[3] The name “Manabo” came from the word “Anabo”, a thorny herb used for making twines of rope, growing luxuriantly in the fields between San Jose Sur and Poblacion.

One time during the Spanish regime, a group of Spaniards passed by the place and asked the name of the thorny herb.

They settled in the place before the arrival of the Spaniards and the Tinguians were known to be peace loving people.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 110.95 square kilometres (42.84 sq mi) [5] constituting 2.66% of the 4,165.25-square-kilometre- (1,608.21 sq mi) total area of Abra.

Poverty Incidence of Manabo Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Manabo, belonging to the lone congressional district of the province of Abra, 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.