Santa Monica, Surigao del Norte

Santa Monica, officially the Municipality of Sta. Monica (Surigaonon: Lungsod nan Santa Monica; Tagalog: Bayan ng Santa Monica), is a municipality in the province of Surigao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 9,423 people.^[5]

Santa Monica Sapao
Municipality
Municipality of Sta. Monica
Flag
Map of Surigao del Norte with Santa Monica highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Santa Monica Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 10°01′12″N 126°02′17″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Caraga
Province	Surigao del Norte
District	1st district
Renamed (as Santa Monica)	June 17, 1967
Named after	Saint Monica
Barangays	11 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Ricardo Lasco
• Vice Mayor	Mario Virtudazo
• Representative	Francisco Jose F. Matugas II
• Electorate	9,709 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	39.19 km2 (15.13 sq mi)
Elevation	21 m (69 ft)
Highest elevation	183 m (600 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	9,757
• Density	250/km2 (640/sq mi)
• Households	2,321
Economy
• Income class	5th municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	26.99 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 143.7 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 263.7 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 82.44 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 46.53 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Siargao Electric Cooperative (SIARELCO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	8422
PSGC	1606721000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)86
Native languages	Surigaonon Agusan Cebuano Tagalog

It is also known as Sapao. Santa Monica is one of the two northernmost towns of Siargao Island. The other is the municipality of Burgos.

Although many sources refer to it as "Santa Monica" it is officially named "Sta. Monica".

Etymology

Santa Monica is named after its patron saint, Saint Monica, in shortened Spanish term. It was originally known as Sapao, a name given by the first Spaniards who reached the area. According to one version of the story, a fisherman, upon being asked by the Spaniards about the name of the place, replied "no sapao," meaning he missed catching the school of fish. Another version suggests that a fisherman responded "sapao," meaning his banca was full of fish.^[6]

History

Santa Monica was originally known as a pueblo (town) named Sapao during the Spanish regime. Eventually, Sapao was reverted into a barrio, part of the municipality of Numancia (now Del Carmen). It regained its municipal status on October 1, 1953, by virtue of Executive Order No. 623. It then consisted of barrios Alegria, Baybay, Bailan, Bitaug, Burgos, Cabugsan, Libertad, Rizal, and Sapao.^[6][7]

On June 17, 1967, the municipality of Sapao was renamed Santa Monica and five barrios, including Burgos, and three sitios were separated from it to form the new municipality of Burgos.^[8][9]

Geography

Barangays

Santa Monica is politically subdivided into 11 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

• Abad Santos
• Alegria
• Bailan
• Garcia
• Libertad
• Mabini
• Mabuhay (Poblacion)
• Magsaysay
• Rizal
• T. Arlan (Poblacion)
• Tangbo

Climate

Climate data for Santa Monica, Surigao del Norte
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)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	28 (82)	29 (84)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	24 (74)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	161 (6.3)	132 (5.2)	112 (4.4)	87 (3.4)	136 (5.4)	169 (6.7)	146 (5.7)	148 (5.8)	132 (5.2)	156 (6.1)	176 (6.9)	170 (6.7)	1,725 (67.8)
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[10]

Demographics

Population census of Santa Monica

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	1,462	—
1960	6,522	+2.66%
1970	5,438	−1.80%
1975	5,993	+1.97%
1980	6,272	+0.91%
1990	7,167	+1.34%
1995	7,219	+0.14%
2000	7,757	+1.55%
2007	7,916	+0.28%
2010	8,715	+3.56%
2015	8,808	+0.20%
2020	9,423	+1.43%
2024	9,757	+0.84%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[11][12][13][14][15]

Economy

Poverty incidence of Santa Monica

10 20 30 40 50 60 2000 54.66 2003 57.67 2006 45.40 2009 52.43 2012 36.10 2015 33.05 2018 33.65 2021 26.99 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]