Gumaca | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Gumaca | |
 Muralla Boulevard at the mouth of Pipisik River | |
.png) Flag  Seal | |
 Map of Quezon with Gumaca highlighted | |
 Interactive map of Gumaca | |
.svg)  Gumaca Location within thePhilippines | |
| Coordinates:13°55′16″N122°06′01″E / 13.921°N 122.1002°E /13.921; 122.1002 | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Calabarzon |
| Province | Quezon |
| District | 4th district |
| Founded | November 13, 1582 |
| Barangays | 59 (seeBarangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Bayan |
| • Mayor | Webster D. Letargo |
| • Vice Mayor | Rico J. Bañal |
| • Representative | Keith Micah DL. Tan |
| • Municipal Council | Members
|
| • Electorate | 44,765 voters (2025) |
| Area | |
• Total | 189.65 km2 (73.22 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 38 m (125 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 181 m (594 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2024 census)[3] | |
• Total | 72,454 |
| • Density | 382.04/km2 (989.48/sq mi) |
| • Households | 19,260 |
| Demonym | Gumacahin / Gumaqueño |
| Economy | |
| • Income class | 1st municipal income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 19.76 |
| • Revenue | ₱ 340 million (2022) |
| • Assets | ₱ 643.4 million (2022) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 287.1 million (2022) |
| • Liabilities | ₱ 129.9 million (2022) |
| Service provider | |
| • Electricity | Quezon 1 Electric Cooperative (QUEZELCO 1) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ZIP code | 4307 |
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)42 |
| Native languages | Tagalog |
| Website | gumaca |
Gumaca, officially theMunicipality of Gumaca (Tagalog:Bayan ng Gumaca), is amunicipality in theprovince ofQuezon, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 72,454 people.[5]
Formerly known asBumaka (meaning "the one who fought"), the town of Gumaca was a settlement founded at the southern bank of Palanas River in the 14th century. The earliest known ruler was Lakan Bugtali.[citation needed]
Gumaca, one of the oldest towns in Quezon Province and only several years younger than the “Noble and Ever Loyal City of Manila”, was already a well-established community even before the Spaniards came. The community had a barangay government as early as the 14th century, Lakan Bugtali being the earliest ruler according to oral tradition and Lakan Gitingan being the last. The Barangay had for its territory much of the areas now under the territorial jurisdiction of the municipalities of Atimonan, Plaridel, Lopez, Calauag, Alabat, Perez, Quezon, Unisan, Pitogo, Guinayangan and Macalelon. Located at the mouth of what is now known as Pipisik River and nestling at the foot of Sierra Madre range, it was-as it is now-also the center of local trade and commerce.[6]
It is perhaps because of this Franciscan friar, Fray Diego de Oropesa, first set foot in the community and introduced Christianity to the people with St. Diego de Alcala being proclaimed as the pueblo’s patron saint. In 1582, the first “visita” was erected and 1686 marked the establishment of a full-pledged town with independent (civil) government, the earlier ones having been headed by the ever-present Spanish friars (the municipality boasts of a still complete line-up of chief executives from 1574 down to the present).[6]
From the early 1980s to the 1990s, there were calls to rename the town as Tañada, after nationalist and past SenatorLorenzo Tañada, with his sonWigberto Tañada proposing to have a poll once elected congressman ofQuezon's fourth district; the renaming eventually did not push through.[7]
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Gumaca is located at the mouth of what is now known as Pipisik River at the foot of the Sierra Madre range. It is 66 kilometres (41 mi) fromLucena and 196 kilometres (122 mi) fromManila.
Gumaca is politically subdivided into 59barangays, as indicated below. Each barangay consists ofpuroks and some havesitios.
| Climate data for Gumaca, Quezon | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | 31 (88) | 30 (86) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 28 (82) | 26 (79) | 29 (84) |
| 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[8] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1903 | 5,324 | — |
| 1918 | 7,540 | +2.35% |
| 1939 | 12,904 | +2.59% |
| 1948 | 19,131 | +4.47% |
| 1960 | 27,284 | +3.00% |
| 1970 | 36,366 | +2.91% |
| 1975 | 39,337 | +1.59% |
| 1980 | 42,143 | +1.39% |
| 1990 | 48,189 | +1.35% |
| 1995 | 53,568 | +2.00% |
| 2000 | 60,191 | +2.53% |
| 2007 | 63,778 | +0.80% |
| 2010 | 69,618 | +3.24% |
| 2015 | 73,877 | +1.14% |
| 2020 | 71,942 | −0.56% |
| Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[9][10][11][12][13] | ||
Poverty incidence of Gumaca
Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]
The municipality is connected with Manila by thePan-Philippine Highway and daily rail services to and from Naga & Legazpi are provided by thePhilippine National Railways.
In order to spur development in the municipality, The Toll Regulatory Board declared Toll Road 5 the extension ofSouth Luzon Expressway.[22] A 420-kilometer, four lane expressway starting from the terminal point of the now under construction SLEX Toll Road 4 at Barangay Mayao, Lucena City in Quezon to Matnog, Sorsogon, near the Matnog Ferry Terminal. On August 25, 2020, San Miguel Corporation announced that they will invest the project which will reduce travel time from Lucena to Matnog from 9 hours to 5.5 hours.[23]
On June 3, 2022, theDepartment of Transportation and San Miguel Corporation signed a Supplemental Toll Operations Agreement (STOA) for SLEX Toll Road 5 which was approved by then PresidentRodrigo Duterte 24 days later.[24]
Another expressway that will serve Gumaca is theQuezon-Bicol Expressway (QuBEx), which will link between Lucena andSan Fernando, Camarines Sur.[25]
The San Diego de Alcala Cathedral is the seat of theDiocese of Gumaca and is considered as the largest cathedral inQuezon,[26] founded as early as 1582 as avisita by theFranciscan friars. The cathedral is under the patronage ofSaint Didacus of Alcala (San Diego in Spanish).
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From the discovery in 1574 and official foundation of Gumaca in 1582, Franciscan Friars have been the Town Heads:
From 1671, Gobernadorcillos are the Heads of Town dof Gumaca (Spanish period): (Mostly composed of Dynasties of Hispanic-Filipino Families)
Presidentes Municipal (American period)
Japanese Occupation (1942–1946)
After the Liberation, the Head of Town has been changed to Municipal Mayor:
Martial Law Era: (1972–1981):
After EDSA People Power I: (1986):
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.[27] These are the Gumaca East Schools District, and Gumaca West Schools District.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
 Province ofQuezon | |
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Lucena (capital and largest city) | |
| Municipalities |
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| Component city | |
| Highly urbanized city |
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