Santo Niño, officially the Municipality of Santo Niño (Ibanag: Ili nat Santo Niño; Ilocano: Ili ti Santo Niño; Tagalog: Bayan ng Santo Niño), formerly known as Faire, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 28,537 people.

History

Originally called Cabarungan, the town was formally created by a Spanish Royal decree dated 27 November 1897 as the town of Santo Niño. In 1914, it was renamed Faire in honor of Don Manuel Faire, a prominent Ilocano immigrant who spearheaded the push towards the town's establishment before it reverted to its former name years later.

Geography

Barangays

Santo Niño is politically subdivided into 31 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

Climate

Demographics

Population census of Santo Niño

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1903 4,069 —     1918 5,421 +1.93% 1939 8,877 +2.38% 1948 9,947 +1.27% 1960 13,981 +2.88% 1970 16,923 +1.93% 1975 18,638 +1.95% 1980 19,493 +0.90%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1990 18,608 −0.46% 1995 21,151 +2.43% 2000 22,752 +1.58% 2007 25,688 +1.69% 2010 26,126 +0.62% 2015 27,219 +0.78% 2020 28,537 +0.93%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

In the 2020 census, the population of Santo Niño, Cagayan, was 28,537 people, with a density of 56 inhabitants per square kilometre or 150 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy

Poverty incidence of Santo Niño

5 10 15 20 25 30 2006 28.00 2009 26.32 2012 22.08 2015 19.74 2018 16.74 2021 15.55 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

Government

Local government

Santo Niño, belonging to the second 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.

Elected officials

Members of the Municipal Council
(2019–2022)

Position	Name
Congressman	Samantha Louise V. Alfonso
Mayor	Vicente G. Pagurayan
Vice-Mayor	Marites E. Cuntapay
Councilors	Eden M. Aquinaldo
	Romeo P. Pecson
	Edgar T. Tulali
	Detilinda C. Carag
	Jose C. Carodan
	Divinia L. Baltazar
	Arnold D. Fidel
	Ismael M. Macasaddu

Education

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.

See also

• List of renamed cities and municipalities in the Philippines