Alfonso Castañeda

Alfonso Castañeda
Alfonso Castañeda
Municipality
	Municipality of Alfonso Castañeda
	Downtown area
	Flag
	Nickname: Last Frontier of Nueva Vizcaya
	Map of Nueva Vizcaya with Alfonso Castañeda highlighted
	OpenStreetMap
	Alfonso Castañeda Location within the Philippines
	Coordinates: 15°47′36″N 121°18′09″E / 15.7933°N 121.3025°E
Country	Philippines
Region	Cagayan Valley
Province	Nueva Vizcaya
District	Lone district
Barangays	6 (see Barangays)
Government
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Wilson M. Capia-ao
• Vice Mayor	Evelinda D. Huerta
• Representative	Luisa L. Cuaresma
• Electorate	6,141 voters (2022)
Area
• Total	375.40 km2 (144.94 sq mi)
Elevation	430 m (1,410 ft)
Highest elevation	1,079 m (3,540 ft)
Lowest elevation	169 m (554 ft)
Population (2020 census)
• Total	8,539
• Density	23/km2 (59/sq mi)
• Households	1,795
Economy
• Income class	1st municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	15.14% (2021)
• Revenue	₱ 134.3 million (2020)
• Assets	₱ 422.4 million (2020)
• Expenditure	₱ 157.5 million (2020)
• Liabilities	₱ 111.9 million (2020)
Service provider
• Electricity	Nueva Vizcaya Electric Cooperative (NUVELCO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	3714
PSGC	025015000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)78
Native languages	Ilocano; Tagalog
Website	https://acasnv.gov.ph

Alfonso Castañeda, officially the Municipality of Alfonso Castañeda (Ilocano: Ili ti Alfonso Castañeda; Tagalog: Bayan ng Alfonso Castañeda), is a municipality in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 8,539 people, making it the least populated municipality in the province.^[3]

Alfonso Castañeda is 164 kilometers (102 mi) from Bayombong via Nueva Ecija and Dalton Pass and 192 kilometers (119 mi) from Manila.

History

The territory now comprising Alfonso Castañeda was part of the municipality of Dupax prior to the division into three separate ones; the other two were Dupax del Norte and Dupax del Sur.^[5]

In the early 18th century, Dupax was inhabited by three tribes.^[6]^[5] One of them were the Bugkalots; the rest were the Malaats and the Caraos.^[5]

In 1930, five families supposedly from Batac, Ilocos Norte settled in Lublub, an area inhabited by Bugkalots which was later organized as a sitio of barrio Marikit^[7] when the inhabitants increased; Virgilio Castillo was the first teniente del barrio.^[8] In 1950, it became an independent barrio in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija.^[7] In 1974,^[8] residents headed by village chief Alfredo Castillo, Sr. requested Assemblyman Carlos Padilla to convert the barrio into a municipality in Nueva Vizcaya.^[7] Hence, Batas Pambansa Blg. 27, authored and sponsored by Padilla,^[7] was issued by President Ferdinand Marcos on April 20, 1979; two barangays, including Lublub which was designated the seat of government, and seven sitios in Dupax del Sur, and four barangays and a sitio in Dupax del Norte, were separated to constitute into an independent municipality named after the first provincial governor to come from a cultural minority.^[9]^[7] The plebiscite was held on July 10.^[10] Castillo was appointed the municipality's first mayor.^[8]

Geography

Barangays

Alfonso Castañeda is politically subdivided into 6 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Abuyo
Galintuja
Cawayan
Lipuga
Lublub (Poblacion)
Pelaway

Climate

Climate data for Alfonso Castañeda, Nueva Vizcaya
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	25 (77)	26 (79)	28 (82)	30 (86)	30 (86)	29 (84)	28 (82)	28 (82)	28 (82)	28 (82)	27 (81)	25 (77)	28 (82)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	18 (64)	18 (64)	19 (66)	21 (70)	22 (72)	22 (72)	22 (72)	22 (72)	22 (72)	21 (70)	20 (68)	19 (66)	21 (69)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	25 (1.0)	26 (1.0)	18 (0.7)	24 (0.9)	91 (3.6)	145 (5.7)	149 (5.9)	122 (4.8)	120 (4.7)	128 (5.0)	61 (2.4)	52 (2.0)	961 (37.7)
Average rainy days	7.7	5.7	6.8	8.0	18.2	22.1	24.3	23.4	22.7	17.5	10.0	9.4	175.8
Source: Meteoblue^[11]

Demographics

Population census of Alfonso Castañeda
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1980	2,797	—
1990	3,751	+2.98%
1995	4,447	+3.24%
2000	4,808	+1.69%
2007	6,655	+4.59%
2010	7,428	+4.08%
2015	7,940	+1.28%
2020	8,539	+1.44%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]

Economy

Poverty incidence of Alfonso Castañeda

10

20

30

40

2006
14.10

2009
13.97

2012
33.46

2015
19.72

2018
22.92

2021
15.14

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21]^[22]^[23]

Tourism

Government

Local government

Alfonso Castañeda, belonging to the lone congressional district of the province of Nueva Vizcaya, 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

Members of the Municipal Council
(2022–2025)^[24]
Position	Name
Mayor	Wilson M. Capia-ao	Lakas
Vice Mayor	Evelinda D. Huerta	Lakas
Councilors	Sonny Poncian	Lakas
	Jethro D. Castillo	Independent
	Gabreil Marcelo	Independent
	Rey Palecpec	Lakas
	Jao Valdez	Nacionalista
	Terence Camania	Nacionalista
	Bojie Batino	Lakas
	Zandro Castillo	Lakas

Education

The Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya governs the town's public education system. The division office is a field office of the DepEd in Cagayan Valley region.^[25] The office governs the public and private elementary and public and private high schools throughout the municipality.