Sorsogon Overview
by: RohClem, Sorwebmaster

Sorsogon occupies the southernmost tip of the Bicol Region. The province is virtually enclosed by water except at the northern portion adjoining Albay. Sorsogon Bay nearly cuts the province in half, leaving a narrow offshoot of land where the municipality of Sorsogon, the capital of the province, is situated. San Bernardino Strait, which links the Pacific Ocean to Ticlao and Burias pass, separates Sorsogon from the island of Samar.

Under the Spanish rule, Juan dela Guardia was the first governor of this province. He was succeeded one after another by Guillermo Montes, Saliendo Salazar and Leandro Villamil.

During the American colonization, a civil government was established in Sorsogon on April forces on April 29, 1945.

With its present land area of 2,141.4 square kilometers or 0.71 percent of the total land area of the country, Sorsogon, classified as a third class province, has sixteen municipalities broken into 541 barangays. All of its municipalities except Irosin are located along its coastline.

Capital: Sorsogon City
Area: 2,141.4 sq. km.
Cities: 1
No. of Towns: 14 (16 before, Sorsogon and Bacon has joined as cityhood)

THE PEOPLE

Bicolano is the mother tongue used in the province.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Topographical and hydrological features

Hills, plains, valleys, and mountains characterize the terrain of Sorsogon. These plains and mountains are not only enchanting, but are also good hunting grounds. The province has six major elevations, the highest of which is Mt. Bulusan, a semi-active volcano located in the municipality of Bulusan. Lakes, springs, beach resorts and waterfalls can be found also in the province.

A big boom to the province is the Manila South Road, a portion of the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway, which runs from Sto. Tomas town in Batangas to Matnog in Sorsogon, a distance of 600 kilometers. The road provides an all-weather link between Manila and Bicolor and runs through some of the most beautiful countryside's of Southern Luzon.

Land Classification

From 1981 - 1986, 173.4 thousand hectares or 81 percent of the total land area of the province, which is 214.1 thousand hectares, were classified as certified alienable and disposable lands, while 19.0 percent were forestlands. Of the total forestlands in 1981-1984, 12.8 thousand hectares were established timberlands, which increased by 127.6 percent in 1985 and 123.8 percent in 1986. a total land area of 8.1 thousand hectares was established forest resources and only 3.7 thousand hectares were classified as national parks or game refuge and sanctuaries/wilderness.

Soil Type

Sorsogon has many types of soil varying from sandy loam to hydrosol.

EDUCATION

Number of Schools

In school year 1985-1986, number of schools in Sorsogon (excluding tertiary) totalled 547, 517 were government or public schools and 30 were private schools. Elementary schools numbered 467; secondary schools, 73; and pre-schools, 7.

Enrollment

Total enrolment in public schools (except pre-school and tertiary) in school year 1988-1989 numbered 127.4 thousand, 82.9 percent) were enrolled in elementary level while 17.1 percent were enrolled in secondary level. Of the 127.4 thousand enrollees, 51.6 percent were males and 48.4 percent were females.

Number of teachers in secondary public and private schools for the same school year totalled 651, 499 were public school teachers and 152 were private school teachers.

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