Alfonso Lista

Potia was created as the municipal district by virtue of Republic Act (RA) No. 1222 on 11 May 1955, from the barrios of Potia, Dolowog, San Juan, San Quintin, Cabicalan, Pinto, Busilac, Santa Maria, and Namillangan in the municipal district of Mayoyao; the seat of government then was designated at Barrio Potia.^{[6][7][8][9][10]}

Originally called Mun-uupag ("bubbles of foam") by the Ifugao natives, Potia was derived from the term Putiak, a phenomenon wherein plants and flowers in the area opened their pods as they dried and cracked open. The administration of President Sergio Osmeña annexed the area presently composed of Alfonso Lista to present-day San Mateo, Isabela. However, due to opposition by local settlers in the area, a major part of the area was later transferred to Mayoyao of then Ifugao sub-province of the old Mountain Province.^[9]

On 25 June 1963, then President Diosdado Macapagal signed Executive No. 42 elevating Potia as a full pledged municipality.^[11]

On 18 June 1966, the old Mountain Province was divided into four political entities, one of which is Ifugao, by virtue of Republic Act No. 4763. Barrio Kiling was transferred from the adjacent Paracales (present-day Paracelis, Mountain Province) to Potia, thus finishing efforts to recover the "lost" territories of the municipality.^[12][10][13]

In 1959, the name of Potia was renamed Lista in honor of its first mayor (1955–1959), Alfonso Lista.^[10][13] It was formalized on 15 December 1988 through Republic Act No. 6687; Barangay Sta. Maria was confirmed as the seat of the municipal government.^{[14][8][9][15]}

However, several government documents including the Philippine Statistics Authority, Commission on Audit, and the municipality itself used the style "Alfonso Lista" as its name.

To avoid confusion with the name used on Republic Act No. 6687, on 24 May 2021, House Bill No. 9451, introduced by Rep. Solomon Chungalao of the Ifugao Lone District, was filed and approved.^[16][17]

On 2 June 2022, Republic Act No. 11813, the act renaming Lista as Alfonso Lista, lapsed into law. A plebiscite, having no final schedule yet, will be supervised by the Commission on Elections.^[18]

Alfonso Lista is situated 110.91 kilometres (68.92 mi) from the provincial capital Lagawe, and 391.99 kilometres (243.57 mi) from the country's capital city of Manila.

In the 2024 census, the population of Alfonso Lista was 34,810 people,^[26] with a density of 100 inhabitants per square kilometre or 260 inhabitants per square mile.

The indigenes are largely Ifugao, with smaller numbers of Bontoc and Gaddang originating in the surrounding areas.^[27] The majority of the population are Ilocano who began farming the area in the 1930s.^{[citation needed]}

Poverty incidence of Alfonso Lista

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]}

There are two schools district office which govern all educational institutions within the municipality. They oversee the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[37] These are the Alfonso Lista I Schools District Office, and Alfonso Lista II Schools District Office.

• List of renamed cities and municipalities in the Philippines