San Enrique, officially the Municipality of San Enrique, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 36,911 people.
Geographic Location
San Enrique is located in the central part of the province of Iloilo, 54 kilometres (34 mi) from the provincial capital, Iloilo City. It is bounded by scenic Mounts Bayoso, Cañapasan, Agcarope, and Puti-an, where crystal clear waters from natural spring provide the population with an abundant source of drinking water. San Enrique is noted for its fertile valleys, green and verdant meadows were once grazed in abundance herds of cattle. Now, these fields are filled with luxuriant sugarcane plantations.
San Enrique has a total land area of 11, 728.04 hectares, comprising 28 barangays, based on the data from the Land Management Bureau. It is bounded on the north by the City of Passi, on the south by the town of Dingle, on the east by the towns of Banate and Barotac Viejo, and on the west by the town of Dueñas separated by the Jalaur River. It is 50 kilometers away from the City of Iloilo via Dingle and 54 kilometers away via Passi City.
Land use
Out of the total land area of 8,772 hectares; 7572 hectares is devoted to Agriculture; 33.34 hectares in Industrial; 12 hectares in Commercial; 86 hectares in residential; 25 hectares in Institutional and 1,043.66 hectares in forest, rivers, marsh and swamps.
Topography and Slope
There are six mountains range that landmark the topography of this municipality:
- Mt. Cañapasan
- Mt. Bayoso
- Mt. Gepiz
- Mt. Cararapan
- Mt. Cabas-an
- Mt. Puti-an
Standing on their own right, the queen of these mountains is Mount Cañapasan, which is noted for its panoramic surrounding area. Its highest skyline makes a vertical lift of 569 meters sea level. The second highest mountain is Mt. Bayoso with 405 meters above sea level. Located in the eastern part of the Poblacion, the grandeur and splendor of its crest is the seat of the towering RCPI, SMART, PLDT, and other relay stations.
Besides the small mountain ranges mentioned above, hilly to rolling is the several slopes of the land. With slightly rolling and marginal flat land that blighted its landscape, this is utilized for lowland farming.
San Enrique is generally flat while some portions are hilly and rolling with the highest elevation of 560 meters above sea level. The dominant slope of the area ranges from 8-18% occupying an area of approximately 7,707.45 hectares (70.10%) while 1,284.56 hectares (11%) have a slope of 0-8%. A large portion of the town is quite flat and suitable for lowland farming, its dominant slope occupying a large area is advantage potential for the municipality to be an agricultural town.
Hydrology
There are also three (3) major rivers passing through the municipality, the Jalaur River, Abaca River and Asisig River. Jalaur River is considered as one of the biggest river in Panay that directly empties in Iloilo Strait. These rivers are major source of water for domestic and irrigation purposes. There are also several creeks that traverse the municipality namely the Dumiles Creek, Hinayan Creek and Agutayan Creek.
Mount Cabas-an is a major water resource with the presence of many springs in the area. Talinab Spring located in Barangay Lip-ac, in the lower portion of Mount Cabas-an supplies water in the Poblacion.