Malinao, officially the Municipality of Malinao (; ), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Albay Albay (IPA: ), officially the Province of Albay (; ; Baybayin, ᜎᜎᜏᜒᜄᜈ᜔ ᜈᜅ᜔ ᜀᜎ᜔ᜊᜌ᜔), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Bicol Region of the Philippines, mostly on the southeastern part of the isla ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 47,395 people.

History

Malinao was founded in 1600. Between 1600 and 1616, Malinao was then part of the Diocese of Cagsawa (now

Daraga Daraga ( ɐrɐ'gaofficially the Municipality of Daraga ; ), is a municipality in the province of Albay, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 133,893. The municipality is home to the famous Cagsawa Ruins. Hist ...

). It became an independent ''bisita'' or ''sitio'' attached to Sawangan (now Legazpi City) until 1619, when separate religious administration was exercised with Rev. Francisco de Santa Ana, OFM, as first pastor. Local folklore speaks of a plant once rich in this town called "alinao." The prefix "ma", which denotes abundance of something in local dialect, was affixed by the natives in referring to the place abundant with ''Alinao'', thus ''Ma-alinao'' and later corrupted to ''Malinao''. It was in 1916 when, according to legendary account, Malinao got its name. A siege by Moros on the town resulted in the abduction of seven women. Miraculously, the boat sank within the jurisdictional waters of Malinao and on that same spot in the sea across the island of natunawan because of the women's fervent prayer in canticles and "tarahades" or clear thoughts for the Blessed Virgin to sink the boat. From these "clear thoughts" of the seven women translated in Bicol dialect as "malinao na isip". The name of Malinao was given to the municipality. It has since then the tradition among the residents, particularly the women, to sing the canticles or ''tarahades'' in times of crisis, calamities, or when they want to drive away epidemics and misfortunes.

Geography

According to the

Philippine Statistics Authority The Philippine Statistics Authority (; PSA) is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that collects, compiles, analyzes, and publishes statistical information on economic, social, demographic, political affairs, and gene ...

, the municipality has a land area of constituting of the total area of Albay. Malinao occupies a narrow stretch of plains hemmed in by Lagonoy Gulf in the east and Mount Malinao on the west. The area is dominated by the mountain ranges of Malinao, with a peak altitude of above sea level. It is from Legazpi and southeast of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Barangays

Malinao is politically subdivided into 29

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. Of these, 12 are upland barangays, 13 lowland barangays, and 4 are coastal barangays. Twenty-five barangays are rural areas and the remaining four are urban.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, Malinao had a population of 47,395. The population density was . In 1995, The total population was 33,872, which increased by 2359 individuals or 6.94% for five (5) years in 2000. In the 2010 census, the population had reached 42,770. Of these, less than ten (10) percent or 3,301 reside in the urban barangays of Bagumbayan, Pawa, Payahan, and Poblacion. The rest of the constituents meanwhile stay on the rural barangays: Awang, Bagatangki, Balading, Balza, Bariw, Baybay, Bulang, Burabod, Cabunturan, Comun, Diaro, Estancia, Jonop, Labnig, Libod, Malolos, matalipni, Ogob, Quinarabasahan, Santa Elena, Soa, Sugcad, Tagoytoy, Tanawan, and Tuliw. The densest areas are Estancia, Labnig, and Balading while Awang and Bagatangki are the least populated in the rural areas. The majority of its population is engaged in agriculture and other agri-related enterprise.

Economy

References

External links

* * Philippine Standard Geographic Code {{Authority control Municipalities of Albay