# Reina Mercedes, Isabela

Reina Mercedes, officially the Municipality of Reina Mercedes (Ilocano: Ili ti Reina Mercedes; Tagalog: Bayan ng Reina Mercedes), is a municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 27,900 people.
Reina Mercedes is 21 kilometres (13 mi) from Ilagan and 377 kilometres (234 mi) from Manila.

## Etymology

The town derived its name in honor of Mercedes of Orléans, Queen of Spain. Coupled with the province's name "Isabela", named after Isabella II, Queen Regnant of Spain, the town's address of "Reina Mercedes, Isabela" is the most regnant address in the Philippines (which was also named after King Philip II of Spain).

## History

Reina Mercedes was founded in 1743 as the settlement of Abbag, which means "on the other side" (of the Magat River), before then being renamed to Calering, and Calanusian (from canusi, a species of white ebony). The town was finally renamed in honor of Queen Mercedes of Orléans, the first consort of Alfonso XII, son of Isabela II. Mercedes died of tuberculosis on June 26, 1878, in the fourth year of Alfonso's reign. When the town was partitioned from Cauayan on January 20, 1886, the priest Pedro Jiménez named it after the late queen.

## Geography
### Barangays

Reina Mercedes is politically subdivided into 20 barangays.  Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.
* Banquero
* Binarsang
* Cutog Grande
* Cutog Pequeño
* Dangan
* District I (Poblacion)
* District II
* Labinab Grande
* Labinab Pequeño
* Mallalatang Grande
* Mallalatang Tunggui
* Nappacu Grande (Poblacion)
* Nappacu Pequeño (Poblacion)
* Salucong
* Santiago
* Santor
* Sinippil (Poblacion)
* Tallungan (Poblacion)
* Turod
* Villador

### Climate

Climate data for Reina Mercedes, Isabela :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29 (84) | 30 (86) | 32 (90) | 35 (95) | 35 (95) | 35 (95) | 34 (93) | 33 (91) | 32 (90) | 31 (88) | 30 (86) | 28 (82) | 32 (90) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 19 (66) | 20 (68) | 21 (70) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 24 (75) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 22 (72) | 21 (70) | 20 (68) | 22 (71) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 31.2 (1.23) | 23 (0.9) | 27.7 (1.09) | 28.1 (1.11) | 113.5 (4.47) | 141.4 (5.57) | 176.4 (6.94) | 236.6 (9.31) | 224.9 (8.85) | 247.7 (9.75) | 222.9 (8.78) | 178 (7.0) | 1,651.4 (65) |
| Average rainy days | 10 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 144 |
| Source: World Weather Online ||||||||||||||

## Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Reina Mercedes, Isabela, was 27,900 people, with a density of 490 inhabitants per square kilometre or 1,300 inhabitants per square mile.

## Economy

Poverty incidence of Reina Mercedes
* 10
* 20
* 30
* 40
* 2000 33.88
* 2003 25.31
* 2006 23.50
* 2009 14.02
* 2012 16.24
* 2015 12.09
* 2018 14.99
* 2021 13.25
* Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

## Government
### Local government

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 Reina Mercedes 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.

### Elected officials

Members of the Reina Mercedes Municipal Council (2022–2025) :
| Position | Name |
| District Representative | Ed Christopher S. Go |
| Municipal Mayor | Maria Lourdes P. Respicio-Saguban |
| Municipal Vice-Mayor | Anthony P. Respicio |
| Municipal Councilors | Paolo R. Addun |
| Municipal Councilors | Julio B. Cutaran |
| Municipal Councilors | Arnol M. Barangan |
| Municipal Councilors | Salvador B. Apostol III |
| Municipal Councilors | Albino B. Cuntapay |
| Municipal Councilors | Agustin C. Valdez, Jr. |
| Municipal Councilors | Domingo P. Baua, Jr. |
| Municipal Councilors | Edwin M. Esteban |

### Congress representation

Reina Mercedes, belonging to the second legislative district of the province of Isabela, currently represented by Hon. Ed Christopher S. Go.

## Education

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

### Elementary schools

* Reina Mercedes Central School (District 2)
* Tallungan Elementary School
* Bliss Elementary School
* Mallalatang Elementary School
* Nappacu Grande-Sinippil Elementary School
* Nappacu Pequeño Elementary School
* Binarsang Elementary School
* Salucong Elementary School
* Santiago Elementary School
* Dangan elementary school
* Cutog grande elementary school
* Cutog pequeño elementary school
* Santor elementary school

### High schools

* Reina Mercedes Vocational and Industrial School (Pan-Philippine Highway)
* Reina Mercedes National Highschool (Cutog Pequeno)
* Turod Integrated School
* Banquero Integrated School