy-Balayan Ariel Kenneth V. Uy Eugenio C. Asirit IV Edgar M. De Luna Garry G. Galutera Telesforo R. Mallillin Paul Vincent R. Mauricio Paolo Eleazar Delmendo Bagnos R. Maximo Jr.

Congress representation Cauayan, as a component city, belongs to the sixth legislative district of the province of Isabela, being represented by Faustino A. Dy V.

Infrastructure In Cauayan, there is a difference in the adequacy of infrastructure facilities in urban and rural areas. Generally, the closer the area is to the main service center of the city, i.e. the Poblacion, the better are the facilities for production and distribution of goods and services. The analysis in this sector is based on the existing infrastructure facilities and those considered in the pipeline for 2002–2006 implementation. No projects are as yet programmed beyond 2006 in higher levels of government.

Public Transport The existing infrastructure Provision for Transport of Cauayan is shown in Table 41. The city has a total of 512.27 kilometers of roads. Roads are classified into national, provincial, municipal/city and barangay roads including NIA access roads. All the 18.16 kilometers of national roads are concrete roads while more than two-thirds of the 42.904 kilometers of Provincial roads are graveled and 17.86 kilometers of city roads are concrete roads, about 97.40% or 340.16 kilometers of barangay roads are gravel roads while the 56.40 kilometers of NIA access road is only 2.22% concrete. By type of pavement, the total of 512.27 kilometers of roads in the city, only 12.37% or 63.322 kilometers is concrete and 87.68% is graveled accounting to 448.948 kilometers. However, all settlement areas are provided with roads.

Roads The national roads allow the operation of various bus and jeepney operators in the City of Cauayan and neighboring towns and areas to transport passengers and cargo to any point of Luzon, making the City of Cauayan one of the transport pivotal points in the Cagayan Valley.

The 18.16 kilometers of national roads in the City of Cauayan provide mobility and access to the neighboring towns, provinces and regions. This road is the Cagayan Valley Road (CVR). The CVR is the Cagayan Valley section of the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway, also known as the Maharlika Highway.