Solano, Nueva Vizcaya

Solano, officially the Municipality of Solano (Gaddang: Ili na Solano; Ilocano: Ili ti Solano; Tagalog: Bayan ng Solano), is a municipality in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 69,296 people. According to 2021 data from the Bureau of Local Government Finance, Solano has the highest locally sourced revenue (LSR) of all the municipalities in Region 2 making it one of the notable economic hubs in Cagayan Valley. This further solidified the status of Solano as the undisputed premier town of Cagayan Valley. History In 1760, the original name of the town was Bintauan, then a Gaddang settlement that is now a barangay of Villaverde. The town was later moved and formally founded in 1767 by Father Alejandro Vidal, a Dominican priest who led a Spanish mission. In 1768, it was called Lungabang, from the Gaddang word for cave, lungab. The name was later changed to Lumabang by the Spaniards for convenience. In 1851, Governor General Antonio Urbiztondo declared Lumabang a barrio of Bayombong for not having sufficient inhabitants and revenue to maintain itself. Governor General Ramon Solano y Llanderal authorized the separation of Lumabang as barrio from Bayombong. In 1853, the first Ilocanos arrived, brought by Don Diego Lumicao, a former gobernadorcillo. In 1889, it was renamed Solano, in honor of Governor General Ramon Solano y Llanderal. The town was redeveloped by Father Juan Villaverde in 1889, and the poblacion consisted of 14 parallel wide streets, each having a width of 20 meters. Streets run from north to south and east to west, forming 100 square blocks with an aggregate area of one hectare per block. Solano was the largest municipality in the province until two of its barangays, Caliat and Bintawan, were separated to become the municipalities of Quezon and Villaverde respectively. The land area of Solano was correspondingly reduced to 13,980 hectares. In 1957, the barrios of Ibung and Bintawan were separated to form the town of Ibung, later renamed as Villaverde. Geography Solano is situated 5.61 kilometres (3.49 mi) from the provincial capital Bayombong, and 298.01 kilometres (185.17 mi) from the country's capital city of Manila. Barangays Solano is politically subdivided into 22 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios. Climate Demographics Economy Poverty incidence of Solano Source: Philippine Statistics Authority Solano is the main commercial and financial center of Nueva Vizcaya. It also has the most number of fast food restaurants in the province and has the most number of banks among the municipalities in the entire region with 25 banks. Major banks as well as rural and regional banks are based here. Government Local government Solano is part of the lone congressional district of the province of Nueva Vizcaya. 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 in polls held every three years. Elected officials Local chief executives Spanish-era heads of government Under the Spanish regime, Solano (then Bintauan) was ruled by a gobernadorcillo, which was elected by the cabezas de barangay (barangay heads) which represented the survival of the earlier tribal organizations and were responsible for the tributes of their groups. The cabezas were originally hereditary, but, in time, it became elective. The electors of the gobernadorcillo were current or former heads of the barangay and after 3 years of service became eligible for the office. The following list shows the gobernadorcillos, who had the honorary title "Don", during the Spanish regime from 1762 to 1898. The following served as capitán del pueblo: The next three years, the town head was to be known gobernadorcillo, and the position of capitan del pueblo was abolished. 1779 Antonio Dayag 1780 Vicente Labog 1781 Francisco Busa The following served as alcaldes de naturales: 1782 Manuel Balassu 1783 Pedro Arasa 1784 Tomas Abbacan 1785 Clemente Malenab 1786 Tomas Lauagan 1787 Domingo Dumelod 1788 Santiago Agguid On April 19, 1789, the alcalde mayor [of Cagayan] conveyed to the people the decree issued by the King of Spain ordering the restoration of the title gobernadorcillo. By executive order of 1851, Governor-General Antonio Urbiztondo, Marques de la Solana, declared Lumabang as a barrio of Bayombong, resulting in the office of gobernadorcillo becoming teniente del barrio. It was during this time when a new province, Isabela, was created, carving a portion of Nueva Vizcaya and a part of Cagayan. The new province was named in honor of Queen Isabella of Spain. The Governor of Nueva Vizcaya was Julian del Valle. The alcalde mayor of Cagayan came here for the purpose of this reorganization. 1857 Venido Loggan 1858 Domingo Esguerra 1859 Miguel Dumelod 1860 Miguel Loggan General Ramon Solano y Llanderal authorized the separation of Lumabang as a barrio from Bayombong restoring the title of gobernadorcillo to Solano. From 1864, the term limit of the gobernadorcillo was extended from one year to two years In 1890, the establishment of the office of the justice of the peace was inaugurated in all the towns, and the first to assume this office in Solano was Domingo Panganiban who was in turn succeeded by Juan Sobrino, a Spaniard. who was succeeded by Sebastián Panganiban. who was then succeeded by Domingo Panganiban who held this office till 1898. 1890 Justice of the Peace Domingo Panganiban 1890 Justice of the Peace Juan Sobrino 1890 Justice of the Peace Sebastián Panganiban 1890-98 Justice of the Peace Domingo Panganiban 1890-91 Gobernadorcillo Antonio Dumelod 1892-93 Gobernadorcillo Domingo Loggan (replaced by Fernando Aggabao) 1894-95 Gobernadorcillo Sebastian Panganiban It was during this time when the Royal Decree of the Central Government came, stopping the use of the title gobernadorcillo and in its stead capitán municipal was to be used. When Spanish colonial rule ended September 14, 1898, Solano was led by a teniente mayor. 1896-97 Capitán Municipal Sebastián Panganiban 1898 Teniente Mayor Felipe Lumicao Municipal presidents Mayors under Republican government Culture and tourism The town's Pagbiagan Festival is celebrated every year of October 11. It coincides with Solano's founding anniversary, as well as the feast day of the town's patron Saint Louis Beltran. Through Presidential Proclamation 658, October 2, 2024 was declared a special non-working day to celebrate Solano Day and its 163rd Founding Anniversary highlighted by the Pagbiagan Festival 2024 that runs from September 29 to October 2. Tourist attractions and sites of interest in Solano include: 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. There are two schools district offices which govern all public and private elementary and high schools throughout the municipality. These are Solano I Schools District Office, and Solano II Schools District Office. Primary and elementary schools Secondary schools Aldersgate College - High School Department Bascaran National High School Dalton High School Solano High School Saint Louis School - High School Department Uddiawan National High School Higher educational institutions Aldersgate College Cagayan Valley Maritime Studies Fuzeko Polytechnic College Solano Institute of Technology Nueva Vizcaya Caregiver Academy Niño Jesus de Praga Learning Saint Louis College of Solano Inc Media AM station DWMG 1395 kHz (Vanguard Radio Network) FM stations DWDC 101.3 BiGSOUNDfm (Vanguard Radio Network) DWNV 100.5 (Rural Airwaves Media Services-Unified Airwaves Network) Notable personalities Danilo Lim, army officer Hillarie Parungao, beauty pageant titleholder Jimboy Martin, actor, and rapper Jose Gambito, public official Marites Vitug, investigative journalist Romeo A. Brawner, public official References External links Nueva Vizcaya Website Solano official government website Philippine Standard Geographic Code Philippine Census Information Local Governance Performance Management System Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine