Sibalom, officially the Municipality of Sibalom, ( krj, Banwa kang Sibalom; hil, Banwa sang Sibalom; tl, Bayan ng Sibalom), is a 2nd 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 ...

Antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

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 63,833 people. Making it second most populous municipality in the province of Antique and fifth largest municipality in terms of land area, with a total area of 201.30 square kilometers. Sibalom is home to the

University of Antique The University of Antique (UA), formerly known as Polytechnic State College of Antique, is a state university in the Philippines. It is mandated to provide higher technological, professional and vocational instruction and training in science, ...

Geography

Sibalom is located at . It is from the provincial capital,

San Jose de Buenavista San Jose de Buenavista, officially the Municipality of San Jose de Buenavista, ( krj, Banwa kang San Jose de Buenavista; hil, Banwa sang San Jose de Buenavista; tl, Bayan ng San Jose de Buenavista), is a 1st class municipality and capital of th ...

. 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 Antique.

Climate

Barangays

Sibalom is politically subdivided into 76

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. From 1953 to 1955, Barangay Catmon was known as Barangay Pajarito.

Demographics

In the 2020 census, Sibalom had a population of 63,833. The population density was .

Economy

Sibalom Natural Park

Sibalom Natural Park, one of the last patches of lowland forest on

Panay Island Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City ...

and the first protected area in the island, harbors many unique species of plants and animals, some of which are on the brink of extinction. About of forest in Sibalom from

Mount Porras Mount Porras is a 1,378 feet (420 m.) mountain peak in the ''Tipulu-an Mau-it Rivers Watershed Forest Reserve'', now known as Sibalom Natural Park. Sibalom Natural Park is located in the municipality of Sibalom Sibalom, officially the Municipal ...

extending to Mount Igmatindog, covering

Sibalom river The Sibalom River is the longest river in the province of Antique in Panay island Philippines. With a total length of and a drainage basin covering , it is the largest river system in Antique and fourth longest in Panay after the Panay River, J ...

and its main tributaries Mao-it river and

Tipulu-an river The Tipulu-an River is a tributary of the Sibalom River located in Antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least ...

, was declared a natural park on April 23, 2000. Of this forest, are undisturbed by any human activity while about constitutes the 50-year-old reforestation site. One highlight is the '' Rafflesia speciosa'', discovered in

and surrounding Barangays in 2002. Dubbed the biggest bloom in the world, its discovery put Sibalom in the map of tourist stopovers in the Philippines. Sibalom also has century-old industries and structures, as well as boulders of gemstones and treacherous mountain trails.

Tourism

Sibalom's tourism industry dawned after the proclamation of the Sibalom Natural Park.

References

External links

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