Isabela, Basilan

Isabela
Component city
City of Isabela
Basilan Provincial Capitol, former site of Fort Isabella Segunda
Seal
Map of Basilan with Isabela City highlighted
Isabela Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 6°42′N 121°58′E / 6.7°N 121.97°E / 6.7; 121.97Coordinates: 6°42′N 121°58′E / 6.7°N 121.97°E / 6.7; 121.97
Country	Philippines
Region	Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX)
Province	Basilan
District	Lone district of Basilan
Founded	1848
Cityhood	April 25, 2001
Barangays	45
Government
• Mayor	Al-Qaid Akbar
• Vice Mayor	Cherrylyn Santos-Akbar (Liberal Party)
Area
• Total	223.73 km2 (86.38 sq mi)
Population (2015 census)
• Total	112,788
• Density	500/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
ZIP code	7300
Dialing code	+63 (0)62
Income class	4th city income class
	099701000
Electorate	68,450 voters as of 2016
Website	www.isabelacity.ph

Isabela, officially the City of Isabela (Chavacano: Ciudad de Isabela; Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Isabela; Filipino: Lungsod ng Isabela), and often referred to as Isabela City, is a 4th class city and the capital of the province of Basilan, Philippines. It is also colloquially known as Isabela de Basilan to differentiate the city's name from the province of Isabela on Luzon island.

While administratively the island province of Basilan is part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Isabela City itself is in not part of this region and is placed under the Zamboanga Peninsula region.

Institutionally, the military has played a major part in Isabela City's and Basilan's volatile history, due to the ongoing conflicts borne out of the Moro Secessionist wars of the 1970s, and more recently, by Al Qaeda backed Islamic fundamentalist groups fomenting a running gun-battle with the Philippines' armed forces for more than a decade.

Also exerting great influence in everyday life is the Roman Catholic Church and the Islamic mufti and imams, religious scholars and leaders who exercise a moral ascendancy over their respective groups.

Trading and commerce are still predominantly East Asian (Hokkien Chinese), aided more so by a recent influx of immigrants from Taiwan and by Koreans as well.

Isabela's history is inadvertently inter-mingled with that of Basilan Island and the Sulu Archipelago, albeit culturally, Isabela is an extension of neighboring Zamboanga City.

Basilan's earliest settlers was traditionally believed to be the Orang Dampuans originating from the islands of Eastern Indonesia, who were the ancestors of the native Yakans. They are variously called the Orang Dyaks or the Tagihamas.