MUNICIPALITY OF SAN RAPHAEL

MUN. OF SAN RAFAEL

Mayor: JEANET E.BALASICO Vice Mayor: GLENN DIERON

[ Brief History ] [ Location and Accessibility ] [ Political Subdivision ] [ Resource Profile ] [ Demographic Profile ] [ Economic Profile ]

BRIEF HISTORY

For more than a century, San Rafael remained a barangay of Barotac Viejo; however, in June 21, 1969, the defunct Congress of the Republic of the Philippines made San Rafael an independent municipality through the Republic Act No. 5471.

LOCATION AND ACCESSIBILITY

The Municipality of San Rafael is situated in the northern part of the Province. On its eastern side, it is bounded by the municipalities of Lemery and Ajuy, on the western by the municipalities of Passi and San Enrique, on the southern by the municipality of Barotac Viejo, all of the province of Iloilo, and on the northern by the municipality of Dumarao Capiz.

San Rafael is approximately 72 kilometers away from Iloilo City or about two hours ride in passenger bus.

POLITICAL SUBDIVISION / JURISDICTION

The municipality of San Rafael consists of nine (9) barangays, namely; Aripdip, Bagacay, Calaigang, Ilongbukid, Poblacion, Poscolon, San Andres, San Dionisio and San Florentino. Of the nine barangays, San Dionisio is the largest with a total land area of 1,772.5532 hectares and Aripdip is the smallest with a total land area of 486.4018 hectares. The next three largest barangays are; Poblacion with 1,476.3524 hectares, San Florentino, 993.5601 hectares and San Andres, 974.0931 hectares.

RESOURCE PROFILE

Land area - 8,549.5073 hectares

Land use

Agricultural land - 8,465.33 hectares
Residential land - 23.09 hectares
Commercial land - 1.56 hectares
Government / Public land - 59.54 hectares

Topography

The topography of San Rafael is generally mountainous and rugged. Approximately, 3670.3584 hectares or 42.93% has a slope of 3%, 1835.6066 hectares or 21.47% has a slope ranging from 3.1 to 6 %, while 969.5288 hectares and 2074.1415 hectares has a slope ranging from 8 to 18% and 18.1 and above percent, respectively. Generally, 99.02% of the land area is arable and devoted to agricultural production, while the remaining is considered as brushland or forestland.

Climate

San Rafael has two distinct seasons, the dry and wet seasons. Dry season starts in February and ends in May. The wet months are June to January.

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE

Population - 11,704

ECONOMIC PROFILE

Agriculture

The municipality of San Rafael is dominantly a rice producing area. There are 1,243 rice farmers in the locality cultivating an aggregate farm area of 1,886 hectares

Aside from Palay, the farmers also grow crops such as sugarcane, corn, coffee, coconut, banana, and cassava. Mostly a rainfed area, rice is usually followed by upland crops, cassava and other root crops.

Carabaos are raised primarily as draft animal, while cattle, swine and goats are raised both for sale and a few for some consumption. On the other hand, most of the poultry are sold, the rest are utilized for home consumption.

[ Brief History ] [ Location and Accessibility ] [ Political Subdivision ] [ Resource Profile ] [ Demographic Profile ] [ Economic Profile ]