# Villaverde, Nueva Vizcaya

Villaverde, officially the Municipality of Villaverde (Ilocano: Ili ti Villaverde; Tagalog: Bayan ng Villaverde), also spelled as Villa Verde, is a municipality in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. The town was named in honor of the Spanish Missionary, Father Juan Villaverde. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 20,118 people.

## History
### Spanish era

Villaverde was formerly a barrio of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya called Ibung, founded by a Dominican Friar named Alejandro Vidal in 1767. More than a century later, an order from the Spanish Government was issued to Father Juan Villaverde giving instruction to organize into a town. Thus, on May 28, 1872, Ibung became a town of the province of Nueva Vizcaya. Ibung was originally settled by christianized Ifugaos resettled from the area of Kiangan who later abandoned the town after a malaria epidemic in 1890, whereupon they were replaced by Ilocano migrants.

### American era

When the American took over, Ibung lost its status as a town because of insufficient funds. Moreover, most of the people residing in the area have transferred to an adjoining towns for fear of their lives from non-Christian tribes who dwelt in Cordillera mountains in the north-west part of the town. Ibung became a barangay of the municipality of Solano again .

### Philippine independence

On June 17, 1957, through the sponsorship of the Congressman Leonardo B. Perez, Republic Act. No. 197 was enacted providing for the creation of the town Ibung through the separation of the barrios of Ibung and Bintawan from Solano. On September 1, 1957, Antonio B. Aquino was appointed as the first mayor of Ibung.
Two years later, on June 21, 1959, Republic Act. No. 2515 was enacted amending Republic Act. No. 1972 changing the name of the town from Ibung to Villaverde in honor of Father Juan Villaverde who had organized the town. Romualdo Ubando was appointed as the first Municipal Mayor at that time. In 1963, Antonio B. Aquino was the first elected Mayor after renaming the town.
On January 3, 1986, the town's 16-year mayor, Romualdo Bediones, was abducted by New People's Army (NPA) rebels led by a "Ka Annie" and held until he was tried by a kangaroo court and executed in public on January 11 after being declared guilty of "landgrabbing" and protecting criminality; his abducted driver was released by the rebels to inform authorities about the execution.

## Geography

About 280 kilometres (170 mi) from Manila and 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from the capital town of Bayombong; lies on the northern district of the province and is bounded by Lamut, Ifugao on the North; Solano on the South; Bagabag on the East, and Ambaguio on the West. Villaverde has a total land area of 81.50 square kilometers, the smallest town which accounts for 1.86% of the total land area of Nueva Vizcaya.

### Barangays

Villaverde is politically subdivided into 9 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
Barangay Poblacion where the Municipal Hall is located and Barangays Ibung, Bintawan Norte and Bintawan Sur as the commercial and educational center of the town.
* Bintawan Norte
* Bintawan Sur
* Cabuluan
* Ibung
* Nagbitin
* Ocapon
* Pieza
* Poblacion (Turod)
* Sawmill

### Climate

Climate data for Villaverde, Nueva Vizcaya :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 24 (75) | 26 (79) | 28 (82) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 28 (82) | 26 (79) | 24 (75) | 28 (82) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 19 (66) | 19 (66) | 20 (68) | 22 (72) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 22 (72) | 21 (70) | 20 (68) | 22 (71) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 119 (4.7) | 83 (3.3) | 54 (2.1) | 37 (1.5) | 133 (5.2) | 132 (5.2) | 161 (6.3) | 163 (6.4) | 153 (6.0) | 142 (5.6) | 160 (6.3) | 224 (8.8) | 1,561 (61.4) |
| Average rainy days | 18.4 | 13.6 | 11.6 | 9.4 | 19.3 | 21.9 | 23.9 | 23.4 | 21.1 | 16.3 | 18.1 | 21.4 | 218.4 |
| Source: Meteoblue ||||||||||||||

## Demographics

| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1960 | 7,120 | — |
| 1970 | 8,709 | +2.03% |
| 1975 | 10,590 | +4.00% |
| 1980 | 10,644 | +0.10% |
| 1990 | 13,594 | +2.48% |
| 1995 | 13,431 | −0.23% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 2000 | 15,392 | +2.96% |
| 2007 | 16,623 | +1.07% |
| 2010 | 17,720 | +2.35% |
| 2015 | 18,507 | +0.83% |
| 2020 | 20,118 | +1.65% |
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority :
In the 2020 census, Villaverde had a population of 20,118. The population density was 250 inhabitants per square kilometre (650/sq mi).

## Economy

Poverty incidence of Villaverde
* 5
* 10
* 15
* 20
* 25
* 30
* 2000 25.75
* 2003 17.88
* 2006 12.30
* 2009 11.07
* 2012 9.59
* 2015 9.75
* 2018 12.54
* 2021 7.24
* Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

## Government
### Local government

Villaverde 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

Members of the Municipal Council (2022-2025) :
| Position | Name |
| Congressman | Luisa L. Cuaresma |
| Mayor | Atty. Ronelie U. Valtoribio |
| Vice-Mayor | Engr. Marlon John R. Acosta |
| Councilors | Atty. Kruwel JD. Dacumos |
| Councilors | Anastacio T. Mariñas, Jr. |
| Councilors | Braulio R. Ocumen, Jr. |
| Councilors | Johny P. Tuguinay |
| Councilors | Christine A. Peralta |
| Councilors | Jerry V. Jose |
| Councilors | Danilo E. Duro |
| Councilors | Rubbyrose U. Barrientos |

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

### Secondary schools

* Bintawan National High School
* Our Lady of Fatima School of Villaverde