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Sibonga

Municipality in Cebu, Philippines

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Sibonga, officially the Municipality of Sibonga (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Sibonga; Tagalog: Bayan ng Sibonga), is a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 54,610 people.

01Geography

Sibonga is bordered to the north by the city of Carcar, to the west are the towns of Barili and Dumanjug, to the east is the Cebu Strait, and to the south is the town of Argao. It is 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Cebu City.

Barangays

Sibonga is politically subdivided into 25 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

PSGC Barangay Population ±% p.a.
2024 2010
072246001 Abugon 4.0% 2,208 1,903 1.04%
072246002 Bae 2.5% 1,375 983 2.36%
072246003 Bagacay 5.1% 2,805 2,074 2.12%
072246004 Bahay 10.3% 5,646 4,476 1.63%
072246005 Banlot 3.6% 1,980 1,612 1.44%
072246006 Basak 2.2% 1,195 927 1.78%
072246007 Bato 2.8% 1,531 1,297 1.16%
072246008 Cagay 1.9% 1,021 813 1.60%
072246009 Canaga 1.9% 1,037 776 2.04%
072246010 Candaguit 4.6% 2,513 2,216 0.88%
072246011 Cantolaroy 1.3% 729 567 1.76%
072246012 Dugoan 1.5% 841 590 2.49%
072246013 Guimbangcoan 2.0% 1,109 788 2.40%
072246014 Lamacan 3.5% 1,889 1,563 1.33%
072246015 Libo 2.2% 1,191 987 1.31%
072246016 Lindogon 3.5% 1,931 1,563 1.48%
072246017 Magcagong 2.2% 1,191 906 1.92%
072246018 Manatad 3.5% 1,928 1,543 1.56%
072246019 Mangyan 4.3% 2,369 1,952 1.36%
072246020 Papan 1.7% 917 673 2.17%
072246021 Poblacion 13.3% 7,257 5,597 1.82%
072246022 Sabang 5.3% 2,912 2,397 1.36%
072246023 Sayao 3.7% 2,020 1,507 2.06%
072246024 Simala 6.2% 3,388 3,991 −1.13%
072246025 Tubod 4.5% 2,441 2,177 0.80%
Total 54,610 43,641 1.57%

Climate

Climate data for Sibonga, Cebu
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 29
(84)
30
(86)
31
(88)
32
(90)
31
(88)
30
(86)
30
(86)
30
(86)
30
(86)
29
(84)
29
(84)
29
(84)
30
(86)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 23
(73)
22
(72)
23
(73)
24
(75)
25
(77)
25
(77)
24
(75)
24
(75)
24
(75)
24
(75)
24
(75)
23
(73)
24
(75)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 42
(1.7)
34
(1.3)
40
(1.6)
61
(2.4)
124
(4.9)
188
(7.4)
190
(7.5)
191
(7.5)
189
(7.4)
186
(7.3)
124
(4.9)
73
(2.9)
1,442
(56.8)
Average rainy days 10.0 8.5 9.5 12.8 22.3 26.8 28.4 27.9 27.3 27.6 20.5 13.1 234.7
Source: Meteoblue
The Monastery of the Holy Eucharist, also known as the Miraculous Mama Mary Shrine, the Shrine of Simala, or the Simala-Lindogon Church.
The Monastery of the Holy Eucharist, also known as the Miraculous Mama Mary Shrine, the Shrine of Simala, or the Simala-Lindogon Church.

02Demographics

Population census of Sibonga
YearPop.±% p.a.
1903 25,848,     
1918 27,199+0.34%
1939 21,803−1.05%
1948 19,230−1.39%
1960 19,516+0.12%
1970 22,212+1.30%
1975 24,510+1.99%
1980 27,513+2.34%
1990 33,083+1.86%
1995 35,897+1.54%
2000 38,281+1.39%
2007 40,765+0.87%
2010 43,641+2.51%
2015 48,186+1.90%
2020 53,424+2.20%
2024 54,610+0.53%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

03Economy

Poverty incidence of Sibonga (%)

10 20 30 40 50 60 2000
50.36 2003
29.21 2006
42.20 2009
41.77 2012
25.68 2015
27.59 2018
18.60 2021
40.62 2023
22.65

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

Sibonga has begun developing the town to become more industrial while still preserving its natural bounty. Sibonga is abundant in root crops, corn, rice, coconuts among others. The public market is held every Saturday in Poblacion. Each barangay has its own agora or marketplace with its own specific days of function. For example, in Barangay Papan, people from neighboring barangays convene in every Thursday for trade.

04Culture

Pastores de Sibonga

Pastores de Sibonga is a short Christmas play that narrates the nativity as performed in Magcagong. The play depicts the shepherds' adoration of the child Jesus. Pastores de Sibonga dates back to the 1920s.

Pastores de Sibonga is performed by at least four dancers. The female dancer wears a red blouse or shirt paired with a long white skirt. The male dancer wears a red shirt paired with black pants. Accessories include a round hat decorated with cut-outs of the sun, moon and stars in yellow, red, green, and other brightly colored papers together with a yellow sash placed across the body. It is performed using red fans and white handkerchiefs. An oval-shaped native fan is used and held by the right hand during the performance. The white square handkerchief is held by the left hand folded into a triangular shape.

The accompaniment music is a rondalla: an ensemble of stringed instruments (guitar, bandurria, and banjo), played with the plectrum. The lyrics tell of the pre-nativity, nativity, and post-nativity settings. It expresses happiness, joy, and worship, and offers praises and gifts for Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Sibonga Plaza
Sibonga Plaza

05Education

Sibonga is also home to Sibonga Community College.

The public schools in the town of Sibonga are administered by one school district under the Schools Division of Cebu Province.

Elementary schools:

  • Abugon Elementary School, Abugon
  • Bae Elementary School, Bae
  • Bahay-Bagacay Elementary School, Bahay
  • Banlot Elementary School, Banlot
  • Basak Elementary School, Basak
  • Cagay Elementary School, Cagay
  • Can-aga Elementary School, Can-aga
  • Candaguit Elementary School, Candaguit
  • Cantolaroy Elementary School, Cantolaroy
  • Cansantic Elementary School, Sitio Cansantic, Bato
  • Guimbangcoan Elementary School, Guimbangco-an
  • Lamacan Elementary School, Lamacan
  • Libo Elementary School, Libo
  • Lindogon Elementary School, Lindogon
  • Magcagong Elementary School, Magcagong
  • Manatad Elementary School, Manatad
  • Mangyan Elementary School, Mangyan
  • Papan Elementary School, Papan
  • Sabang Elementary School, Sabang
  • Sayao Elementary School, Sayao
  • Sibonga Central Elementary School, R. Bacaltos Street, Poblacion
  • Simala Elementary School, Simala
  • Tubod Elementary School, Tubod

High schools:

  • Julian Enad Memorial National High School, Lamacan
  • Manatad National High School, Manatad
  • Mangyan National High School, Mangyan
  • Sibonga National High School, N. Bacalso Avenue, Poblacion
  • Teodoro dela Vega Memorial National High School, Papan

06Notable personalities

Watch videos about SibongaExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Sibonga, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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