Sibalom

Sibalom, officially the Municipality of Sibalom, (Kinaray-a: Banwa kang Sibalom; Hiligaynon: Banwa sang Sibalom; Tagalog: Bayan ng Sibalom), is a municipality in the province of Antique, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 63,833 people.^[5] Thus, making it a suburb of San Jose (the provincial capital), the second most populous municipality in the province of Antique and fifth largest municipality in terms of land area, with a total area of 201.30 square kilometers.

Sibalom
Municipality
Municipality of Sibalom
Sugarcane farm in Sibalom
Flag
Map of Antique with Sibalom highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Sibalom Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 10°47′18″N 122°01′03″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Western Visayas
Province	Antique
District	Lone district
Barangays	76 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Gian Carlo F. Occeña
• Vice Mayor	Kazy V. Butiong
• Representative	Anthony Agapito B. Legarda Jr.
• Municipal Council	Members Felipe D. Lacsama Jr. Jimmy M. Eco Marc Franco V. Pajarito Zoilo Bernardo E. Tubianosa Sebastian V. Butiong Donna Chris Y. Subong Reymond D. Nabalan Marlene S. Nacis
• Electorate	41,241 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	201.30 km2 (77.72 sq mi)
Elevation	27 m (89 ft)
Highest elevation (Mount Sansanan)	1,283 m (4,209 ft)
Lowest elevation	10 m (30 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	67,155
• Density	330/km2 (860/sq mi)
• Households	15,111
Economy
• Income class	2nd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	19.61 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 310.9 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 637.1 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 237.8 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 181 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Antique Electric Cooperative (ANTECO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	5713
PSGC	060616000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)36
Native languages	Karay-a Hiligaynon Ati Tagalog

Sibalom is home to the University of Antique.

Geography

Sibalom is located at 10°47′18″N 122°01′03″E. It is 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from the provincial capital, San Jose de Buenavista.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 201.30 square kilometres (77.72 sq mi) ^[6] constituting 7.38% of the 2,729.17-square-kilometre- (1,053.74 sq mi) total area of Antique.

Climate

Climate data for Sibalom, Antique
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	30 (86)	31 (88)	32 (90)	33 (91)	32 (90)	30 (86)	29 (84)	28 (82)	28 (82)	29 (84)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	21 (70)	21 (70)	22 (72)	23 (73)	25 (77)	25 (77)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	22 (72)	23 (74)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	19 (0.7)	17 (0.7)	26 (1.0)	37 (1.5)	119 (4.7)	191 (7.5)	258 (10.2)	260 (10.2)	248 (9.8)	196 (7.7)	97 (3.8)	39 (1.5)	1,507 (59.3)
Average rainy days	7.2	5.2	8.3	11.9	22.3	26.5	28.3	28.2	27.3	26.4	18.7	11.8	222.1
Source: Meteoblue[7]

Barangays

Sibalom is politically subdivided into 76 barangays.^[8] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

From 1953 to 1955, Barangay Catmon was known as Barangay Pajarito.^[9][10]

PSGC	Barangay	Population			±% p.a.
		2024[11]		2010[12]
060616002	Alangan	1.2%	834	712	▴	1.12%
060616004	Bari	1.5%	1,009	878	▴	0.98%
060616005	Biga-a	0.5%	329	291	▴	0.87%
060616006	Bongbongan I	1.1%	760	653	▴	1.07%
060616007	Bongbongan II	0.8%	524	515	▴	0.12%
060616008	Bongsod	0.9%	601	555	▴	0.56%
060616009	Bontol	1.3%	849	764	▴	0.74%
060616010	Bugnay	0.4%	253	227	▴	0.76%
060616011	Bulalacao	0.7%	475	453	▴	0.33%
060616012	Cabanbanan	0.4%	278	267	▴	0.28%
060616013	Cabariuan	1.1%	714	643	▴	0.74%
060616014	Cabladan	1.3%	875	866	▴	0.07%
060616015	Cadoldolan	1.0%	651	580	▴	0.81%
060616016	Calo-oy	0.3%	228	221	▴	0.22%
060616017	Calog	0.6%	400	391	▴	0.16%
060616018	Catmon	1.6%	1,069	1,044	▴	0.17%
060616019	Catungan I	0.9%	614	558	▴	0.67%
060616020	Catungan II	0.6%	420	331	▴	1.69%
060616021	Catungan III	0.9%	589	487	▴	1.34%
060616022	Catungan IV	1.7%	1,128	1,088	▴	0.25%
060616051	Cubay-Napultan	1.6%	1,101	1,036	▴	0.43%
060616023	Cubay-Sermon	1.4%	949	999	▾	−0.36%
060616061	District I (Poblacion)	2.3%	1,542	1,412	▴	0.62%
060616062	District II (Poblacion)	2.1%	1,398	1,353	▴	0.23%
060616063	District III (Poblacion)	5.6%	3,740	3,398	▴	0.68%
060616064	District IV (Poblacion)	3.4%	2,266	2,050	▴	0.71%
060616024	Egaña	5.0%	3,333	3,121	▴	0.46%
060616025	Esperanza I	0.6%	425	296	▴	2.57%
060616026	Esperanza II	0.7%	460	451	▴	0.14%
060616027	Esperanza III	0.6%	425	366	▴	1.05%
060616028	Igcococ	1.0%	673	621	▴	0.57%
060616030	Igdagmay	0.5%	360	326	▴	0.70%
060616029	Igdalaquit	1.6%	1,076	983	▴	0.64%
060616031	Iglanot	1.5%	974	860	▴	0.88%
060616032	Igpanolong	0.7%	450	418	▴	0.52%
060616033	Igparas	0.5%	347	351	▾	−0.08%
060616034	Igsuming	1.0%	659	634	▴	0.27%
060616035	Ilabas	1.9%	1,293	1,138	▴	0.90%
060616036	Imparayan	0.9%	579	573	▴	0.07%
060616037	Inabasan	0.9%	616	571	▴	0.53%
060616038	Indag-an	0.5%	359	597	▾	−3.51%
060616039	Initan	0.8%	515	504	▴	0.15%
060616040	Insarayan	0.8%	556	452	▴	1.46%
060616041	Lacaron	3.0%	2,009	1,839	▴	0.62%
060616042	Lagdo	0.7%	491	459	▴	0.47%
060616043	Lambayagan	0.7%	487	479	▴	0.12%
060616044	Luna	0.5%	328	283	▴	1.04%
060616045	Luyang	0.6%	410	404	▴	0.10%
060616046	Maasin	0.6%	435	441	▾	−0.10%
060616047	Mabini	1.0%	673	633	▴	0.43%
060616048	Millamena	0.5%	340	326	▴	0.30%
060616049	Mojon	0.5%	328	327	▴	0.02%
060616050	Nagdayao	1.8%	1,198	1,175	▴	0.14%
060616053	Nazareth	1.2%	787	767	▴	0.18%
060616054	Odiong	1.2%	838	715	▴	1.12%
060616055	Olaga	0.7%	472	401	▴	1.15%
060616056	Pangpang	1.0%	665	650	▴	0.16%
060616057	Panlagangan	0.7%	472	398	▴	1.20%
060616058	Pantao	0.4%	245	229	▴	0.48%
060616059	Pasong	1.0%	686	604	▴	0.90%
060616060	Pis-Anan	3.5%	2,355	2,174	▴	0.56%
060616065	Rombang	0.7%	502	500	▴	0.03%
060616066	Salvacion	1.0%	639	662	▾	−0.25%
060616067	San Juan	2.0%	1,318	1,159	▴	0.91%
060616068	Sido	1.3%	849	729	▴	1.08%
060616069	Solong	1.5%	1,007	983	▴	0.17%
060616070	Tabongtabong	0.6%	389	368	▴	0.39%
060616071	Tig-Ohot	0.8%	516	524	▾	−0.11%
060616073	Tigbalua I	1.1%	717	682	▴	0.35%
060616079	Tigbalua II	0.4%	264	197	▴	2.08%
060616074	Tordesillas	0.6%	418	412	▴	0.10%
060616075	Tulatula	1.1%	771	677	▴	0.92%
060616003	Valentin Grasparil (Bad-as)	0.7%	483	442	▴	0.62%
060616076	Villafont	1.0%	696	581	▴	1.28%
060616077	Villahermosa	0.9%	633	624	▴	0.10%
060616078	Villar	1.8%	1,189	1,180	▴	0.05%
	Total		67,155	56,058	▴	1.28%

Demographics

Population census of Sibalom

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	15,562	—
1918	17,844	+0.92%
1939	22,178	+1.04%
1948	28,558	+2.85%
1960	24,468	−1.28%
1970	30,392	+2.19%
1975	32,247	+1.20%
1980	35,515	+1.95%
1990	42,647	+1.85%
1995	46,143	+1.49%
2000	49,971	+1.72%
2007	53,934	+1.06%
2010	56,058	+1.42%
2015	60,306	+1.40%
2020	63,833	+1.20%
2024	67,155	+1.23%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[13][14][12][15][16]

In the 2020 census, Sibalom had a population of 63,833.^[17] The population density was 320 inhabitants per square kilometre (830/sq mi).

Economy

Poverty incidence of Sibalom

10 20 30 40 50 2000 44.76 2003 32.61 2006 33.10 2009 37.51 2012 21.17 2015 20.06 2018 17.67 2021 19.61 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]

Sibalom Natural Park

Main article: Sibalom Natural Park

Sibalom Natural Park, one of the last patches of lowland forest on Panay Island and the first protected area in the island, harbors many unique species of plants and animals, some of which are on the brink of extinction. About 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) of forest in Sibalom from Mount Porras extending to Mount Igmatindog, covering Sibalom river and its main tributaries Mao-it river and Tipulu-an river, was declared a natural park on April 23, 2000. Of this forest, 672 hectares (1,660 acres) are undisturbed by any human activity while about 4,223 hectares (10,440 acres) constitutes the 50-year-old reforestation site. One highlight is the Rafflesia speciosa, discovered in Mount Porras and surrounding Barangays in 2002.^[26] Dubbed the biggest bloom in the world, its discovery put Sibalom in the map of tourist stopovers in the Philippines.^{[citation needed]} Sibalom also has century-old industries and structures, as well as boulders of gemstones and treacherous mountain trails.

Tourism

Sibalom's tourism industry dawned after the proclamation of the Sibalom Natural Park.^{[citation needed]}