Basco | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Basco | |
      From the top, left to right: Vayang Rolling Hills,Mount Iraya, Basco Cathedral,Basco Lighthouse, Valugan Beach, andBasco Airport | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Map of Batanes with Basco highlighted | |
OpenStreetMap  | |
.svg)  Basco Basco (Luzon) Show map of Luzon Basco Basco (Batanes) Show map of Batanes | |
| Coordinates:20°27′N121°58′E / 20.45°N 121.97°E /20.45; 121.97 | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Cagayan Valley |
| Province | Batanes |
| District | Lone district |
| Named after | José Basco y Vargas |
| Barangays | 6 (seeBarangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Bayan |
| • Mayor | German A. Caccam |
| • Vice Mayor | Will Lee H. Gabotero |
| • Representative | Ciriaco Gato Jr. |
| • Municipal Council | Members
|
| • Electorate | 6,170 voters (2025) |
| Area | |
• Total | 49.46 km2 (19.10 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 23.4 m (77 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 1,013 m (3,323 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2024 census)[4] | |
• Total | 9,647 |
| • Density | 195.0/km2 (505.2/sq mi) |
| • Households | 2,823 |
| Economy | |
| • Income class | 5th municipal income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 4.36 |
| • Revenue | ₱ 113.5 million (2022) |
| • Assets | ₱ 277.9 million (2022) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 89.55 million (2022) |
| • Liabilities | ₱ 56.83 million (2022) |
| Service provider | |
| • Electricity | Batanes Electric Cooperative (BATANELCO) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ZIP code | 3900 |
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)78 |
| Native languages | Ivatan Tagalog Ilocano |
Basco, officially theMunicipality of Basco[a], is amunicipality and capital of theprovince ofBatanes,Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 9,647 people.[6]
The town is the most populous town in Batanes and is located onBatan Island, the second largest among theBatanes Islands, the northernmost group of islands of the Philippines. The town has a domestic airport,Basco Airport, that serves flights fromManila,Tuguegarao, andItbayat.[citation needed]
TheBasco Lighthouse is one of the landmarks. There is also theBasco Cathedral here.
The town is named afterCapitán GeneralJosé Basco, who led the pacification and conquest of the islands during his term as governor-general.
The municipality has a land area of 49.46 square kilometres (19.10 sq mi) [7] constituting22.58% of the 219.01-square-kilometre- (84.56 sq mi) total area of Batanes.
Basco is politically subdivided into 6barangays.[8] Each barangay consists ofpuroks and some havesitios.
| PSGC | Barangay | Population | ±% p.a. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024[9] | 2010[10] | |||||
| 020901005 | Chanarian | 4.5% | 430 | 360 | ▴ | 1.23% |
| 020901001 | Ihubok II (Kayvaluganan) | 18.4% | 1,779 | 2,344 | ▾ | −1.87% |
| 020901002 | Ihubok I (Kaychanarianan) | 28.3% | 2,728 | 1,822 | ▴ | 2.81% |
| 020901006 | Kayhuvokan | 19.9% | 1,917 | 1,700 | ▴ | 0.83% |
| 020901003 | San Antonio | 23.5% | 2,264 | 1,969 | ▴ | 0.96% |
| 020901004 | San Joaquin | 5.5% | 529 | 384 | ▴ | 2.22% |
| Total | 9,647 | 7,907 | ▴ | 1.37% | ||
Thesitio of Diptan was converted into abarrio, known as San Antonio, in 1955.[11] Also in the same year, thesitios of Coral, Hago, Tuva, Diojango, Canalaan, Honaan and Dimnalamay were amalgamated into thebarrio of San Joaquin.[12]
Basco has atropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classificationAm). Compared to cities such asLaoag orManila, it has a slightly cooler temperatures especially during the winter months due to its northerly location. Unlike these two cities whose hottest months are April and May, Basco has its warmest temperature during the months of June and July, similar to Taiwan.
| Climate data for Basco, Philippines (2001–2020, extremes 1903–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 31.8 (89.2) | 32.6 (90.7) | 34.8 (94.6) | 35.5 (95.9) | 36.4 (97.5) | 36.5 (97.7) | 37.6 (99.7) | 37.2 (99.0) | 36.1 (97.0) | 35.9 (96.6) | 32.9 (91.2) | 32.8 (91.0) | 37.6 (99.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 24.1 (75.4) | 24.8 (76.6) | 26.0 (78.8) | 28.1 (82.6) | 29.8 (85.6) | 30.4 (86.7) | 30.4 (86.7) | 30.0 (86.0) | 29.5 (85.1) | 28.3 (82.9) | 26.9 (80.4) | 24.7 (76.5) | 27.7 (81.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 21.3 (70.3) | 21.9 (71.4) | 23.0 (73.4) | 25.1 (77.2) | 26.8 (80.2) | 27.5 (81.5) | 27.5 (81.5) | 27.2 (81.0) | 26.7 (80.1) | 25.5 (77.9) | 24.2 (75.6) | 21.9 (71.4) | 24.9 (76.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 18.5 (65.3) | 19.1 (66.4) | 20.0 (68.0) | 22.1 (71.8) | 23.8 (74.8) | 24.7 (76.5) | 24.6 (76.3) | 24.4 (75.9) | 23.8 (74.8) | 22.6 (72.7) | 21.4 (70.5) | 19.1 (66.4) | 22.0 (71.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 11.4 (52.5) | 11.6 (52.9) | 12.6 (54.7) | 15.5 (59.9) | 17.2 (63.0) | 19.0 (66.2) | 13.4 (56.1) | 15.0 (59.0) | 16.0 (60.8) | 16.0 (60.8) | 14.0 (57.2) | 11.5 (52.7) | 11.4 (52.5) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 146.0 (5.75) | 91.1 (3.59) | 55.1 (2.17) | 56.4 (2.22) | 215.0 (8.46) | 183.4 (7.22) | 230.5 (9.07) | 321.1 (12.64) | 343.3 (13.52) | 260.7 (10.26) | 268.6 (10.57) | 158.0 (6.22) | 2,329.2 (91.70) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 15 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 150 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 80 | 82 | 82 | 84 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 86 | 86 | 83 | 84 | 82 | 84 |
| Source:PAGASA[13][14] | |||||||||||||
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| Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[15][16][10][17][18][9][19] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the 2020 census, Basco had a population of 9,517.[20] The population density was 190 inhabitants per square kilometre (490/sq mi).
Poverty incidence of Basco
Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]
Basco is part of thelone congressional district of the province of Batanes. It is governed by a mayor, designated as its local chief executive, and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Congressman | Ciriaco Gato Jr. |
| Mayor | Milo Caccam |
| Vice-Mayor | Cholo Gabotero |
| Councilors | Ankie Redondo |
| Jacklord N. Labrador | |
| Carla A. Cordel | |
| Paking Castillo | |
| Eulalia Gordon | |
| Teresita Vinalay | |
| John Paul Castillo | |
| Aren Joseph C. Veracruz |
Basco is accessible by air from Manila via Basco Airport. It is served by PAL Express at present. The other airlines previously operating at Basco Airport have stopped their operations after the COVID 19 pandemic, except for SkyPasada via Tuguegarao Airport in Cagayan. These airlines are the only two airlines available for air travel as of 2024. Planes from Basco Airport are bound to only three places: (1) to Manila, served by PAL Express; (2) to Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, served by SkyPasada; and (3) to Itbayat Island, an island municipality of Batanes Province.
Mobile and internet services are primarily provided by telecom companies such asSmart Communications andGlobe Telecom.
The Schools Division of Batanes governs the town's public education system. The division office is a field office of theDepEd inCagayan Valley region.[30] The Basco Schools Distric Office governs the public and private elementary and high schools throughout the municipality.[31]
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Media related toBasco, Batanes at Wikimedia Commons
Places adjacent to Basco, Batanes | |
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