Municipal Profile
The Municipality of Castilla, Sorsogon is situated between 12º50’17” to 13º02’35” north latitude and between 123º43’58” to 123º52’56” east longitude. It is bounded on the west by the Municipality of Pilar, on the North by the Municipality of Manito, Albay, on the South by the Sorsogon Bay, and on the East by the City of Sorsogon. Castilla is about 38 kilometers South of Legazpi and 22 kilometers west of the City of Sorsogon.
Based on the Municipal Survey of 2008, the Municipality of Castilla has a population of 53,909. The total number of household is 10,781 and the total number of families is 11,231 that are spread over the total land area of 18,620.30 hectares of the municipality. The population density is about 2.89 persons per hectare and the population growth rate in 2000 to 2008 was computed at 0.83%.
Primarily, the Municipality of Castilla is an agricultural area with 14, 749 hectares or 79.21 % of its total land area are devoted to crop production, while almost 60% of the municipality’s agricultural area is planted with coconut and 20% are planted to rice. Large tracts of lands are also planted with root crops especially cassava and sweet potatoes and the rest are planted with cash crops.
Castilla is divided into 34 barangays. Thirteen (13) of the 34 barangays are coastal and the rest are upland and lowland. Aside from Poblacion, there are two (2) barangays considered as urbanizing. These are Cumadcad and Macalaya and the rest are classified as rural barangays.
Barangay Cumadcad is the major commercial center of the municipality where the bulk of commercial establishments are located. Commercial activities in barangay Poblacion has somewhat slowed down with the transfer of the seat of local government to Barangay Cumadcad for easy accessibility and better public service delivery. Castilla has not fully tapped its industrial potentials. There are three (3) existing industries which are poultry farms, classified as small scale. The LGU also run Organic Fertilizer Plant and the Small Scale Feedmill is now operational. While Malamauan Island, Fish Sanctuary and Marine Reserve, Sagurong Spring, Castilla Pearl Farm and Nasipit River are the potential tourist eco-destinations of the municipality once fully developed.
Castilla falls under Type II climate characterized by short dry season but pronounced maximum rainfall from November to January.
Castilla falls under Type II climate characterized by short dry season but pronounced maximum rainfall from November to January.
The Municipality has a varied and distinctively irregular topographic landscape. While the northern and southern portion along the coast was mountainous and hilly, the rest is flat to rolling lands. Likewise, Castillahas only 1 type of soil, the Castilla clay loam suited to planting palay, corn, various root crops, abaca, coconut, and fruit bearing trees.
It has an estimated fishing ground of about 925 hectares in Sorsogon Bay. Commercial fishes caught are those of small pelagics and hard as well as soft bottom demersals. It is found to be abundant with valuable species of shrimps, crabs and shellfishes.
The protection forest of Castilla is within the PNOC Geothermal Reserve and has 2,178.62 hectares coverage.
The Municipality of Castilla is likewise traversed by high voltage transmission lines coming from PNOC-EDC, Bacon-Manito and Leyte Geothermal Plants, forming the Luzon grid.
The Municipality of Castilla is a coastal municipality that is located on the northwestern part of the Povince of Sorsogon. It is bounded on the North by the Municipality of Manito, Albay, on the West by the Municipality of Pilar, on the South by the Sorsogon Bay and on the East by the City of Sorsogon.
Composed of 34 barangays, Castilla has a total land area of 18,620 hectares which is 8.71% of the total land area of the Province of Sorsogon. Based on 2010 Census of Population and Housing, Castilla has a total population of 52,903.
Primarily, the Municipality of Castilla is an agricultural area with 14, 749 hectares or 79.21 % of its total land area are devoted to crop production, while almost 60% of the municipality’s agricultural area is planted with coconut and 20% are planted to rice. Large tracts of lands are also planted with root crops especially cassava and sweet potatoes and the rest are planted with cash crops.
Out of the 34 barangays, thirteen (13) of which are coastal and the rest are upland and lowland. Aside from Poblacion, there are two (2) barangays considered as urbanizing. These are Cumadcad and Macalaya and the rest are classified as rural barangays.
Barangay Cumadcad is the major commercial center of the municipality where the bulk of commercial establishments are located. Commercial activities in barangay Poblacion has somewhat slowed down with the transfer of the seat of local government to Barangay Cumadcad for easy accessibility and better public service delivery. Castilla has not fully tapped its industrial potentials. There are three (3) existing industries which are poultry farms, classified as small scale. The LGU also run Organic Fertilizer Plant and the Small Scale Feed mill is now operational. While Malawmawan Island, Fish Sanctuary and Marine Reserve, Sagurong Spring, Castilla Pearl Farm, Salang Buwaya, Nasipit River and Sea Port are the potential tourist eco-destinations of the municipality once fully developed.
Castilla falls under Type II climate characterized by short dry season but pronounced maximum rainfall from November to January.The municipality has a varied and distinctively irregular topographic landscape. While the northern and southern portion along the coast was mountainous and hilly, the rest is flat to rolling lands. Likewise, Castilla has only 1 type of soil, the Castilla clay loam suited to planting palay, corn, various root crops, abaca, coconut, and fruit bearing trees.
It has an estimated fishing ground of about 925 hectares in Sorsogon Bay. Commercial fishes caught are those of small pelagics and hard as well as soft bottom demersals. It is found to be abundant with valuable species of shrimps, crabs and shellfishes. The protection forest of Castilla is within the PNOC Geothermal Reserve and has 2,178.62 hectares coverage.
