Santa Praxedes, Cagayan

Santa Praxedes, officially the Municipality of Santa Praxedes, is a municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the, it has a population of people, making it the least populated municipality in the province.

History

The town's original names were Capan-awan and Langangan, which means "Sagapa", a round piece of rattan work to hold in place earthen pots, Municipal officials then petitioned for a change of name through Representative Benjamin Ligot. Under Republic Act No. 4149 which he authored in 1966, Langangan was renamed into Sta. Praxedes in honor of the name of Congressman Ligot’s mother, Doña Praxedes Ligot.
The town was formerly part of Claveria until 1922. The first settlers were known to be the emigrants from the provinces of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte. The early settlers in this municipality were the Agamanos, Agnir, Aguinaldo, Aguirre, Agullana, Bumanglag, Estabillo, Llapitan, Madamba, Pagdilao, Ragsac, Rivera, and the Sanchez families.
There have been moves by the municipal council to regain political control over some barangays of the neighboring municipality of Claveria, particularly the barangays of Cadcadir, Lablabig, Mabnang, Union, Kilkiling and Siam-Siam. These barangays were once part of Santa Praxedes but lost them when the municipality was transferred to the provincial jurisdiction of Ilocos Norte.

Geography

It borders the Ilocos Norte municipality of Pagudpud to the west; Calanasan, Apayao, to the south-west; Claveria, Cagayan, to the east. It also shares a third of the area of the Calvario National Park along with the municipality of Pagudpud. Taiwan directly to the north of Luzon Island via Luzon Strait to Bashi Channel.
The central plain is situated in a valley enveloped by the Cordillera Mountains. It is also one of the coastal towns of Cagayan that does not have direct road access to its seacoast due to the high mountains surrounding it.
Santa Praxedes is situated from the provincial capital Tuguegarao, and from the country's capital city of Manila.

Barangays

Santa Praxedes is politically subdivided into 10 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.
The poblacion of the municipality consists of two barangays, Centro-Uno and Centro-Dos, which are situated in the valley surrounded by the northern tip of the Cordilleras.

Cadongdongan
Capacuan
Centro I
Centro II
Macatel
Portabaga
San Juan
San Miguel
Salungsong
Sicul

Climate

As in the other part of the country, the municipality has two seasons: the wet and dry seasons. It has a longer wet season, unlike most parts of the country that enjoy almost equal periods of wet and dry seasons. The wet season normally starts in the last week of May and lasts up to the end of January. It is during the later months of this season that the famous "gamet" or "nori" grows along its rocky seacoast. The dry season starts by the end of January till the end of May.

Demographics

In the 2024 census, the population of Santa Praxedes was 4,643 people, with a density of.

Language

Ilocano is the main language but a portion of the population also speaks Isneg as part of the population hailed from the Calanasan, Apayao, when the municipality was a part of the former Kalinga-Apayao province.

Economy

Economic activity consists mainly of fishing, farming and tourism. Currently, the local government is further developing both Portabaga Falls Park and Resort in Barangay Portabaga, and Mingay Beach Camp in Barangay San Juan.
Limited economic activities and lack of job opportunity forced many of its skilled professionals opted to work outside the municipality and many have already immigrated to other countries for better career prospect and for greater economic stability.

Tourism

There is a lot of potential of the town in ecotourism but due to undeveloped infrastructure, tourism spots such as Sicul Falls and Hotsprings as well as Macatel Falls were seldom visited.

Portabaga Falls Park and Resort - a single-drop waterfall having four downstream catch pools
Mingay Beach Camp - a newly opened tourist destination that can be reached through a 30-45 minute hike from the top of the mountain in Barangay San Juan, or a 30-45 minute boat ride from Barangay Taggat Norte, Claveria
Kimmansir Beach - a beach with white rocks situated near the boundary of Cagayan and Ilocos Norte.
Likid Falls and Bondor Falls in Barangay Sicul
Mapudot Hotspring in Barangay Cadongdongan
Bunot River in Barangay Cadongdongan
Kimmatiguid Falls in Barangay Salungsong - a series of 11 water falls that is suitable for canyoneering
Macatel Falls in Barangay Macatel

Government

Local government

Santa Praxedes is part of the second 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 municipal councilors are elected directly by the people through an election held every three years.

Elected officials

Position	Name
Congressman	Samantha Louise V. Alfonso
Mayor	Esterlina A. Aguinaldo
Vice-Mayor	Rene D. Estabillo
Councilors	Carlo A. Cachapero
Councilors	Christopher B. Aguirre
Councilors	Mark Robenson S. Dela Cruz
Councilors	Angel R. Tauyan
Councilors	Gil G. Buenavista
Councilors	Joseph C. Icalla
Councilors	Edgardo C. Aguino
Councilors	Frankwilner A. Llapitan

Controversy

Being a small town and the fact that its inhabitants are related by ancestry, recent political development created friction among political clans. Among other factor is that politicians are mainly late-comer emigrants from neighboring municipalities and provinces thus in the 2016 national election, claims of illegal voters or "flying voters" were uncovered by the local election office. Such controversy was resolved before election.

Transportation

The municipality is north of Manila via Laoag and northwest of Tuguegarao, the province's capital. Bus companies serving the town are GV Florida Transport, GMW Trans and Claveria Tours Transport on a daily regular basis.

Communication

Although it has a small population, it enjoys full coverage of Smart and Globe cellular networks which residents use to connect to the Internet.

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 region. The Sta. Praxedes Schools District Office governs the public and private elementary and high schools throughout the municipality.

Primary and elementary schools

Cadcadir Elementary School
Cadongdongan Elementary School
Capacuan Elementary School
Kilkiling Elementary School
Lablabig Elementary School
Mabnang Elementary School
Sta. Praxedes Central School
Taggat Norte Elementary School
Taggat Sur Elementary School
Union Elementary School

Secondary school

Sta. Praxedes High School