Saint Bernard Himatagon | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Saint Bernard | |
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 Flag | |
 Map of Southern Leyte with Saint Bernard highlighted | |
OpenStreetMap  | |
.svg)  Saint Bernard Location within thePhilippines | |
| Coordinates:10°17′N125°08′E / 10.28°N 125.13°E /10.28; 125.13 | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Eastern Visayas |
| Province | Southern Leyte |
| District | 2nd district |
| Founded | December 9, 1954 |
| Named after | Bernardo Torres |
| Barangays | 30 (seeBarangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Bayan |
| • Mayor | Jocelyn L. Bungcaras(PDPLBN) |
| • Vice Mayor | Vacant |
| • Representative | Christopherson M. Yap |
| • Municipal Council | Members
|
| • Electorate | 18,923 voters (2025) |
| Area | |
• Total | 100.20 km2 (38.69 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 129 m (423 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 786 m (2,579 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2024 census)[3] | |
• Total | 28,131 |
| • Density | 280.75/km2 (727.14/sq mi) |
| • Households | 6,254 |
| Economy | |
| • Income class | 4th municipal income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 29.18 |
| • Revenue | ₱ 172.2 million (2022) |
| • Assets | ₱ 330.3 million (2022) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 82.71 million (2022) |
| • Liabilities | ₱ 88.18 million (2022) |
| Service provider | |
| • Electricity | Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative (SOLECO) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ZIP code | 6616 |
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)53 |
| Native languages | Kinabalian Boholano dialect Cebuano Tagalog |
| Website | www |
Saint Bernard, officially theMunicipality of Saint Bernard (Kabalian:Lungsod san Saint Bernard;Cebuano:Lungsod sa Saint Bernard;Tagalog:Bayan ng Saint Bernard), is amunicipality in theprovince ofSouthern Leyte,Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 28,414 people.[5]
Saint Bernard is named after Bernardo Torres, the formerGovernor of Leyte who played a significant role in the town's independence fromCabalian (now San Juan), then in the undivided province ofLeyte. In gratitude to Torres, the local inhabitants unanimously chose to name the municipality in his honor. The honorific title "Saint" being a translation of theSpanish vernacular honorific "San" which is given to persons of virtue, wisdom, or generosity and the nameBernard being theEnglish version of the nameBernardo.[6]
_makes_an_aerial_assessment_of_the_deadly_Feb._17_landslide_during_over-flight_of_the_area.jpg)
Saint Bernard traces its roots to the largest barrio ofCabalian, then known as "Himatagon".
Governor Bernardo Torres ofLeyte, which then encompassed Cabalian, facilitated the conversion of the area into an independent municipality due to the persistent demands of the local inhabitants for separation from Cabalian, later gaining the recommendation of theLeyte Provincial Board.[6] Finally, on December 9, 1954, PresidentRamon Magsaysay issued Executive Order No. 84, excising Himatagon and 18 other barrios from Cabalian to form the municipality of Saint Bernard.[7] On May 22, 1959, Saint Bernard became part of the newly established province ofSouthern Leyte, effective July 1, 1960.[8]
On February 17, 2006, atragic series of mudslides killed over 1,100 residents in Barangay Guinsaugon, in the northern part of the town. Affected families received aid from the Philippine government and other non-government organizations from around the world. Guinsaugon got buried as the result of the mudslides and thus New Guinsaugon was built close from the original site.[9][10]
The town is situated on thePacific coast, facingCabalian Bay and the first town on Route 690 (from it towardsAbuyog) from the eastern side ofSogod Bay.
Saint Bernard is politically subdivided into 30barangays. Each barangay consists ofpuroks and some havesitios.
Only 28 barangays are currently functioning, as Guinsaugon and Sug-angon were completely wiped out from a landslide during 2006. The survivors of the landslide were relocated to New Guinsaugon in Magbagacay.
| Barangay | Population (2020)[11] |
|---|---|
| Atuyan | 467 |
| Ayahag | 417 |
| Bantawon | 228 |
| Bolodbolod | 1,275 |
| Carnaga | 923 |
| Catmon | 2,548 |
| Guinsaugon | 47 |
| Himatagon (Poblacion) | 1,748 |
| Himbangan | 2,661 |
| Himos-onan | 702 |
| Hinabian | 99 |
| Hindag-an | 1,605 |
| Kauswagan | 28 |
| Libas | 411 |
| Lipanto | 1,276 |
| Magatas | 88 |
| Magbagacay | 2,441 |
| Mahayag | 662 |
| Mahayahay | 1,701 |
| Malibago | 1,557 |
| Malinao | 42 |
| Maria Asuncion (Cabagawan) | 1,264 |
| Nueva Esperanza (Cabac-an) | 107 |
| Panian | 1,335 |
| San Isidro | 1,953 |
| Santa Cruz | 313 |
| Sug-angon | 382 |
| Tabon-tabon | 312 |
| Tambis 1 | 882 |
| Tambis 2 | 940 |
| Climate data for Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 27 (81) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 21 (70) | 21 (70) | 21 (70) | 22 (72) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 22 (72) | 23 (73) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 78 (3.1) | 57 (2.2) | 84 (3.3) | 79 (3.1) | 118 (4.6) | 181 (7.1) | 178 (7.0) | 169 (6.7) | 172 (6.8) | 180 (7.1) | 174 (6.9) | 128 (5.0) | 1,598 (62.9) |
| Average rainy days | 16.7 | 13.8 | 17.3 | 18.5 | 23.2 | 26.5 | 27.1 | 26.0 | 26.4 | 27.5 | 24.6 | 21.0 | 268.6 |
| Source: Meteoblue(modeled/calculated data, not measured locally)[12] | |||||||||||||
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| Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[13][14][15][16] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Saint Bernard's economy are based in agriculture and marine culture. The majority of the people who live in the flat lands engage in fishing as their main mode of livelihood. Those who live in the mountain barangays, live through farming.
The municipality is considered among the fastest growing economy in the pacific area of Southern Leyte.
The common mode of transportation is by bicycles with side cars, known locally as "Potpot" (a type ofpedicab), or tricycles with side cars, called "trisikads "or center cabs and "habal-habal", a motorcycle with a rudimentary roof.
The Port of Saint Bernard reopened on March 15, 2025. The only shipping company that operates in the Port of Saint Bernard is GT Express Shipping Corp. with its GT1/Star Asia vessels a new route between Saint Bernard andLipata, Surigao operates on a daily schedule.
The LGU established theSaint Bernard Town Center for economic activities of small to medium etrepreneurs (SMSE).
There are accessible elementary schools in every barangay in the municipality as of its 2019 census.
List of Secondary Schools in the Municipality of Saint Bernard:
Places adjacent to Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte | ||||||||||||||||
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