Boac | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Boac | |
 Boac Cathedral and Fortress | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nicknames: Montserrat de Marinduque,Ang Bayang Biak | |
 Map of Marinduque with Boac highlighted | |
OpenStreetMap  | |
.svg)  Boac Location within thePhilippines | |
| Coordinates:13°27′N121°50′E / 13.45°N 121.83°E /13.45; 121.83 | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Mimaropa |
| Province | Marinduque |
| District | Lone district |
| Founded | December 8, 1622 |
| Barangays | 61 (seeBarangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Bayan |
| • Mayor | Armi DC. Carrion |
| • Vice Mayor | Mark Anthony E. Seño |
| • Representative | Reynaldo Salvacion |
| • Municipal Council | Members
|
| • Electorate | 38,627 voters (2025) |
| Area | |
• Total | 212.70 km2 (82.12 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 90 m (300 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 1,103 m (3,619 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2024 census)[3] | |
• Total | 54,365 |
| • Density | 255.59/km2 (661.99/sq mi) |
| • Households | 14,204 |
| Demonym | Boakeño |
| Economy | |
| • Income class | 1st municipal income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 14.65 |
| • Revenue | ₱ 318.7 million (2022) |
| • Assets | ₱ 930 million (2022) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 210.9 million (2022) |
| • Liabilities | ₱ 172.8 million (2022) |
| Service provider | |
| • Electricity | Marinduque Electric Cooperative (MARELCO) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ZIP code | 4900 |
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)42 |
| Native languages | Tagalog |
| Website | www |
Boac, officially theMunicipality of Boac (Tagalog:Bayan ng Boac), is amunicipality and capital of theprovince ofMarinduque, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 54,365 people.[5]
Situated in the western coast ofMarinduque island, the municipality is bordered in the north by the municipality ofMogpog, in the west by theTayabas Bay andSibuyan Sea, in the east by the municipality ofTorrijos, and in the south by the municipalities ofGasan andBuenavista.
Boac, a heritage town in its own right, is known as one of the main venues of the annualMoriones Festival and is the location of a number of historical sites inMarinduque including theBoac Cathedral fortress church, Casa Real and the Liwasan ng Kalayaan, Laylay Port, and the Battle of Paye site. The municipality is also home to the Marinduque Branch of theNational Museum of the Philippines.
The toponymBoac is derived from theCebuano wordbu-ak, cognatic to theTagalog wordbi-ak and the southern Tagalog termba-ak. This is in reference to the town being bisected by the Boac River which runs from the Central Marinduque and Balagbag Mountain Ranges to the west coast facing theTayabas Bay.[6] Other references suggest that the nameBoac is derived from theTagalog termbulwak referring to the gush of water at the estuaries and mouth of the Boac River.
During theSpanish colonization, the firstvisita calledMontserrat de Marinduque was established in the island in 1580 in what is now Boac.
In the early years ofSpanish colonization in Marinduque, it was first mentioned in Miguel de Loarca'sRelacion de las Yslas Filipinas (1582-1583) that the natives of the island arePintados or tattooed people resembling those from theCamarines Provinces and theVisayan Islands.
In 1580, the firstvisita was established in the island of Marinduque and was calledMontserrat de Marinduque in what is now the municipality of Boac; thisvisita was governed by Fray Alonzo Banol as minister.
In 1621, SpanishJesuit missionaries brought a three-foot Marian image to Boac which will later be known as theMahal na Ina ng Biglang Awa. Notorious for their sea raids, a group of Muslim pirates from the southern Philippines sieged Boac in the mid-17th century along the shores of Laylay and eventually into the Poblacion located along the Boac River.[7]
In panic, the locals took refuge in the fortress church of Boac as able-bodied men defended the outer walls against the attacks. Many locals were killed and, by the third day of siege, the surviving locals began to run short on food and the capture of the fortress became imminent. As an act of faith, the survivors prayed fervently at the throne of Mary, asking her to deliver them from these enemies. According to legends, a very strong storm with torrential rain, thunder, and lightning engulfed the area and at its very height, it was reported that the image of a beautiful lady with outstretched arms appeared standing on the top of the fortress wall. Terrorized, the pirates fled in confusion to theirvintas and left the island.[7]
Since then, the image of Mary has been honoured and given the title "Biglang Awa." To commemorate this miracle, the old image brought by the Jesuits in Boac was placed in a shrine erected on the portion of the wall where Mary is said to have appeared.[citation needed]
In 1942, Boac was occupied by Japanese troops. In 1945, the Battle of Marinduque began and the American-Philippine Commonwealth troops landed in Boac after the war was built of the general headquarters of thePhilippine Commonwealth Army andPhilippine Constabulary from 1945 to 1946 station in this municipality.
The Provincial Government of Marinduque under Gov. Carmencita O. Reyes built a larger-than-life-size image of the Our Lady of Biglang Awa in cement and placed in the seashore in Balanacan Port to welcome travelers to the island.[7]
On May 10, 2008, the Diocese of Boac celebrated the 50th anniversary and the golden anniversary of theCanonical coronation of Mahal na Birhen ng Biglang-Awa (1958–2008). Cebu Archbishop-CardinalRicardo Vidal of Mogpog, Marinduque, officiated at the consecrated mass.
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Boac is the third largest of the six municipalities of the province of Marinduque, afterSanta Cruz and Torrijos. It borders all the municipalities of the province: Mogpog to the north, Santa Cruz to the Northeast, Torrijos to the East, Buenavista to the South and Gasan to the South Southwest.
The municipality is generally hilly, rugged and mountainous in the south and eastern part with thin strips of flat and farm lands and long shoreline in the west. The longest and largest river, Boac River, which gets its source in the mountainous forest in the extreme southwest and spills off to the northern shore of Boac, divides the municipality into two geographical areas: north and south.
The closest town-to-town reference to Boac is the municipality of Mogpog which is approximately 5 kilometers. Boac is connected to Mogpog and Gasan by the Marinduque Circumferential Highway or the Pan-Marinduque Highway. Two bridges connect the north and south area of the municipality: the narrow Tabi Bridge which connects Barangay Tabi and Barangay San Miguel and the said-to-be the longest bridge in the province, Biglang Awa Bridge (186m), which connects Barangay Tampus and Barangay Bantad. A narrow minor road connects Boac and Mogpog via Buliasnin-Nangka Road, and Boac and Gasan via Duyay-Tapuyan Trail. Boac has a total road network of 117.61 kilometers.
Geopolitically, Boac is divided into six zones: Poblacion, Riverside, Ilaya I, Ilaya II, Seaside A and Seaside B. Boac's geographical center is roughly located between the border of Barangay Binunga and Barangay Can-at.
Boac is home to most of the province's commercial businesses.[8] Barangays San Miguel, Murallon, and Mercado are the town's business district where the public market, medium-rise buildings, sports arena and Boac Town Arena, now Moriones Arena are. Meanwhile, Barangay Isok is home to the town's education district. Marinduque National High School, St. Mary's College of Marinduque, Don Luis Hidalgo Memorial School, Barangay Day Care Centers, Boac North District Office and the Division of Marinduque DepED Office is in Barangay Isok. The Municipal Building Hall is at Barangay Tampus, adjacent is the Marinduque Museum at Barangay Malusak.
The Marinduque Provincial Capitol is in Barangay Santol near the Dr. Damian Reyes Memorial Hospital (formerly Marinduque Provincial Hospital) and Camp Maximo Abad.[9]
Boac is politically divided into 61barangays. [10] Each barangay consists ofpuroks and some havesitios.
| Climate data for Boac, Marinduque | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 26 (79) | 27 (81) | 29 (84) | 31 (88) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 28 (82) | 26 (79) | 29 (83) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22 (72) | 22 (72) | 22 (72) | 23 (73) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 23 (74) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 83 (3.3) | 55 (2.2) | 44 (1.7) | 37 (1.5) | 90 (3.5) | 123 (4.8) | 145 (5.7) | 125 (4.9) | 135 (5.3) | 166 (6.5) | 163 (6.4) | 152 (6.0) | 1,318 (51.8) |
| Average rainy days | 15.1 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 11.4 | 19.9 | 23.7 | 26.3 | 23.9 | 23.9 | 22.1 | 20.2 | 18.6 | 227.8 |
| Source: Meteoblue[11] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1903 | 15,823 | — |
| 1918 | 17,656 | +0.73% |
| 1939 | 20,977 | +0.82% |
| 1948 | 19,687 | −0.70% |
| 1960 | 26,712 | +2.58% |
| 1970 | 32,402 | +1.95% |
| 1975 | 35,649 | +1.93% |
| 1980 | 37,005 | +0.75% |
| 1990 | 41,034 | +1.04% |
| 1995 | 44,609 | +1.58% |
| 2000 | 48,504 | +1.81% |
| 2007 | 50,823 | +0.65% |
| 2010 | 52,892 | +1.46% |
| 2015 | 54,730 | +0.65% |
| 2020 | 57,283 | +0.96% |
| 2024 | 54,365 | −1.25% |
| Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[12][13][14][15][16] | ||
According to the 2024 census, the population of Boac is 54,365 people[17], with a population density of 260 people per square kilometer. The most densely populated areas are in the Poblacion, northwest, and southwest barangays. Barangays in the eastern portions of the municipality are generally sparsely populated. Approximately 70% of the population lives along the national highways or within 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the national road. Furthermore, approximately 5% of the total population lives in the town proper and 10% lives in the sub-urban barangays.
Poverty incidence of Boac
10 20 30 40 50 2000 40.28 2003 18.55 2006 24.70 2009 26.54 2012 7.50 2015 15.23 2018 13.44 2021 14.65 Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] |
In the centre of town, the Boac Public Market is one of the town's landmarks. Vendors sell dry and wet products in four air-conditioned buildings. Transport terminals near the market carry goods to other barangays. It is considered to be the mini-supermarket of the province.
The poblacion area is called as Boac Central Business District (BCBD). The newly constructed two-floor Town Market with about 100 stores is in the heart of the poblacion.
Biglang-Awa Bridge is the longest bridge in the province, connecting Barangay Tampus to Barangay Bantad. Many people stand on the bridge to watch the sun set and to get a good view of theBoac Cathedral.
There are two schools district offices which govern all educational institutions within the municipality. They oversee the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.[26] These are the Boac North Schools District, and Boac South Schools District.
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Roman Catholicism is the major religion in Boac, with the see of the Diocese located in its town proper, theImmaculate Conception Cathedral.
There are also several Christian denominations present, such as the Iglesia ni Cristo, which operates chapels in Boac. Born-Again groups are also active such as theVictory, Solid Rock, and Jesus the Lord of Lords Churches.
Places adjacent to Boac, Marinduque | |
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 Province ofMarinduque | |
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Boac (capital and largest municipality) | |
| Municipalities | |
