Piat, Cagayan

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Piat

Municipality

Seal

Map of Cagayan showing the location of Piat

Piat

Location within the Philippines

Coordinates:

174728N 1212834ECoordinates:

Country

Philippines

Region

Cagayan Valley (Region II)

Province

Cagayan

District

2nd District

Barangays

18

174728N 1212834E

Government[1]
Mayor

Carmelo O. Villacete

Area[2]
Total

139.60 km2 (53.90 sq mi)

Population (2010)[3]
Total

22,961

Density

160/km2 (430/sq mi)

Time zone

PST (UTC+8)

ZIP code

3527

Dialing code

78

Income class

4th class

Piat is a fourth class municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2010
census, it has a population of 22,961 people. Piat is now dubbed as the "Pilgrimage Center of
Cagayan Valley" because of the thousands of devotees and tourists who come here to pay homage.
It is the home of Our Lady of Piat which continues to be the source of inspiration and object of
devotion of many Catholics in the region.
[3]

The town is located in the southwest part of Cagayan Province in what is known as the Itawes
Region, along which the Rio Chico runs west, south, and northwest of the town until it debouches
into the Rio Ibanag somewhere near Nassiping.
Contents
[hide]

1 History
2 Barangays
3 Demographics
4 Places to See
5 References
6 External links

History[edit]
There are quite a few conjectures on how Piat got its name. One has it is that it derives from "piyas,"
an Ilokano word, in Ibanag"addulu" and in Tagalog, "kamiyas." Another has it that the word comes
from "aggapiya," meaning "healer, masseuse," and a more credible version has it that it is derived
from the Ibanag and Itawes word "piya" which means "goodness, kindness, health."
The original people were the Itawes; at present, there are many Ibanag. Ilokano, Tagalog,
Kapampangan and other dialect speakers. There are also families of Spanish and American
descent. The head of the family was called "urayan" or "baruwang" and the council of elders
"Kammaranan." There were also war leaders and braves called "mengal," and priestesses called
"anitera" from the Spanish word called "anito" or "minangilu" in Ibanag, "mangilut" in Itawes and
"baybaylan" in Bisayan; there were few priests among the ancient people.
In 1596, the Dominican Provincial, Fr. Miguel de San Jacinto named Piat as a mission in the Itawes
region comprising the towns of Tabang, Malaueg, Tuao and Piat. The encomenderos then were
Pedro Barreda, Juan de Arranda and Isabel de Cardona. In 1604, the Bishop, Diego de Soria,
negotiated for more missionaries for the Itawes region. To help in the pacification and evangelization
of the region, the Dominicans introduced the devotion to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary: in 1604,
they brought the images of Our Lady from Macau and first enshrined it in Lallo, later bringing it to
Piat 1622.

Barangays[edit]
Piat is politically subdivided into 18 barangays.

[2]

Apayao
Aquib
Baung
Calaoagan
Catarauan
Dugayung
Gumarueng
Macapil
Maguilling
Minanga
Poblacion I
Poblacion II
Santa Barbara

Santo Domingo
Sicatna
Villa Rey (San Gaspar)
Villa Reyno
Warat

Demographics[edit]
Population census of Piat

Year

Pop. % p.a.

1990

17,771

1995

17,472 0.32%

2000

20,524 +3.51%

2007

22,211 +1.10%

2010

22,961 +1.22%

Source: National Statistics

Office[3]

Places to See[edit]

Front of the Minor Basilica of Piat in Piat, Cagayan

Basilica of Our Lady of Piat

A site visited by Roman Catholic pilgrims, believed to show miracles. The Basilica Minore
of Our Lady of Piat is one of only 12 minorbasilicas in the Philippines. It is distinguished as
the home to the venerated Black Virgin Mary. The interiors is of curved ceiling made of wood
with historical images and accounts at the top of the walls. On the altar lies the Blessed
Virgin Mary covered with a glass. There are also verandas inside the church which makes
the shrine elegant. At the back of the church are staircase leading to a window exactly
located at the back of the Virgin Mary wherein devotees can touch the dress of Our Lady.
Bukal ng Buhay
A spring that allegedly gives miracles and blessings. On April 2005, the spring started to
draw crowds of devotees tagged along by the lady who dreamed of the Miraculous Lady of
Visitation of Piat, insisting in her dream, while she was working abroad 10 years earlier, to go
personally to Piat to look for the hidden spring just near the sanctuary on the hill where this
[4]

Miraculous Lady is being enshrined. From that day on up to this day, this spring has become
a crowd drawer even people from the medical fields. These devotees when would share
stories on how they would get healed of their ailments, on how they would get over
their surgical operation schedules after they drink and wash themselves with the miraculous
water they draw from this Bukal ng Buhay. The bukal was featured on
several television documentaries in the Philippines such as Rated K and Kapuso Mo, Jessica
Soho.