The Province of Isabela Reigns... by chance or by choice?

“Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice.” So goes an old adage.

History has it that before 1856, there were only the provinces of Cagayan and Nueva Vizcaya to comprise Region 02. A Royal Decree issued on May 1, 1856 created the province of Isabela from a portion of the province of Cagayan and a portion of the province of Nueva Vizcaya.

Did anyone before, at the time it was created, predict that this province would reign and go far ahead than the rest in the race of economic progress?

Not by chance.

The name “Isabela” was given to the province in honor of Her Royal Highness Queen Isabela II of Spain. Certainly, it is not for this reason that today, Isabela is dubbed “Queen Province of the North”.

Like Isabela, other provinces share of the vast natural wealth of the country – vast lands with wide spans extensively covered with forests and mineral resources, long stretches of coastlines and many more.

Yet, indisputably, the province of Isabela has now much more to boast than the rest in northern Philippines.

It has remained the country’s top corn producer and 2^nd in rice – tagged as Hybrid Rice Champion and is considered the most outstanding province on food security.

It is far progressing in terms of trade and industry, true to its name as Regional Trade and Industrial Center of north eastern Luzon.

The second largest province in the Philippines with thirty-four municipalities and three cities, Isabela is the richest province in Cagayan Valley and one of the more progressive provinces in the country. 

It is the only province in northern Luzon to be included in the list of the richest provinces in the country.

Three huge investments have been poured to the province such as the P500 million corn processing plant – the largest in Southeast Asia; the 360 megawatt Magat Hydroelectric Power Plant and the P54 million ethanol plant. Other big investors have also located in the cities and more are finding their way to the province to establish their companies.

As this is happening, there is really no more stopping the fast and tremendous growth of the province of Isabela.