Gubat, officially the Municipality of Gubat ( Gubatnon: ''Bungto san Gubat''; , ), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Sorsogon,

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 60,294 people. Gubat is pronounced with the accent on the second syllable. The people who live here speak the Gubat language which is also a dialect of Waray-Waray of Eastern Visayas, a Southern Sorsoganon sub-language and they were called Gubatnons.

History

Gubat was originally a big barrio of Bulusan, inhabited by a few Tagalogs, Visayans and Albayanons who travelled on foot to hunt wild animals. These people built their homes close to the shore and called their location Buri, which today is the barrio of Buenavista. In 1764, Gubat finally became a town with Don Pedro Manook, the first Teniente del Barrio, also becoming the first gobernadorcillo. The town proper is named after Don Pedro Manook. The word "''gúbat"'' means forest in Tagalog. However, the name applied to the town is derived from the verb "''guinobat''", a term used by the natives which means "raided". In the early days when Christians and Muslims were constantly at odds, Muslim pirates, the Moros, would come in from the southern seas to raid the town. Due to the frequent raids, the town was referred to as "''guinobat''" which eventually became "''Gubat''". Legend has it that during one of those raids, the pastor along with the townspeople held up a statue of St. Anthony to ward off the attack, praying for a miracle. In one account, it was said that the child Jesus in St. Anthony's arms drove back the pirates. Hence, St. Anthony of Padua became the town's patron saint, and his feast day is lavishly celebrated as an official parish and town holiday every 13 June. The town settlers had to move a number of times before finally deciding to settle at a place they considered safe and peaceful. Eventually, they began to expand, laying out permanent streets, the first of which are what we now know as Luna and Calderon Streets. The main parish church itself has an interesting history. In 1768, the people decided to build a church. The locals, being poor, urged the town captain, Don Juan Bonifacio, to require all men to contribute one cubic meter of "talaksan" (coral stone) apiece. It took ten years of preparation, and it was not until 1778 that construction finally started. Although it has since undergone several renovations, the church foundation is still the original one built in 1778. The rectory is the oldest and one of the only two remaining rectories dating back that far in the entire Bicol region. In November 2006, Gubat became the site of a scientific expedition by astronomers Dr. Armando Lee, Bamm Gabriana, and Rochelle Derilo to observe the rare Mercury transit. Gubat was the best town in Luzon to observe the event.

Geography

Gubat is in the south-eastern part of the island of

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean on the Bicol Peninsula. It is the third largest town in the province of Sorsogon and is divided into 2 districts: the North District and South District. Gubat is from

Sorsogon City Sorsogon City, officially the City of Sorsogon (Southern Sorsogon language, Waray Sorsogon: ''Syudad san Sorsogon''; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, pro ...

and from

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Barangays

Gubat is politically subdivided into 42

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios. Barangays with ( Poblacion) indicate that barangay is part of the town proper or poblacion. * Ariman * Bagacay * Balud Del Norte ( Poblacion) * Balud Del Sur ( Poblacion) * Benguet * Bentuco * Beriran * Buenavista * Bulacao * Cabigaan * Cabiguhan * Carriedo * Casili * Cogon * Cota Na Daco ( Poblacion) * Dita * Jupi * Lapinig * Luna-Candol ( Poblacion) * Manapao * Manook ( Poblacion) * Naagtan * Nato * Nazareno * Ogao * Paco * Panganiban ( Poblacion) * Paradijon ( Poblacion) * Patag * Payawin * Pinontingan ( Poblacion) * Rizal * San Ignacio * Sangat * Santa Ana * Tabi * Tagaytay * Tigkiw * Tiris * Togawe * Union * Villareal

Climate

Demographics

Religions

Although, the dominant religion is

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, there are Gubatnons devoted to: *

Iglesia ni Cristo The (INC; ; ) is an independent Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church founded in 1913 and registered by Felix Manalo, Félix Manalo in 1914 as a corporation sole, sole religious corporation ...

*Protestant Evangelical Baptist *Islam (some traders and residents) *Buddhism (Chinese traders and residents) * Members Church of God International * The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints * Seventh Day Adventist * Baptist * Jehovah's Witness

Economy

The main livelihoods of the people, then and now, are agriculture and fishing. Harvest times for rice crops are from April to May, and December. Fishing is year-round. Forestry products are also source of income here.

Transportation

Gubat can be reached mostly through land transport from Manila by bus, taking about 12 hours. There are several bus companies that operates daily from Manila to Gubat and vice versa: Alps The Bus Inc., JVH Transport/Pamar, Elavil Tours Phils. Inc., Raymond Transportation, St.Jude Transit, CUL Transport, DLTBCo., Penafrancia Tours/RSL/Isarog and Philtranco. There are also jeepneys that provide transportation to

, Bulusan,

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Prieto-Diaz, Casiguran, Irosin and local barangays like Tigkiw, Bentuco and Benguet. Local tricycles travel to the innermost barangays like Union, Bulacao, Rizal, Cabigaan and Sangat.

Communications

The town has modern and efficient communications facilities including cellular mobile phones. * Sun Cellular * Globe LTE * Smart 3G Telephone Companies * PLDT * Digitel Cable TV *ANH Cable TV *DCTV Cable With Broadband Satellite Cables * Cignal * G Sat * Dream Satellite * Sky Direct Radio Stations *DWPS FM 91.1 mHz "Rainbow Radio" *Padaba (Gubat) 105.1 mHz

Sports

Gubat is slowly being recognized as the only beginner friendly surfing spot in the province of Sorsogon. The sand bottom beach breaks of Barangays Ariman and Buenavista (Dangkalan and Rizal Beach) produce 2 to 5 feet waves from September to May. With the formation of Gubat Bay Surfers and surfboards donated by the Local Government Unit under Mayor Ding Ramos, surfing is more accessible to the local population and tourists alike. The Gubat Sorsogon Surfriders Association, Inc. (GSSA) headed by Bidge Villarroya, is also performing well in the National Surf Competition Scene, winning several national surf championships and numerous finalist positions. Gubat is the Top 1 in Ngo Sport Airsoft Society by the NGO Bicol Sorsogon Chapter.

Festivals

The town celebrates its Ginubat Festival annually every June 1–13 in honor of its patron, St. Anthony of Padua. It is also the foundation of the town.

Education

Primary education

Includes:

Secondary education

Includes: *St. Louise De Marillac College of Sorsogon - St. Anthony Gubat Campus (formerly: St. Anthony Academy) *Gubat National High School *Landmark Baptist Academy *Bagacay National High School *Bentuco National High School *Bulacao National High School *Jupi National High School *Rizal National High School

Tertiary education

* Bicol University (Gubat Campus) *Data Base Technology Computer School

References

External links

Gubat Profile at PhilAtlas.com

Municipality of Gubat official government website
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code
Philippine Census Information

Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Gubat, Sorsogon