The Malaweg of Philippines

The Malaweg of Philippines, numbering approximately 22,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indigenous Cagayan Valley people centered on Rizal along the Matalag River, closely related culturally and linguistically to neighboring Itawit and Ibanag communities. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Itawit is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Malaweg

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino Tribal
Primary Language(s): Itawit (itv)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 22,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046615
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Malaweg of Philippines

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

73%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Itawit
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Itawit Speakers

Media Resources in Itawit:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Itawit:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2009 Scripture Translation for Every People✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Itawit bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Malaweg are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Malaweg:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Malaweg of Philippines

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
read1 Chronicles 16:26

Pray that those among them who are lost and seeking after worthless idols will have the opportunity to hear and respond to the good news, seeing that Jesus is better than any idol.

"O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me."
readJohn 17:25

Pray that the lost will come to know the Father and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent, and that they will be filled with His love and grace.

But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.
readHebrews 10:38

Pray that as people trust in Christ, they will live by faith and not shrink back from their hope in Christ.

And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
readMatthew 10:14-15

Pray for God to raise up and send out believers to share the gospel with those in this people group who do not yet follow Christ. Pray that they will be welcomed with open arms so that the people they share with will hear and receive the good news with joy.

Malaweg Across Countries (ROP3 - 106137) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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