Santa Praxedes is a coastal municipality in the province of Cagayan.

The municipality has a land area of 109.97 square kilometers or 42.46 square
miles which constitutes 1.18% of Cagayan's total area. Its population as
determined by the 2015 Census was 4,154. This represented 0.35% of the total
population of Cagayan province, or 0.12% of the overall population of
the Cagayan Valley region. Based on these figures, the population density is
computed at 38 inhabitants per square kilometer or 98 inhabitants per
square mile.

Santa Praxedes, officially the Municipality of Santa Praxedes, is a 5th class municipality in
the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 4,154
people.[3]
The poblacion of the municipality consists of two barangays, Centro-Uno and Centro-Dos, which are
situated in the valley surrounded by the northern tip of the Caraballo Mountains.

Contents

 1Geography
o 1.1Climate
 2Barangays
 3History
 4Early Settlers
 5Demographics
o 5.1Language
 6Climate
 7Economy and tourism
 8Transportation and communication
 9Local government
 10Schools
 11Controversies & Politics
 12References
 13External links

Geography[edit]
It borders the Ilocos Norte municipality of Pagudpud to the west; Calanasan, Apayao, to the south-
west; Claveria, Cagayan, to the east. It also shares a third of the area of the Calvario National Park
along with the municipality of Pagudpud. Taiwan directly to the north of Luzon Island via Luzon
Strait to Bashi Channel.
The central plain is situated in a valley enveloped by the Caraballo Mountains. It is also one of the
coastal towns of Cagayan that does not have direct road access to its seacoast due to the high
mountains surrounding it.

Climate[edit]
As in the other part of the country, the municipality has two seasons: the wet and dry seasons. It has
a longer wet season, unlike most parts of the country that enjoy almost equal periods of wet and dry
seasons. The wet season normally starts in the last week of May and lasts up to the end of January.
It is during the later months of this season that the famous "gamet" or "nori" grows along its rocky
seacoast. The dry season starts by the end of January till the end of May.

Barangays[edit]
Santa Praxedes is politically subdivided into 10 barangays.

 Cadongdongan
 Capacuan
 Centro I (Poblacion)
 Centro II (Poblacion)
 Macatel
 Portabaga
 San Juan
 San Miguel
 Salungsong
 Sicul

History[edit]
The town's original name was Langangan, then changed to Santa Praxedes, after the second-
century martyr of the same name, by virtue of Republic Act No. 4149 in 1964. The first settlers were
known to be the emigrants from the neighboring provinces of Ilocos Sur (from the municipalities
of Sinait and Magsingal) and Ilocos Norte (from the municipalities of Pasuquin, Badoc and Pinili).
There has also been past and present moves by the municipal council to regain political control of
some barangays of the neighboring municipality of Claveria, particularly the barangays of Cadcadir,
Lablabig, Mabnang, Union, Kilkiling and Siam-Siam. These barangays were once part of Santa
Praxedes but lost political control when the municipality was transferred to Ilocos Norte province
jurisdiction.

Early Settlers[edit]
Early settlers in this municipality are
the Agamanos, Agnir, Aguinaldo, Aguirre, Agullana, Bumanglag, Estabillo, Madamba, Pagdila
o, Ragsac, Rivera families.

Demographics[edit]
 Population census of
Santa Praxedes

Year Pop. ±% p.a.

1918 1,191 —

1939 812 −1.81%

1948 1,095 +3.38%

1960 1,530 +2.83%

1970 1,921 +2.30%

1975 2,206 +2.81%

1980 2,211 +0.05%

1990 2,514 +1.29%

1995 2,709 +1.41%

2000 2,952 +1.86%

2007 3,379 +1.88%

2010 3,646 +2.81%

2015 4,154 +2.51%

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[3][4][5][6]

In the 2015 census, the population of Santa Praxedes was 4,154 people,[3] with a density of 38
inhabitants per square kilometre or 98 inhabitants per square mile.

Language[edit]
Ilokano is the main language but a portion of the population also speaks Isneg (locally known as
Yapayao) as part of the population hailed from the Calanasan, Apayao, when the municipality was a
part of the former Kalinga-Apayao province.

Climate[edit]
hideClimate data for Santa Praxedes, Cagayan
 Ma Ma No
Month Jan Feb Apr Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Dec Year
r y v
25 26 28 30 30 29 28 27 26 25
28 28 28
Average high °C (°F) (77 (79 (82 (86 (86 (84 (82 (81 (79 (77
(82) (82) (81)
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
18 18 20 21 23 24 23 21 21 19
23 23 21
Average low °C (°F) (64 (64 (68 (70 (73 (75 (73 (70 (70 (66
(73) (73) (70)
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
1,82
55 41 37 41 184 215 261 256 245 216 142 129
Average precipitation 2
(2.2 (1.6 (1.5 (1.6 (7.2 (8.5 (10. (10. (9.6 (8.5 (5.6 (5.1
mm (inches) (71.
) ) ) ) ) ) 3) 1) ) ) ) )
8)
14. 11. 11. 12. 21. 25. 23. 18. 16. 17. 222.
Average rainy days 25.5 24.9
1 1 8 5 8 2 8 2 4 0 3
Source: Meteoblue [7]

Economy and tourism[edit]

Economic activity consists mainly of fishing, farming and tourism. Currently, the local government is
further developing both Portabaga Falls and Mingay Beach Resorts. There is a lot of potential of the
town in ecotourism but due to poor infrastracture, tourism spots such as Sicul Falls and Hotsprings
as well as Macatel Falls were seldomly visited.

 Portabaga Falls Resort - a 25-meter single-drop waterfall having four downstream catch pools
 Mingay Beach and Resorts
 Sicul Falls and Hotspring
 Macatel Falls

Transportation and communication[edit]

The municipality is 595 kilometres (370 mi) north of Manila via Laoag and 191 kilometres (119 mi)
northwest of Tuguegarao, the province's capital. Bus companies serving the town are RCJ Lines
and GV Florida Transport (Manila–Sanchez Mira v/v via Laoag), GMW Trans (Laoag–
Tuguegarao/Santiago) and L. Pascua Liner (Flora–Baguio) on a daily regular basis.
Although it has a small population, it enjoys full coverage of Smart and Globe cellular networks
which residents use to connect to the Internet.[citation needed]

Local government[edit]
Elected municipal officials 2016-2019:

 Mayor: Danilo Aguinaldo

 Vice Mayor: Esterlina Aguinaldo

Schools[edit]
Elementary:

 Santa Praxedes Central School

 Cadongdongan Elementary School
 Capacuan Elementary School
Secondary:

 Santa Praxedes National High School and Senior High School

Controversies & Politics[edit]

Being a small town and the fact that its inhabitants are related by ancestry, recent political
development created friction among political clans. Among other factor is that politicians are mainly
late-comer emigrants from neighboring municipalities and provinces thus in the 2016 national
election, claims of illegal voters or "flying voters" were uncovered by the local election office. Such
controversy was resolved before election.

References[edit]
1. ^ "Municipality". Quezon City, Philippines: Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Retrieved 31 May 2013.
2. ^ "Province: Cagayan". PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority.
Retrieved 12 November 2016.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Census of Population (2015). "Region II (Cagayan Valley)". Total Population by
Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. PSA. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
4. ^ Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region II (Cagayan Valley)". Total Population by
Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. NSO. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
5. ^ Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region II (Cagayan Valley)". Table 1. Population
Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. NSO.
6. ^ "Province of Cagayan". Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research
Division. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
7. ^ "Santa Praxedes, Cagayan: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved 27
December 2018.