Enrile, Cagayan

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Enrile, officially the Municipality of Enrile, is a small farming town in Cagayan Province, in the Philippines’ Cagayan Valley. As of 2024, about 36,481 people live there, and the town covers roughly 184.5 square kilometers.

Location and landscape
Enrile sits in the southern part of Cagayan and is bordered by the Cagayan River to the east. It is near Santa Maria in Isabela to the south, Solana and Tuguegarao to the north, and Rizal and Kalinga to the west. The land ranges from river lowlands to hills that rise up to around 800 meters.

Administration
The town is divided into 22 barangays and is governed by a mayor and a municipal council. It is part of Cagayan’s 3rd district. The local education system is run by the Schools Division of Cagayan, with two districts: Enrile East and Enrile West.

Economy and crops
Enrile is mainly an agricultural community. Its farmers grow rice, corn, peanuts, tobacco, and vegetables. The Department of Agriculture has named Enrile the “peanut capital of the Philippines” because of its sandy soils and ability to produce peanuts year-round. About 800 peanut farmers work on around 700 hectares, with potential for more planting.

History
Long ago the area was called Cabug and was part of Tuguegarao. It became a separate town in September 1849 and was renamed Enrile in honor of Governor-General Pasqual Enrile y Alcedo. The parish later adopted Nuestra Señora de las Nieves as its patron saint. Enrile’s church area, Sinupac, was used as a hiding place by Emilio Aguinaldo and his forces during the First Philippine Republic.

People and culture
Most residents speak Itawes, with Ilocano and Tagalog spoken in western areas. Enrile celebrates a Peanut Festival known as Mappalabbet. The town’s parish church is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuguegarao.

Infrastructure and services
Electricity is provided by CAGELCO 1. Transportation inside and around Enrile includes jeepneys, tricycles, and other vehicles, with some areas still using traditional kalesa in the town center. The poverty rate was about 11% in 2021.