# Santo Niño, Cagayan

Santo Niño, officially the Municipality of Santo Niño (Ibanag: Ili nat Santo Niño; Ilocano: Ili ti Santo Niño; Tagalog: Bayan ng Santo Niño), formerly known as Faire, is a municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 28,537 people.

## History

Originally called Cabarungan, the town was formally created by virtue of a Spanish Royal Decree dated 27 November 1897 as the town of Santo Niño. In 1914, it was renamed Faire in honor of Don Manuel Faire, a prominent Ilocano immigrant who spearheaded the push towards the town's establishment before it reverted to its former name years later.

## Geography
### Barangays

Santo Niño is politically subdivided into 31 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.
* Abariongan Ruar
* Abariongan Uneg
* Balagan
* Balanni
* Cabayo
* Calapangan
* Calassitan
* Campo
* Centro Norte (Poblacion)
* Centro Sur (Poblacion)
* Dungao
* Lattac
* Lipatan
* Lubo
* Mabitbitnong
* Mapitac
* Masical
* Matalao
* Nag-uma (Nagbayugan)
* Namuccayan
* Niug Norte
* Niug Sur
* Palusao
* San Manuel
* San Roque
* Santa Felicitas
* Santa Maria
* Sidiran
* Tabang
* Tamucco
* Virginia

### Climate

Climate data for Santo Niño, Cagayan :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 25 (77) | 27 (81) | 29 (84) | 32 (90) | 32 (90) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 30 (86) | 29 (84) | 27 (81) | 25 (77) | 29 (85) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 20 (68) | 21 (70) | 22 (72) | 23 (73) | 24 (75) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 24 (75) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 21 (70) | 23 (73) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 133 (5.2) | 87 (3.4) | 68 (2.7) | 44 (1.7) | 127 (5.0) | 134 (5.3) | 160 (6.3) | 162 (6.4) | 134 (5.3) | 192 (7.6) | 194 (7.6) | 260 (10.2) | 1,695 (66.7) |
| Average rainy days | 18.1 | 13.3 | 13.3 | 11.8 | 19.7 | 20.9 | 22.8 | 22.8 | 20.3 | 16.6 | 18.4 | 21.7 | 219.7 |
| Source: Meteoblue ||||||||||||||

## Demographics

| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1903 | 4,069 | — |
| 1918 | 5,421 | +1.93% |
| 1939 | 8,877 | +2.38% |
| 1948 | 9,947 | +1.27% |
| 1960 | 13,981 | +2.88% |
| 1970 | 16,923 | +1.93% |
| 1975 | 18,638 | +1.95% |
| 1980 | 19,493 | +0.90% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1990 | 18,608 | −0.46% |
| 1995 | 21,151 | +2.43% |
| 2000 | 22,752 | +1.58% |
| 2007 | 25,688 | +1.69% |
| 2010 | 26,126 | +0.62% |
| 2015 | 27,219 | +0.78% |
| 2020 | 28,537 | +0.93% |
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority :
In the 2020 census, the population of Santo Niño, Cagayan, was 28,537 people, with a density of 56 inhabitants per square kilometre or 150 inhabitants per square mile.

## Economy

Poverty incidence of Santo Niño
* 10
* 20
* 30
* 40
* 50
* 60
* 2000 54.07
* 2003 37.27
* 2006 28.00
* 2009 26.32
* 2012 22.08
* 2015 19.74
* 2018 16.74
* 2021 15.55
* Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

## Government
### Local government

Santo Niño 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

Members of the Municipal Council (2019–2022) :
| Position | Name |
| Congressman | Samantha Louise V. Alfonso |
| Mayor | Vicente G. Pagurayan |
| Vice-Mayor | Marites E. Cuntapay |
| Councilors | Eden M. Aquinaldo |
| Councilors | Romeo P. Pecson |
| Councilors | Edgar T. Tulali |
| Councilors | Detilinda C. Carag |
| Councilors | Jose C. Carodan |
| Councilors | Divinia L. Baltazar |
| Councilors | Arnold D. Fidel |
| Councilors | Ismael M. Macasaddu |

## 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 office governs the public and private elementary and public and private high schools throughout the municipality.