Tungawan

Tungawan, officially the Municipality of Tungawan (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Tungawan; Chavacano: Municipalidad de Tungawan; Tagalog: Bayan ng Tungawan), is a municipality in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 46,497 people.^[5]

Tungawan
Municipality
Municipality of Tungawan
Flag Seal
Map of Zamboanga Sibugay with Tungawan highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Tungawan Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 7°36′17″N 122°25′22″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Zamboanga Peninsula
Province	Zamboanga Sibugay
District	2nd district
Founded	May 24, 1960
Barangays	25 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Carlnan C. Climaco
• Vice Mayor	Ivan N. Balano
• Representative	Dr. Marly T. Hofer-Hasim
• Municipal Council	Members Rosalie E. Climaco Lorverle S. Caracol Allan E. Mangubat Ruben M. Abdilla Maximo L. Medado Arvie G. Arcillas Benzar Q. Abison Muin S. Basa
• Electorate	34,367 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	473.28 km2 (182.73 sq mi)
Highest elevation	180 m (590 ft)
Lowest elevation	−2 m (−7 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	48,013
• Density	100/km2 (260/sq mi)
• Households	10,523
Economy
• Income class	2nd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	36.99 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 310.8 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 543.9 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 277.8 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 187.7 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Zamboanga del Sur 2 Electric Cooperative (ZAMSURECO 2)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	7018
PSGC	0908316000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)62
Native languages	Subanon Cebuano Chavacano Tagalog
Website	www.tungawansibugay.gov.ph

It has an area of 47,328 hectares (116,950 acres) of land, the largest in the province, as well as 15,236 hectares (37,650 acres) of coastal waters.

It was declared as a municipality on May 24, 1959, and started functioning as a Local Government Unit (LGU) on January 29, 1961, by virtue of Executive Order No. 395.^[6] Its name was coined from the minute leech generally known as “tungaw” of the Hirudo family.

Tungawan's economy is primarily based on agriculture, producing rubber, coconut, corn, rice, and seaweeds. It is home to the 880 hectares Bangaan Marine Sanctuary at Barangays Linguisan and Tigbucay.

Geography

Barangays

Tungawan is politically subdivided into 25 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

• Baluran
• Batungan
• Cayamcam
• Datu Tumanggong
• Gaycon
• Langon
• Libertad (Poblacion)
• Linguisan
• Little Margos
• Loboc
• Looc-labuan
• Lower Tungawan
• Malungon
• Masao
• San Isidro
• San Pedro
• San Vicente
• Santo Niño
• Sisay
• Taglibas
• Tigbanuang
• Tigbucay
• Tigpalay
• Timbabauan
• Upper Tungawan

Climate

Climate data for Tungawan, Zamboanga Sibugay
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	30 (86)	30 (86)	31 (88)	31 (88)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	23 (73)	23 (73)	24 (75)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	24 (75)	24 (75)	25 (77)	25 (77)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (76)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	98 (3.9)	78 (3.1)	116 (4.6)	115 (4.5)	222 (8.7)	281 (11.1)	272 (10.7)	282 (11.1)	237 (9.3)	258 (10.2)	180 (7.1)	108 (4.3)	2,247 (88.6)
Average rainy days	19.6	18.6	21.8	22.9	29.0	28.6	28.7	28.3	27.0	28.6	25.9	22.1	301.1
Source: Meteoblue[7]

Demographics

Population census of Tungawan

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1970	11,838	—
1975	9,573	−4.17%
1980	10,679	+2.21%
1990	26,005	+9.31%
1995	28,552	+1.77%
2000	33,194	+3.28%
2007	37,588	+1.73%
2010	40,552	+2.80%
2015	42,030	+0.68%
2020	46,497	+2.15%
2024	48,013	+0.77%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[8][9][10][11][12]

Economy

Poverty incidence of Tungawan

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 2000 65.35 2003 66.59 2006 51.10 2009 59.45 2012 56.11 2015 52.21 2018 36.30 2021 36.99 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]