Santo Tomas, Isabela

The municipality was established in 1949 from several barrios of Cabagan.^[8]

In 1952, Santo Tomas lost two barrios when the barrios of Abut and Minagbag were transferred to the newly created town of Mallig.^[9] In 1961, those barrios were transferred to the newly created municipality of Quezon.^[10]

Santo Tomas is a landlocked municipality situated in the northern portion of the province of Isabela. It is bounded to the west by Quezon, to the south by Delfin Albano, to the southeast by Tumauini, to the north and northeast by Cabagan and the Cagayan River.

Santo Tomas is situated 45.06 kilometres (28.00 mi) from the provincial capital Ilagan, and 473.98 kilometres (294.52 mi) from the country's capital city of Manila.

In the 2024 census, the population of Santo Tomas was 25,997 people,^[18] with a density of 400 inhabitants per square kilometre or 1,000 inhabitants per square mile.

Poverty incidence of Santo Tomas

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]}

Farming is its primary source of income. The most widespread plantations were rice, corn and tobacco farms. Locals also raise livestock for extra income.

The Schools Division of Isabela governs the town's public education system.^[30] The division office is a field office of the DepEd in Cagayan Valley region.^[31] The Sto. Tomas Schools District Office governs the public and private elementary and high schools throughout the municipality.^[32]