Baggao, officially the Municipality of Baggao (Ibanag: Ili nat Baggao; Ilocano: Ili ti Baggao; Tagalog: Bayan ng Baggao), is a municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 87,753 people.

The name Baggao is derived from the Ibanag word which means washing in the English language. Old folks recount that the Ibanags who frequently hunted in the locality, used to wash their catch before taking them home in a big mud hole which they called Abbagaoan. This Abbaggaoan an Ibanag word, meaning a place to wash, became a noted landmark for hunters from which the name of the municipality was eventually derived.

Long before the issuance of the Royal Decree which officially detached Baggao as a barrio of Amulung on November 27, 1896, the place has already became famous as a hunting ground. It was detached from Amulung to become a separate Spanish mission.

With the formal creation of Baggao as a separate municipality, Rev. Fr. Pedro Vicandi, O.P. who was then the Parish Priest of the area, was designated officer-in-charge of the town. His chapel, and at the same time, the town hall consisted of a shack made of bamboo and cogon built atop of a hill one kilometer southeast of the present municipal building.

On April 18, 1899 Fr. Vicandi fled the area when Col. Daniel Tirona, under Gen. E. Aguinaldo, visited the Town and put to flame the friar’s shanty. However, in September 1899, when civil order was finally restored, Don Rafael Catolico took over as the first mayor of the New “Pueblo Civil”.

For more than 85 years since it was separated from its mother town of Amulung, the seat of the Municipal Government of Baggao has been seated at the Centro or Poblacion. In 1899, when Don Rafael Catolico took over as the first mayor of the new “Pueblo Civil” there were 5,051 inhabitants living in sparse settlements. The communities given the official status as a barrio were those immediately surrounding the Poblacion. Most of the barangays, now established upstream were merely patches of forest clearings barely making the requirements of becoming a full-fledge barrio.

However, with the continuous influx of immigrants from other towns and provinces, new communities sprouted continuously moving further northeastward to the more fertile expanse of this virgin municipality. As of today there are already 48 barangays settled by 85% of the more than 82,302 inhabitants along the north-eastern portion of Baggao, the nearest of which is no less than 16 kilometers to the Poblacion, while the farthest of the 12 barangays immediately surrounding the Centro is no more than 10 kilometers away.

The Poblacion (Centro) founded a century ago became a dead center today. Basing on the context of “ripple effect” approach of development, the site of the municipal government of Baggao became misplaced and unstrategically located as its pivotal role of development. The townsite, in fact, has caused an upsurge of factionalism and a desire of the people to split the municipality into two. In so doing, the Municipal Development Council arrived at a general consensus of selecting San Jose, the most progressive barangay of the town, as the next seat of the municipal government of Baggao. Hence in 1985, public hearings led by then the late Mayor Virgilio G. Herrero were conducted throughout the different barangays of Baggao where 85% of the population expressed their support to the move. So, in a session conducted by the Sangguniang Bayan of Baggao, the members passed a resolution transferring the site of the seat of municipal government of Baggao from the old site in Poblacion to its new location in barangay San Jose.

Baggao is politically subdivided into 48 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

Population census of Baggao

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1903 3,857 —     1918 6,727 +3.78% 1939 11,602 +2.63% 1948 11,232 −0.36% 1960 21,597 +5.60% 1970 36,471 +5.37% 1975 41,011 +2.38% 1980 44,081 +1.45%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1990 55,264 +2.29% 1995 60,060 +1.57% 2000 66,264 +2.13% 2007 73,048 +1.35% 2010 78,188 +2.51% 2015 82,782 +1.09% 2020 87,753 +1.15%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

In the 2020 census, the population of Baggao, Cagayan, was 87,753 people, with a density of 95 inhabitants per square kilometre or 250 inhabitants per square mile.

Poverty incidence of Baggao

5 10 15 20 25 30 2006 30.00 2009 22.63 2012 21.96 2015 13.42 2018 13.47 2021 13.46 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

Baggao, belonging to the first legislative district of the province of Cagayan, 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.

The current seat of the municipal government is situated in barangay San Jose.

Members of the Municipal Council
(2022-2025)

Position	Name
Congressman	Ramon C. Nolasco Jr.
Mayor	Leonardo C. Pattung
Vice-Mayor	Rowel B. Gazmen
Councilors	Roy D. Tumaneng
	Johnny R. Bacud
	Arnel R. Atalip
	Ron Paolo J. Pattung
	Edmundo B. Delos Santos Jr.
	Alexander M. Gaspar
	Engr. Roy F. Dumayag
	Jaime E. Ramos Jr.

1. Fray Pedro Vicandi, O.P. - 1896 - 1899
2. Don Rafael Catolico - 1899 - 1904
3. Juan Canillas - 1904 - 1908
4. Benito Reboredo - 1908 - 1912
5. Cipriano - 1912 - 1916
6. Vicente Garcia - 1916 - 1920
7. Jose Pallagao - 1920 - 1921
8. Roman Canillas - 1921 - 1924
9. Francisco Mendoza - 1924 - 1928
10. Alejo Siazon - 1928 - 1932
11. Isabelo Tobias - 1932 - 1940
12. Domingo Herrero - 1940 - 1944
13. Pastor Lorenzo - 1944 - 1945
14. Walfrido Pallagao - 1945 - 1946
15. Custavo Cruz Sr. - 1946 - 1947
16. Angel Canillas - 1947 - 1956
17. Felix Villanueva - 1956 - 1960
18. Walfrido Pallagao - 1960 - 1978
19. Virgilio Gasa Herrero - 1978 - Marso 1987
20. Dante S. Ramirez, M.D. - Marso 1987 to Nobyembre 30, 1987
21. Virgilio H. Navarro - Disyembre 01, 1987 to Pebrero 02, 1988
22. Virgilio Gasa Herrero - Pebrero 03, 1988 to Marso 27, 1998
23. Emely D. Carmona. - Marso 28, 1998 to Hunyo 30, 1998
24. Leonardo C. Pattung, M.D. - Hulyo 1, 1998 to Hunyo 30,2007
25. Rolando T. Uanang - Hulyo 1, 2007 to date Hunyo 30,2010
26. Leonardo C. Pattung, M.D. - Hulyo 1, 2010 to Hunyo 30, 2019
27. Joan C. Dunuan, MPA, LLB - Hulyo 1, 2019 to Hunyo 30, 2022
28. Leonardo C. Pattung, M.D. - Hulyo 1, 2022 to Present

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.

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• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information