Balamban

Balamban, officially the Municipality of Balamban (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Balamban; Hiligaynon: Banwa sang Balamban; Tagalog: Bayan ng Balamban), is a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 95,136 people.^[3]

Balamban
Municipality
Municipality of Balamban
Store fronts in Balamban
Flag Seal
Nickname:  Ship Building Capital of the Philippines
Motto:  Breathtaking Balamban
Anthem: Balamban Hymn
Map of Cebu with Balamban highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Balamban Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 10°28′N 123°47′E
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Visayas
Province	Cebu
District	3rd district
Barangays	28 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Ace Stefan V. Binghay (1Cebu)
• Vice Mayor	Alex Francis V. Binghay II (1Cebu)
• Representative	Pablo John F. Garcia
• Municipal Council	Members Andres G. Borgonia Anastacio A. Lape Joedell S. Pilapil Eliezer M. Climaco Rhodessa P. Paulin Roel P. Cabañero Gemma A. Monong Emmanuel B. Jo
• Electorate	54,085 voters (2022)
Area [2]
• Total	333.56 km2 (128.79 sq mi)
Elevation	35 m (115 ft)
Highest elevation	378 m (1,240 ft)
Lowest elevation	−1 m (−3 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	95,136
• Density	290/km2 (740/sq mi)
• Households	22,748
Economy
• Income class	1st municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	34.03 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 537.2 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 1,629 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 434 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 298.2 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Cebu 3 Electric Cooperative (CEBECO 3)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	6041
PSGC	072208000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)32
Native languages	Cebuano Tagalog

Mount Manunggal in Barangay Magsaysay (formerly Sunog), is the site of the plane crash on March 17, 1957 in which President Ramon Magsaysay and 17 of his presidential staff and news correspondents were killed.

History

Balamban became a town "pueblo" in 1745. A Spanish document attests that the community was recognized as a town during Spanish colonial period. The first administrator was Ciriaco Gutierrez, a Spanish captain.

Geography

Balamban is bordered to the north by the town of Asturias, to the west is the Tañon Strait, to the east is Cebu City, and to the south is the City of Toledo. It is 49 kilometers (30 mi) from Cebu City.

Barangays

Balamban is politically subdivided into 28 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

PSGC	Barangay	Population			±% p.a.
		2020[3]		2010[5]
072208001	Abucayan	5.6%	5,315	4,591	▴	1.47%
072208002	Aliwanay	3.4%	3,277	3,186	▴	0.28%
072208003	Arpili	6.6%	6,312	4,877	▴	2.61%
072208027	Baliwagan (Poblacion)	5.8%	5,494	4,734	▴	1.50%
072208004	Bayong	0.9%	861	1,037	▾	−1.84%
072208005	Biasong	3.0%	2,816	2,155	▴	2.71%
072208006	Buanoy	12.7%	12,057	8,368	▴	3.72%
072208007	Cabagdalan	0.9%	842	698	▴	1.89%
072208008	Cabasiangan	1.3%	1,233	1,078	▴	1.35%
072208009	Cambuhawe	3.5%	3,374	2,916	▴	1.47%
072208010	Cansomoroy	2.0%	1,920	1,415	▴	3.10%
072208011	Cantibas	1.4%	1,346	1,084	▴	2.19%
072208012	Cantuod	3.6%	3,426	2,641	▴	2.64%
072208013	Duangan	1.4%	1,334	1,256	▴	0.60%
072208014	Gaas	3.1%	2,908	2,812	▴	0.34%
072208015	Ginatilan	1.7%	1,592	1,485	▴	0.70%
072208016	Hingatmonan	1.3%	1,241	973	▴	2.46%
072208017	Lamesa	1.9%	1,799	1,656	▴	0.83%
072208018	Liki	1.3%	1,243	1,212	▴	0.25%
072208019	Luca	1.5%	1,399	761	▴	6.28%
072208020	Matun‑og	1.1%	1,002	693	▴	3.76%
072208021	Nangka	6.5%	6,151	4,420	▴	3.36%
072208022	Pondol	10.4%	9,872	7,897	▴	2.26%
072208023	Prenza	3.0%	2,863	2,285	▴	2.28%
072208026	Santa Cruz-Santo Niño (Poblacion)	2.0%	1,866	1,698	▴	0.95%
072208024	Singsing	2.0%	1,870	1,462	▴	2.49%
072208025	Sunog (Magsaysay)	1.9%	1,825	1,998	▾	−0.90%
072208026	Vito	2.0%	1,939	1,849	▴	0.48%
	Total		95,136	71,237	▴	2.93%

Climate

Climate data for Balamban, Cebu
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	28 (82)	29 (84)	30 (86)	31 (88)	31 (88)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	28 (82)	30 (85)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	24 (75)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	24 (75)	23 (73)	24 (75)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	70 (2.8)	49 (1.9)	62 (2.4)	78 (3.1)	138 (5.4)	201 (7.9)	192 (7.6)	185 (7.3)	192 (7.6)	205 (8.1)	156 (6.1)	111 (4.4)	1,639 (64.6)
Average rainy days	13.4	10.6	13.1	14.5	24.2	27.9	28.4	27.7	27.1	27.4	22.5	15.9	252.7
Source: Meteoblue (modeled/calculated data, not measured locally)[6]

Demographics

Population census of Balamban

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	10,603	—
1918	18,943	+3.94%
1939	31,385	+2.43%
1948	34,488	+1.05%
1960	38,081	+0.83%
1970	36,416	−0.45%
1975	37,351	+0.51%
1980	41,498	+2.13%
1990	45,909	+1.02%
1995	49,983	+1.61%
2000	59,922	+3.96%
2007	66,261	+1.40%
2010	71,237	+2.67%
2015	87,177	+3.92%
2020	95,136	+1.73%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[7][5][8][9]

Economy

Poverty incidence of Balamban

10 20 30 40 50 2000 49.45 2003 27.54 2006 41.60 2009 37.56 2012 20.04 2015 25.56 2018 18.90 2021 34.03 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

Balamban has industries that mainly focuses on shipbuilding for multinational corporations. The biggest economic driver in Balamban is the West Cebu Estate (WCE), a 540-hectare (1,300-acre) mixed-use development in Balamban. It is owned and managed by Aboitiz InfraCapital Economic Estates and is anchored by a 283-hectare (700-acre) industrial park, a Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)-registered economic zone tagged as the "Shipbuilding Capital of the Philippines". It hosts 12 locators from medium to heavy industries and employs 14,000 skilled workers.

Located in WCE in Barangay Buanoy is Tsuneishi Heavy Industries (Cebu), Inc. (THICI). It builds merchant ships of up to 180,000 deadweight tons using the same high quality shipbuilding technologies and standards as those in Tsuneishi Japan. Also located in WCE in Barangay Arpili is Austal Philippines Pty. Ltd. which caters to market demands for high speed ferries, workboats, fast crew transfer boats, other commercial vessels and defense vessels.

Other locators include Aboitiz Construction, Air Liquide, Linde, Balamban Enerzone, Mactan Rock Industries, Inc. Tsuneishi Holdings, Tsuneishi Technical Services (Phils.), Inc., K & A Metal Industries, Inc. Shillon Global Construction, Inc., Advanced Catamaran Composites and Cebu Marine Industry, Inc.

There are two shopping malls in the municipality, the Gaisano Town Center Balamban and Gaisano Grand Balamban.

A number of banks and financial institutions are operating in Balamban. These include Metrobank, RCBC, Landbank, City Savings Bank, BDO Network Bank and Rizal MicroBank.

The Transcentral Highway (TCH) is a national road running through the mountains between Balamban and Cebu City and connects the two localities. It is popular by road trippers, bikers, and riders for its scenery, cold climate, restaurants, and cafes.

Despite its classification as a municipality, infrastructure is not that well-developed; as of 2018 its poverty incidence percentage is at 18.90 which was a bit higher than the Philippine national average of 16.70.