Balbalan

Balbalan
Municipality
Municipality of Balbalan
Flag
Map of Kalinga with Balbalan highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Balbalan Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 17°26′37″N121°12′03″E / 17.4436°N 121.2008°E / 17.4436; 121.2008
Country	Philippines
Region	Cordillera Administrative Region
Province	Kalinga
District	Lone district
Barangays	14 (see Barangays)
Government   [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
•  Mayor	Almar P. Malannag
•  Vice Mayor	Rowina Alison Munda C. Damian
•  Representative	Allen Jesse C. Mangaoang
•  Municipal Council	Members Marc Alvin M. Page Paul B. Bogacon Clarence D. Tongdo Edwin Bruce B. Astudillo Rex L. Dulansi Bernabe C. Basingan Dennis C. Baggas John Smith S. Gullayan
•  Electorate	9,361 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	542.69 km2 (209.53 sq mi)
Elevation	1,067 m (3,501 ft)
Highest elevation	2,077 m (6,814 ft)
Lowest elevation	308 m (1,010 ft)
Population  (2024 census) [3]
• Total	13,332
• Density	25/km2 (64/sq mi)
•  Households	2,528
Economy
•  Income class	3rd municipal income class
•  Poverty incidence	10.08 % (2021) [4]
•  Revenue	₱ 243 million (2022)
•  Assets	₱ 501.7 million (2022)
•  Expenditure	₱ 132.2 million (2022)
•  Liabilities	₱ 88.76 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Kalinga - Apayao Electric Cooperative (KAELCO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	3801
PSGC	1403201000
IDD  :  area code	+63 (0)74
Native languages	Kalinga Ilocano Tagalog
Website	www.balbalan.gov.ph

Balbalan, officially the Municipality of Balbalan, is a municipality in the province of Kalinga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 12,914 people. ^[5]

History

Spanish colonial era

The Spaniards made at least 10 incursions ^{[nb 1]} into the land of the Kalingas from the early 1600s to the late 1800s, four of which were made from the west (Abra) primarily targeting the regions of Banao and Guinaang. ^[6] Although they succeeded around the mid-1800s in establishing a telegraph station in Balbalasang (where, incidentally, they appointed the noted Banao leader Juan Puyao as a gobernadorcillo or councilor) and subsequently hacking out an Ilocos-Abra-Kalinga-Cagayan trail, they failed to establish a foothold in Kalinga. ^[7]

Prior to the establishment of American rule in Kalinga, the ethnic sub-groups covered by the present geopolitical configuration of Balbalan were, like other Kalinga communities at that time, organized according to an indigenous system or concept of local governance operating within a “bilateral kinship group” circumscribed by semi-permanent territorial boundary. ^{[nb 2] [8]}

This period saw the rise of several community leaders often mentioned in Balbalan orature: Sagaoc, Balutoc, Masadao, Gaddawan, Dawegoy, Lang-ayan, Bayudang, Gammong, et al.

American colonial era

When the Americans imposed their system of government over the archipelago, the land of the Kalingas became one of the highlights of their so-called “pacification campaign.” On 18 August 1907, Kalinga, then a sub-province of Lepanto-Bontoc, came under the control of Lt. Gov. Walter Franklin Hale who established his seat of government in Lubuagan where he organized the sub-province into four districts: Tinglayan-Tanudan; Balbalan-Pasil; Pinukpuk-Tobog (Tabuk), and Liwan (Rizal). ^[9]

A year later, Act 1870 of the Philippine Commission carved the old Mountain Province out of northern Luzon with Kalinga as one of its five sub-provinces. Kalinga was immediately reorganized into five municipal districts — Lubuagan (including Tanudan and Pasil), Balbalan (including Balinciagao), Tabuk (with Liwan or Rizal), Tinglayan, and Pinukpuk — each led by presidents. Among these municipal chiefs was Puyao ^{[nb 3]} who served in that capacity for close to 24 years under five subprovincial chief executives: Walter F. Hale (1907–1915), Alex F. Gilfilan (1915), Samuel E. Kane (1915–1919), Tomas Blanco (1918–1923), and Nicasio Balinag (1923–1936). Puyao did not run for office during the first local elections in the area in 1934, and was succeeded by Awingan. Three years later, municipal chief executives became known as “Municipal District Mayors.” ^[10]

In 1942 a Japanese garrison was established in Balbalan.

Geography

Balbalan is situated 51.24 kilometres (31.84 mi) from the provincial capital Tabuk, and 530.68 kilometres (329.75 mi) from the country's capital city of Manila.

Barangays

Balbalan is politically subdivided into 14 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Ababa-an
• Balantoy
• Balbalan Proper
• Balbalasang
• Buaya
• Dao-angan
• Gawa-an
• Mabaca
• Maling (Kabugao)
• Pantikian
• Poswoy
• Poblacion (Salegseg)
• Talalang
• Tawang

Climate

Climate data for Balbalan, Kalinga
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	20 (68)	21 (70)	24 (75)	26 (79)	26 (79)	26 (79)	25 (77)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	22 (72)	20 (68)	23 (74)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	15 (59)	15 (59)	16 (61)	17 (63)	19 (66)	19 (66)	19 (66)	19 (66)	18 (64)	18 (64)	17 (63)	16 (61)	17 (63)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	78 (3.1)	60 (2.4)	49 (1.9)	51 (2.0)	194 (7.6)	197 (7.8)	209 (8.2)	226 (8.9)	185 (7.3)	180 (7.1)	143 (5.6)	183 (7.2)	1,755 (69.1)
Average rainy days	15.6	12.5	11.8	12.5	21.0	23.3	25.2	26.1	22.6	17.1	16.7	19.6	224
Source: Meteoblue [11]

Demographics

Population census of Balbalan

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1918	6,238	—
1939	5,670	−0.45%
1948	6,184	+0.97%
1960	7,605	+1.74%
1970	6,518	−1.53%
1975	7,552	+3.00%
1980	9,168	+3.95%
1990	10,147	+1.02%
1995	11,742	+2.77%
2000	11,934	+0.35%
2007	12,012	+0.09%
2010	12,082	+0.21%
2015	12,195	+0.18%
2020	12,914	+1.21%
2024	13,332	+0.77%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

In the 2020 census, the population of Balbalan was 12,914 people, ^[17] with a density of 24 inhabitants per square kilometre or 62 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy

Poverty incidence of Balbalan

10 20 30 40 50 60 2000 59.97 2003 49.54 2006 35.40 2009 30.05 2012 33.91 2015 26.38 2018 15.95 2021 10.08 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]

Government

Local government

Main article: Sangguniang Bayan

Balbalan, belonging to the lone congressional district of the province of Kalinga, 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
(2022–2025) ^[26]

Position	Name
Congressman	Allen Jesse C. Mangaoang
Mayor	Almar P. Malannag
Vice-Mayor	Rowina Alison M. Damian
Councilors	Marc Alvin M. Page
	Paul B. Bog-acon
	Clarence D. Tongdo
	Edwin Bruce B. Astudillo
	Rex L. Dulansi
	Bernabe C. Basingan
	Dennis C. Baggas
	John Smith S. Gullayan

Education

The Balbalan Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools. ^[27]

Secondary schools

• Balbalan Agricultural and Industrial School
• Balbalan National High school
• St. Paul's Memorial School of Kalinga
• St. Theresita High School of Salegseg
• Western Kalinga National High School

See also

• Balbalasang-Balbalan National Park

Notes

1. In The Kalinga Hilltribe of the Philippines (1990, 13-15), Sugguiyao lists three, but a comparative study of available documents as cited reveals more than that number.
2. Barton referred to these territories as “regions,” which is perhaps roughly equivalent to what the German traveler Alexander Schadenberg (1886) called “province,” as in “Banao province” (Scott 1975, 131). Note, however, that, according to Scott in another work (1974, 313), there was no such village as Banao, although “people from Inalangan down the Saltan River to Salegseg referred to themselvfes as Banao people.” Schadenberg also mentioned a “Chief Liagao” in the rancheria of Balbalasang (Scott 1975, 133).
3. Along with Lubuagan Presidente Antonio Canao, Puyao’s leadership and his contribution to the success of American rule in Kalinga prompted then Congressman of the old Mountain Province Alfredo Lam-en to file a bill seeking to rename Balbalan and Lubuagan “Puyao” and “Canao,” respectively (Finin 2005, 194).

References

1.   Municipality of Balbalan | (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. Scott 1974, 2; Bacdayan 1967, 17; Lawless 1975, 43-45
7. cf. Scott 1974, 249; Sugguiyao 1990, 15; Bacdayan, 17-18; Dozier 1966, 29-32
8. Barton 1949, 32; cf. Dozier 1967, 12 f; Sugguiyao, 4.
9. Sugguiyao, 16
10. De Los Reyes 1986, 28; Sugguiyao, 22; Jenista, 70,259
11. "Balbalan: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
12. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
13. Census of Population (2015). "Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority . Retrieved 20 June 2016.
14. Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)" (PDF). Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. National Statistics Office . Retrieved 29 June 2016.
15. Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. National Statistics Office.
16. "Province of". Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
17. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
18. "Poverty incidence (PI):". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
19. "Estimation of Local Poverty in the Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 29 November 2005.
20. "2003 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 23 March 2009.
21. "City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates; 2006 and 2009" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 3 August 2012.
22. "2012 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 31 May 2016.
23. "Municipal and City Level Small Area Poverty Estimates; 2009, 2012 and 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. 10 July 2019.
24. "PSA Releases the 2018 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
25. "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
26. "2019 National and Local Elections" (PDF). Commission on Elections. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
27. "Masterlist of Schools" (PDF). Department of Education. January 15, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2025.

Works cited

Books

• Bacdayan, Albert. The Peace Pact System of the Kalingas in the Modern World. Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms, Inc., 1967.
• Barton, Roy F. The Kalingas: Their Institutions and Custom Law. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1949.
• De Los Reyes, Angelo J. & Aloma M. De Los Reyes, eds. Igorot: A People Who Daily Touch the Earth and Sky. Vol. II. Baguio City: Cordillera Schools Group, 1986.
• DILG-CAR. Cordillera Almanac Vol. 1 : Local Government Units. Baguio City: DILG-CAR, 1999.
• Dozier, Edward P. Mountain Arbiters: The Changing Life of a Philippine Hill People. Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona Press, 1966.
• The Kalinga of Northern Luzon, Philippines. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967.
• Finin Gerard A. The Making of the Igorot: Contours of Cordillera Consciousness. Manila: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2005.
• Jenista, Frank Lawrence. The White Apos: American Governors on the Cordillera Central. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1987.
• Lawless, Robert. The Social Ecology of the Kalingas of Northern Luzon. Ann Arbor, MI: Xerox University Microfilms, 1975.
• Scott, William Henry, ed. German Travelers on the Cordillera (1860–1890). Manila: Filipiniana Book Guild, 1975.
• The Discovery of the Igorots: Contacts with the Pagans of Northern Luzon. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1974.
• Sugguiyao, Miguel. The Kalinga Hilltribe of the Philippines. Manila: ONCC, 1990.

Periodicals

• Dannang, Noe. “The Rotary Way of Curbing Vindictive Killings.” The Highland Leader. October 1994, 5.
• Scott, William Henry. “Notes on the History of the Mountain Provinces – IV.” University of Baguio Journal, IX-1 (1974): 1-4

External links

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System