City Government of Santiago City

Santiago, officially the City of Santiago (Ilocano: Siudad ti Santiago; Ibanag: Siudad nat Santiago; Gaddang: Siudad na Santiago; Filipino: Lungsod ng Santiago), is a 1st class independent component city in the Cagayan Valley region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 148,580 people.

It is formerly known as Carig during the time of the Spanish, it is located between the southwestern part of Isabela and the northwestern boundary of Quirino in northeastern Luzon island of the Philippines. It is the gateway to the vast plains of Cagayan Valley.

Santiago is situated 72 kilometres (45 mi) south of Ilagan, the provincial capital, and 326 kilometres (203 mi) north of Metro Manila. The city sits on a vast area of predominantly flat and fertile land in the Cagayan Valley, surrounded by the Namamparang Mountains to the south, the Sierra Madre to the east and the Cordillera Mountain Range to the west alongside the Magat River.

Despite being statistically grouped by the Philippine Statistics Authority and geographically located within the boundaries of the province of Isabela, as well as part of the province’s 4th District, Santiago is administratively and legally independent from the province as stated in Section 25 of the Local Government Code. And also, it is the second most populous city in that province after the capital city of Ilagan.