San Ricardo

San Ricardo, officially the Municipality of San Ricardo (Cebuano: Lungsod sa San Ricardo; Tagalog: Bayan ng San Ricardo), is a municipality in the province of Southern Leyte, Philippines. The municipality is 152 kilometers (94 mi) from Maasin, the provincial capital, and 190 kilometers (120 mi) from Tacloban, the regional capital of Eastern Visayas. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 10,500 people.^[5]

San Ricardo
Municipality
Municipality of San Ricardo
Flag
Map of Southern Leyte with San Ricardo highlighted
OpenStreetMap
San Ricardo Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 9°55′N 125°17′E
Country	Philippines
Region	Eastern Visayas
Province	Southern Leyte
District	2nd district
Barangays	15 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Roy Y. Salinas (PDPLBN)
• Vice Mayor	Felicisimo M. Reputana (PDPLBN)
• Representative	Christopherson M. Yap
• Municipal Council	Members Joel G. Avila Rollan L. Salazar Julius D. Gloria Perfecto C. Lim Jr. Adolfo B. Villaren Sandro L. Aboyot Jhondell L. Lim Jaime T. Cagas
• Electorate	7,393 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	47.56 km2 (18.36 sq mi)
Elevation	49 m (161 ft)
Highest elevation	708 m (2,323 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	10,385
• Density	220/km2 (570/sq mi)
• Households	2,304
Economy
• Income class	5th municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	28.2 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 97.17 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 286.5 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 74.53 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 45.54 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative (SOLECO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	6607
PSGC	0806415000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)53
Native languages	Boholano dialect Cebuano Tagalog

History

The town was formerly part of Pintuyan, Southern Leyte and composed of 16 barangays: Alangalang, Benit, Bitoon, Buenavista, Cabutan, Camang, Capingkit, Cogon, Esperanza, Kinachawa (Kinatsawa), Lobo, Piinut-an, San Ramon, San Ricardo, Saub, and Timba.

On October 24, 1965, it became a separate town through Executive Order 194 signed by President Diosdado Macapagal.^[6]

Geography

Barangays

San Ricardo is politically subdivided into 15 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks, and some have sitios.

• Benit
• Bitoon
• Cabutan
• Camang
• Esperanza
• Esperanza Dos
• Inolinan
• Kinachawa
• Looc
• Pinut-an
• Poblacion (Santiago)
• San Antonio (Alangalang)
• San Ramon
• Saub
• Timba

Climate

Climate data for San Ricardo, Southern Leyte
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)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	28 (82)	29 (84)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)
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[7]

Demographics

Population census of San Ricardo

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1975	6,521	—
1980	7,331	+2.37%
1990	9,723	+2.86%
1995	7,869	−3.89%
2000	8,964	+2.83%
2007	9,490	+0.79%
2010	10,078	+2.21%
2015	10,494	+0.77%
2020	10,500	+0.01%
2024	10,385	−0.26%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [8][9][10][11]

Economy

Poverty incidence of San Ricardo

10 20 30 40 50 2000 48.98 2003 34.93 2006 27.60 2009 42.51 2012 45.98 2015 43.84 2018 30.64 2021 28.20 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

Transportation

Seaport

San Ricardo Port, also known as Benit Port, is a roro port serving routes to and from Lipata Port, Surigao City, and connects to the Pan-Philippine Highway (also called Maharlika Highway AH26) that originates from Laoag to its southern terminus in Zamboanga City. Montenegro Shipping Lines^[20][21] is the primary ferry service for Lipata Port and Benit Port.

Land

San Ricardo also has a bus terminal, named Benit Integrated Bus Terminal, with routes to and from Manila and Davao. DLTBCo, Ultrabus, CUL Transportation, and other bus companies provide transportation from San Ricardo to Luzon. Bachelor Express also serves San Ricardo with routes from Davao to Ormoc and Tacloban.