Bato, officially the Municipality of Bato (

Rinconada Bikol Rinconada Bikol or simply Rinconada, spoken in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines, is one of several languages that compose the Inland Bikol (or Southern Bicol) group of the Bikol languages, Bikol macrolanguage. It belongs to the Austr ...

: ''Banwāan ka Bato'';

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...

: ''Bayan ng Bato''), 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 ...

Camarines Sur Camarines Sur (; ), officially the Province of Camarines Sur (Central Bikol language, Bikol: ''Probinsya kan Habagatan na Camarines''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region on Luzon. Its ca ...

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 52,155 people. The municipality of Bato is home to a lake teeming with various kinds of fishes.

Sinarapan The sinarapan or tabyos (''Mistichthys luzonensis'') is a species of fish in the goby subfamily, Gobionellinae, and the only member of the monotypic genus ''Mistichthys''. It is endemic to the Philippines, where it occurs along the Bicol River an ...

, the world's smallest commercially harvested fish, occupies the waters of

Lake Bato Lake Bato is a freshwater lake and the 7th largest in the Philippines. It is located in the town of Bato, approximately southwest of Iriga City, Camarines Sur Province, southeastern Luzon, Philippines. It has extensive marshes and swamp fores ...

. Also present, the lake abounds with

tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically mos ...

housed in fish cages. Bato is from Pili 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 ...

History

This town was formerly called as "Kaliligno" or "Caliligno" named by the natives that settled along the river area. This small village later was elevated into a status of a town under the decree of Spanish Superior Government on February 15, 1753. Years back, a parish was already existing which was also made under the same decree. This parish adopted "The Most Holy Trinity" as its patron saint. Its feast day is celebrated every Sunday after the Pentecost. The Bato is also known for its best noodles called Pansit Bato.

Geography

Barangays

Bato is politically subdivided into 33

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

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. * Agos * Bacolod * Buluang * Caricot * Cawacagan * Cotmon * Cristo Rey * Del Rosario * Divina Pastora (

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

) * Goyudan * Lobong * Lubigan * Mainit * Manga (Mangga) * Masoli * Neighborhood * Niño Jesus * Pagatpatan * Palo * Payak * Sagrada (Sagrada Familia) * Salvacion * San Isidro * San Juan * San Miguel * San Rafael (

) * San Roque * San Vicente * Santa Cruz (

) * Santiago (

) * Sooc * Tagpolo * Tres Reyes (

)

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Bato, Camarines Sur, was 52,155 people, with a density of . Only about 58.27% of the household population is considered as literate. Mother tongue of the majority is Riŋkonāda also known as Bikol Rinconada, one of the languages of Bicol region. The population speaks a different form of Rinconada Bikol called Bato variant, a lowland dialect (sinaranəw). Natives are also conversant with Coastal Bikol, Filipino/Tagalog and English languages.

Religion

* Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion, followed by the

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 ...

as the largest minority. * Other religious denominations include Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; United Churches of Christ in the Philippines Seventh Day Adventist; Bible Baptist; Born Again; Jehovah's Witnesses; Protestants; Aglipay and Islam. * There are three (3) Catholic Churches in Bato.

Economy

Majority of employment is within agriculture, fishery, poultry and construction industry groups. ;Commerce and industry: * 96 commercial establishments engaged in retail trade * 46 commercial establishments engaged in services * 1 commercial establishment engaged in real estate - MTBK Co. * 1 engaged in banking and finance * 31 industrial establishments * 2 Hotels - Casa de Piedra and MTBK Hotel Natural resources include clams, pearls, local shrimps, tabios, and tilapia, particularly within Lake Bato; forest products such as anahaw leaves and local bamboo; non-metallic mineral resources such as white clay among others. ;Agriculture Sector: * 78.087 square kilometers of Agricultural Lands devoted to crop production * Rice, corn, coconut, root crops, vegetables, and fruit-bearing trees. * Numerous farm and poultry products found

Local government

The list of the incumbent and former officials of the Municipality of Bato is the following: 2022–present: * Mayor: Domingo L. Zorilla Jr * Vice-Mayor: Victorio S. Ramos *Councilors: ** Josebello Buquid ** Martin G. Batacan ** Noel C. Tino ** Alvin O. Sacueza ** Adolfo A. Ramos Jr. ** Noel C. Tuyay ** Erwin Nestor O. Rempola Jr. 2019-2022: * Mayor: Hon. Francisco B. Bernaldez * Vice-Mayor: Hon. Domingo L. Zorilla Jr. *Councilors: ** Diosdado T. Zorilla ** Dominici G. Batacan ** Elizabeth Doctolero ** Ignacio L. Hugo ** Jose Samar ** Ban-Ban Aguila ** Matilde Sandrino ** Noel C. Tino 2016-2019: * Mayor: Hon. Francisco B. Bernaldez * Vice-Mayor: Hon. Victorio S. Ramos *Councilors: ** Diosdado T. Zorila ** Domingo L. Zorilla Jr. ** Martin G. Batacan ** Darwin Doctolero ** Edgar R. Argarin ** Nestor A. Orasa ** Danilo S. Mata ** Ignacio L.Hugo

List of former Municipal Mayors

*Paulino Calleja - 1860 *Timoteo Isaac - 1885-1886 *Tomas Barrameda - 1895-1898 * Moises Sayson - 1902-1903 * Agripino Varde - 1908-1912 * Ramon Ripaso - 1913-1916 * Cecilio Coralde - 1917-1919 * Vidal Elpedes - 1920-1922 * Eusebio P. Buena - 1923-1925 * Felix Grageda - 1926 -1928 * Mariano Sesno - 1929-1931 * Juan Belleza - 1932-1934-1938-1940 * Eulogio Buquid - 1935-1937-1941-1942 * Pio B. Mota - 1941-1943-1945-1956-1959 * Domingo Fortuno Jr. - 1944 * Mateo T. Ramos - 1948-1951 * Abundio Intia - 1952-1955 * Jorge R. Tuyay - 1960-1967 * Ernesto S. Tino - 1968-1971 * Nahil Y. Buquid - 1972-1986 * Narciso R. Doctolero Jr. - 1986-1992 * Tito R. Pili - 1992-1998 * Jaime T. Gonzales - 1998-2007 * Jeanette O.R Bernaldez - 2007-2016 * Frank B. Bernaldez - 2016-2022 * Domingo L. Zorilla, Jr. - 2022 - Present

Tourism

* Cotmon Falls * Arbin Beach Resort * Lake Bato * Most Holy Trinity Parish Church * Maruma Beach

Infrastructure

Health

* Municipal Health Center and Barangay Health Stations total bed capacity: Eight (8) beds * Health personnel numbers only about seventeen (17)

Security

Facilities for police protection include Police Station Headquarters near the Municipal Hall in the

, Police Substation in Barangay Tres Reyes, Police Outpost in Barangay San Miguel. The bureau of Fire Protection of Bato has about eleven (11) firemen personnel.

Transportation

* of National Roads * of Provincial Road * of municipal roads * of Barangays Roads * six (6) bridges * 235 privately owned vehicles * public utility vehicles and government vehicles

Utilities

Water supply is provided on 3 levels: * Level I: wells, springs, or water peddlers common in rural barangays and households * Level II: communal faucet system * Level III: Bato Water District provides Level III Water Supply Service generally within the poblacion only Power and electricity: * Camarines Sur Electric Cooperative (CASURECO) which provides retails electrical supply to the municipality and maintains a substation * Domestic Consumptions * 95.18% with total average consumption rate of 35,595.40 KWH/month Industrial and Commercial Consumption have only about 0.48% connections * Public buildings, streetlights and other account for the remaining 1.72% number of consumption Communication facilities include telephone/cellular services, postal services, telegraph services, cable television services, and print and broadcast media services.

Education

Private school institutions: * Holy Trinity College of Cam. Sur * Mataas na Paaralan ng Pagatpatan * Saint John the Baptist Institute of Bicol Inc. * Ocampo Academy Technological Institute. * Taburnal Learning Center inc. * Modern Learning Center * Verbum Dei School 15 public elementary schools: *Bato North Central School *Bato South Central School *San Vicente Elementary School *San Miguel Elementary School *Agos Elementary School *Nino Jesus Elementary School *Masoli Elementary School *San Roque Elementary School *Atipolo Elementary School *Carlos Nardo Elementary School *Manga Elementary School *Palo Elementary School *Buluang Elementary School *Salvacion Elementary School *Cristo Rey Elementary School *Sagrada Elementary School *Dr. Heracleo Guballo Elementary School *Tagpolo Elementary School 5 public secondary schools: *Bato National Highschool *Masoli Highscool *Salvacion National Highschool *San Roque National Highschool *Payak Highschool 1 public library: *MTBK Divina Pastora Library

Notable personalities

* Maria Venus Raj - Binibining Pilipinas-Universe 2010 and placed 4th Runner-Up in

Miss Universe 2010 Miss Universe 2010 was the 59th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on August 23, 2010. At the end of the event, Stefanía Fernández of Venezuela crowned Ximena Navarrete of Mexic ...

pageant * Froilan Canlas -

Tawag ng Tanghalan ''Tawag ng Tanghalan'' (, abbreviated TNT) is a Philippine television reality competition show broadcast by ABS-CBN. Originally hosted by Jaime dela Rosa, Patsy and Lopito, it aired as a reality competition from 1954 to September 1972 and f ...

season 1 and placed 1st Placer * Julian Alturas - Actor under

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

Star Magic ABS-CBN Center for Communication Arts, Inc., doing business as Star Magic (formerly known as ABS-CBN Talent Center), is a Philippine talent agency owned by ABS-CBN Corporation based in Quezon City, Metro Manila. Founded in 1992, Star Magic ha ...

and co-managed by

Rise Artists Studio Rise Artists Studio is a training and management subsidiary of ABS-CBN Films, in collaboration with Star Magic. It is responsible for scouting and developing aspiring artists, as well as maintaining the stardom of the artists it handles. On F ...

in 2022

References

External links

Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) is a systematic classification and coding for geographic areas in the Philippines. It classifies areas based on the country's four levels of administrative divisions: regions, provinces, municipalities ...

br>Philippine Census InformationOfficial Site of the Province of Camarines Sur
*https://ph.rappler.com/elections/2022/camarines-sur/bato {{Authority control Municipalities of Camarines Sur