Palanan

Since the location was surrounded by Aetas, the Ibanags from the lowland Isabela would warn their close friends with the term "Palanammu" which indicates uneasiness or caution. Similarly, some vagabond Tagalogs who arrived there either as a sanctuary during difficult sailing or pure adventure, dubbed the site "Palatanan" which is suggestive of the character of the residents. Eventually, the word transformed into its modern name "Palanan".{{Cite web |title=History of Palanan |url=https://www.palanan.gov.ph/about-palanan/history-of-palanan/ |access-date=June 25, 2024 |website=Municipality of Palanan - palanan.gov.ph}}

Unlike other towns in the Cagayan Valley, Palanan was established in 1625 by Spanish forces who arrived by boat from the Pacific coastal town of Baler in Tayabas province (now part of Aurora). As such, Palanan was initially a part of Pampanga{{Cite web |url=https://www.sunstar.com.ph/more-articles/tantingco-the-kapampangan-in-us |title=Tantingco: The Kapampangan in Us |access-date=2024-01-23 |archive-date=2024-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123034705/https://www.sunstar.com.ph/amp/story/more-articles/tantingco-the-kapampangan-in-us |url-status=live }} "At one point, Pampanga’s borders extended all the way to Palanan, Isabela in the north and to Infanta, Quezon in the south, with the Pacific Ocean on its east side and the China Sea on its west side." (Baler which was the origin of Spanish forces and Tagalog settlers who settled Palanan was part of Pampanga along with Casiguran.) before being transferred to Laguna, Tayabas (now Quezon Province; Tayabas became independent from Laguna), Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya and finally Isabela. Also, unlike the rest of Cagayan Valley, it was served by Franciscan missionaries rather than the Dominicans. The population of the town was natively Paranan, then subsequently augmented by local Negritos, migrants from Baler who are Tagalogs, and outlaws from Cagayan Valley, with the lingua franca of the settlement being Tagalog as opposed to Ilocano or Ibanag.{{cite book |last=Salgado|first=Pedro|title=Cagayan Valley and Easter Cordillera: 1581-1898, Volume I |publisher=Rex Publishing |orig-date=2002|pages=496–499|chapter=Other Missions in Isabela|isbn=}}[https://provinceofisabela.ph/index.php/image-gallery/scenery/79-articles/general-info/72-history-culture Province of Isabela website]

General Emilio Aguinaldo became President of the First Philippine Republic in 1900. He was captured on March 23 when Col. Frederick Funston led the Americans in 1901. It was in Palanan that one of the final chapters of the Philippine–American War was written on March 23, 1901, when General Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by American forces led by General Frederick Funston, who had gained access to Aguinaldo's camp by pretending to surrender to the Filipinos.

In 1978, the area around Palanan was proclaimed by President Ferdinand Marcos to be part of the Palanan Wilderness Area, a protected nature conservation area that was later expanded by President Fidel V. Ramos to become the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park in 1997.

In the May 9, 2016 elections, Angelito A. Bernardo won a three-way mayoral campaign. However, due to his unexpected death shortly after the polls, Rodolfo M. Bernardo, the Municipal Vice Mayor-elect and first-elected Sangguniang Bayan member, and Elizabeth B. Ochoa took the oath of office as Municipal Mayor. On July 1, 2016, the Municipal Vice Mayor and other winning candidates attended the ceremony in Ilagan City, which serves as the provincial capital. Mayor Rodolfo M. Bernardo served as the local chief executive for five months and fifteen days before passing away in a car accident. According to the rules of succession, Vice Mayor Elizabeth B. Ochoa took the oath of office as Municipal Mayor and has remained in charge as the local Chief Executive ever since.

File:Ultrabasic forests above 1200 m at Barangay Diddadungan - ZooKeys-266-001-g006.jpg

Palanan is one of the four remote and isolated coastal towns of Isabela facing the Philippine Sea on the east and separated from the rest of the province by the Sierra Madre Mountains.

Palanan is politically subdivided into 17 barangays.{{PSGC detail|area}} Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

{{Div col|colwidth=15em}}

• Alomanay
• Bisag
• Centro East (Poblacion)
• Centro West (Poblacion)
• Culasi
• Dialaoyao
• Dibewan
• Dicadyuan
• Dicotkotan
• Diddadungan
• Didyan
• Dimalicu-licu
• Dimasari
• Dimatican
• Ditambali
• Maligaya
• Marikit

{{div col end}}

{{Weather box

| width = auto

| location = Palanan, Isabela

| metric first = Yes

| single line = Yes

| Jan high C = 27

| Feb high C = 27

| Mar high C = 29

| Apr high C = 28

| May high C = 27

| Jun high C = 25

| Jul high C = 26

| Aug high C = 27

| Sep high C = 31

| Oct high C = 29

| Nov high C = 27

| Dec high C = 27

| Jan low C = 20

| Feb low C = 20

| Mar low C = 21

| Apr low C = 20

| May low C = 21

| Jun low C = 20

| Jul low C = 21

| Aug low C = 22

| Sep low C = 23

| Oct low C = 23

| Nov low C = 21

| Dec low C = 21

| Jan precipitation mm = 162

| Jan rain days = 14

| Feb precipitation mm = 156

| Feb rain days = 12

| Mar precipitation mm = 90

| Mar rain days = 11

| Apr precipitation mm = 60

| Apr rain days = 11

| May precipitation mm = 144

| May rain days = 16

| Jun precipitation mm = 201

| Jun rain days = 19

| Jul precipitation mm = 159

| Jul rain days = 16

| Aug precipitation mm = 108

| Aug rain days = 14

| Sep precipitation mm = 111

| Sep rain days = 16

| Oct precipitation mm = 237

| Oct rain days = 18

| Nov precipitation mm = 276

| Nov rain days = 18

| Dec precipitation mm = 171

| Dec rain days = 15

|source 1 = World Weather Online (modeled/calculated data, not measured locally)

{{cite web

| url = http://www.worldweatheronline.com/Palanan-weather-averages/Isabela/PH.aspx

| title = Palanan, Isabela: Average Temperatures and Rainfall

| publisher = World Weather Online

| access-date = 31 October 2015}}

| date=October 2015}}

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| footnote= Source: Philippine Statistics Authority{{PH census|2015}}{{PH census|2010}}{{PH census|2007}}{{LWUA population data}}

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In the 2020 census, the population of Palanan, Isabela, was 17,684 people,{{PH census|current}} with a density of {{convert|{{sigfig|17,684/880.24|2}}|PD/km2|disp=or}}.

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{{PH poverty incidence}}

{{main|Sangguniang Bayan}}

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

The Municipality of Palanan 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 in elections 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.

Palanan, belonging to the second legislative district of the province of Isabela, currently represented by Hon. Ed Christopher S. Go.{{cite web|title=House of Representatives: 19th Congress|url= https://www.congress.gov.ph/members/search.php?id=go-e |work=Official Website of the House of Representatives PH|publisher=congress.gov.ph|access-date=May 15, 2022}}

The Schools Division of Isabela governs the town's public education system.{{Cite web |title=HISTORY OF DEPED-ISABELA |url=https://deped-isabela.com.ph/transparency/about-sdo-isabela/history/ |access-date=March 13, 2022 |website=DepED Isabela {{!}} The official website of DepED Schools Division of Isabela}} The division office is a field office of the DepEd in Cagayan Valley region.{{Cite web |title=DEPED REGIONAL OFFICE NO. 02 |url=https://region2.deped.gov.ph/page/14/ |website=DepED RO2 {{!}} The official website of DepED Regional Office No. 02}} The Palanan Schools District Office governs the public elementary and high schools throughout the municipality including schools located in Dinapigue, Divilacan, and Maconacon.{{Cite web |date=January 15, 2025 |title=Masterlist of Schools |url=https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SY-2020-2021-Masterlist-of-Schools-Address-only-1-1.pdf |access-date=April 10, 2025 |website=Department of Education}}

Although some elementary schools are located outside Palanan, these are being managed by Palanan School District Office.

• Alomanay Elementary School
• Bicobian Elementary School (located in Divilacan)
• Bisag Elementary School
• Bucal Sur Elementary School (located in Dinapigue)
• Centro West Primary School
• Culasi Elementary School
• Dialawyao Elementary School
• Dibungko Primary School
• Dibutarek Elementary School
• Diddadungan Elementary School
• Didiyan Elementary School
• Dikadyuan Elementary School
• Dikaruyan Primary School (located in Divilacan)
• Dimalicu-licu Primary School
• Dimasalansan Elementary School (located in Divilacan)
• Dimasari Elementary School
• Dimatican Elementary School
• Dinapigue Central School (located in Dinapigue)
• Dipadsanjan Primary School
• Disukad Elementary School
• Ditambali Elementary School
• Divilacan Central School (located in Divilacan)
• Maconacon Central School (located in Maconacon)
• Marikit Elementary School
• Palanan Central School
• San Isidro Elementary School
• Sapinit Primary School (located in Divilacan)
• Taknalan Primary School

Although some secondary schools are located outside Palanan, these are being managed by Palanan School District Office.

• Ayod Integrated School (located in Dinapigue)
• Dibewan Integrated School (located in Dinapigue)
• Dibulo Integrated School (located in Dinapigue)
• Dinapigue National High School (located in Dinapigue)
• Divilacan National High School (located in Divilacan)
• Isabela School of Fisheries
• Maconacon National High School (located in Maconacon)
• Palanan National High School
• Palanan School of Agriculture and Trades
• Reina Mercedes Integrated School (located in Maconacon)

File:Emilio Aguinaldo boarding USS Vicksburg.jpg

The most common forms of transportation in Palanan are by horses, motorcycles, tricycles, or an improvised motorcycles called kuligligs.Christian (2011-06-13). [http://offtrackphilippine.blogspot.com/2011/06/palanan-and-maconacon-june-2011.html "Palanan and Maconacon"]. Off the Beaten Track in the Philippines. Retrieved on 2023-03-16. Due to its isolation, the town can be reached quickest by a 23-30 minute flight in a six-seater, single-engine Cyclone Air Cessna commuter plane from Cauayan. Palanan is served by Palanan Airport.

By water, a boat ride from the neighboring town of Divilacan or in the towns of Dingalan and Baler in Aurora province in the south usually takes about two to three hours and six to seven hours, respectively.Jay (2013-01-09). [http://www.lets-go-philippines.com/palanan-isabelas-best-kept-secrets/ "Palanan - Isabela's Best Kept Secrets"]. Lets Go Philippines. Retrieved on 2014-09-28.

There are no roads that connect Palanan to the rest of province as the town can only be reached by a plane or boat ride, or a multi-day hike over the Sierra Madres from the neighboring town of San Mariano, which could take about three to five days.[http://www.waypoints.ph/detail_gen.php?wpt=plnntr "The Palanan Trails"]. Waypoint.PH. Retrieved on 2023-03-16. However, there is a construction of an 82-kilometer Ilagan–Divilacan Road through the protected Sierra Madre mountains is on-going to open access to the coastal towns of Divilacan, Palanan and Maconacon. The approved budget contract of the project amounting to P1.5B, will pass through the foothills of the 359,486-hectare Northern Sierra Madre mountain ranges. The project will improve an old logging road used by a defunct logging company until the 1990s. It will start in Barangay Sindon Bayabo in Ilagan City and will end in Barangay Dicatian in Divilacan. The project is started in March 2016 and is expected to be completed in 2024.{{cite news|date=January 4, 2018|title=P2.3-B Isabela road link completed soon|work=The Manila Times|url=https://www.manilatimes.net/p2-3-b-isabela-road-link-completed-soon/374277/|accessdate=16 March 2023}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.competitive.org.ph/cmcindex/pages/profile/?lgu=Palanan Municipal Profile at the National Competitiveness Council of the Philippines]
• [http://provinceofisabela.ph/index.php/municipalities/2013-07-10-14-46-43/2013-07-10-14-55-55 Palanan at the Isabela Government Website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20161010201809/http://www.blgs.gov.ph/lgpmsv2/cmshome/index.php?pageID=23 Local Governance Performance Management System]
• [{{NSCB detail}} Philippine Standard Geographic Code]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081120024509/http://www.census.gov.ph/data/census2007/index.html Philippine Census Information]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070222083319/http://www.palanan-isabela.gov.ph/ Municipality of Palanan]

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Palanan

|North = Divilacan

|East = Philippine Sea

|South = Dinapigue

|West = San Mariano

|Northwest = Ilagan

}}

{{Isabela}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Municipalities of Isabela (province)