Alburquerque, Bohol
Encyclopedia
Alburquerque is a 5th class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines
. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 9,644 people.
The town's short name is "Albur". Alburquerque is reputed to have one of the longest (23 feet or 7 meters as of 2005) and heaviest (300 kg or 660 lbs) python in captivity.
, the people had difficulty in attending Holy Mass during Sundays. To solve the problem, the people thought of the idea of constructing their own chapel and let a priest from Baclayon come to serve the people. Lady Mariona Irag, a prominent lady in the community took the mantle of leadership. In 1842, she requested the parish priest of Baclayon, Fr. Pedro de la Encarnacion, to supervise the construction of the chapel to be built by the people.
The first kapitan of the place was Pedro Jala who lived in the sitio of Carnago and the leader of Segunto. Carnago, a barrio separated from the town. Its name was changed to Sikatuna, in honor of the chieftain Datu Sikatuna
, who made a blood compact with Spanish Conquistador, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi.
On June 9, 1868, Gov. General Jose de la Gandara, issued the decree establishing the new town of Alburquerque in its civil jurisdiction. On November 14, 1868, the Fr. Provincial of the Recollects approved the creation of the town as to its religious jurisdiction. On June 18, 1869, the Bishop of Cebu in which Bohol was a part of the Diocese, made Alburquerque a separate Diocesan parish. It was advocated to Sta. Monica.
On June 26, 1869 Fr. Tomas Hernandez assumed his post as the first curate Priest of Alburquerque.
, the famous Portuguese
seafarer and conqueror of Malaca, Sumatra. The name Alburquerque (from either albus querqus, meaning "white evergreen" in Latin
; or Abu-al-Qurq, meaning "country of cork oaks" in Arabic
) is very widespread in all of the Americas
and the Philippines.
Alburquerque
is also a name of a town in the province of Badajoz
, region of Extremadura, Spain. There is also a place called Albuquerque in the ancient town of Mexico, once a colony of Spain for several years, not to be confused with Albuquerque, New Mexico
.
Since then, Segunto was changed to Alburquerque and its inhabitants are called Alburanons, (Alburquerqueños in Spanish).
on June 9, 1868. It is located in the eastern part of Bohol 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) away from Tagbilaran City
. It is classified as a 5th class municipality of the 1st Congressional District of Bohol with an IRA share of Php 8,891,774.00 as of 1999. It has an average annual income of Php 8,116,682.49. The town is politically divided into eleven (11) barangays characterized as Coastal and Upland. Coastal barangays includes: Bahi, San Agustin, Western Poblacion, Eastern Poblacion, Sta. Felomina, and Tagbuane. Upland barangays includes Ponong, Toril, Basacdacu, Cantiguib and Dangay.
The town has a total land area of 2,865 has. with relatively mild rolling to rolling and hilly. The total land used as built-up area is 216.52 ha, agricultural purposes is 2,511 ha, timberland is 15 ha, mining/quarrying is 44.30 ha, roads is 72.79 ha, and landfill site is 5 ha. The town's soil cover includes 438.92 ha of Bolinao Clay, 1,330.22 ha of Lugo Clay, 1,050.02 ha of Faraon Clay, and 45.84 ha of Hydrosol.
Based on the 2000 census, Albur has a total of 8,715 inhabitants, with a population density of 3.01 inhabitants per hectare of land and an average population growth rate of 2.31%. It is composed of 1,670 households. In 1997, its birth rate is 13.4% and death rate of 6.5% with infant mortality rate of 9.3%. It has a poverty incidence household below threshold level) of 41.99% based on the 1997 MAN survey. Alburanons speak in Cebuano/Visayas dialect.
The town's major agricultural project is the "Gintong Ani" project in all barangays. One industry is situated in Eastern Poblacion - the Santisima Trinidad Ice Plant. There are 66 micro type and 2 cottage size of registered business establishments with a total combined Investments of Php 1.5 million. The existing tourists destinations are Sta. Monica Stone Church and Convent, Sta. Fe Beach Resort, Calamay making, Ceramics making, salt making, Loom weaving, basket and broom-making. The potential attractions are Tarsiers Park, Lourdes Spring, Aquarium Fish, Butterfly Sanctuary.
There are ongoing tourism activities like the restoration of Sta. Monica Stone Church & Convent, beautification of Church Plaza, Town twinning, development of Sta. Fe Beach, Mang Pandoy's Scheme (if possible all households will be available for tourists), retirement homes for Balikbayan. The town has a Labor Force of 37% with an employment rate of 90%. The average family income is Php 4,500.00/month with an average family expenditures of Php 4,000.00/month.
In infrastructure, Albur's road network is classified into: national, which is 4.323 kilometres (2.686 mi); provincial 7.274 kilometres (4.52 mi); municipal 3.779 kilometres (2.348 mi); and barangay which covers 60.206 kilometres (37.41 mi). It has 1 bridge to barangay Tagbuane which is the 39 L.M. Bridge. It has also 1 fishport. The power supply is currently distributed by the Bohol Electric Cooperative I (BOHECO I) which served a total of 1,281 households in the 11 barangays. The main source of potable water supply is groundwater. The total potable water demand of 1,068.42 m³/day. There are two public calling offices; the Philippine Long Distance Telecommunication and ISLACOM and a SMART land line PCO. It also has the Philippine Postal Corporation as a means of communication.
is sufficient to satisfy the water demand of 65 m³/d for irrigation purposes.
The 1998 population is estimated to 7,924 (274/km²), which is projected to increase to 7,948 (275/km²) in 2030.
Urban population in 1998 is estimated to 2,888 (36.44% of total). It is projected to increase to 3,861 (48.58% of total) by year 2030. The urban population is located in three barangays namely, East and West Poblacion and Ponong.
The rural population in 1998 is estimated to 5,036 (63.55% of total), which is projected to decrease to 4,087 (51.42% of total) by year 2030.
The potable water demand, including domestic, industrial, institutional and commercial water demands of urban and rural population, is estimated in 1998 to 926 m³/d, which is projected to increase to 1,529 m³/d in 2030. Majority of this water demand (67.4%) in 2030 is for urban population.
The water demand estimated to 65 m³/d, is required to irrigate 0.015 km² of land, located in 1 irrigation system in barangay Ponong.
The Animal Kingdom Federation, Inc. (AKFI), an SEC registered, non-profit and non-stock animal welfare organization registered with the Animal Welfare Division of the Bureau of Animal Industry recently vowed to build an animal sanctuary here. The AKFI made this commitment after hearing reports on the 23 feet (7 m) long python locally called baksan, owned by Sofronio Salibay in Barangay Sta. Filomena, has been fed with stray dogs.
The python has caught the attention of many local and foreign tourists, not only for its size but particularly on how it has been fed. It even caught the attention of GMA 7 who sent a crew to document the procedure. Feeding is done during full moon. Alarmed by the reports, AKFI requested Mayor Efren Tungol to stop Salibay from feeding the python with dogs since it is a clear violation of Republic Act No. 8485, otherwise known as the Animal Welfare Act. The Mayor agreed. However, in order to preserve the python, which has become a tourist attraction, AKFI, represented by its Director Charles Wartenberg, sealed a memorandum of support and cooperation with the municipality creating the site as an animal sanctuary. The memorandum, aside from manifesting full implementation of RA 8485, also reiterates the improvement of the cage based on animal welfare standards and introduction of alternative feeding. Creating an animal sanctuary would make Albur the only Animal Welfare Friendly Municipality in the country. AKFI is also associated with the International Wildlife Coalition Trust (IWCT), an internationally recognized organization founded in the United States dedicated to the protection of global wildlife and natural habitat protection.
Ray Francia signed the church's interior ceiling painting on one side of the choir loft. Another section, now vanished, showed that the painting was carried out from April 12 to August 3, 1932. As regards the church bells, amongst them in the quadrangular tower are three bells, inscribed with the patron saints of the parish (Santa Monica, San Agustin, and "Calipay" or Joy). Dated 1866, two years before the ecclesiastical recognition of the parish, the bells are mute testimonies to the anxiety of the community in becoming an independent parish.
As to the casa parroquial, the year 1876 is etched over the porta maior. However, in the center of the entrance arches to the steps, the year 1884 could be read until recently.
Household buri weaving project in Basacdacu The weaver processes and weaves her buri cloth at home from local young buri leaves. She produces a roll of 4 place mats joined by a finer buri weave. The Toril barangay captain also buys these for export to Cebu where the place mats are cut from the roll. The weaver gets P14 per place mat (P56 per roll of 4). She also sells the midribs of the buri palm leaf for basket making at P12 for 100, and bundles of bure stems (pawa) to Tagbuane barangay for broom making for P23 a bundle.
The "spears" of young buri leaves are now mostly bought from Inabanga municipality using funds from the Self-Employment Assistant Program (SEAP) of the Social Welfare Program. Weavers process the leaves themselves, though colored fibers used for the few 5 inches (127 mm)-square glass coasters made there are bought ready-dyed from Inabanga.
The weavers separate the young buri leaves from the "spears", strip the fiber from them with a knife, bleach them by soaking them in water containing oxalic acid
, then sun dry them at their homes. They then tie the fibers in sequence to make long skeins for weaving. At the Center they weave this white buri into 8-meter lengths of cloth, 30 inches wide. The cloth is rolled up as it is woven, and one 8-meter roll takes one person about five days (a working week) of weaving from 9 am to 5 pm at the Center.
The barangay captain of Toril buys 30 rolls of the cloth at a time for P280 per roll. He does not impose a deadline and gives a cash advance for the cloth. He exports this to Cebu from the town of Tubigon from where other orders are sometimes negotiated. The Center once obtained an order for 100 rolls from Manila, but was unable to meet the deadline, and the buyer refused the cloth already made as he considered it of poor quality. In the past the weavers at the Center made the cloth into bags and wall or ceiling-coverings, but no longer do so, probably because the finished product was harder to sell than the rolls of cloth. The only finished products still produced at the Center are coasters, which are sold in Bohol. The main problem the weavers perceive is the difficulty of obtaining markets for their buri cloth.
On the larger brushes, an extra bundle of fibers is added to each side of the fan of fibers, and tied in several places to the broom handle by encircling them and the handle with strong plastic twine. A few green or red fibers are included on each side for decoration. The ends of these extra fibers are cut straight on the handle, and the broom is made stronger by sewing through all the fibers across the narrower part of the fan-shaped broom. Small brooms sell individually for P5, larger ones for P12 and the biggest for P18. Mrs. Tubera has an order from a businessman in Poblacion who sends them to Davao, Mindanao. She receives P120 for a dozen medium-sized brooms, and makes 10 dozen per month, so earns P1,200 each month with which she is putting her son through college.
There are 50 households making brooms in the area, and it was not clear whether they all sell to the same middleman.
The fibrous husks of a large number of coconuts are placed in pits on the landward edge of the mangrove area. These fill with seawater at high tide, and this is retained in the pits for the salt water to be absorbed into the fiber of the husks. (Or perhaps the salt water drains away with each low tide and is replenished with each high tide?) After an unspecified time of soaking, the husks are removed from the salt water and allowed to dry, before being burnt in the center of the salt-making hut to leave a fine ash mixed with salt.
The ashes is then packed in a cone of bamboo about 1½ meters high. Seawater is poured into the top of the cone and leaches out the salt in the ash as it passes through. The water is caught in a wooden trough below the cone. This extra-salty water is then put into very small clay pots, and these pots wedged together in a series of "bridges" across a large gutter made from compacted coconut husk ash. A fire of palm wood is stoked beneath the suspended pots to "cook" the salty water. The water evaporates, leaving the dry salt in the pot. More and more of the super-salty water from the ash-filled cone is continually added to the pots, and the fire kept burning, until the pots are full to the brim with salt. It takes one day to obtain the ash from the dried coconut husks, and 100 pots can be filled with dry salt over the fire in 3 hours.
Albur has 1 public secondary school, the San Roque High School. It has also 4 elementary schools for intermediate level and 3 primary schools. It has also a total of 11 day care centers, one center in each barangay and 1 private pre-school. Enrollment data shows that day care has a total of 191 pupils, primary level has 166 pupils, 892 in elementary and 795 students in secondary. The actual number of teachers in the municipality is only 63 and the teacher student ratio in elementary is 1:24 and 1:43 in secondary level.
s.
Census 2000
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 9,644 people.
The town's short name is "Albur". Alburquerque is reputed to have one of the longest (23 feet or 7 meters as of 2005) and heaviest (300 kg or 660 lbs) python in captivity.
The Beginning
During the Spanish era, the way to travel around Bohol was by sea. Many coastal areas with a sheltered cove or harbor became progressive settlements. Among them was a place called "Lo-oc", Baclayon, Bohol. As the name implies, it was a sheltered cove good for berthing seacrafts. It was also the breeding place of the "Bulinaw" or anchovie. Since Lo-oc was relatively far from the PoblacionPoblacion
A Poblacion or Población, literally "town" or "Population" in Spanish, is the name commonly used for the central barangay or barangays of a Philippine city or municipality. Common features of the poblacion include a town plaza, church, market, school and town hall. It is sometimes shortened to...
, the people had difficulty in attending Holy Mass during Sundays. To solve the problem, the people thought of the idea of constructing their own chapel and let a priest from Baclayon come to serve the people. Lady Mariona Irag, a prominent lady in the community took the mantle of leadership. In 1842, she requested the parish priest of Baclayon, Fr. Pedro de la Encarnacion, to supervise the construction of the chapel to be built by the people.
The first kapitan of the place was Pedro Jala who lived in the sitio of Carnago and the leader of Segunto. Carnago, a barrio separated from the town. Its name was changed to Sikatuna, in honor of the chieftain Datu Sikatuna
Datu Sikatuna
Datu Sikatuna was the Datu in the island of Bohol in the Philippines. His real name was "Katuna" but "Si" was added to his name as this is a nominative marker for a Filipino...
, who made a blood compact with Spanish Conquistador, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi.
On June 9, 1868, Gov. General Jose de la Gandara, issued the decree establishing the new town of Alburquerque in its civil jurisdiction. On November 14, 1868, the Fr. Provincial of the Recollects approved the creation of the town as to its religious jurisdiction. On June 18, 1869, the Bishop of Cebu in which Bohol was a part of the Diocese, made Alburquerque a separate Diocesan parish. It was advocated to Sta. Monica.
On June 26, 1869 Fr. Tomas Hernandez assumed his post as the first curate Priest of Alburquerque.
The name
This town was formerly called "Sagunto", but according to the research of Engr. Jess Tirol in Manila, this town was called "Segunto". Local folklore say that Alburquerque was in honor of Afonso de AlbuquerqueAfonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque[p][n] was a Portuguese fidalgo, or nobleman, an admiral whose military and administrative activities as second governor of Portuguese India conquered and established the Portuguese colonial empire in the Indian Ocean...
, the famous Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
seafarer and conqueror of Malaca, Sumatra. The name Alburquerque (from either albus querqus, meaning "white evergreen" in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
; or Abu-al-Qurq, meaning "country of cork oaks" in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
) is very widespread in all of the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
and the Philippines.
Alburquerque
Alburquerque, Badajoz
Alburquerque is a town in the province of Badajoz in Spain. It has 5,600 inhabitants. It is very close to the border with Portugal and was an ancient dominion of the kings of this country...
is also a name of a town in the province of Badajoz
Badajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257....
, region of Extremadura, Spain. There is also a place called Albuquerque in the ancient town of Mexico, once a colony of Spain for several years, not to be confused with Albuquerque, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
.
Since then, Segunto was changed to Alburquerque and its inhabitants are called Alburanons, (Alburquerqueños in Spanish).
Municipal Profile
Alburquerque was recognized as an official town in BoholBohol
Bohol is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of Bohol Island and 75 minor surrounding islands. Its capital is Tagbilaran City. With a land area of and a coastline long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines...
on June 9, 1868. It is located in the eastern part of Bohol 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) away from Tagbilaran City
Tagbilaran City
Tagbilaran City is a 2nd class component city in the island province of Bohol, Philippines and serves as its capital. Tagbilaran lies on the southwestern part of the province, and has a total land area of 32.7 km², with about 13 km of coastline...
. It is classified as a 5th class municipality of the 1st Congressional District of Bohol with an IRA share of Php 8,891,774.00 as of 1999. It has an average annual income of Php 8,116,682.49. The town is politically divided into eleven (11) barangays characterized as Coastal and Upland. Coastal barangays includes: Bahi, San Agustin, Western Poblacion, Eastern Poblacion, Sta. Felomina, and Tagbuane. Upland barangays includes Ponong, Toril, Basacdacu, Cantiguib and Dangay.
The town has a total land area of 2,865 has. with relatively mild rolling to rolling and hilly. The total land used as built-up area is 216.52 ha, agricultural purposes is 2,511 ha, timberland is 15 ha, mining/quarrying is 44.30 ha, roads is 72.79 ha, and landfill site is 5 ha. The town's soil cover includes 438.92 ha of Bolinao Clay, 1,330.22 ha of Lugo Clay, 1,050.02 ha of Faraon Clay, and 45.84 ha of Hydrosol.
Based on the 2000 census, Albur has a total of 8,715 inhabitants, with a population density of 3.01 inhabitants per hectare of land and an average population growth rate of 2.31%. It is composed of 1,670 households. In 1997, its birth rate is 13.4% and death rate of 6.5% with infant mortality rate of 9.3%. It has a poverty incidence household below threshold level) of 41.99% based on the 1997 MAN survey. Alburanons speak in Cebuano/Visayas dialect.
The town's major agricultural project is the "Gintong Ani" project in all barangays. One industry is situated in Eastern Poblacion - the Santisima Trinidad Ice Plant. There are 66 micro type and 2 cottage size of registered business establishments with a total combined Investments of Php 1.5 million. The existing tourists destinations are Sta. Monica Stone Church and Convent, Sta. Fe Beach Resort, Calamay making, Ceramics making, salt making, Loom weaving, basket and broom-making. The potential attractions are Tarsiers Park, Lourdes Spring, Aquarium Fish, Butterfly Sanctuary.
There are ongoing tourism activities like the restoration of Sta. Monica Stone Church & Convent, beautification of Church Plaza, Town twinning, development of Sta. Fe Beach, Mang Pandoy's Scheme (if possible all households will be available for tourists), retirement homes for Balikbayan. The town has a Labor Force of 37% with an employment rate of 90%. The average family income is Php 4,500.00/month with an average family expenditures of Php 4,000.00/month.
In infrastructure, Albur's road network is classified into: national, which is 4.323 kilometres (2.686 mi); provincial 7.274 kilometres (4.52 mi); municipal 3.779 kilometres (2.348 mi); and barangay which covers 60.206 kilometres (37.41 mi). It has 1 bridge to barangay Tagbuane which is the 39 L.M. Bridge. It has also 1 fishport. The power supply is currently distributed by the Bohol Electric Cooperative I (BOHECO I) which served a total of 1,281 households in the 11 barangays. The main source of potable water supply is groundwater. The total potable water demand of 1,068.42 m³/day. There are two public calling offices; the Philippine Long Distance Telecommunication and ISLACOM and a SMART land line PCO. It also has the Philippine Postal Corporation as a means of communication.
Physiography
The municipality of Alburquerque covers an area of 28.93 km² or 0.77% of Bohol’s mainland area. It is composed of eleven (11) barangays, from which 5 are located along the coast and 6 inland. The road network shown in Figure 1, is not updated. The central part of municipality, from the east extending toward northwest is characterized by rolling to moderately steep terrain (18-30% slope), with ground elevation ranging from 80 to 131 m amsl. The area in northeastern and southwestern part is characterized by steep terrain (30–50% slope), with ground elevation up to 153 m amsl. The southeastern part is characterized with undulating to rolling terrain (8–18% slope) with ground elevation up to 60 m amsl. The area along the coast is characterized by level to nearly level terrain (0-3% slope), with ground elevation ranging from zero near the coast to 10 m amsl inland. Alburquerque municipality is covered by Hydrosol and three (3) sorts of clay namely, Faraon, Bolinao and Lugo clay. The northern portion of municipality is covered mostly by Lugo clay, the southern half portion is mostly covered by Faraon and Bolinao clay, while Hydrosol has a very limited extent along the coast. For more detailed description of different types of soils refer to Appendix 2. The municipal area is covered by grassland, coconut, shrubs and built-up area. The northern portion is mostly covered with grass, with exception of small area in the northeast, which is covered with shrubs. The southern portion along the coast is covered with coconut, with a small built-up area in the west. The whole Bohol is in the Corona's climate type IV, characterized by evenly distributed rainfall over the year. The average annual rainfall is estimated to 1,627 mm/yr. The average annual rainfall is the sum of the average annual rainfall from respective river basin, multiplied with percentage of respective municipal area within respective river basin.Rivers and river basins
Several small rivers and creeks, which have their headwaters in the elevated terrain in the northern part, traverse the Alburquerque municipality. These rivers and creeks flow in generally north to south direction and drain the major part of municipality into Bohol Sea. The only major river basin is the Tagbuane RB situated on the eastern part of Alburquerque (19.94 km² or 94.64% of municipal area). The municipality of Albuquerque has a poorly developed drainage system, due to presence of permeable limestone, which covers most of municipal area and enables infiltration of large portion of effective rainfall into underground. This is characteristic for karstified limestone terrain. Surface water runoff (estimated to 304 mm/yr. per km²), is estimated to 24,100 m³/d on the average. The surface runoffSurface runoff
Surface runoff is the water flow that occurs when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess water from rain, meltwater, or other sources flows over the land. This is a major component of the water cycle. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called a nonpoint source...
is sufficient to satisfy the water demand of 65 m³/d for irrigation purposes.
Demographics
The population projection is based on 1995 NSO census and the population growth rate from NEDA’s population projection 1980-2030, medium assumption, for every 5 years for urban and rural barangays (for details refer to Table 5.4 in the Report on Physiographic & Socio-Economic Conditions in the Bohol Province).The 1998 population is estimated to 7,924 (274/km²), which is projected to increase to 7,948 (275/km²) in 2030.
Urban population in 1998 is estimated to 2,888 (36.44% of total). It is projected to increase to 3,861 (48.58% of total) by year 2030. The urban population is located in three barangays namely, East and West Poblacion and Ponong.
The rural population in 1998 is estimated to 5,036 (63.55% of total), which is projected to decrease to 4,087 (51.42% of total) by year 2030.
The potable water demand, including domestic, industrial, institutional and commercial water demands of urban and rural population, is estimated in 1998 to 926 m³/d, which is projected to increase to 1,529 m³/d in 2030. Majority of this water demand (67.4%) in 2030 is for urban population.
The water demand estimated to 65 m³/d, is required to irrigate 0.015 km² of land, located in 1 irrigation system in barangay Ponong.
Tourism
The municipality of Alburquerque, 12 kilometers away from Tagbilaran City is a fifth class agricultural locale with an area of about 2,865 hectares, sheltering almost 9,000 inhabitants. The town has natural wonders and micro local industries like the making of calamay, traditional method of manufacturing pottery, and the weaving of raffia using locally made loom. These are just some of the enriching legacies of old time which are being preserved by the Alburanons. With these native industries that evolved from industrious residents with the indigenous materials in the surroundings, Alburquerque is considered as one of the progressive coastal towns in the province of Bohol. Exotic marine sites fascinating upland view are in place to capture nature lover’s profound interest in creation. Unspoiled setting of landscape and seascape would bring one to whimsical atmosphere one has ever fantasized. The Local Government Unit of Alburquerque welcomes and invites everybody to take a sensation on the grandeur of tangible wonders.Municipal Marine Sanctuary
The Municipal Marine Sanctuary, established on October 8, 2000 at barangay Sta. Felomina where the beach and the Mangrove Protected Area are located, is being given utmost concern by the Local Government Unit. The sanctuary had been set up in the area selected to be fit for the purpose due to its coral cover. Few months in existence prove to be beneficial to marine ecology and to the community as well. Fish stocks rise and corals started to live up again from the destruction done by illegal fishers. Bamboo rafts has been put in place for the curious observers to set on board for a closer view to marine ecology. It has been considered as a dive site of the municipality for local and foreign tourist visiting the place. In the capacious, sandy, white beach, one can refresh in crystal, blue waters in the area with cottages for rent and verdant, lush mangrove area. To satisfy one’s longing for mother nature in the area, trekking up to Tagbuane River passing through a Forestal Reserve Zone and an abode to other nature’s winged and feathered creature is an added enticement to lissome nature lovers.Python sanctum
Alburquerque is home to a Python sanctum which is 5 years old in existence with a length of approximately 23 feet (7 m) and an estimated weight of about 300 kg. The biggest python in captivity ever known. The python named Prony is Albur's star and has known to the people as "Live Anaconda of Bohol." Prony, a female python is owned by Mr. Sofronio Salibay. Prony captured the attention of media network GMA 7 who filmed the feeding. According to JingJing Salibay, the lady caretaker, Prony ate cats dogs which should be clean and free of bruises. This "illegal" kind of feeding according to animal welfare rights activists caught the attention of Animal Kingdom and ordered the caretaker to stop feeding Prony with dogs. Animal Kingdom also donated money to raise a sanctuary. ABS-CBN and other media networks, newspapers and magazines have featured Prony. In March 2006, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho's stringer and journalist Leo Udtohan went to Albur to film Prony as an important element whereas snakes of its kind became a popular "dish" in other parts of the country. http://www.alburq.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=13The Animal Kingdom Federation, Inc. (AKFI), an SEC registered, non-profit and non-stock animal welfare organization registered with the Animal Welfare Division of the Bureau of Animal Industry recently vowed to build an animal sanctuary here. The AKFI made this commitment after hearing reports on the 23 feet (7 m) long python locally called baksan, owned by Sofronio Salibay in Barangay Sta. Filomena, has been fed with stray dogs.
The python has caught the attention of many local and foreign tourists, not only for its size but particularly on how it has been fed. It even caught the attention of GMA 7 who sent a crew to document the procedure. Feeding is done during full moon. Alarmed by the reports, AKFI requested Mayor Efren Tungol to stop Salibay from feeding the python with dogs since it is a clear violation of Republic Act No. 8485, otherwise known as the Animal Welfare Act. The Mayor agreed. However, in order to preserve the python, which has become a tourist attraction, AKFI, represented by its Director Charles Wartenberg, sealed a memorandum of support and cooperation with the municipality creating the site as an animal sanctuary. The memorandum, aside from manifesting full implementation of RA 8485, also reiterates the improvement of the cage based on animal welfare standards and introduction of alternative feeding. Creating an animal sanctuary would make Albur the only Animal Welfare Friendly Municipality in the country. AKFI is also associated with the International Wildlife Coalition Trust (IWCT), an internationally recognized organization founded in the United States dedicated to the protection of global wildlife and natural habitat protection.
Creation of the parish
Some sources say the parish had its beginning as a visita in 1842 when a chapel was built under the direction of the parish priest of Baclayon. The parish advocated to Santa Monica was canonically established on June 18, 1869, following royal approval given on November 1868. During the Spanish colonial era, the Augustinian Recollect friars administered the parish.Creation of the church
Up to the 1880s, the parish church was more like a huge shed. Although it boasted of three aisles, its walls were only of tabique. The present church of coral stone was commenced shortly afterwards, utilizing the same three-aisled plan. However, the upper portions, especially the tower over the facade, were completed during the first half of this century. Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that the link between the church and the casa parroquial was planned along a grander scale, but never finished. The grotto at the back of the courtyard between the two structures hides a ruin which may be of another unfinished arcade.Ray Francia signed the church's interior ceiling painting on one side of the choir loft. Another section, now vanished, showed that the painting was carried out from April 12 to August 3, 1932. As regards the church bells, amongst them in the quadrangular tower are three bells, inscribed with the patron saints of the parish (Santa Monica, San Agustin, and "Calipay" or Joy). Dated 1866, two years before the ecclesiastical recognition of the parish, the bells are mute testimonies to the anxiety of the community in becoming an independent parish.
As to the casa parroquial, the year 1876 is etched over the porta maior. However, in the center of the entrance arches to the steps, the year 1884 could be read until recently.
Bure-base industry
On March 5, 2004, Mrs. Leila M. Café, Municipal Planning & Development Coordinator, and Ms. Rita D. Comiling, of the Municipal Agricultural Office, went to several livelihood projects in the municipality of Albur. This was to find what could be done to improve work efficiency and income to the workers of these and other projects. The recommendations made in this report can be summarized in the MPRAP to PPDO that will accompany the Poverty Index data being collected in 17 municipalities on Bohol.Household buri weaving project in Basacdacu The weaver processes and weaves her buri cloth at home from local young buri leaves. She produces a roll of 4 place mats joined by a finer buri weave. The Toril barangay captain also buys these for export to Cebu where the place mats are cut from the roll. The weaver gets P14 per place mat (P56 per roll of 4). She also sells the midribs of the buri palm leaf for basket making at P12 for 100, and bundles of bure stems (pawa) to Tagbuane barangay for broom making for P23 a bundle.
Loom weaving
The weaving shed in Basacdacu houses 20 looms made by local carpenters, though only 5 were being used at the time of the visit. The municipality of Alburquerque provided funds for construction of the bamboo and zinc-roofed building and the looms.The "spears" of young buri leaves are now mostly bought from Inabanga municipality using funds from the Self-Employment Assistant Program (SEAP) of the Social Welfare Program. Weavers process the leaves themselves, though colored fibers used for the few 5 inches (127 mm)-square glass coasters made there are bought ready-dyed from Inabanga.
The weavers separate the young buri leaves from the "spears", strip the fiber from them with a knife, bleach them by soaking them in water containing oxalic acid
Oxalic acid
Oxalic acid is an organic compound with the formula H2C2O4. This colourless solid is a dicarboxylic acid. In terms of acid strength, it is about 3,000 times stronger than acetic acid. Oxalic acid is a reducing agent and its conjugate base, known as oxalate , is a chelating agent for metal cations...
, then sun dry them at their homes. They then tie the fibers in sequence to make long skeins for weaving. At the Center they weave this white buri into 8-meter lengths of cloth, 30 inches wide. The cloth is rolled up as it is woven, and one 8-meter roll takes one person about five days (a working week) of weaving from 9 am to 5 pm at the Center.
The barangay captain of Toril buys 30 rolls of the cloth at a time for P280 per roll. He does not impose a deadline and gives a cash advance for the cloth. He exports this to Cebu from the town of Tubigon from where other orders are sometimes negotiated. The Center once obtained an order for 100 rolls from Manila, but was unable to meet the deadline, and the buyer refused the cloth already made as he considered it of poor quality. In the past the weavers at the Center made the cloth into bags and wall or ceiling-coverings, but no longer do so, probably because the finished product was harder to sell than the rolls of cloth. The only finished products still produced at the Center are coasters, which are sold in Bohol. The main problem the weavers perceive is the difficulty of obtaining markets for their buri cloth.
Fan weaving
Several households use strips of older buri leaves to make spear-head-shaped fans 30 inches (762 mm) by 30 inches (762 mm) that they sell for P3.50 to Toril barangay captain for export to Cebu. Smaller fans of 18 by 18 inches (457.2 mm) sell for P2 or P3.Broom-making
Buri stems (from Basacdacu, Sikatuna and Loboc at P28 a bundle or P30 a kilogram?) are soaked for 1½ to 2 months until the fibers separate. Mrs. Tubera then dries the fibers in the sun and rejects the darker brown ones, as they are weak. She bends bundles of fiber double over both sides of a wooden peg through the end of a short, thin bamboo pole that forms the handle (P60 for 100 handles), and ties them on with one or two strong fibers. A baton of wood is then placed on each side of the fan of fibers, and the two batons tied to each other at the ends. Cutting the fibers to the same length levels the broom end.On the larger brushes, an extra bundle of fibers is added to each side of the fan of fibers, and tied in several places to the broom handle by encircling them and the handle with strong plastic twine. A few green or red fibers are included on each side for decoration. The ends of these extra fibers are cut straight on the handle, and the broom is made stronger by sewing through all the fibers across the narrower part of the fan-shaped broom. Small brooms sell individually for P5, larger ones for P12 and the biggest for P18. Mrs. Tubera has an order from a businessman in Poblacion who sends them to Davao, Mindanao. She receives P120 for a dozen medium-sized brooms, and makes 10 dozen per month, so earns P1,200 each month with which she is putting her son through college.
There are 50 households making brooms in the area, and it was not clear whether they all sell to the same middleman.
Indigenous salt-making
Salt-making is one of the source of income of some Alburanons. Production begins when the upland farmers plow their fields for rice production. This is because the "asinderos" salt-makers trade their salt for rice in a barter system, and salt production takes about as long as the growth of the rice it will be exchanged for.The fibrous husks of a large number of coconuts are placed in pits on the landward edge of the mangrove area. These fill with seawater at high tide, and this is retained in the pits for the salt water to be absorbed into the fiber of the husks. (Or perhaps the salt water drains away with each low tide and is replenished with each high tide?) After an unspecified time of soaking, the husks are removed from the salt water and allowed to dry, before being burnt in the center of the salt-making hut to leave a fine ash mixed with salt.
The ashes is then packed in a cone of bamboo about 1½ meters high. Seawater is poured into the top of the cone and leaches out the salt in the ash as it passes through. The water is caught in a wooden trough below the cone. This extra-salty water is then put into very small clay pots, and these pots wedged together in a series of "bridges" across a large gutter made from compacted coconut husk ash. A fire of palm wood is stoked beneath the suspended pots to "cook" the salty water. The water evaporates, leaving the dry salt in the pot. More and more of the super-salty water from the ash-filled cone is continually added to the pots, and the fire kept burning, until the pots are full to the brim with salt. It takes one day to obtain the ash from the dried coconut husks, and 100 pots can be filled with dry salt over the fire in 3 hours.
Pottery
The pottery-making enterprise is located beside the main road in East Poblacion. Clay is dug from a pit near the sea, and mixed with silicate soil before being ground through the large rollers of an electric mill, in a pit beside the pottery works. This is mixed with water and molded into pots of various sizes and shapes on a potters wheel, rotated by the potter pushing round a car wheel below the turntable with his feet. During our visit simple, straight-sided water pots for poultry were being made in about 2 minutes each. There were tall, large, elegantly shaped pots for storing water, and round-bottomed pots for use in cooking, in the open-sided work shed. Small, round-bottomed pots for salt making are also made.Social services
The local government unit of Alburquerque has the desire to uplift the social standards of the residents of the municipality. It has been its goal to provide the public with proper and sufficient social services. These include:Health and nutrition
"Health is Wealth..."as a saying goes. Thus, the Local Government Unit of Alburquerque is giving the top priority on health and nutrition as their prime basic service to its populace.Education
Ensuring quality education to the people is also one of the top concerns of the local officials. The LGU assisted in determining and developing appropriate actions that would address the educational needs of the Alburanons in terms of budgetary allocations, maintenance of facilities and policies concerning education.Albur has 1 public secondary school, the San Roque High School. It has also 4 elementary schools for intermediate level and 3 primary schools. It has also a total of 11 day care centers, one center in each barangay and 1 private pre-school. Enrollment data shows that day care has a total of 191 pupils, primary level has 166 pupils, 892 in elementary and 795 students in secondary. The actual number of teachers in the municipality is only 63 and the teacher student ratio in elementary is 1:24 and 1:43 in secondary level.
Waterworks
One of the biggest project of the present administration is to provide its constituents with sufficient potable water supply. Almost 80% of the barangay in the municipality currently has water connections.Sports development
To motivate the youth against drugs and other illegal activities, the LGU conducts several youth development programs to therefore further enhance their physical, mental, social and moral values, through the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) headed by Ephraim Tungol, SK Federated Chairman. Some of the activities includes: Inter-Barangay Basketball League, Inter-barangay League, Youth Fora, Trainings and Seminars, Disco Socials and other related activities.Local market services
With its desire to serve its contituents, the LGU provided local market services, such as water supply, proper garbage disposal, market cleanliness and orderliness, and peace and order.Local port services
The municipality has one local port situated in barangay Western Poblacion. The said port serve local fishermen as well as other fishing vessels and cargo vessels in transporting equipments & raw materials from other neighboring provinces. It is equipped with proper lighting and gadgets. The municipal LGU as well as the barangay officials ensure the safety, peace and order situation and proper maintenance of the port.Development agenda
The local government unit of Alburquerque, with its present administration, has the desire to improve their services its contituents. To attain this goal, they focuces on the following areas of concerns for development:Governance and administrative development
Objectives:- To ensure efficient and effective employees’ performance of duties and functions.
- To ensure strict implementation/enforcement of municipal ordinances.
- To source out funds to finance the implementation of such development projects.
- To gain cooperation and citizen’s participation in planning and decision – making.
- To have a 100% collection of taxes and other fees due to the government
Infrastructure and physical development
Objectives:- Improvement of municipal and barangay roads.
- Construction of municipal nutrition center within five years time.
- Completion of Municipal gym and improvement of municipal building. To provide satisfactory service of water to the consumers.
Economic Development
Objectives:- To eradicate poverty in the locality
- To increase agricultural production
- To provide and establish market for ube in the area.
- To provide employment opportunities to jobless but employable individuals through livelihood program of the local government unit.
Social sector development
Objectives:- To allocate funds for the improvement of delivery of basic social services.
- To provide and establish market for ube in the area.
- To provide employment opportunities to jobless but employable individuals through livelihood program of the local government unit.
Barangays
Alburquerque is politically subdivided into 11 barangayBarangay
A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...
s.
- Bahi
- Basacdacu
- Cantiguib
- Dangay
- East Poblacion
- Ponong
- San Agustin
- Santa Filomena
- Tagbuane
- Toril
- West Poblacion
Census 2000
| Name of Barangay | Total Population | Household Population | No. of Households |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bahi | 608 | 608 | 123 |
| Basacdacu | 707 | 707 | 152 |
| Cantiguib | 541 | 541 | 107 |
| Dangay | 786 | 786 | 158 |
| East Poblacion | 1,539 | 1,534 | 272 |
| Ponong | 874 | 874 | 154 |
| San Agustin | 449 | 449 | 90 |
| Santa Filomena | 758 | 758 | 154 |
| Tagbuane | 833 | 833 | 165 |
| Toril | 703 | 703 | 131 |
| West Poblacion | 917 | 917 | 164 |