Pola, officially the Municipality of Pola (), 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 Oriental Mindoro,

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 35,455 people. It is from

Calapan Calapan, officially the City of Calapan (), is a component city and the capital of the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 145,786 people making it the most populous in Oriental Mi ...

. Pola is known as the birthplace of former

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

and veteran news anchor Noli de Castro, actor and current Oriental Mindoro vice governor

Ejay Falcon Edward Jake "Ejay" Lasap Falcon (born 21 November 1989) is a Filipino actor, model, endorser and politician who is the Lieutenant governor, vice governor of Oriental Mindoro. As an actor, he came to prominence in 2008 after winning the reality ...

, ABS CBN News Senior Reporter and anchor Dennis Datu and DZMM Broadcaster and field reporter Noel Alamar.

Etymology

Its name was derived from the color of the soil in the locality, which is reddish clay. In Tagalog, this is called "''pula''". This name persisted until the Spaniards arrived and embraced it as the name of the town. The Poblacion is located at the estuary of the Casiligan River, surrounded by abundant green mountain ranges and rocky hills to the west, Hence, the people are given a conducive refuge for agriculture, fishing, and nipa weaving.

History

Oil spill

The town recently gained national attention because of an

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

that occurred on February 28, 2023, after the MT ''Princess Empress'' sank off the coast of neighboring town Naujan; Pola is one of the worst affected municipalities by the oil spill.

Geography

Barangays

Pola is politically subdivided into 23

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 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 ...

. * Bacauan * Bacungan * Batuhan * Bayanan * Biga * Buhay na Tubig * Calubasanhon * Calima * Casiligan * Malibago * Maluanluan * Matulatula * Pahilahan * Panikihan * Zone I (Poblacion) * Zone II (Poblacion) * Pula * Puting Cacao * Tagbakin * Tagumpay * Tiguihan * Campamento * Misong

Climate

Demographics

Economy

Notable people

* Noli De Castro – journalist, news anchor, 12th Vice-President of the Philippines (2004-2010) *

– '' Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition Plus'' big winner, actor, and Oriental Mindoro vice-governor

References

External links

Pola Profile at PhilAtlas.com
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
Municipalities of Oriental Mindoro Long stubs with short prose {{Mimaropa-geo-stub