THE HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE

MUNICIPALITY OF ENRIQUE VILLANUEVA

PROVINCE OF SIQUIJOR
Accordingly, Siquijor is the smallest province in Central Visayas and occupies about
2% of the total land area of Central Visayas or 0.11 % of the total land area of the country. It
used to be a sub-province of Negros Oriental (now Oriental Negros) until it became a
separate entity in 1971. It is geographically located between 9 0 05' and 90 18' N, and 1230
27' and 1230 42' E, midway between the Visayas and Mindanao islands. It is bounded on
the Northwest by the islands of Cebu, on the Northeast by Bohol, on the East by Camiguin
Island, on the South by mainland Mindanao and on the West by Negros Island. On its
northern shore is the Bohol Strait and its southeast shore, the Mindanao Sea (see Figures
1.0 and 2.0).
Administratively, the province of Siquijor together with the neighboring provinces of
Cebu, Bohol and Negros Oriental (now Oriental Negros) constitutes Region 7. It is the
smallest province and island in the region.

Figure 1.0

(Source: Geographic Atlas of Siquijor published by Geoplan Cebu Foundation, Inc., 2000)
It is located some 30 kilometers from Negros Island and about 565 aerial kilometers
from Manila. Siquijor is 40 minutes from Cebu City by air or chartered light aircraft, 10
minutes from Dumaguete City or an hours flight from Manila. By fast ferries, it is a threehour trip from Cebu City via cities of Tagbilaran and Dumaguete. The province can also be
reached by a passenger/cargo boat (conventional vessel) in a seven (7) hour trip from
Cebu or 3-4 hours from Plaridel and Iligan (Mindanao), 3 hours from Tagbilaran City and 2
hours from Dumaguete City.
Very little known about Siquijor and its inhabitants before the arrival of the
Spaniards in the 16th century. During its occupation, however, caves in the island yielded
old China wares that imply earlier encounters with Chinese traders. The original
inhabitants called Siquijodnons came from Cebu, Bohol and other adjacent islands.
Legends tell of a King Kihod as the source of the islands name. Old residents also called
the island Katugasan derived from the Molave tree, which forested most in the island.
The Spaniards, however, called it Isla de Fuego or island of fire because of the
eerie luminescence generated by the swarms of fireflies found in the island.
The first Spaniard to discover the island was Esteban Rodriguez of the Legaspi
Expedition in 1565. He was the captain of a small party that left Legaspis camp in Bohol to
explore nearby islands.
After having been part of the provinces of Bohol until 1854 and Negros Oriental until
1892, Siquijor became an independent province in September 17, 1971 by virtue of
Republic Act No. 6398. It was the oldest sub-province in the Philippines, before it became a
province. In other words, it used to be a sub-province of Bohol before it became a subprovince of Negros Oriental in the middle of the nineteenth century.
Siquijor is politically divided into six (6) municipalities namely, Larena, Siquijor, Lazi,
Maria, San Juan and Enrique Villanueva. All population centers of these municipalities are
situated along the coast. Siquijor, the capital of the Province, is the oldest province
established on the island (founded in 1783). It replaced Larena as the capital of the
province in 1972 by virtue of Proclamation 1075 (see Figure 2.0).
The municipalities are further subdivided into barangays, the smallest administrative
unit. The 1997 socio-economic profile of Siquijor showed that the province had a total of
134 barangays.
The municipality of Enrique Villanueva was once a barrio of Canoan (now Larena)
named Talingting. Talingting got its name due to the presence of fish species only found
in its seas and seabirds found in its shores which are all known as Talingtingon.
Through the efforts of the late Governor Enrique Villanueva, Talingting became a
sixth (6th) municipality of Siquijor Island on January 1, 1925. The island was at that time

still a sub-province of Negros Oriental (now Oriental Negros). Recognizing the efforts of the
Governor, the town officials in 1932 replaced Talingting with Enrique Villanueva as the
municipalitys official name to honor him for his work in the creation of the municipality.
Enrique Villanueva is geographically located along the shorelines facing Bohol
Strait, eastern part of Larena, Northeast of Maria and situated at the northeastern portion of
the province. It is within the geographical location with latitude of 9 degrees 12.4900 9
degrees 5.7600 and longitude of 123 degree 36.3800 123 degrees 4000. It is 12
kilometers from Larena wharf, 20 kilometers from Lazi wharf and 22 kilometers from capital
town of Siquijor. It is bounded on the west by the Municipality of Larena, and at the
southeast by the Municipality of Maria (see Figure 2.0).

This Site

Figure 2.0
(Source: Geographic Atlas of Siquijor published by Geoplan Foundation, Inc., 2000)

The total area of the municipality is 3,060 hectares comprising fourteen (14)
barangays.
There is no pronounced rainfall in the municipality. The mean monthly rainfall is only
78.56mm. The temperature of the area ranges form 19 degrees C to 32 degrees C. The
prevailing winds are two types, namely: the Northeast Monsoon which usually occurs from
November to March and southeast monsoon which also occurs from April to October.

Usually typhoons occur during the months of July to February. The creeks and streams of
the municipality dry-up during summer seasons especially if drought lasts for three (3)
months or over.
The municipality is predominantly level to undulating (slopes 0 8%) comprising
35.80 percent, along the coastal areas and lowland areas. Steep hills and mountains can
be found along the middle portion running from north to south, dropping to rolling to hilly in
the western part. Very steep hills and mountains with above 50 percent slope are found
inland comprising of 7.99 percent.
The soil type of the Municipality is generally classified as Bolinao clay, which
manifests the natural development from coralline limestone and of Lugo Clay.
Bolinao clay type of soils can be found on areas where the topography is rolling to
undulating at times hilly, slopes do not exceed 30%, surface soil is thin and where erosion
is not severe; dark red to reddish brown with fine granular structure, fiable unless puddled,
plastic and sticky when wet, and hardened upon drying. This can be found on the flatland
areas of barangays Bitaug, Lomangcapan, Tulapos, Poblacion, Bino-ongan, Camogao,
Libo, Cangmangki, Olave, Parian, Bolot, Lotloton and Balolong.
Lugo Clay can be found in rolling to hilly topography areas; some slopes too steep
for practical method of cultivation, surface soil is black pr dark gray with depth ranging from
10-20 cm.; soil is of heavy clay, very plastic and sticky when wet, slightly hard to moderate
friable when dry; hard clods form when worked wet; there is no rock outcrop or any sort of
course skeleton. This soil type can be found on barangays Manan-ao, Balolong, Bolot, Parian, Olave, Cangmangki, Lotloton, and some part of Bitaug, Lomangcapan and Tulapos.
Areas along the coast (flood plains) have elevations below 100 meters, rising to
higher elevations going inwards to the middle/central part of the province. The highest
elevation ranges in Enrique Villanueva is 400 500 meters above sea level. As with the
other municipalities, Enrique Villanueva is mostly made up of limestone rock material. The
interior is either hilly or mountainous.
The erosion situation of Enrique Villanueva is alarming as 43 percent of the total
land area is severely eroded, 46 percent is slightly eroded and 7 percent moderately
eroded. Only 2 percent of the land area exhibited as no apparent erosion.
From 1975 to 1990, population growth rate declined, however, in the following
period 1990 1995 population number increases attaining positive growth. During the 2000
Census on Population, the municipality has a total population of 5,364 with a growth rate of
2.10 and the total number of households is 1,170 with an average household size of 4.58.
With a growth rate of 1.959%, the projected 2001 and 2010 population are 5,469
and 6,512 respectively.
As a fifth class municipality, the peace and order situation is described as relatively
calm and peaceful having a zero crime rate. The local police force (PNP) is keeping the
Municipality of Enrique Villanueva peaceful and orderly community.
The Local Government Unit is responsible to deliver basic services and facilities but
not limited to the following:
Primary health care services;

Social welfare;
Small-scale infrastructure projects;
Agricultural and fishing extension and on-site research services;
Community based forestry projects;
Information services.

Enrique Villanuevas economy is primarily an agriculturally based, however, it has

rich fishing grounds where fisher folks had applied their own and distinct fishing strategies
to sustain their means of livelihood. Further, it has both historical and natural tourist
attractions. Historical sites are the centuries-old Church and the Cang-isok house made of
bamboo and wood. Its natural attractions include caves, Daquit Shoal, and the municipal
marine sanctuary established during the Central Visayas Regional Project (CVRP)
implementation in 1984 and formalized in 1987 by virtue of a Municipal Ordinance.
Aside from the municipal marine sanctuary, the Municipality has also scenic sites
such as highly diverse mangrove forests and Tree house, both can be found in barangay
Tulapos; white sand beaches, which are considered as recreational areas, located in
barangays Bitaug, Tulapos, Lomangcapan, Camogao, and Libo, which hold great potential
for eco-cultural tourism in the area.
References
:
1. Geographic Atlas of Siquijor published by Geoplan Cebu Foundation, Inc., 2000
2. *DBM data provided by MPDCs and PPDO, May 1999 and may vary from other
sources
3. MAFENRDP as adopted by Sangguniang Bayan Resolution No. 99-30
4. LGUs Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP), CY-2001-2010
5. LGUs CRM Plan published on 2003
6. The GOVERNOR Magazine published by LMP (March 2005 issue)