Villaverde, Nueva Vizcaya

Villaverde, officially the Municipality of Villaverde (Ili ti Villaverde; Bayan ng Villaverde), also spelled as Villa Verde, is a 5th class municipality in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 20,118 people.

Etymology
The town got its name in honor of the Spanish Missionary, father Juan Villaverde.

Spanish era
Villaverde was formerly a barrio of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya called Ibung, founded by a Dominican Friar named Alejandro Vidal in 1767. More than a century later, an order from the Spanish Government was issued to Father Juan Villaverde giving instruction to organize into a town. Thus, on May 28, 1872, Ibung became a town of the province of Nueva Vizcaya. Ibung was originally settled by christianized Ifugaos resettled from the area of Kiangan who later abandoned the town after a malaria epidemic in 1890, whereupon they were replaced by Ilocano migrants.

American era
When the American took over, Ibung lost its status as a town because of insufficient funds. Moreover, most of the people residing in the area have transferred to an adjoining towns for fear of their lives from non-Christian tribes who dwelt in Cordillera mountains in the north-west part of the town. Ibung became a barangay of the municipality of Solano again.

Philippine independence
On June 17, 1957, through the sponsorship of the Congressman Leonardo B. Perez, Republic Act. No. 197 was enacted providing for the creation of the town Ibung through the separation of the barrios of Ibung and Bintawan from Solano. On September 1, 1957, Antonio B. Aquino was appointed as the first mayor of Ibung.

Two years later, on June 21, 1959, Republic Act. No. 2515 was enacted amending Republic Act. No. 1972 changing the name of the town from Ibung to Villaverde in honor of Father Juan Villaverde who had organized the town. Romualdo Ubando was appointed as the first Municipal Mayor at that time. In 1963, Antonio B. Aquino was the first elected Mayor after renaming the town.

In 1986, the town's mayor, Romualdo Bediones, was abducted by the New People's Army and held until he was tried by a kangaroo court and executed in public.

Geography
About 280 km from Manila and 14 km from the capital town of Bayombong; lies on the northern district of the province and is bounded by Lamut, Ifugao on the North; Solano on the South; Bagabag on the East, and Ambaguio on the West. Villaverde has a total land area of 81.50 square kilometers, the smallest town which accounts for 1.86% of the total land area of Nueva Vizcaya.

Barangays
Villaverde is politically subdivided into 9 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Barangay Poblacion where the Municipal Hall is located and Barangays Ibung, Bintawan Norte and Bintawan Sur as the commercial and educational center of the town.


 * Bintawan Norte
 * Bintawan Sur
 * Cabuluan
 * Ibung
 * Nagbitin
 * Ocapon
 * Pieza
 * Poblacion (Turod)
 * Sawmill

Demographics
In the 2020 census, Villaverde had a population of 20,118. The population density was undefined PD/km2.

Local government
Villaverde, belonging to the lone congressional district of the province of Nueva Vizcaya, 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.

Education
The Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya 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.

Secondary schools

 * Bintawan National High School
 * Our Lady of Fatima School of Villaverde