Monreal, Masbate

Monreal, officially the Municipality of Monreal, is a municipality in the province of Masbate, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,164 people.^[5]

Monreal
Municipality
Municipality of Monreal
Flag
Map of Masbate with Monreal highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Monreal Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 12°38′38″N 123°39′53″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Bicol Region
Province	Masbate
District	1st district
Barangays	11 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Glenda L. Villahermosa
• Vice Mayor	Pal Duano
• Representative	Richard Kho.
• Municipal Council	Members Marvin B. Deinla Intsika A. Escorel Ruel E. Espares Dan U. Gebilaguin Elvie S. Huarde Tato G. Mergais Vicky R. Saturnino Freddie T. Yusi
• Electorate	19,627 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	128.67 km2 (49.68 sq mi)
Elevation	67 m (220 ft)
Highest elevation	331 m (1,086 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	25,843
• Density	200/km2 (520/sq mi)
• Households	5,502
Economy
• Income class	4th municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	30.51 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 157.2 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 252.9 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 132.8 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 45.52 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Ticao Island Electric Cooperative (TISELCO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	5418
PSGC	0504114000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)56
Native languages	Masbateño Tagalog

It is located on the northern part of Ticao Island.

Geography

Barangays

Monreal is politically subdivided into 11 barangays. ^[6] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Cantorna
• Famosa
• MacArthur
• Maglambong
• Morocborocan
• Poblacion
• Guinhadap
• Real
• Rizal
• Santo Niño
• Togoron

Climate

Climate data for Monreal, Masbate
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	27 (81)	28 (82)	29 (84)	31 (88)	31 (88)	30 (86)	29 (84)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	28 (82)	29 (84)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	22 (72)	21 (70)	22 (72)	23 (73)	24 (75)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	24 (75)	23 (73)	23 (73)	24 (74)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	65 (2.6)	44 (1.7)	42 (1.7)	39 (1.5)	87 (3.4)	150 (5.9)	184 (7.2)	153 (6.0)	163 (6.4)	154 (6.1)	127 (5.0)	100 (3.9)	1,308 (51.4)
Average rainy days	13.9	9.2	11.1	12.5	19.6	24.3	26.5	25.0	25.5	24.4	19.4	15.1	226.5
Source: Meteoblue[7]

Demographics

Population census of Monreal

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1990	18,796	—
1995	18,775	−0.02%
2000	19,832	+1.18%
2007	21,693	+1.24%
2010	25,366	+5.86%
2015	26,614	+0.92%
2020	25,164	−1.17%
2024	25,843	+0.64%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[8][9][10][11][12]

In the 2020 census, the population of Monreal, Masbate, was 25,164 people,^[13] with a density of 200 inhabitants per square kilometre or 520 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy

Poverty incidence of Monreal

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 2000 68.85 2003 66.66 2006 54.90 2009 44.73 2012 57.86 2015 58.00 2018 39.78 2021 30.51 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

Monreal's local economy is based on fishing. A local conservation effort to protect the environment lead to the development of tourism industry in the municipality. The Halea Island Retreat and Nature Park is the number one attraction for tourists both local and foreign, creating employment opportunities for the local folks and generating revenues for the local government in terms of taxes.

Archaeological and Ecological Landscape and Seascape of Ticao

The municipality is part of Ticao island, which is known as an archaeological landscape, possessing thousands of pre-colonial artifacts such as the Baybayin-inscribed Rizal Stone, Ticao gold spike teeth, Burial jars of varying designs and sizes, jade beads, human face rock statues, and the Ticao petrographs.Much of the homes in Ticao island use these archaeological finds to design their interiors. The island is also an ecological frontier for the conservation of manta rays. The island also possesses a 'rare subspecies' of Visayan warty pig that is almost near extinction.