Gubat
Municipality
Municipality of Gubat
Downtown area
Flag Seal
Motto:  Gubat is for Life
Map of Sorsogon with Gubat highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Gubat Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 12°55′08″N 124°07′23″E / 12.9189°N 124.1231°E / 12.9189; 124.1231
Country	Philippines
Region	Bicol Region
Province	Sorsogon
District	2nd district
Founded	June 13, 1764
Barangays	42 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Ronnel U. Lim
• Vice Mayor	Valentin A. Pura IV
• Representative	Vacant
• Municipal Council	Members Jodan Enaje Mark Anthony Flestado Roxan Escanilla Erwin Estremera Danilo Pura Anthony Callos Cesar Esperida Jr. Noe Endaya
• Electorate	40,820 voters (2022)
Area [2]
• Total	134.51 km2 (51.93 sq mi)
Elevation	14 m (46 ft)
Highest elevation	93 m (305 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	60,294
• Density	450/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
• Households	14,568
Demonym	Gubatnons
Economy
• Income class	2nd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	26.38 % (2018)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 201 million (2020)
• Assets	₱ 666.2 million (2020)
• Expenditure	₱ 192.1 million (2020)
• Liabilities	₱ 198.8 million (2020)
Service provider
• Electricity	Sorsogon 2 Electric Cooperative (SORECO 2)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	4710
PSGC	056208000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)56
Native languages	Sorsogon Tagalog
Website	www.gubat.gov.ph

Gubat, officially the Municipality of Gubat (Gubatnon: Bungto san Gubat; Waray: Bungto han Gubat, Tagalog: Bayan ng Gubat), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Sorsogon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 60,294 people.^[3]

Gubat is pronounced with the accent on the second syllable. The people who live here speak the Gubat language which is also a dialect of Waray-Waray of Eastern Visayas, a Southern Sorsoganon sub-language and they were called Gubatnons.

History

Variant of the flag of Gubat

Gubat was originally a big barrio of Bulusan, inhabited by a few Tagalogs, Visayans and Albayanons who travelled on foot to hunt wild animals. These people built their homes close to the shore and called their location Buri, which today is the barrio of Buenavista. In 1764, Gubat finally became a town with Don Pedro Manook, the first Teniente del Barrio, also becoming the first gobernadorcillo. The town proper is named after Don Pedro Manook.

The word "gúbat" means forest in Tagalog. However, the name applied to the town is derived from the verb "guinobat", a term used by the natives which means "raided". In the early days when Christians and Muslims were constantly at odds, Muslim pirates, the Moros, would come in from the southern seas to raid the town. Due to the frequent raids, the town was referred to as "guinobat" which eventually became "Gubat". Legend has it that during one of those raids, the pastor along with the townspeople held up a statue of St. Anthony to ward off the attack, praying for a miracle. In one account, it was said that the child Jesus in St. Anthony's arms drove back the pirates. Hence, St. Anthony of Padua became the town's patron saint, and his feast day is lavishly celebrated as an official parish and town holiday every 13 June.

The town settlers had to move a number of times before finally deciding to settle at a place they considered safe and peaceful. Eventually, they began to expand, laying out permanent streets, the first of which are what we now know as Luna and Calderon Streets.

The main parish church itself has an interesting history. In 1768, the people decided to build a church. The locals, being poor, urged the town captain, Don Juan Bonifacio, to require all men to contribute one cubic meter of "talaksan" (coral stone) apiece. It took ten years of preparation, and it was not until 1778 that construction finally started.

Although it has since undergone several renovations, the church foundation is still the original one built in 1778. The rectory is the oldest and one of the only two remaining rectories dating back that far in the entire Bicol region.

In November 2006, Gubat became the site of a scientific expedition by astronomers Dr. Armando Lee, Bamm Gabriana, and Rochelle Derilo to observe the rare Mercury transit. Gubat was the best town in Luzon to observe the event.^[5]

Geography

Gubat is in the south-eastern part of the island of Luzon, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean on the Bicol Peninsula. It is the third largest town in the province of Sorsogon and is divided into 2 districts: the North District and South District.

Demographics

Economy

The main livelihoods of the people, then and now, are agriculture and fishing. Harvest times for rice crops are from April to May, and December. Fishing is year-round. Forestry products are also source of income here.

Transportation

Bus Terminal in Gubat

Gubat can be reached mostly through land transport from Manila by bus, taking about 12 hours. There are several bus companies that operates daily from Manila to Gubat and vice versa: Alps The Bus Inc., JVH Transport/Pamar, Elavil Tours Phils. Inc., Raymond Transportation, St.Jude Transit, CUL Transport, DLTBCo., Penafrancia Tours/RSL/Isarog and Philtranco.

There are also jeepneys that provide transportation to Sorsogon City, Bulusan, Barcelona, Prieto-Diaz, Casiguran, Irosin and local barangays like Tigkiw, Bentuco and Benguet. Local tricycles travel to the innermost barangays like Union, Bulacao, Rizal, Cabigaan and Sangat.

Communications

The town has modern and efficient communications facilities including cellular mobile phones.

• Sun Cellular
• Globe LTE
• Smart 3G

Telephone Companies

• PLDT
• Digitel

Cable TV

• ANH Cable TV
• DCTV Cable With Broadband

Satellite Cables

• Cignal
• G Sat
• Dream Satellite
• Sky Direct

Radio Stations

• DWPS FM 91.1 mHz "Rainbow Radio"
• Padaba (Gubat) 105.1 mHz

Sports

The beach

Gubat is slowly being recognized as the only beginner friendly surfing spot in the province of Sorsogon. The sand bottom beach breaks of Barangays Ariman and Buenavista (Dangkalan and Rizal Beach) produce 2 to 5 feet waves from September to May. With the formation of Gubat Bay Surfers and surfboards donated by the Local Government Unit under Mayor Ding Ramos, surfing is more accessible to the local population and tourists alike. The Gubat Sorsogon Surfriders Association, Inc. (GSSA) headed by Bidge Villarroya, is also performing well in the National Surf Competition Scene, winning several national surf championships and numerous finalist positions. Gubat is the Top 1 in Ngo Sport Airsoft Society by the NGO Bicol Sorsogon Chapter.

Festivals

The town celebrates its Ginubat Festival annually every June 1–13 in honor of its patron, St. Anthony of Padua. It is also the foundation of the town.

Education

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gubat, Sorsogon.

• Gubat Profile at PhilAtlas.com
• Municipality of Gubat official government website
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine