Since the location was surrounded by Aetas, the Ibanags from the lowland Isabela would warn their close friends with the term "Palanammu" which indicates uneasiness or caution. Similarly, some vagabond Tagalogs who arrived there either as a sanctuary during difficult sailing or pure adventure, dubbed the site "Palatanan" which is suggestive of the character of the residents. Eventually, the word transformed into its modern name "Palanan".[5]
History
Unlike other towns in the Cagayan Valley, Palanan was established in 1625 by Spanish forces who arrived by boat from the Pacific coastal town of Baler in Tayabas province (now part of Aurora). As such, Palanan was initially a part of Pampanga[6] before being transferred to Laguna, Tayabas (now Quezon Province; Tayabas became independent from Laguna), Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya and finally Isabela. Also, unlike the rest of Cagayan Valley, it was served by Franciscan missionaries rather than the Dominicans. The population of the town was natively Paranan, then subsequently augmented by local Negritos, migrants from Baler who are Tagalogs, and outlaws from Cagayan Valley, with the lingua franca of the settlement being Tagalog as opposed to Ilocano or Ibanag.[7][5][8]
General Emilio Aguinaldo became President of the First Philippine Republic in 1900. He was captured on March 23 when Col. Frederick Funston led the Americans in 1901. It was in Palanan that one of the final chapters of the Philippine–American War was written on March 23, 1901, when General Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by American forces led by General Frederick Funston, who had gained access to Aguinaldo's camp by pretending to surrender to the Filipinos.[5]
In 1978, the area around Palanan was proclaimed by President Ferdinand Marcos to be part of the Palanan Wilderness Area, a protected nature conservation area that was later expanded by President Fidel V. Ramos to become the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park in 1997.
In the May 9, 2016 elections, Angelito A. Bernardo won a three-way mayoral campaign. However, due to his unexpected death shortly after the polls, Rodolfo M. Bernardo, the Municipal Vice Mayor-elect and first-elected Sangguniang Bayan member, and Elizabeth B. Ochoa took the oath of office as Municipal Mayor. On July 1, 2016, the Municipal Vice Mayor and other winning candidates attended the ceremony in Ilagan City, which serves as the provincial capital. Mayor Rodolfo M. Bernardo served as the local chief executive for five months and fifteen days before passing away in a car accident. According to the rules of succession, Vice Mayor Elizabeth B. Ochoa took the oath of office as Municipal Mayor and has remained in charge as the local Chief Executive ever since.[5]
In the 2020 census, the population of Palanan, Isabela, was 17,684 people,[3] with a density of 20 inhabitants per square kilometre or 52 inhabitants per square mile.
As a municipality in the Province of Isabela, government officials in the provincial level are voted by the electorates of the town. The provincial government have political jurisdiction over local transactions of the municipal government.
The municipality of Palanan 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 councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being 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 Palanan Municipal Council (2022-2025)[23]
Position
Name
District Representative
Ed Christopher S. Go
Municipal Mayor
Angelo A. Bernardo
Municipal Vice-Mayor
Elizabeth B. Ochoa
Municipal Councilors
Robert B. Neri
Michael D. Ramilo
Michael John D. Bernardo
Pacita Q. Atanacio
Ronnie A. Atienza
Earl John Angelo S. Bernardo
Rhoena O. Corpuz
Ronaldo M. Bernardo
Congress representation
Palanan, belonging to the second legislative district of the province of Isabela, currently represented by Hon. Ed Christopher S. Go.[24]
Education
The Schools Division of Isabela governs the town's public education system.[25] The division office is a field office of the DepEd in Cagayan Valley region.[26] The office governs the public and private elementary and public and private high schools throughout the municipality.
Infrastructure
Emilio Aguinaldo boarding USS Vicksburg in Palanan Bay, facing the Philippine Sea
The most common forms of transportation in Palanan are by horses, motorcycles, tricycles, or an improvised motorcycles called kuligligs.[27][28] Due to its isolation, the town can be reached quickest by a 23-30 minute flight in a six-seater, single-engine Cyclone AirCessna commuter plane from Cauayan. Palanan is served by Palanan Airport.[27][28]
By water, a boat ride from the neighboring town of Divilacan or in the towns of Dingalan and Baler in Aurora province in the south usually takes about two to three hours and six to seven hours, respectively.[28]
There are no roads that connect Palanan to the rest of province as the town can only be reached by a plane or boat ride, or a multi-day hike over the Sierra Madres from the neighboring town of San Mariano, which could take about three to five days.[29] However, there is a construction of an 82-kilometer Ilagan–Divilacan Road through the protected Sierra Madre mountains is on-going to open access to the coastal towns of Divilacan, Palanan and Maconacon. The approved budget contract of the project amounting to P1.5B, will pass through the foothills of the 359,486-hectare Northern Sierra Madre mountain ranges. The project will improve an old logging road used by a defunct logging company until the 1990s. It will start in Barangay Sindon Bayabo in Ilagan City and will end in Barangay Dicatian in Divilacan. The project is started in March 2016 and is expected to be completed in 2024.[30]
^"Tantingco: The Kapampangan in Us". Archived from the original on 2024-01-23. Retrieved 2024-01-23. "At one point, Pampanga’s borders extended all the way to Palanan, Isabela in the north and to Infanta, Quezon in the south, with the Pacific Ocean on its east side and the China Sea on its west side." (Baler which was the origin of Spanish forces and Tagalog settlers who settled Palanan was part of Pampanga along with Casiguran.)
^Salgado, Pedro. "Other Missions in Isabela". Cagayan Valley and Easter Cordillera: 1581-1898, Volume I. Rex Publishing. pp. 496–499.
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