HISTORY OF PILAR
Pilar grew out of one of the first settlements established by the Spaniards in Luzon. After establishing the very first settlement in Gibalong (now Magallanes) in the later half of the 16th century, the Spanish expeditionary force headed inland. The group found the place hospitable enough that they decided to establish what become known as the Abucay-Catamlangan Mission, which formed the core of what was to become the town of Pilar.
The Lucrative Manila-Acapulco galleon trade in 1600s resulted to the establishment of one of the biggest & most important Spanish shipyards in Bagatao Island, Magallanes, and just across the Abucay-Catamlangan Mission. But being an island the Bagatao shipyard proved to be extremely vulnerable to the often-bloody Moro pirate raids. The Bagatao shipyard was raided & destroyed several times by the Moro raiders forcing the Spanish authorities & shipyard owners to look for safer sites for their shipbuilding activities.
Pilar site was an alternative. It offered a safe harbor being inside Panlatuan Bay, an abundant supply of timber and abaca hemp, & native labor that could be conscripted to render a free labor. The abaca hemp worldwide export boom which lasted from 1820 to the closing years of the 19th century made the Bicol area very progressive. Albay was in fact the richest province in the archipelago during the 1840s even as the galleon trade was nearing its final years. Even after the galleon trade ended in 1850 the shipyards in Pilar continued operation.
By 1833 what is now Pilar was then known as the Visita de Santo Nińo established by the inhabitants from Donsol. Three decades later the villagers of Sto. Nińo & Panlatuan including other adjoining smaller villages would formally petition for the declaration of their place as a separate and independent town from Cagsaua (now Daraga), town of Albay.
Pilar was declared a separate town on August 6, 1861, as a cluster of the visitas of Sto. Nińo, Panlatuan, Ynang, Putiao, Sapa & Cadanlogan that together met the minimum requirement of at least 500 tribute-payers. It was named Pilar in honor of the newborn infant princess, Pilar, daughter of Spanish King Phillip II & Queen Isabela I.
A year later the town became a full-pledged parish, with Our Lady of the Pillar as its titular. Pilar became a town of Sorsogon after the latter was declared a separate province in 1984
VISION
We envision Pilar as the best local transshipment point in the Bicol Region with people who are healthy, productive and empowered living in a progressive and life-sustaining environment inspired by a competent gender sensitive and righteous system of governance guided by Divine Providence.
MISSION
To uplift the quality of life of Pilarińos through the development of port, eco-tourism and agri-based industry with active participation of al stakeholders.
LOCATION MAP
The Municipality of Pilar is located at the northwestern part of the Province of Sorsogon, which is on the southernmost tip of the Island of Luzon. It is 57 kilometers road distance from the provincial capital town of Sorsogon and 47 kilometers south of Legazpi City. Its geographical coordinates are 12-55-44.117 north latitude & 123-39-52.280 east longitude.
It is bounded on the north by the province of Albay; on the east by the municipality of Castilla; on the south by Pilar Bay; and on the west by the municipality of Donsol.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE
ENVIRONMENT
Pilar’s economy is predominantly agricultural. Despite efforts on diversification it is heavily dependent on the monoculture of coconut which is planted to 70% of its total land area. As such it is a major supplier of copra to the coconut oil milling industry in Bicol. Other common agricultural products include rice, corn, banana, root crops, vegetables and assorted tropical fruits. Next to agricultural farming, fishing is the most common economic activity and the main source of income of many coastal residents. Pilar after all, is considered as one of the richest fishing grounds. As to mineral resources, an estimated 217,000,000 metric tons of perlite & limestone deposit is present in Pilar-Donsol area as reported by the Department of Environment & Natural Resources-region V.
Pilar is fully dependent from outside sources for its consumable & consumer durable finished products. Brought in by distributors, jobbers, manufactures themselves, & by local store owners, these finished goods find their way to a network of wholesalers & retailers. Stores whose main concern is the trading of these goods dominate Pilar’s commercial activity.
Wholesalers generally sell consumer & other input goods to retailers, mostly general (sari-sari) stores servicing a particular neighborhood. Retail stores account nearly 70% of business establishments. They also sell inputs to agriculture, construction, & craft-&trade-based shops.
As the preferred gateway of some Masbate residents to Bicol, Pilar is fast becoming a transshipment point of goods & from the island of Ticao & even Masbate Island itself. This is after the port improvement & the completion of the concreting of the road connecting Pilar to the main national highway.
As a copra producer, Pilar has five (5) copra dealers who serve purchase orders they contact with Legazpi Oil in Albay.
GEOGRAPHICAL DATA AREA
Pilar has a total Land area of 24,813.33 hectares- the Largest in the fourteen towns of Sorsogon. It has 49 barangays, four of which are considered urban, fourteen are considered coastal barangays and the rest are either interior or along the national road.
TOPOGRAPHY
Pilar’s terrain ranges from plain to hilly and mountainous. Plain and coastal plains are used as settlements and irrigated rice lands. Hilly lands and mountainous areas are devoted to coconut, upland agriculture, and other forestry uses.
VITAL INDICATORS
CLIMATE
The climate of Pilar is Type 2 which has no dry season and with a very pronounced maximum rainfall from November to January. Rainy months coincide with the typhoon season.
Temperature ranges from 22°C during the coolest month to 35°C during the hottest month. Average temperature is 27°C.
Three wind systems affect the area. The Northeast Monsoon prevails during the months of October to January. The easterly trade winds (South Pacific trades) come February to mid – May. The Southeast Monsoon wind prevails during the rest of the year. On typhoon frequency, the country has been divided into six zones. Pilar together with the rest of Bicol Peninsula and the island-province of Catanduanes is passed by three tropical cyclones every two years.
POPULATION
According to the latest official census of population on year 2000, Pilar has a total of 57,898 inhabitants, 51% of which are males. There are 10,833 households & the Annual Growth Rate from 1995-2000 is 2.62%. Three-fourths of the population is below 35 years old. The single biggest ten-year group was 0-9 years composing one-third of the total. The potential labor force, 15-64 years old is 53% of the population.
SERVICES, HEALTH & WELFARE
In line with the thrust of the Local Government to sustain healthy people and healthy community, the Rural Health Unit is regularly providing pre-natal care to pregnant women, iron and vitamin a supplementation to lactating mothers, immunization to children, general medical services and health education.
The LGU has also reached out patients from far-flung areas through a medical and dental missions initiated by the Local Chief Executive in partnership with the provincial government, private hospitals and non-government organizations. Free cataract operations were also conducted to cataract patients in collaboration with the Legaspi Eye Center. For this year, a total of seven patients have already availed of this type of service and another ten are waiting for they are still complying with the requirements.
Recognizing the high cost of medical treatment and supplies nowadays, the LGU has enrolled this year a total of 2,594 indigent families to Philhealth Insurance. This covers not only the cost of hospitalization fees with accredited health clinic.
POWER
About 29.09% of the total numbers of households in the municipality are presently served by the Sorsogon II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (SORECO II), of this households 2, 648 are categorized as residential, 100 are commercial, 11 industrial & 58 considered as institutional. All barangays are energized now.
WATER
The Pilar Water District is now serving 540 households in the town proper. On the other hand, households in the rural barangays depend on 127 dug wells, 363 shallow wells connected with jetmatic pumps & 60 deep wells scattered randomly in the 49 barangays of the municipality.
COMMUNICATION
At present, two cell phone communication providers are operating namely Globe & Smart Telecommunications. At present, there are three functional public telephone calling office being operated by Bayantel, BTTI & PT&T. The Bureau of Telecommunications has one office based at the Municipal hall compound. There is one cable TV station in the town proper.
RADIO
One FM Radio station operates in Pilar, DWMP-FM that broadcasts at 102.9 MHZ frequency. It is operated by the Manila Broadcasting Company.
EDUCATION
There are forty eight (48) public elementary schools, six secondary schools of which two are privately run as of 2000. All forty-nine barangays have their day care centers, each of which are being operated by their respective barangay councils. There are two pilot day care centers separately located at the two districts of the municipality.
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS – LGU PILAR
THE INTER-FAITH PROGRAM
The Inter-Faith Program has realized by the late Mayor Manny T. Sia’s dream, that is, friendship in diverse faith, and has likewise proven that different religious sects can work together in partnership with the government for a common good.
Created to implement the program, the Pilar Heritage and Tourism Council, has now thirteen religious sects as members represented by their respective church leaders. This Council now managed the Pilar Interfaith Memorial Park, located at barangay Sta. Fe and the Tourism program of the local government.
PIESUP
A multi-awarded program, PIESUP intends to develop its greater asset, the human resources and increase their productivity. The program is now focused in three components: the Pre-school program, support to newly opened schools, and the Manpower training program.
The Pre-school program provides the basic educational foundation to pre-schoolers, now a requirement in entering elementary school. All 49 barangays has its own center, supported by both the barangay council and the municipal government.
We have noted a significant increase in the enrollment of the schools (both elementary and high school) established during the administration of the present Local Chief Executive. This is an indicator that bringing the school nearer to the students has improved access to formal education and PIESUP continuing support to said schools has produced a significant outcome.
The Manpower Training Program provides demand-driven technical education and skills training to youth and unemployed labor force in coordination with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). The Pilar Youth and Manpower Development Council implement the training program with the assistance of the Public Information Office.
LIVELIHOOD PROGRAM
Addressing the widespread poverty being experienced nowadays is not an easy task. It needs commitment and collaborative effort. Thus, the local government tapped the assistance of concerned agencies like the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science, Technology, Department of Agriculture, Non-government Organizations and others who are willing to help.
Utilizing appropriate technology and provision of hybrid seeds and seedlings is one of the strategies used to increase production of local farmers. Hence, the Municipal Agriculture Office has conducted various types of training (mud crab and seaweeds production, and other culture methods)and seedlings (hybrid coconut, pili, and other fruit bearing trees.)were also distributed.
Seaweeds production is one of the very successful projects under this program. Now there are 11 coastal barangays that are engaged in this livelihood, producing more or less 50 tons per season.
PILAR MUNICIPAL PORT
The Pilar Municipal Port has started as a mere fish port, now it serves as transshipment point to the island province of Masbate and other Visayan islands. Presently, there are 13 vessels (4 fast crafts and 9 ordinary vessels) with regular trips that carry passengers and cargoes from Pilar to Masbate and vice versa.
To transport passengers to their destination, buses are waiting at the terminal located inside the port area to serve the passengers going to Metro manila. A total of 23 jeepneys and 22 air condition vans also cater to those who are going to the municipalities of Daraga and Legazpi City in the province of Albay.
While waiting for the trip, passengers can stay at the facility constructed for said purpose or they can buy pasalubong at the Food COURT or market area which is located just outside the gate of the port. Pilar is well known for its abundant fresh marine products like fish, shrimps (sugpo) and crabs (alimango).
The Municipal Port, managed by the LGU Port Management Unit, is under the supervision of the Port Committee. The Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Marines, whose offices are found inside the port premises, assist in its operation.
To date, a continuing infrastructure development and strengthening of operational systems and policies are underway to provide better qualitys service to port users.
ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Consistent with R.A. 9003 and inspired by the Mission and Vision of the Local Government, environmental sanitation and management becomes one of the priority programs of the Local Chief Executive. This was further institutionalized through the enactment of Municipal Ordinance No. 002, series of 2005.
An Environmental Sanitation and Management Unit (ESMU) consisting of three (3) different sections, was formed to implement the Environmental Management Program of the municipality. The first section is the Clean and Green task force tasked, among others, for the beautification activities in the municipality; the second section is the Environmental sanitation and Management Inspectors, tasked for the information dissemination on waste management, traffic enforcement and relevant municipal ordinances enforcement; the third section is the general Services tasked to maintain the cleanliness of the LGU premises, collect the residential and commercial garbage, the management of the dump site and the proposed Organic Fertilizer Plant.
Other activities conducted this program are: tree planting, cleaning of shorelines, and other endeavors related to environmental protection and preservation.
TRANSPORTATION
The municipality has a total of 93.664 kilometers of national, provincial, municipal & barangay road network interconnected & linked to the national highway. Of these, 22 kilometers-municipal street and 51.288 kilometers – barangay roads.
Public transport are readily available, with buses, jeepneys & vans regularly plying the Legazpi-Pilar, Pilar to Putiao-Sorsogon routes, including air-conditioned buses to Manila.
PILAR, SORSOGON 