is a landlocked
Province of the
Philippines in the
Cordillera Administrative Region in
Luzon . Its capital is
Bangued , and it borders
Ilocos Norte and
Apayao on the north,
Ilocos Sur and
Mountain Province on the south,
Ilocos Norte and
Ilocos Sur on the west, and
Kalinga , and
Apayao on the east.
Abra's inhabitants are mostly descendants of
Ilocano settlers and members of the
Tingguian tribe.As of 2005, the population of the province is 211,095.
The predominant languages are
Ilocano and
Itneg . Based on the
1995 census survey,
Ilocano is generally spoken by 73.65% of the region's total population. 25.18% speak
Itneg , 0.16% speak
Tagalog , and the remaining 0.54% speak other dialects.
As of
1990 , there were 743 cottage industries in Abra, of which 208 are registered with the
Department Of Trade And Industry . 59% are engaged in
Bamboo and
Rattan craft making, both leading industries in the area.
In
1992 , the natural dye industry, together with loom weaving and embroidery, was revived by former Governor
Ma. Zita Claustro-Valera , the first woman governor of Abra.
Abra's economy is agriculture-based. Its major crops are
Rice ,
Corn , and root crops; and commercial produce are
Coffee ,
Tobacco , and
Coconut . Extensive grassland and pasture areas are used for
Livestock production.
Abra is subdivided into 27
Municipalities .
Abra is hemmed in by the towering mountain ranges of the Ilocos in the west and the Cordillera Central in the east. It has an extremely rugged terrain, with mountains and hills rising along its perimeter and interior. The plains are drained by the
Abra River , which flows northward from
Mt. Data in the
Mountain Province .
The first inhabitants of Abra were the ancestors of the
Bontocs and the
Ifugaos . These inhabitants eventually left to settle in the old
Mountain Province . Other early inhabitants were the
Tingguians , or
Itnegs , as they are also known.
In
1598 a
Spanish garrison was established in
Bangued to protect the
Ilocanos who converted to
Christianity from
Tingguian raids. During the
British Invasion ,
Gabriela Silang and her army fled to Abra from Ilocos and continued the revolt begun by her slain husband,
Diego Silang . She was captured and hang by the
Spanish in
1763 .
In
1818 the Ilocos region, including Abra, was divided into
Ilocos Norte and
Ilocos Sur . In
1846 Abra was created as a political-military province with
Lepanto as a sub-province. It remained so until the arrival of the
Americans in
1899 .
In
1908 the
Philippine Commission once again in annexed Abra to
Ilocos Sur in an attempt to resolve Abra's financial difficulties. But on
March 9 ,
1917 , the
Philippine Assembly reestablished Abra as a province.
The revolutionary priest,
Father Conrado Balweg , who fought for the rights of the Cordillera tribes, began his crusade in Abra. After successfully negotiating a peace accord with Balweg's group in
1987 , the Philippine government created the
Cordillera Administrative Region , which includes Abra.
