Loreto, Dinagat Islands

Loreto, officially the Municipality of Loreto (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Loreto; Surigaonon: Lungsod nan Loreto; Tagalog: Bayan ng Loreto; Waray: Bungto han Loreto), is a municipality in the province of Dinagat Islands, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 9,690 people.^[5]

Loreto
Municipality
Municipality of Loreto
Flag
Nickname:  Last Frontier of Dinagat
Map of Dinagat Islands with Loreto highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Loreto Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 10°21′31″N 125°34′54″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Caraga
Province	Dinagat Islands
District	Lone district
Founded	January 1, 1919
Barangays	10 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Doandre Bill A. Ladaga
• Vice Mayor	Richard C. Tan
• Representative	Alan 1 B. Ecleo
• Municipal Council	Members Jhosua T. Luib Gordiaco G. Cabas Jr. Edilberto D. Abayan Alfonso B. Gajol Gemma A. Lumag Eileen A. Daguinod Annie D. Morales Neil B. Limpioso
• Electorate	8,150 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	255.87 km2 (98.79 sq mi)
Elevation	3 m (10 ft)
Highest elevation	764 m (2,507 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	9,940
• Density	39/km2 (100/sq mi)
• Households	2,427
Economy
• Income class	4th municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	30.8 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 206.8 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 592.1 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 151.4 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 118.5 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Dinagat Island Electric Cooperative (DIELCO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	8415
PSGC	1608505000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)86
Native languages	Surigaonon Cebuano Tagalog Waray

History

The town became a part of the province of Dinagat Islands on October 2, 2006, when the province was created from Surigao del Norte by Republic Act No. 9355. However, in February 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional, as the necessary requirements for provincial land area and population were not met. The town reverted to Surigao del Norte.^[6] On October 24, 2012, however, the Supreme Court reversed its ruling from the previous year, and upheld the constitutionality of RA 9355 and the creation of Dinagat Islands as a province.^[7]

In 1956, the sitio of Roxas was converted into a barrio.^[8]

Geography

Barangays

Loreto is politically subdivided into 10 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

• Carmen (Poblacion)
• Esperanza
• Ferdinand
• Helen (on Gibusong Island)
• Liberty (on Gibusong Island)
• Magsaysay (on Gibusong Island)
• Panamaon
• San Juan (Poblacion)
• Santa Cruz (Poblacion)
• Santiago (Poblacion)

Climate

Climate data for Loreto, Dinagat Islands
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	27 (81)	27 (81)	28 (82)	29 (84)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	28 (82)	28 (82)	29 (83)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	23 (73)	22 (72)	22 (72)	23 (73)	24 (75)	25 (77)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	24 (74)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	210 (8.3)	161 (6.3)	123 (4.8)	85 (3.3)	148 (5.8)	186 (7.3)	164 (6.5)	157 (6.2)	141 (5.6)	190 (7.5)	223 (8.8)	200 (7.9)	1,988 (78.3)
Average rainy days	21.0	16.8	18.5	18.2	24.9	27.7	28.4	27.0	26.1	27.6	24.6	22.0	282.8
Source: Meteoblue[9]

Demographics

Population census of Loreto

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	2,193	—
1939	6,623	+3.12%
1948	6,212	−0.71%
1960	8,324	+2.47%
1970	5,020	−4.93%
1975	5,270	+0.98%
1980	5,530	+0.97%
1990	7,340	+2.87%
1995	8,048	+1.74%
2000	8,751	+1.81%
2007	9,030	+0.43%
2010	8,920	−0.45%
2015	9,309	+0.82%
2020	9,690	+0.85%
2024	9,940	+0.61%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[10][11][12][13][14]

Economy

Poverty incidence of Loreto

10 20 30 40 50 60 2000 49.40 2003 49.82 2006 29.90 2009 54.21 2012 31.36 2015 36.63 2018 31.45 2021 30.80 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

The town is endowed with rich mineral resources like aluminous laterite ore, chromite, gold, niceliferous laterite, sand and gravel, guano, rock phosphate, limestone, and siliceous sand. It is also considered as an excellent fishing ground.