Calayan | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Calayan | |
 Smith Volcano on Babuyan Island | |
 Flag | |
 Map of Cagayan with Calayan highlighted | |
 Interactive map of Calayan | |
.svg)  Calayan Location within thePhilippines | |
| Coordinates:19°15′43″N121°28′31″E / 19.2619°N 121.4753°E /19.2619; 121.4753 | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Cagayan Valley |
| Province | Cagayan |
| District | 2nd district |
| Barangays | 12 (seeBarangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Bayan |
| • Mayor | Joseph M. Llopis |
| • Vice Mayor | Edmund B. Escalante |
| • Representative | Samantha Louise V. Alfonso |
| • Municipal Council | Members
|
| • Electorate | 9,900 voters (2025) |
| Area | |
• Total | 494.53 km2 (190.94 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 9.0 m (29.5 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 1,248 m (4,094 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2024 census)[3] | |
• Total | 18,008 |
| • Density | 36.414/km2 (94.313/sq mi) |
| • Households | 4,250 |
| Economy | |
| • Income class | 3rd municipal income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 22.58 |
| • Revenue | ₱ 244.9 million (2022) |
| • Assets | ₱ 789.9 million (2022) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 153 million (2022) |
| • Liabilities | ₱ 179.6 million (2022) |
| Service provider | |
| • Electricity | Cagayan 2 Electric Cooperative (CAGELCO 2) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ZIP code | 3520 |
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)78 |
| Native languages | Ibanag Ilocano Ivatan Tagalog |
| Website | www |
Calayan, officially theMunicipality of Calayan (Ilocano:Ili ti Calayan;Ivatan:Kavahayan nu Calayan;Ibanag:Ili nat Calayan;Tagalog:Bayan ng Calayan), is amunicipality in theprovince ofCagayan,Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 18,008 people.[5]
It is home to theCalayan rail, a flightless bird identified as a separate species in 2004 andendemic toCalayan Island.[6]
The municipality's name in theIbanag language literally means "where laya (ginger) abounds".[7]
While Calayan was officially conquered by the Spanish starting in 1619, authorities were only able to maintain a sporadic presence in the area due to its isolated location. It was taken over by the Americans in 1900. In the 1920s, it was briefly placed under the jurisdiction of Aparri after a clerk ran off with the municipal treasury's funds.[8]
Calayan is located in theLuzon Strait north ofLuzon Island and south ofTaiwan viaBashi Channel toLuzon Strait. The town is composed of four of the five major islands of theBabuyan Islands namely: Calayan,Camiguin,Dalupiri andBabuyan Island. Calayan Island is the largest of the Babuyan Islands.Fuga Island, the fifth island within the Babuyan Islands, is part ofAparri municipality despite being closer toClaveria.[9]
Calayan Island is located about 24 miles (39 km) west-south-west of Babuyan Island off the north coast of the Philippines and belongs to the Babuyan Islands group in the China Sea.[10] The island is hemmed between Aparri andBatanes islands and it is larger than the Fuga Island, which is 25 miles (40 km) away. It is the second district in the province of Cagayan and its 29th municipality.
Calayan is situated 207.75 kilometres (129.09 mi) from the provincial capitalTuguegarao, and 692.90 kilometres (430.55 mi) from the country's capital city ofManila.
Calayan is politically subdivided into 12barangays.[11][12] Each barangay consists ofpuroks while some havesitios.
Weather conditions are generally wet with heavy rainfall occurring during November and December. The cold winds are the northerly and north-easterly winds. The island is also affected bytyphoons.[13] Calayan Island publishestide tables and solunar tables, daily forecasts for high tides and low tides, other fishing-related data such as thelunar phase, tidal coefficient, sun and moon rising and setting times, hours of maximum fish activity and weather conditions. This data is also useful for all fishing operations in the Calayan Island, apart from navigation of other commercial and transport vessels.[14]
| Climate data for Calayan, Cagayan (1991–2020, extremes 1949–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 34.9 (94.8) | 35.0 (95.0) | 35.6 (96.1) | 35.8 (96.4) | 37.2 (99.0) | 37.0 (98.6) | 37.8 (100.0) | 37.1 (98.8) | 35.7 (96.3) | 35.0 (95.0) | 34.3 (93.7) | 33.3 (91.9) | 37.8 (100.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 26.8 (80.2) | 27.4 (81.3) | 28.8 (83.8) | 31.2 (88.2) | 32.4 (90.3) | 32.8 (91.0) | 32.3 (90.1) | 31.8 (89.2) | 31.3 (88.3) | 30.2 (86.4) | 29.3 (84.7) | 27.2 (81.0) | 30.1 (86.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 23.8 (74.8) | 24.1 (75.4) | 25.3 (77.5) | 27.3 (81.1) | 28.6 (83.5) | 29.0 (84.2) | 28.7 (83.7) | 28.4 (83.1) | 28.0 (82.4) | 27.2 (81.0) | 26.4 (79.5) | 24.3 (75.7) | 26.8 (80.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 20.7 (69.3) | 20.7 (69.3) | 21.8 (71.2) | 23.5 (74.3) | 24.8 (76.6) | 25.2 (77.4) | 25.1 (77.2) | 25.0 (77.0) | 24.7 (76.5) | 24.2 (75.6) | 23.5 (74.3) | 21.4 (70.5) | 23.4 (74.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) | 15.3 (59.5) | 15.8 (60.4) | 17.2 (63.0) | 19.0 (66.2) | 19.1 (66.4) | 19.8 (67.6) | 21.6 (70.9) | 20.2 (68.4) | 17.4 (63.3) | 15.6 (60.1) | 14.8 (58.6) | 13.9 (57.0) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 183.9 (7.24) | 110.7 (4.36) | 68.4 (2.69) | 49.7 (1.96) | 132.6 (5.22) | 161.4 (6.35) | 205.0 (8.07) | 306.1 (12.05) | 379.1 (14.93) | 259.8 (10.23) | 304.7 (12.00) | 320.8 (12.63) | 2,482.2 (97.72) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 16 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 145 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 86 | 86 | 85 | 83 | 85 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 86 | 87 | 87 | 86 |
| Source:PAGASA[15][16] | |||||||||||||
Population census of Calayan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[17][18][19][20][21] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the 2024 census, the population of Calayan was 18,008 people,[22] with a density of 36 inhabitants per square kilometre or 93 inhabitants per square mile.
Poverty incidence of Calayan
Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]
Calayan is part of thesecond 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 that is held every three years.
Members of the Municipal Council(2022-2025)
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Congresswoman | Baby Aline Vargas-Alfonso |
| Mayor | Joseph M. Llopis |
| Vice-Mayor | Edmund B. Escalante |
| Councilors | Jericho Llopis |
| Paking Llopis | |
| Allain Olivas | |
| Elena Llopis | |
| Ahmed Castillejos | |
| Tessie Singun | |
| Crispiniano Tugade | |
| Rog Ventura |
The Schools Division of Cagayan governs the town's public education system.[31] The division office is a field office of theDepEd inCagayan Valley region.[32] The Calayan West District Office governs the public and private elementary and high schools throughout the municipality.[33]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain: the U.S. GovernmentElihu Root collection of United States documents relating to the Philippine Islands (1906)
Places adjacent to Calayan, Cagayan | ||||||||||||||||
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 Province ofCagayan | |
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Tuguegarao (capital and largest city) | |
| Municipalities | |
| Component city | |
| Barangays | |
