San Juan, Ilocos Sur

San Juan, officially the Municipality of San Juan (Ilocano: Ili ti San Juan; Filipino: Bayan ng San Juan), formerly called as Lapog, is a municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 26,674 people.^[3]

San Juan
Municipality
Municipality of San Juan
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church
Flag Seal
Nickname:  Buri Capital of the Philippines
Motto:  Tattan San Juan! (Right Now San Juan)
Map of Ilocos Sur with San Juan highlighted
OpenStreetMap
San Juan Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 17°44′35″N 120°27′30″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Ilocos Region
Province	Ilocos Sur
District	1st district
Named after	St. John the Baptist
Barangays	32 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Ma. Elaine A. Sarmiento
• Vice Mayor	Benjamin V. Sarmiento
• Representative	Deogracias Victor B. Savellano
• Municipal Council	Members Rizalina A. Valle Cresencio G. Valle Gem Paula V. Lucero Michael B. Sumagit Edwin B. Singzon Rafael Vincent P. Ochosa Florante A. Ramos Domingo M. Oli
• Electorate	18,337 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	64.37 km2 (24.85 sq mi)
Elevation	41 m (135 ft)
Highest elevation	307 m (1,007 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	26,674
• Density	410/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
• Households	6,735
Economy
• Income class	3rd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	10.54 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 734.4 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 2,248 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 417.5 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 139.9 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Ilocos Sur Electric Cooperative (ISECO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	2731
PSGC	0102920000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)77
Native languages	Ilocano Tagalog

The town was named in honor of its patron, St. John the Baptist. As it produces the most number of goods made of buri leaf in the province, it is sometimes called the "Buri Capital of Ilocos Sur".

History

The town was established in 1772 as Lapog. Over the years, the name of the municipality went through a series of changes. The early settlers and occupants called it "Lapo", short for "Lapo-Lapo", a tall grass which grew everywhere in the area. In 1772, Don Tomas Aquino, the first local leader, initiated the organization of the scattered communities into one, calling the place "Lapog", a derivative of local vernacular "Lap-Lapog" which means unirrigated land.

It was stricken by all sorts of plagues and epidemics (like the smallpox epidemics of 1808 and 1918–19, locust infestation in 1903, and destruction of ricefields by worms called "arabas" in 1905). Bessang Pass, just south of the poblacion, was constructed in 1874. Americans destroyed their town hall in 1903. But despite these misfortunes, San Juan progressed into a prosperous community.

For 189 years, "Lapog" remained in the records as the official name of the town until June 18, 1961, when Republic Act No. 3386 was enacted to rename the town, "San Juan". Since most of the inhabitants were of the belief that religious names bring peace, happiness, and prosperity, the town was renamed "San Juan", after the name of its patron saint, Saint John the Baptist.

Geography

The Municipality of San Juan is bordered by Cabugao to the north, Magsingal to the south, the provinces of Ilocos Norte and Abra to the east.

San Juan is situated 21.42 kilometres (13.31 mi) from the provincial capital Vigan, and 422.35 kilometres (262.44 mi) from the country's capital city of Manila.

Barangays

San Juan is politically subdivided into 32 barangays. ^[5] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Asilang
• Bacsil
• Baliw
• Bannuar (Poblacion)
• Barbar
• Cabanglotan
• Cacandongan
• Camanggaan
• Camindoroan
• Caronoan
• Darao
• Dardarat
• Guimod Norte
• Guimod Sur
• Immayos Norte
• Immayos Sur
• Labnig
• Lapting
• Lira (Poblacion)
• Malamin
• Muraya
• Nagsabaran
• Nagsupotan
• Pandayan (Poblacion)
• Refaro
• Resurreccion (Poblacion)
• Sabangan
• San Isidro
• Saoang
• Solotsolot
• Sunggiam
• Surngit

Climate

Climate data for San Juan, Ilocos Sur
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	30 (86)	31 (88)	32 (90)	34 (93)	33 (91)	31 (88)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	31 (88)	30 (86)	29 (84)	31 (88)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	18 (64)	19 (66)	21 (70)	23 (73)	24 (75)	25 (77)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	22 (72)	21 (70)	19 (66)	22 (72)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	9 (0.4)	11 (0.4)	13 (0.5)	23 (0.9)	92 (3.6)	122 (4.8)	153 (6.0)	137 (5.4)	139 (5.5)	141 (5.6)	42 (1.7)	14 (0.6)	896 (35.4)
Average rainy days	4.6	4.0	6.2	9.1	19.5	23.2	24.0	22.5	21.5	15.2	10.5	6.0	166.3
Source: Meteoblue (modeled/calculated data, not measured locally)[6]

Demographics

Population census of San Juan

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1903 7,035 —     1918 9,791 +2.23% 1939 10,674 +0.41% 1948 9,777 −0.97% 1960 12,654 +2.17%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1970 14,987 +1.70% 1975 16,329 +1.73% 1980 17,443 +1.33% 1990 20,328 +1.54% 1995 21,222 +0.81%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 2000 23,146 +1.88% 2007 23,808 +0.39% 2010 25,199 +2.09% 2015 26,411 +0.90% 2020 26,674 +0.20%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[7][8][9][10]

In the 2020 census, San Juan had a population of 26,674.^[3] The population density was 410 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,100/sq mi).

Economy

Poverty incidence of San Juan

10 20 30 40 2000 30.70 2003 30.63 2006 13.90 2009 18.03 2012 16.96 2015 11.68 2018 4.86 2021 10.54 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

Government

Local government

Main article: Sangguniang Bayan

San Juan, belonging to the first congressional district of the province of Ilocos Sur, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.

Elected officials

Members of the Municipal Council
(2019–2022)^[19]

Position	Name
Congressman	Deogracias Victor B. Savellano
Mayor	Ma. Elaine A. Sarmiento
Vice-Mayor	Benjamin V. Sarmiento
Councilors	Rizalina A. Valle
	Cresencio G. Valle
	Gem Paula V. Lucero
	Michael B. Sumagit
	Edwin B. Singzon
	Rafael Vincent P. Ochosa
	Florante A. Ramos
	Domingo M. Oli

Education

The San Juan Schools District Office governs all educational institution within the municipality.^[20]

Primary and elementary schools

• Asilang Primary School
• Bacsil Community School
• Barbar Elementary School
• Camanggaan Elementary School
• Camindoroan Community School
• Caronoan Elementary School
• Darao Elementary School
• Dardarat Elementary School
• Don F. Quilala Memorial Elementary School
• Labnig Elementary School
• Malamin Elementary School
• Muraya Primary School
• Nagsabaran Elementary School
• Nagsuputan Elementary School
• Refaro Elementary School
• Sabangan Elementary School
• San Isidro Elementary School
• San Juan North Central School
• San Juan South Central School
• Saoang Elementary School
• Singson Verzosa Elementary School
• Solotsolot Elementary School
• Sunggiam Elementary School

Secondary schools

• Nagsuputan National High School
• San Juan Institute, Ilocos Sur
• San Juan National High School
• Solotsolot National High School

See also

• List of renamed cities and municipalities in the Philippines