Palanas

Palanas, officially the Municipality of Palanas, is a municipality in the province of Masbate, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 27,322 people.^[5]

Palanas
Municipality
Municipality of Palanas
Flag Seal
Map of Masbate with Palanas highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Palanas Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 12°08′47″N 123°55′19″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Bicol Region
Province	Masbate
District	3rd district
Founded	June 11, 1951
Barangays	24 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Roscelle A. Eramiz
• Vice Mayor	Rudy L. Alvarez
• Representative	Wilton T. Kho
• Municipal Council	Members Jonathan A. Abenir Letecia A. Tamayo Annie S. Alvarez Diego U. Rumo Magdalena A. Pogoy Roderick A. Almanzor Alona V. Pillejera Editha C. Salazar
• Electorate	19,383 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	171.10 km2 (66.06 sq mi)
Elevation	53 m (174 ft)
Highest elevation	390 m (1,280 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	28,133
• Density	160/km2 (430/sq mi)
• Households	6,479
Economy
• Income class	4th municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	26.57 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 178.7 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 421.9 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 160.9 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 172.2 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Masbate Electric Cooperative (MASELCO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	5404
PSGC	0504115000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)56
Native languages	Masbateño Tagalog

Palanas is 56 kilometres (35 mi) from Masbate City.

History

Palanas was created in 1951 from the barrios of Palanas, Nipa, Nabangig, Banco, Pina, Maanahao, Salvacion, Antipolo, Malatawan, Intusan, Miabas, San Antonio, Libtong, Malibas, Santa Cruz, Bontod and Cabil-isan of Dimasalang.^[6] It annually celebrates "Pasayaw sa Leon" Festival (The Lion Dance Festival) every 19 December.

Geography

Barangays

Former flag of Palanas

Palanas is politically subdivided into 24 barangays. ^[7] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Antipolo
• Banco
• Biga-a
• Bontod
• Buenasuerte
• Intusan
• Jose A. Abenir Sr. (Libtong)
• Maanahao
• Mabini
• Malibas
• Maravilla
• Matugnao
• Miabas
• Nabangig
• Nipa
• Parina
• Piña
• Poblacion
• Salvacion
• San Antonio
• San Carlos
• San Isidro
• Santa Cruz
• Malatawan

Climate

Climate data for Palanas, Masbate
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	29 (84)	29 (84)	31 (88)	32 (90)	32 (90)	31 (88)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	30 (86)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	23 (73)	22 (72)	23 (73)	23 (73)	25 (77)	25 (77)	24 (75)	25 (77)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	24 (75)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	39 (1.5)	34 (1.3)	42 (1.7)	36 (1.4)	73 (2.9)	109 (4.3)	118 (4.6)	108 (4.3)	129 (5.1)	136 (5.4)	112 (4.4)	89 (3.5)	1,025 (40.4)
Average rainy days	12.6	9.7	12.0	13.0	20.5	25.3	26.2	24.8	25.2	25.9	21.9	17.9	235
Source: Meteoblue[8]

Demographics

Population census of Palanas

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1903 2,286 —     1960 21,001 +3.97% 1970 25,848 +2.10% 1975 26,916 +0.82% 1980 25,369 −1.18% 1990 21,763 −1.52% 1995 23,580 +1.51%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 2000 24,666 +0.97% 2007 24,830 +0.09% 2010 25,501 +0.98% 2015 26,222 +0.53% 2020 27,322 +0.87% 2024 28,133 +0.70%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[9][10][11][12][13]

In the 2020 census, the population of Palanas, Masbate, was 27,322 people,^[14] with a density of 160 inhabitants per square kilometre or 410 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy

Poverty incidence of Palanas

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 2000 63.17 2003 62.48 2006 53.00 2009 40.39 2012 44.98 2015 44.73 2018 30.50 2021 26.57 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]