San Juan, officially the Municipality of San Juan ( ilo, Ili ti San Juan; tgl, Bayan ng San Juan), is a 5th class

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

in the

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

of Abra,

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 10,688 people. A major tourist attraction is Abualan Cave, but it is not yet developed. The climate is characterized by 2 distinct seasons. The dry season, which occurs from November to April, is marked by daily blue skies and clear starry nights and the wet season for the rest of the year with high rainfall intensities accompanied by storms and typhoons.

History

The present-day town of San Juan was once inhabited by Tinguians, belonging to the Inlaud Tribe. Before the Spanish colonial era, the natives were believed to have traded with the Indo-Chinese. They were believed to have bartered with them as evidenced by the presence of antique jars, big bowls, gongs, arrows and shields, beads, jewel and gems. During the Spanish colonial era, a church was established and many of the people got baptized as Christians. The Spanish named the place San Juan. From 1907 to 1929, San Juan was a barrio of

Dolores Dolores, Spanish for "pain; grief", most commonly refers to: * Our Lady of Sorrows or La Virgen María de los Dolores * Dolores (given name) Dolores may also refer to: Film * ''Dolores'' (2017 film), an American documentary by Peter Bratt * ' ...

. By virtue of a

Philippine Legislature The Philippine Legislature was the legislature of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American colonial period, and predecessor of the current Congress of the Philippines. It was bicameral and the legislative branch of the Insular G ...

bill sponsored by Abra's then-Representative

Quintín Paredes Quintín Babila Paredes Sr. (born Quintín Paredes y Babila; September 9, 1884 – January 30, 1973) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, and statesman. Early life He was born in Bangued, Abra, Philippines in 1884 to ''Don'' Juan Félix Paredes y ...

and through the initiative of Dolores's then-Vice Mayor Manuel Magala, San Juan became a separate municipality. The new municipality was inaugurated on February 28, 1929.

Geography

San Juan is located at . According to the

Philippine Statistics Authority The Philippine Statistics Authority (Filipino: ''Pangasiwaan ng Estadistika ng Pilipinas''), abbreviated as PSA, is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that ''collects, compiles, analyzes and publishes statistical inf ...

, the municipality has a land area of constituting of the total area of Abra.

Barangays

San Juan is politically subdivided into 19

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

s. These barangays are headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain,

Barangay Council The Sangguniang Barangay, also known as the Barangay Council, and formerly as the Rural Council and then the Barrio Council, is the legislative body of a barangay, the lowest form of government in the Philippines. The term is coined from the Tag ...

, whose members are called Barangay Councilors. All are elected every three years.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, San Juan had a population of 10,688. The population density was .

Economy

San Juan is an agricultural town. Its major products are

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

. The town has two major rivers: the Malanas River and

Tineg River The Abra River, also called Lagben River, is the seventh largest river system in the Philippines in terms of watershed size. It has an estimated drainage area of and a length of from its source in the vicinity of Mount Data in Benguet provinc ...

. These two rivers supply the townspeople with fish and they are also used to transport bamboo which is sold to resort owners in

Vigan Vigan, officially the City of Vigan ( ilo, Siudad ti Vigan; fil, Lungsod ng Vigan), is a 4th class component city and capital of the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,935 people. Loc ...

. During the dry season, the townsfolk also plant string beans, eggplant, peanuts, bitter gourds, squashes,

okra Okra or Okro (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in many English-speaking countries as ladies' fingers or ochro, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It has edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with su ...

and tomatoes. Some also cultivate mangoes.

Government

San Juan, 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. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.

Elected officials

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Code {{Authority control Municipalities of Abra (province)