Итбаят: Филиппиннің Солтүстік Шеті

Municipality in Batanes, Philippines

Itbayat, officially the Municipality of Itbayat, (; ), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Batanes, Philippines. In the 2020 census, it had a population of 3,128 people. Itbayat is the country's northernmost municipality, located from the southernmost tip of Taiwan. The main island of Itbayat is the largest in Batanes. The municipality includes the rest of the province's northern islands, all small and mostly uninhabited. These islands are, from south to north: Di'nem Island, Siayan, Misanga, Ah'li, and Mavulis Island, the northernmost island of the Philippine archipelago.

A church and civil government were established in Batan Island in 1783. In 1855, civil authority was established and the mission canonically founded in Itbayat. A settlement during the Spanish colonial period, it became a municipal district when the Americans organized the province in 1909. In 1935, it became a municipality. On September 14, 2016, Typhoon Meranti (Ferdie) made landfall on Itbayat while at peak intensity, as a Category 5 equivalent super typhoon, with the center of the eye passing directly over the island. During landfall, the storm's powerful winds caused extensive damage and knocked out the island's communications systems. On July 27, 2019, a series of destructive earthquakes, the largest of them of magnitude 6.0, caused severe damage in the town. Nine people died as a result, and sixty were injured.

On April 4, 2024, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Local Government of Itbayat inaugurated the province’s first Municipal Tilapia Hatchery in Barangay Raele, Itbayat. “Now that you have your own tilapia hatchery, you will no longer need to ride big waves just to obtain your supply of fingerlings from other provinces in the mainland just to be able to conduct fish farming,” Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in his video message.

Barangay San Rafael, under Mayor Sabas de Sagon, is the site of the April 14 to June 6 exercise Balikatan construction of humanitarian, logistics and disaster relief warehouse at Sitio Kagonongan, a supply depot area at the San Rafael National Food Authority warehouse and an American physician’s assistant station and lodging facilities for American soldiers at Itbayat District Hospital.

Itbayat is located at
The municipality has a land area of It constitutes of the total area of Batanes.

The entire municipality of Itbayat constitutes several islands, islets, atolls and outcrops. Itbayat Island, the largest of the group is where the administrative center is located. Di'nem Island is located southeast of Itbayat island and part of the Ibayat group of islands. Mavulis Island, located between the northernmost Y'Ami and Itbayat island, is the second largest among the group. Nearby is Siayan island and Maysanga islet. Maysanga islet lies next and south of Mavulis island and north of Siayan island and part of the Ibayat group of islands. Siayan Island is located south of Mavulis island and part of the Ibayat group of islands under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Itbayat. North Island lies nearby Y'ami island and is part of the Ibayat group of islands. At least two outcrops can be found nearby. Y'Ami Island, the northernmost of the Itbayat group under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Itbayat. It is the northernmost point of the Philippines and the last territorial island bordering Taiwan.

Itbayat is politically subdivided into five barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Itbayat has cooler temperatures from December to February due to its northerly location.

In the 2020 census, Itbayat had a population of 3,128. The population density was .

Itbayat belongs to the lone congressional district of the province of Batanes. It 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 held every three years.

+ Members of the Municipal Council(2019–2022) Position Name Congressman Ciriaco B. Gato Jr. Mayor Raul M. De SagonVice Mayor Ronald V. Gutierrez Councilors Sabas C. De Sagon Jonel C. Villa Zenas N. Labrador Ernesto A. Castillo Ferdinand G. Asa Emerson V. Valiente Alexander Valiente Onesimo G. Manzo

The Schools Division of Batanes 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.