Quirino, officially the Province of Quirino (Ilocano: Probinsia ti Quirino; Tagalog: Lalawigan ng Quirino), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region in Luzon. Its capital is Cabarroguis. It is named after Elpidio Quirino, the sixth President of the Philippines.

The province borders Aurora to the southeast, Nueva Vizcaya to the west, and Isabela to the north. Quirino used to be part of the province of Nueva Vizcaya, until it was separated in 1966.

History

Early history

Long before its formal creation as an independent province, Quirino was the forest region of the province of Nueva Vizcaya, inhabited by tribal groups known as the Negritos. They roamed the hinterlands and built their huts at the heart of the jungle. Aside from the Negritos, the area was also inhabited by Ilongot people, who were feared for their headhunting raids against enemy tribes and Spanish-controlled settlements. Throughout the period of Spanish colonization, the province was one of the few remaining unconquered areas in the Philippines due to its remoteness, having only seen a Spanish military expedition in 1848 and the brief presence of Spanish missionaries in 1891.

Colonial era

During the American period, the territory of Quirino was administered by the province of Isabela before Congressman Leon Cabarroguis of Nueva Vizcaya pushed for its return to Nueva Vizcaya by authoring Republic Act No. 236, which was signed into law in 1948.

Marcos dictatorship era

The beginning months of the 1970s marked a period of turmoil and change in the Philippines, as well as in the localities which would later become the Province of Quirino. During his bid to be the first Philippine president to be re-elected for a second term, Ferdinand Marcos launched an unprecedented number of public works projects. This caused the Philippine economy took a sudden downwards turn known as the 1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis, which in turn led to a period of economic difficulty and social unrest.

With only a year left in his last constitutionally allowed term as president Ferdinand Marcos placed the Philippines under Martial Law in September 1972 and thus retained the position for fourteen more years. This period in Philippine history is remembered for the Marcos administration's record of human rights abuses, particularly targeting political opponents, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who fought against the Marcos dictatorship. In Quirino though, one of the most significant events of this period was the awarding logging concessions in the areas of the Sierra Madre regionto various Marcos cronies, which heralded the beginning of widescale deforestation and other environmental problems that have affected the province since then.

When the 1986 snap election came along, Quirino was noted as the site of election related violence, with the murder of UNIDO opposition party organizers Francisco Laurella and Fernando Pastor Sr., and Pastor's son Fernando Pastor Sr. later attributed to Marcos partymate and Quirino province assemblyman Orlando Dulay, who was convicted of the three murders in 1990.

The bright spot for the province was that the efforts of Quirino's legislators finally managed to see its establishment as a separate Province in February 1972.

Establishment as a separate Province

On June 18, 1966, Republic Act No. 4734 was enacted, constituting the municipalities of Diffun, Saguday, Aglipay, and Maddela, all from Nueva Vizcaya province, into a new sub-province to be known as "Quirino", named after the late Philippine President Elpidio Quirino.

On June 21, 1969, Republic Act No. 5554 was enacted, amending RA 4734, and creating the municipality of Cabarroguis (now the provincial capital town), which was taken from portions of Diffun, Saguday, and Aglipay.

Republic Act No. 6394, authored by then-Congressman Leonardo B. Perez (Nueva Vizcaya–Lone), was passed on September 10, 1971, further amending RA 5554 and separating the sub-province of Quirino from its mother province, Nueva Vizcaya, constituting it into a regular province.

The province of Quirino was formally established on February 10, 1972, upon the assumption to office of the first elected provincial and municipal officials headed by Dionisio Sarandi as Provincial Governor.

On February 25, 1983, Batas Pambansa Blg. 345 was enacted, creating within Quirino the municipality of Nagtipunan, a division of the municipality of Maddela.

Geography

Quirino covers a total area of 3,323.47 square kilometers (1,283.20 sq mi) occupying the southeastern section of the Cagayan Valley region. A landlocked province, it is situated within the upper portion of the Cagayan River basin and bounded by Isabela on the north, Aurora on the east and southeast, and Nueva Vizcaya on the west and southwest.

The Sierra Madre mountain range provides a natural barrier on the eastern and southern border of the province and the Namamparang Range on the western part. The province is generally mountainous, with about 80 percent of the total land area covered by mountains and highlands. A large portion of the province lies within the Quirino Protected Landscape.

Climate

The province has a mean annual temperature of 33.6 °C (92.5 °F). June is generally the warmest month and the wettest months are March to August, with the rest of the year being neither too dry nor too wet. Heavy, sustained rainfall occurs from September to November.

Administrative divisions

Quirino comprises 6 municipalities, all encompassed by a single legislative district.

Barangays

The 6 municipalities of the province comprise a total of 132 barangays, with Gundaway (Poblacion) in Cabarroguis as the most populous in 2010, and Rang-ayan in Aglipay as the least.

Demographics

Population census of Quirino

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1939	3,923	—
1948	2,520	−4.80%
1960	24,266	+20.77%
1970	49,767	+7.44%
1975	65,763	+5.75%
1980	83,230	+4.82%
1990	114,132	+3.21%
1995	131,119	+2.63%
2000	148,575	+2.72%
2007	163,610	+1.34%
2010	176,786	+2.86%
2015	188,991	+1.28%
2020	203,828	+1.50%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

The population of Quirino in the 2020 census was 203,828 people, with a density of 61 inhabitants per square kilometre or 160 inhabitants per square mile.

The major languages are Ilocano and Ifugao. Other languages are Bugkalot, Pangasinan, Kankana-ey, Tagalog, and English. As Quirino was part of Provincia de Cagayan which is the predecessor of Cagayan Valley, a few residents speak Ibanag, which was the lingua franca of Provincia de Cagayan before it was replaced by Ilocano.

The province also has the largest Igorot population next to its mother province Nueva Vizcaya outside the Cordillera region.

Religion

Quirino is predominantly Roman Catholic with 54 percent adherence while Evangelicals and United Methodist Church serve as significant minorities with up to 20% of the population. Some people still practice indigenous beliefs. Other religions such as the Iglesia ni Cristo (forming more than 9% of the province population), mainline Protestant and Aglipanyan are also well represented. Other religious groups are also have some minor adherents such as Islam.

Economy

Agriculture is the main industry in the province, with rice and corn as major crops. These supply the demand of neighboring provinces and the metropolis. It is the leading producer of banana in the Cagayan Valley region. Banana as well as banana chips are major products sold in Metro Manila and Pampanga. Small scale industries like furniture making, basketry, rattan craft, and dried flower production are prevalent.

Government

Elected Officials of Quirino Provincial Council (2022–2025)

District Representative
Midy N. Cua
Provincial Governor
Dakila Carlo E. Cua
Provincial Vice Governor
Julius Caesar S. Vaquilar
Provincial Board
1st District	Marlo S. Guillermo	Jovino F. Navalta	Marcelina M. Pagbilao	Babylyn G. Reyes
2nd District	Linda G. Dacmay	Roy A. Saladino	Elizabeth B. Saure	Alegre M. Ylanan