Lopez, Quezon

Lopez
Municipality
Map of Quezon showing the location of Lopez
Lopez Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 13°53′N 122°16′E / 13.883°N 122.267°E / 13.883; 122.267Coordinates: 13°53′N 122°16′E / 13.883°N 122.267°E / 13.883; 122.267
Country	Philippines
Region	CALABARZON (Region IV-A)
Province	Quezon
District	4th district of Quezon
Founded	April 30, 1856
Barangays	95
Government[1]
• Mayor	Isaias B. Ubana II
Area[2]
• Total	355.38 km2 (137.21 sq mi)
Population (2010)[3]
• Total	91,074
• Density	260/km2 (660/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
ZIP code	4316
Dialing code	42
Income class	1st class; partially urban

Lopez is a first class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. It is located in the southern part of the province, 220 kilometres (140 mi) from Manila, 83 kilometres (52 mi) east from Lucena, 25 kilometres (16 mi) to Camarines Norte, 3 nautical kilometers to Alabat Island.

Geography

Lopez is one of the largest municipalities in the province and has a total land area of 395.1 square kilometers representing 4.53% of the total land area of the province of Quezon.

The terrain generally ranges from 345 to 399 metres (1,132 to 1,309 ft) above sea level with rugged mountain areas. Coastal areas deviate from plain to hilly terrains. Rivers, streams and springs abound throughout the municipality, but the most prominent is the Talolong River.

It is bordered by the municipalities of Catanauan and General Luna on the south, Macalelon on the southwest, Calauag on the northeast, Gumaca on the west, Buenavista and Guinayangan on the east.

Barangays

Lopez is politically subdivided into 95 barangays, 7 of which are urban and 88 are rural.^[2]

History

There was a flourishing coastal settlement somewhere in the southern part of the municipality of Gumaca called Talolong. The settlement’s name was derived from the name of sturdy trees abundant in the place locally called Talolong with scientific name Drypetes bordenii and widely known as Balikbikan.

The original location of the settlement was in the marshy mouth of a sedate river, which was founded by the descendants of Datu Dumangsil and Datu Balinsusa of the Kalilayan kingdom. Due to the frequent plundering and terrorism of the pirates, the colony was transferred to the present town’s location.

The settlement of Lakan Bugtali who founded the community of Gumaca was gone. Even a trace of its remains cannot be identified neither the vintages of the encomienda of Kalilayan nor a fraction of its 16th century glories. When it became a sitio through a papal bull, the village started to manage by her own.

Demographics

Settlement areas in the municipality are highly scattered; population concentration is noticeable only within the poblacion, that is, the urban barangays of Burgos, Danlagan, Gomez, Magsaysay, Rizal, San Lorenzo Ruiz (Bocboc) and Talolong as well as the rural barangays of Mal-ay, Sugod, Pansol, Calantipayan, Manguisian, Del Pilar, Bebito, Canda Ibaba and Canda Ilaya which are traversed by the national highway. The rest of rural barangays are reached by other road networks which are accessible during dry and wet season. According to the 2007 census, it had a population of 86,660,^[4] a quarter of which are in the urban areas and the rest are in the rural areas. Males outnumbered the females at a ratio of 105.34 to 100. The population grew to 91,074 in the 2010 census.^[3]

Religion

• Roman Catholic
• Iglesia Ni Cristo
• Seventh Day Adventist
• Jehovah's Witnesses
• Baptist

Economy

Lopez had a labor force of 56.99% in 2000 or 44,849. About 9,474 of the employed labor force were engaged in primary industries such as farming and fishing. Its economy is basically engaged in agriculture, crops, poultry and livestock production. Around 17,778.57 has. representing 45% of the total land area planted to coconut trees, 2,300 has. are established to rice production, 628 has. to corn harvest. Growing around are natural materials for handicraft such as wild vines, buri, anahaw, tikiw, bamboo, cogon and talahib.Several cottage industries exist in the locality such as bamboo furniture, bolo, baskets, rattan, anahaw and buri fan making, buntal and tikiw. It also has rich fishing grounds in the Lopez Bay area and a number of inland fishponds. Fish, shrimps, prawns, crabs and other sea products are abundant.

Rice is also a major staple crop, the municipality is also a major banana producer in the region. Other crops grown in the municipality are citrus, root crops, vegetables and industrial crops. Majority of the farmers are also raising livestock and poultry.

Education

Lopez is dubbed as the educational center of Southern Quezon. Several educational institutions operate in the town serving not just its citizens but also those coming from the Bondoc Peninsula and the Bicol Region. Very notable among these are the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Lopez, Philippine Normal University-Quezon, Eastern Tayabas College and the Lopez National Comprehensive High School. The Quezon Provincial Training Center of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is also located in the town. Lopez is also now home to Laguna State Polytechnic University (LSPU) and Technological University of the Philippines (TUP) as the two state universities have started operating in the town last June 2012. Furthermore, preparatory, primary and secondary education is no longer a problem since several schools have already opened their doors in the far-flung areas to serve the rural youth as part of town's mission of bringing the schools closer to the people.

• Number of Preparatory Schools:
  • Public - 56
  • Private - 6
• Number of Elementary Schools:
  • Public
    • West District - 27
    • East District - 34
  • Private - 5
• Number of Secondary Schools:
  • Public - 13
  • Private - 5
• Number of Tertiary Schools:
  • State Universities - 4
  • Private College - 1

• Number of Non-Formal Schools: 3
• Number of Technical School: 1

Local government

Elected municipal officials 2010–2013:^[1]

• Mayor: Isaias B. Ubana II
• Vice Mayor: Celso A. Arit
• Councilors:
  • Albinio A. Arit Jr.
  • Yvonne Sylvia Z. Mascardo
  • Cenezeo Q. Cerilla
  • Aristotle R. Yumul
  • Efren V. Paraiso
  • Erwin N. Olanda
  • Alex V. Vergara
  • Ricardo V. Rico

Public services

• Number of Hospitals
  • Public - 1
  • Private - 2
• Number of Private Health Clinics - 4
• Number of Brgy. Health Centers - 31
• Number of Police Personnel - 79
• Number of Fire Personnel - 18
• Communication and Transportation Facilities
  • Number of Postal Offices - 2
  • Number of Mobile Phone Companies - 3
  • Number of Landline Phone Companies - 2
  • Number of Telegraph Stations - 2
  • Number of CATV Companies - 1
  • Number of FM Radio Stations - 2

Sports

Lopez Sports Centre is noted for its cockfighting which is held every Sunday. In 2009 it was visited by Charley Boorman as part of By Any Means 2.

Hondagua Bay

References

External links

• Official Website of the Municipality of Lopez, Quezon
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System

	Quezon / Lamon Bay	Calauag	Guinayangan
	Gumaca
	Lopez
	Macalelon	General Luna / Catanauan	Buenavista

v t e Province of Quezon Municipalities Agdangan Alabat Atimonan Buenavista Burdeos Calauag Candelaria Catanauan Dolores General Luna General Nakar Guinayangan Gumaca Infanta Jomalig Lopez Lucban Macalelon Mauban Mulanay Padre Burgos Pagbilao Panukulan Patnanungan Perez Pitogo Plaridel Polillo Quezon Real Sampaloc San Andres San Antonio San Francisco San Narciso Sariaya Tagkawayan Tiaong Unisan Component city Tayabas Highly urbanized city Lucena (Administered with the supervision of the provincial government)