[5] In 1930, five families supposedly from Batac, Ilocos Norte settled in Lublub, an area inhabited by Bugkalots which was later organized as a sitio of barrio Marikit[7] when the inhabitants increased; Virgilio Castillo was the first teniente del barrio.

[7] In 1974,[8] residents headed by village chief Alfredo Castillo, Sr. requested Assemblyman Carlos Padilla to convert the barrio into a municipality in Nueva Vizcaya.

27, authored and sponsored by Padilla,[7] was issued by President Ferdinand Marcos on April 20, 1979; two barangays, including Lublub which was designated the seat of government, and seven sitios in Dupax del Sur, and four barangays and a sitio in Dupax del Norte, were separated to constitute into an independent municipality named after the first provincial governor to come from a cultural minority.

Poverty incidence of Alfonso Castañeda Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Alfonso Castañeda, belonging to the lone congressional district of the province of Nueva Vizcaya, 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 Schools Division of Nueva Vizcaya governs the town's public education system.