Alegria, Cebu

Alegria
Municipality
Municipality of Alegria
Alegria Church
Flag
Anthem: Alegria kong mahal English: My beloved Alegria
Map of Cebu with Alegria highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Alegria Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 9°43′28″N123°20′25″E / 9.724331°N 123.340244°E / 9.724331; 123.340244
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Visayas
Province	Cebu
District	7th district
Founded	3 April 1850
Barangays	9 (see Barangays)
Government   [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
•  Mayor	Gilberto F. Magallon
•  Vice Mayor	Verna V. Magallon
•  Representative	Peter John D. Calderon
•  Municipal Council	Members Justino L. Libron German L. Mejares Jr. Alex L. Lobino Jerome M. Rodriguez Vicente G. Aller Dennis C. Guardiario Eleuteria L. Lindio Joseph L. Redula
•  Electorate	17,964 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	89.49 km2 (34.55 sq mi)
Elevation	188 m (617 ft)
Highest elevation	709 m (2,326 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2024 census) [3]
• Total	26,520
• Density	300/km2 (770/sq mi)
•  Households	6,245
Economy
•  Income class	4th municipal income class
•  Poverty incidence	45.33 % (2021) [4]
•  Revenue	₱ 216 million (2022)
•  Assets	₱ 504.7 million (2022)
•  Expenditure	₱ 146.6 million (2022)
•  Liabilities	₱ 140.5 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Cebu 1 Electric Cooperative (CEBECO 1)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	6030
PSGC	072203000
IDD  :  area code	+63 (0)32
Native languages	Cebuano Tagalog

Alegria, officially the Municipality of Alegria (Cebuano : Lungsod sa Alegria; Tagalog : Bayan ng Alegria), is a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,620 people. ^[5]

It is home of the first onshore oil field in the Philippines, the Alegria Oil Field.

History

Timeline: ^[6]

• Pre-1850: Native tribe; then a Spanish-era barrio called Tuburan after the spring (tubod) located at sitio Tubig (Santa Rosa) in the poblacion.
• 31 January 1850: Leaders of Tuburan ask Governor of Cebu to support their petition for civil separation from mother town (matriz) Malabuyoc.
• 4 February: Malabuyoc leaders send letter of support for said petition. Tuburan had a church made of tabique de pampango, a convent and tribunal of light materials, two rubble watchtowers and 410½ tributos (one family = 1 tribute;unmarried adult = ½ tribute).
• 15 February: Petition goes to the Civil Administrator and Commanding General of the Visayas then sent to Superior Government in Manila.
• 31 March: Assessor General recommends approval of said petition.
• 3 April: Captain and Governor-General of the Philippine Islands (Antonio María Blanco) approves establishment of Tuburan as a town.
• 24 August: Governor of Cebu recommends changing the town's name to avoid confusing it with similarly named barrios in Balamban and Bogo.
• 25 September: Captain and Governor-General of the Philippines (Antonio de Urbistondo y Eguía) issues order changing the town's name to Alegria.

Establishment of parish: ^[6]

• 9 August 1854: The Padre Cura of Malabuyoc, Lucas Clavesillas de la Soledad recommends to the Bishop of Cebu (Romualdo Jimeno Ballesteros, O.P.) the creation of Alegria as a parish.
• 17 September: Governor of Cebu proposes separating barrio Guiuanon (Madridejos) from Badian and adding it to Alegria to form a new parish territory.
• 31 October: Bishop of Cebu supports creation of said territory.
• 10 November: Bishop informs Governor of Cebu that Badian does not object to creation of a new parish and separation of Guiuanon.
• 21 February 1856: Petition for said separation and the creation of new parish territory received by the Minister of Royal Treasury in Manila.
• 27 February: Governor of Cebu asks the Captain and Governor-General to create said parish.
• 3 July: The town of Alegria created as a parish. Tributes: 781 (Poblacion - 521½, Guiuanon - 259½)
• 13 March 1857: Parish of Alegria Canonically erected. Titular Saint: St. Francis Xavier, Feast 3 December (Secondary Patron: St. Joseph).

Geography

Alegria is bordered to the north by the town of Badian, to the west is the Tañon Strait, to the east are the towns of Dalaguete and Alcoy, and to the south is the town of Malabuyoc. It is 131 kilometres (81 mi) from Cebu City.

Alegria is one of the eight municipalities comprising the 7th Congressional District Cebu Province.

Barangays

Alegria is politically subdivided into 9 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

PSGC Barangay Population ±% p.a. 2024 [7] 2010 [8] 072203001 Compostela 5.7% 1,510 1,557 ▾ −0.22%   072203002 Guadalupe 9.8% 2,606 2,598 ▴ 0.02%   072203003 Legaspi 6.4% 1,694 1,652 ▴ 0.18%   072203004 Lepanto 7.9% 2,102 2,143 ▾ −0.14%   072203005 Madridejos 19.4% 5,141 4,459 ▴ 1.01%   072203006 Montpeller 5.3% 1,408 1,315 ▴ 0.48%   072203007 Poblacion 9.2% 2,450 2,255 ▴ 0.59%   072203008 Santa Filomena 12.0% 3,194 3,139 ▴ 0.12%   072203009 Valencia 12.0% 3,195 2,954 ▴ 0.55%   Total 26,520 22,072 ▴ 1.30%

Climate

Climate data for Alegria, Cebu
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	29 (84)	29 (84)	30 (86)	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)	23 (73)	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)	35 (1.4)	28 (1.1)	38 (1.5)	51 (2.0)	125 (4.9)	195 (7.7)	194 (7.6)	173 (6.8)	180 (7.1)	192 (7.6)	121 (4.8)	64 (2.5)	1,396 (55)
Average rainy days	9.2	8.2	9.9	11.3	22.5	27.3	28.0	27.2	27.1	26.9	19.7	12.7	230
Source: Meteoblue (Use with caution: this is modeled/calculated data, not measured locally.) [9]

Demographics

Population census of Alegria

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	9,579	—
1918	12,653	+1.87%
1939	13,303	+0.24%
1948	13,676	+0.31%
1960	12,817	−0.54%
1970	15,232	+1.74%
1975	14,928	−0.40%
1980	16,351	+1.84%
1990	18,253	+1.11%
1995	18,403	+0.15%
2000	20,677	+2.53%
2007	21,699	+0.67%
2010	22,072	+0.62%
2015	23,300	+1.04%
2020	25,620	+2.02%
2024	26,520	+0.83%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [10] [11] [8] [12]

Economy

Poverty incidence of Alegria

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 2000 64.09 2003 53.11 2006 62.70 2009 62.36 2012 39.95 2015 40.51 2018 23.20 2021 45.33 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]

The formal extraction of oil and gas reserves from the Alegria Oil Field Polyard-3 Well in Barangay Montpeller would generate numerous job opportunities and income for residents, neighboring towns and the entire Cebu province. ^[21]

Extracted oil will be sold to power plants at US$70 per barrel with a current production of 200 to 300 barrels per day, as told by Country Manager Edgar Benedict Cutiongco of China International Mining and Petroleum Company Inc. (CIMP), the service contractor of the oil extraction project. The Municipal government will receive an 18% income share coming from the 60% allotted to the National Government, while 14% will go to Barangay Montpeller and 8% to the Provincial Government.

Tourism

The municipality of Alegria launched the Kawayan Festival on 2 December 2006, in time for the annual town fiesta. Local contingents paraded the streets, and locally produced kawayan (bamboo) products were on display. Kawayan Festival has been part of the fiesta celebration in honor of Saint Francis Xavier since then.

There is also a plan to develop Alegria as the "Organic Vegetable Basket" in Cebu and in the Visayas region by its mayor, Verna Magallon. ^[22]

Education

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

Elementary schools:

• Alangasil Elementary School — Sitio Alangasil, Madridejos
• Alegria Central Elementary School — Poblacion
• Anislag Primary School — Sitio Anislag, Guadalupe
• Balha-an Elementary School — Sitio Balha-an, Madridejos
• Cagay-an Primary School — Sitio Cagay-an, Lepanto
• Cambunoc Elementary School — Sitio Cambunoc, Santa Filomena
• Cangcalape Primary School — Sitio Cangcalape, Compostela
• Compostela Elementary School — Compostela
• Dugyan Primary School — Sitio Dugyan, Valencia
• Guadalupe Elementary School — Guadalupe
• Inghoy Elementary School — Sitio Inghoy, Valencia
• Legaspi Elementary School — Legaspi
• Lepanto Elementary School — Lepanto
• Libo Elementary School — Sitio Libo, Lepanto
• Lingatong Primary School — Sitio Lingatong, Guadalupe
• Madridejos Elementary School — Madridejos
• Mayana Elementary School — Sitio Mayana, Guadalupe
• Montpeller Elementary School — Montpeller
• Santa Filomena Elementary School — Santa Filomena
• Valencia Elementary School — Valencia

High schools:

• Inghoy National High School — Sitio Inghoy, Valencia
• Madridejos National High School — Madridejos
• Montpeller National High School — Montpeller
• Santa Filomena National High School — Santa Filomena

Private schools:

• Saint Peter Academy — Poblacion
• St. Francis School of Alegria — Santa Filomena

See also

• Municipalities of the Philippines
• Legislative districts of Cebu

References

1.   Municipality of Alegria | (DILG)
2. "2015 Census of Population, Report No. 3 – Population, Land Area, and Population Density" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. Quezon City, Philippines. August 2016. ISSN   0117-1453. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
3. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
4. "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
5. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
6. Libro de Erecciones de Gobierno, Philippine National Archives
7. Census of Population (2020). "Region VII (Central Visayas)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority . Retrieved 8 July 2021.
8. Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region VII (Central Visayas)" (PDF). Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. National Statistics Office . Retrieved 29 June 2016.
9. "Alegria: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
10. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
11. Census of Population (2015). "Region VII (Central Visayas)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority . Retrieved 20 June 2016.
12. Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region VII (Central Visayas)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. National Statistics Office.
13. "Poverty incidence (PI):". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
14. "Estimation of Local Poverty in the Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 29 November 2005.
15. "2003 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 23 March 2009.
16. "City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates; 2006 and 2009" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 3 August 2012.
17. "2012 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 31 May 2016.
18. "Municipal and City Level Small Area Poverty Estimates; 2009, 2012 and 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. 10 July 2019.
19. "PSA Releases the 2018 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
20. "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
21. "Town residents to benefit from Alegria oil field". SunStar. Sunstar Cebu. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
22. Argyll Cyrus Geducos; Minerva BC Newman (21 May 2018). "Duterte opens Alegria oilfields". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 11 May 2020.

External links

• Media related to Alegria, Cebu at Wikimedia Commons
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code