Tapul

Tapul, officially the Municipality of Tapul (Tausūg: Kawman sin Tapul; Tagalog: Bayan ng Tapul), is a municipality in the province of Sulu, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 18,197 people.^[5]

Tapul تَفُلْ
Municipality
Municipality of Tapul
Map of Sulu with Tapul highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Tapul Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 5°42′17″N 120°52′54″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Zamboanga Peninsula
Province	Sulu
District	2nd district
Barangays	15 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Nasser T. Daud Jr.
• Vice Mayor	Dornie T. Daud
• Representative	Munir N. Arbison Jr.
• Municipal Council	Members Abdulmalik H. Manajil Jurbarri H. Daud Jaafar H. Jupurie Elma A. Haradji Bahsi T. Manajil Bajer B. Ingilan Jurry H. Sayyadi Alfarzie J. Idjal
• Electorate	15,614 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	89.17 km2 (34.43 sq mi)
Elevation	10 m (30 ft)
Highest elevation	487 m (1,598 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	21,830
• Density	240/km2 (630/sq mi)
• Households	3,617
Economy
• Income class	5th municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	70.74 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 132.1 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 116 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 105.5 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 23.1 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Sulu Electric Cooperative (SULECO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	7410
PSGC	1906614000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)68
Native languages	Tausug Tagalog
Website	www.tapul.gov.ph

Geography

Barangays

Tapul is politically subdivided into 15 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

• Alu-Kabingaan
• Banting
• Hawan
• Kalang (Poblacion)
• Kamaunggi
• Kanaway
• Kanmangon
• Kaumpang
• Pagatpat
• Pangdan
• Puok
• Sayli
• Sumambat
• Tangkapaan
• Tulakan

Climate

Climate data for Tapul, Sulu
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)	28 (82)	29 (84)	29 (84)	28 (82)	28 (82)	28 (82)	28 (82)	28 (82)	28 (82)	28 (82)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	27 (81)	27 (81)	27 (81)	27 (81)	28 (82)	28 (82)	28 (82)	28 (82)	28 (82)	28 (82)	28 (82)	27 (81)	28 (82)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	184 (7.2)	143 (5.6)	144 (5.7)	136 (5.4)	240 (9.4)	301 (11.9)	272 (10.7)	253 (10.0)	183 (7.2)	265 (10.4)	246 (9.7)	208 (8.2)	2,575 (101.4)
Average rainy days	18.6	15.8	16.9	15.7	23.3	24.2	24.6	23.2	20.5	23.0	22.2	20.4	248.4
Source: Meteoblue (modeled/calculated data, not measured locally)[6]

Demographics

Population census of Tapul

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	7,440	—
1918	7,358	−0.07%
1939	18,496	+4.49%
1948	16,601	−1.19%
1960	18,577	+0.94%
1970	20,694	+1.08%
1975	28,340	+6.51%
1980	23,472	−3.70%
1990	10,111	−8.08%
1995	12,392	+3.89%
2000	14,881	+4.00%
2007	17,430	+2.20%
2010	16,370	−2.26%
2015	18,197	+2.04%
2020	20,799	+2.85%
2024	21,830	+1.17%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[7][5][8][9]

Economy

Poverty Incidence of Tapul

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 2000 74.53 2003 57.28 2006 57.70 2009 52.39 2012 43.59 2015 48.58 2018 76.79 2021 70.74 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]