San Policarpo, Eastern Samar
Municipality in Eastern Samar, Philippines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
San Policarpo, officially the Municipality of San Policarpo (Waray: Bungto han San Policarpo; Tagalog: Bayan ng San Policarpo), is a municipality in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 15,597 people.[5]
San Policarpo | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of San Policarpo | |
|
Flag | |
 Map of Eastern Samar with San Policarpo highlighted | |
 Interactive map of San Policarpo | |
.svg)  San Policarpo Location within the Philippines | |
| Coordinates: 12°10′45″N 125°30′26″E | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Eastern Visayas |
| Province | Eastern Samar |
| District | Lone district |
| Founded | June 16, 1948 |
| Inaugurated | February 5, 1949 |
| Barangays | 17 (see Barangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Bayan |
| • Mayor | Conrado U. Nicart III |
| • Vice Mayor | Thelma U. Nicart |
| • Representative | Maria Fe R. Abunda |
| • Councilors | List |
| • Electorate | 12,892 voters (2025) |
| Area | |
• Total | 78 km2 (30 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 6.0 m (19.7 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 63 m (207 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2024 census)[3] | |
• Total | 15,597 |
| • Density | 200/km2 (520/sq mi) |
| • Households | 3,602 |
| Economy | |
| • Income class | 5th municipal income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 41.24 |
| • Revenue | ₱ 117.7 million (2022) |
| • Assets | ₱ 399.1 million (2022) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 91.68 million (2022) |
| • Liabilities | ₱ 234.6 million (2022) |
| Service provider | |
| • Electricity | Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative (ESAMELCO) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ZIP code | 6821 |
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)55 |
| Native languages | Waray Tagalog |
| Website | www |
In the north-west, it is bounded by Arteche, in the north-east by the vast Pacific Ocean and in the south by Oras.
History
San Policarpo was established as a barrio in 1837. The Municipality of San Policarpo was created from the barrios of San Policarpo, Bahay, Alugan, Pangpang, Japunan, Tabo, Binogawan and Cajagwayan of the municipality of Oras, then in the old province of Samar, by virtue of Republic Act No. 281 signed on June 16, 1948 and inaugurated on February 5, 1949.[6] In 1952, the barrio of Santa Monica was transferred from Oras to San Policarpo. On June 19, 1965, the municipality was annexed to the newly-established province of Eastern Samar through a plebiscite and the sitios of Santa Cruz, Tan-awan, Bangon, Guin-osokan, Barras, Lipata and Libas were converted into barrios.[7][8]
The town was formerly named "Bunga", derived from the plant called bunga which was very abundant in the present site of the town. "Bunga" means fruit, thus the name indicates the fruit of the toils of its founders.
Geography
Barangays
San Policarpo is politically subdivided into 17 barangays. [9] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
Climate
| Climate data for San Policarpo, Eastern Samar | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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) |
30 (86) |
30 (86) |
30 (86) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
28 (82) |
27 (81) |
29 (84) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23 (73) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
23 (73) |
23 (74) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 105 (4.1) |
67 (2.6) |
65 (2.6) |
53 (2.1) |
86 (3.4) |
129 (5.1) |
135 (5.3) |
113 (4.4) |
131 (5.2) |
163 (6.4) |
167 (6.6) |
162 (6.4) |
1,376 (54.2) |
| Average rainy days | 17.6 | 13.2 | 15.5 | 14.9 | 19.6 | 24.3 | 26.6 | 25.4 | 24.9 | 25.4 | 22.9 | 20.9 | 251.2 |
| Source: Meteoblue[10] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 4,779 | — |
| 1960 | 8,051 | +4.44% |
| 1970 | 9,140 | +1.28% |
| 1975 | 9,280 | +0.31% |
| 1980 | 12,258 | +5.72% |
| 1990 | 9,970 | −2.05% |
| 1995 | 11,565 | +2.82% |
| 2000 | 12,403 | +1.51% |
| 2007 | 13,689 | +1.37% |
| 2010 | 13,836 | +0.39% |
| 2015 | 14,687 | +1.14% |
| 2020 | 15,365 | +0.95% |
| 2024 | 15,597 | +0.36% |
| Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[11][12][13][14][15] | ||
The population of San Policarpo, Eastern Samar, in the 2024 census was 15,597 people,[16] with a density of 200 inhabitants per square kilometer or 520 inhabitants per square mile.
Economy
Poverty incidence of San Policarpo
47.69
39.25
38.20
46.40
52.44
48.57
55.81
41.24
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]
The local economy of San Policarpo, one of the country's poorest towns, is dependent on fishing and farming.[25]