San Mateo, Isabela, Cagayan Valley Region, Philippines

🇵🇭 San Mateo, officially the Municipality of San Mateo (Ilocano: Ili ti San Mateo; Tagalog: Bayan ng San Mateo), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. San Mateo is one of the cleanest town in the region. The administrators encourage the people of the municipality to use paper bags instead of plastic bags in line with its claim as an "Agro-Ecological Town".

History First named as "Marasat", it was a former barangay of Cauayan, then Santiago. It was called the Municipality of Yoshisawa under the government of the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War. After the liberation, it was finally created and named San Mateo by virtue of Presidential Executive Order No. 97 on March 17, 1946, by then President Sergio Osmeña. It was proclaimed as the Agro-Ecological Destination in Cagayan Valley by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1685 dated December 1, 2008. Then it was also proclaimed as the Munggo Capital of the Philippines in the year 2008–2009.

Geography San Mateo is situated in the south-western part of Isabela. It is bounded on the north by Aurora, on the north-east by Cabatuan, on the east by Cauayan, on the east-southeast by Alicia, on the south by Ramon and on the west Alfonso Lista in the Province of Ifugao.

San Mateo is 96 km (60 mi) from Ilagan and 350 km (220 mi) from Manila.

Geography: Barangays San Mateo is politically subdivided into 33 barangays.  Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios. • Bacarreña • Bagong Sikat • Bella Luz • Dagupan • Daramuangan Norte • Daramuangan Sur • Estrella • Gaddanan • Malasin • Mapuroc • Marasat Grande • Marasat Pequeño • Old Centro I • Old Centro Proper • Barangay I (Poblacion) • Barangay II (Poblacion) • Barangay III (Poblacion) • Barangay IV (Poblacion) • Salinungan East • Salinungan West • San Andres • San Antonio • San Ignacio • San Manuel • San Marcos • San Roque • Sinamar Norte • Sinamar Sur • Victoria • Villafuerte • Villa Cruz • Villa Magat • Villa Gamiao (Buyon).

Land Classification and Uses The soil type of San Mateo is 49.89% Santa Rita Clay Loam which is suited for lowland crops like rice, tobacco and mungo. Other soil types are Bago Series (26.04%), San Manuel Series (9.87%), Peñaranda (2.31%), Agustin Series (7.95%) and River Wash Gravel (3.95%).

The existing land uses of the municipality are as follows: The long and mighty Magat River, the biggest tributary of the Cagayan River lies in the vast plains devoted to agriculture in the area.

The Tao-Tao River and the four (4) creeks found in the municipality named Porvida, Gaddanan, Macañao and Balaobao are likewise tapped to supply water to elevated portions of agricultural lands through the use of water pumps.

Geography: Topography The terrain of the municipality is basically plain with 98% of the total land area under 0-2 percent slope category and only 2% of the total area is under the 2.3-5 percent slope category. The excellent topography of the municipality has made irrigation by gravity method applicable in flooding of rice paddies.

Demographics In the 2020 census, San Mateo, Isabela, had a density of 550 inhabitants per square kilometre or 1,400 inhabitants per square mile.

Language The population is a combination of different ethnic group dominated by Ilocano speaking people which make Ilocano the common language used in the municipality.

Economy According to the 2020 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index conducted by the National Competitiveness Council, San Mateo took the 141st spot among the first class and second class municipalities in the Philippines. • 2015 44th • 2016 99th • 2017 123rd • 2018 92nd • 2019 72nd • 2020 141st • 2021 292nd • 2022 242nd

Culture • March 17 - Town Fiesta • 1st week of May - Munggo Festival.

Healthcare • BBCSS Pediatric Medical And Surgical Clinic • Bumagat Maternity and Medical Clinic • Juvelo Family Clinic • New Samaritan Medical And Pediatric Clinic • Piedad Medical Clinic • Ricafort's Medical and Surgical Clinic • San Mateo Integrated Community Hospital • San Mateo Kidney Care and Dialysis Center • San Mateo Multicare Hospital • San Mateo Rural Health Unit • Sevilleja Medical Clinic.

Education The Schools Division of Isabela 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: High school • Eveland Christian College • La Salette Of San Mateo, Inc. • Salinungan National High School • Salinungan Stand Alone Senior High School • San Mateo General Comprehensive High School • San Mateo National High School • San Mateo Vocational Industrial High School

Elementary • Bagong Sikat Elementary School • Bacarreña Adventis Elementary School • Dagupan Elementary School • Daramuangan Norte Elementary School • Daramuangan Sur Elementary School • Estrella-Bella Luz Elementary School • Estrella Elemenatry School • Eveland Christian College • Gaddanan Elementary School • Grace Christian School • La Salette of San Mateo, Inc. • Malasin Elementary School • Mapuroc Elementary School • Marasat Pequeño Elementary School • Mary Shine of Saint Matthew • Salinungan East Elementary School • San Antonio Elementary School • San Ignacio Elementary School • San Manuel Elementary School • San Marcos Elementary School • San Mateo East Central School • San Mateo North Central School • San Mateo West Central School • San Roque Elementary School • Sinamar Norte Elementary School • Sinamar Sur Dumag Elementary School • The Rainbow Learning Center • Victoria Elementary School • Villa Cruz Elementary School • Villa Fuerte Elementary School • Villa Gamiao Elementary School • Villa Magat Elementary School.

Colleges and Universities • Isabela State University (San Mateo Campus) • Eveland Christian College • Cagayan Valley Automotive and Technical School Inc.