Libon, Albay

Libon, officially the Municipality of Libon (Central Bicolano: Banwaan kan Libon; Tagalog: Bayan ng Libon), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Albay, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 75,172 people. [3]

Libon
Municipality
Municipality of Libon
Map of Albay with Libon highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Libon
Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 13°18′N 123°26′E
Country Philippines
RegionBicol Region (Region V)
ProvinceAlbay
District3rd district
Founded1573
Barangays47 (see Barangays)
Government
 [1]
 • TypeSangguniang Bayan
 • MayorWilfredo "Das" V. Maronilla
 • Vice MayorMarkgregor Edward C. Sayson
 • RepresentativeFernando T. Cabredo
 • Electorate47,185 voters (2019)
Area
 [2]
 • Total222.76 km2 (86.01 sq mi)
Elevation
34 m (112 ft)
Population
 (2015 census) [3]
 • Total75,172
 • Density340/km2 (870/sq mi)
 • Households
15,461
Demonym(s)Libongueño
Economy
 • Income class1st municipal income class
 • Poverty incidence35.98% (2015)[4]
 • Revenue₱162,470,117.71 (2016)
Time zoneUTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code
4507
PSGC
050507000
IDD : area code +63 (0)52
Climate typetropical rainforest climate
Native languagesAlbay Bikol
Tagalog
Websitewww.libon.gov.ph

Libon is a first class municipality with a land area of 222.76 square kilometres (86.01 sq mi). It is about 37 kilometres (23 mi) west-north-west of the provincial capital of Albay Legazpi City, and about 300 kilometres (190 mi) east-south-east of Manila. It is classified as a partly urban municipality with 47 barangays.

Libon's major economic activities are agriculture and fishing. Its 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres) of ricelands produce 30.4 million kilos or 608,000 bags of palay per year. Libon is also the seat of the Pantao Port, a regional port facility linking the Masbate island province, the Visayas and Mindanao to mainland Bicol towards Southern Luzon and the National Capital Region.

Etymology

The town of Libon, as it is presently known was originally called Libong. It is not known when and how the letter "g" got dropped. Some writers believe that the Spaniards must have found it difficult to pronounce the word "Libong" with the letter g, so that in due time Libong became Libon. There are conflicting and various versions regarding the origin of the name Libong. Some say that the word must have been derived from the Bicol term "libong" or "ribong", meaning puzzled, dizziness, losing one's sense of direction, or becoming oriented. Others believe that the word Libon must have originated from a Spanish term "libon", which means "assault". Another version is that the word is a corruption of the Bicol word "libtong", meaning difficulty, obstacle or pool of stagnant water, which when applied to a place could mean a difficult or stagnant place. The more popular and perhaps more plausible version is the claim that Libon originated from the Bicol term "libong" or "ribong", and there is a story which seems to support this view. The story goes that Captain Juan de Salcedo and his men arrived in this place, by sailing across Lake Bato and entering the river called, Quimba. Sailing upstream, they finally landed in a place called Linao; (Linao is one of the barrios of Libon today and is situated on the banks of Quimba River). Here Salcedo and his men proceeded to find a town. However, after exploring the surrounding area and noting that Linao was at the foot of a mountain range, making it vulnerable to enemy attacks from the surrounding mountains, Salcedo and his men, with some natives as their guide, decided to move on to a more suitable place. Traveling across marshy land, they arrived at a slightly elevated area. Upon looking around and trying to determine where they were, one native guide remarked "libong aco". (I am confused). The Spaniards on hearing the word "libong" understood it to mean the name of the place. Hence, Salcedo named it "Santiago de Libon."

History

"The city of Libon draws its beginning to the “Second Expedition of Juan de Salcedo to the Bicol Region in 1573.”[5] Using the northern passageway to the region Salcedo arrived in 1571, following his uncle's (Miguel Lopez de Legazpi) cshortly after the seizure of Manila. Legazapi had commissioned his nephew to calm the area around Manila, and in the process Salcedo discovered a rumor that “somewhere beyond the mountains of southern Luzon was a placed called Paracale with its fabulous gold mines.“[5] He spent an undisclosed amount of time searching for the rumored mines, but returned to Manila upon the orders of his uncle vowing to return to the Bicol Region as soon as he could.

He accomplished this in early 1573. “Salcedo undertook his second trip to the Bicol Region retracing his first route and with the wealth of information that he gathered during his first arrival in the region, he led his men beyond Paracale.”[5] He continued upstream on the Bicol River upstream and reached its source, Bato Lake. On the shore of the lake Salcedo established the beginnings a "Settlement for Spaniards and named it Santiago de Libong."[5]

At present, it is also home to the notorious Conception Brothers. A rouge organization of bandits terrorizing the countryside with their guerilla style tactics of intimidation, abduction, murder, and robberies.

Saint James the Greater Parish
Santiago de Libong Patron Saint of Libon
Dancers of Libon in Libon Paroy Festival 2016.

In 1573, Juan de Salcedo set up the garrison named Santiago de Libong, and a church was constructed under the patronage of Saint James the Apostle. In 1578, when the Franciscans arrive, it was ceded to the province under San Gregorio Magno. A church made of red bricks was constructed in Linao in 1591. This church was destroyed in mid 17th century and a new church was constructed.

In 1847, the town was ceded to Albay from Camarines. Huerta reported that the new church was reconstructed by Vicente de Dosbarrios in 1865 and it was made of solid bricks, while the casa parroquial was made of stone. The church was destroyed by a strong earthquake in 1907 and it had to reconstructed with new materials.

Geography

Libon is located at 13°18′N 123°26′E.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 222.76 square kilometres (86.01 sq mi) [2] constituting 8.65% of the 2,575.77-square-kilometre- (994.51 sq mi) total area of Albay.

Barangays

Libon is politically subdivided into 47 barangays.[6]

PSGC Barangay Population ±% p.a.
2015 [3] 2010 [7]
050507001 Alongong 2.0% 1,529 1,403 ▴ 1.65%
050507002 Apud 2.6% 1,938 2,004 ▾ −0.64%
050507003 Bacolod 1.9% 1,450 1,211 ▴ 3.49%
050507011 Bariw 1.7% 1,297 1,206 ▴ 1.39%
050507012 Bonbon 5.1% 3,820 3,310 ▴ 2.77%
050507013 Buga 5.0% 3,748 3,503 ▴ 1.30%
050507014 Bulusan 2.9% 2,169 2,064 ▴ 0.95%
050507015 Burabod 2.7% 2,057 2,002 ▴ 0.52%
050507016 Caguscos 1.4% 1,051 980 ▴ 1.34%
050507017 East Carisac 1.3% 947 839 ▴ 2.33%
050507019 Harigue 1.2% 876 819 ▴ 1.29%
050507020 Libtong 1.2% 886 819 ▴ 1.51%
050507021 Linao 2.1% 1,544 1,445 ▴ 1.27%
050507022 Mabayawas 0.5% 404 473 ▾ −2.96%
050507023 Macabugos 3.8% 2,840 2,614 ▴ 1.59%
050507024 Magallang 0.7% 512 436 ▴ 3.11%
050507025 Malabiga 1.1% 857 966 ▾ −2.25%
050507026 Marayag 1.3% 966 1,099 ▾ −2.43%
050507027 Matara 1.2% 894 856 ▴ 0.83%
050507028 Molosbolos 1.4% 1,084 1,094 ▾ −0.17%
050507029 Natasan 1.4% 1,033 1,021 ▴ 0.22%
050507045 Niño Jesus (Santo Niño Jesus) 0.5% 342 390 ▾ −2.47%
050507030 Nogpo 3.0% 2,281 2,118 ▴ 1.42%
050507031 Pantao 9.2% 6,930 6,767 ▴ 0.45%
050507033 Rawis 3.0% 2,250 2,234 ▴ 0.14%
050507034 Sagrada Familia 2.2% 1,666 1,591 ▴ 0.88%
050507035 Salvacion 0.7% 518 475 ▴ 1.66%
050507036 Sampongan 0.6% 458 403 ▴ 2.47%
050507037 San Agustin 3.4% 2,570 2,460 ▴ 0.84%
050507038 San Antonio 2.0% 1,519 1,423 ▴ 1.25%
050507039 San Isidro 2.5% 1,883 1,670 ▴ 2.31%
050507040 San Jose 4.0% 2,982 2,973 ▴ 0.06%
050507041 San Pascual 1.6% 1,229 1,143 ▴ 1.39%
050507042 San Ramon 1.0% 764 795 ▾ −0.75%
050507043 San Vicente 4.0% 2,989 2,733 ▴ 1.72%
050507044 Santa Cruz 2.0% 1,514 1,443 ▴ 0.92%
050507046 Talin-Talin 2.1% 1,555 1,496 ▴ 0.74%
050507047 Tambo Walis 1.1% 862 838 ▴ 0.54%
050507049 Villa Petrona 2.0% 1,497 1,372 ▴ 1.67%
050507018 West Carisac 1.4% 1,053 1,014 ▴ 0.72%
050507004 Zone I (Poblacion) 2.0% 1,486 1,379 ▴ 1.43%
050507005 Zone II (Poblacion) 1.7% 1,249 1,287 ▾ −0.57%
050507006 Zone III (Poblacion) 0.9% 670 651 ▴ 0.55%
050507007 Zone IV (Poblacion) 2.4% 1,769 1,598 ▴ 1.95%
050507008 Zone V (Poblacion) 1.4% 1,068 994 ▴ 1.38%
050507009 Zone VI (Poblacion) 0.7% 531 571 ▾ −1.37%
050507010 Zone VII (Poblacion) 2.2% 1,635 1,545 ▴ 1.08%
Total 75,172 71,527 ▴ 0.95%

This festival was made to thank the industrious local farmers of Libon that planted rice into its 35% rice lands. It is celebrated every July 22–25.

Demographics
Population census of Libon
YearPop.±% p.a.
1903 4,616—    
1918 8,638+4.27%
1939 15,789+2.91%
1948 23,931+4.73%
1960 31,599+2.34%
1970 43,652+3.28%
1975 47,890+1.88%
1980 52,159+1.72%
1990 60,281+1.46%
1995 63,190+0.89%
2000 66,213+1.01%
2007 68,846+0.54%
2010 71,527+1.40%
2015 75,172+0.95%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [3] [7] [8][9]

In the 2015 census, Libon had a population of 75,172. [3] The population density was 340 inhabitants per square kilometre (880/sq mi).

Climate
Climate data for Libon, Albay
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 27
(81)		 28
(82)		 29
(84)		 31
(88)		 31
(88)		 30
(86)		 29
(84)		 29
(84)		 29
(84)		 29
(84)		 29
(84)		 28
(82)		 29
(84)
Average low °C (°F) 22
(72)		 22
(72)		 22
(72)		 24
(75)		 25
(77)		 25
(77)		 25
(77)		 25
(77)		 25
(77)		 24
(75)		 24
(75)		 23
(73)		 24
(75)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 55
(2.2)		 36
(1.4)		 45
(1.8)		 42
(1.7)		 114
(4.5)		 184
(7.2)		 245
(9.6)		 224
(8.8)		 238
(9.4)		 171
(6.7)		 130
(5.1)		 94
(3.7)		 1,578
(62.1)
Average rainy days 13.0 9.5 11.8 12.7 21.3 25.3 28.3 26.5 26.4 24.2 19.9 16.1 235
Source: Meteoblue [10]

References
  1.  Municipality of Libon | (DILG)
  2. "Province: Albay". PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  3. Census of Population (2015). "Region V (Bicol Region)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. PSA. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  4. "PSA releases the 2015 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Quezon City, Philippines. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  5. "History of Libon". www.geocities.ws. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  6. "Municipal: Libon, Albay". PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  7. Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region V (Bicol Region)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. NSO. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  8. Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region V (Bicol Region)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. NSO.
  9. "Province of Albay". Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  10. "Libon, Albay : Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
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