I. GENERAL INFORMATION A. PHYSICAL AND GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS 1. Location and Territorial Jurisdiction Benguet is one of the six provinces comprising the Cordillera Administrative Region or CAR. It was by the Republic Act No. 4695 enacted on June 18, 1966 which divided the former Mountain Provinces of Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao and Kalinga-Apayao. At 5,000 feet above sea level, Benguet, the gateway to the highland provinces of CAR lies in the southern end of the Cordillera Mountain Range, 256 kms north of Manila and is bounded on the North by Mt. Province, on the East by Ifugao and Nueva Viscaya, on the South by Pangasinan, and on the west by La Union and Ilocos Sur and it is accessible by land and air transport. Rugged and sloping terrain and deep valleys characterize the province. Amidst these mountain peaks is a wide plateau wherein the capital town, La Trinidad, is located. A total of 13 municipalities and 140 barangays make up the province. Location Map of Benguet 1 PENRO Benguet.docx….ma.ann L. 2. Land Area Benguet Province covers 13 municipalities namely: Atok, Bakun, Buguias and Mankayan covered by CENRO Buguias, Kapangan, Kibungan, La Trinidad, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay (CENRO La Trinidad); Bokod, Itogon, Kabayan and the chartered City of Baguio (CENRO Baguio City). 2.1 Based on Office Record/data Municipal Land Areas Towns/ Areas (Hectares) No. of Barangays Municipalities Based on Political Based on Thematic Boundary survey maps Atok 15,642.86 13,700 8 Bakun 28,911.7 23,740 7 Bokod 23,356.51 43,530 10 Buguias 17,560.14 19,310 14 Itogon 44,972.95 42,370 9 Kabayan 23,614.97 17,750 13 Kapangan 16,968.62 13,640 15 Kibungan 15,871.44 19,210 7 La Trinidad 6,823.6 6,140 16 Mankayan 13,070.93 13,170 12 Sablan 10,454.73 9,160 8 Tuba 27,214.43 31,438 13 Tublay 8,943.41 8,490 8 Baguio City 5,749.6670 5,748 129 Total 259,159.16 267, 396 269 2.2. Based on Benguet Socio- Economic Profile 2007 Municipal Land Areas from Various Surveys Areas Cadastral DBM NAMRIA DENR Atok 11, 709.66 21, 499.00 18,563.30 19,213.34 Bakun 28, 831.85 28,691.00 23,294.30 17,836.59 Bokod 24,881.71 27,496.00 34,978.24 40,986.49 Buguias 16,540.65 17,588.00 25,372.88 23,074.24 Itogon 44,972.95 44,973.00 45,086.13 50,339.98 Kabayan 23,543.02 24,269.00 16,001.48 20,400.91 Kapangan 17,852.67 16,439.00 13,675.69 11,000.26 Kibungan 15,935.91 25,486.00 16,258.17 13,982.26 La Trinidad 6,862.32 7,004.00 7,465.88 8,610.92 Mankayan 15, 063.39 13,048.00 12,976.01 14,898.22 Sablan 10, 454.73 10,563.00 10,234.34 8,340.51 2 PENRO Benguet.docx….ma.ann L. Tuba 34, 189.26 29,597.00 30,652.15 33,520.74 Tublay 8, 979.34 10,255.00 8,666.11 10,371.51 Total 259,817.46 276,908.00 263,224.68 272,575.97 Contested Area = 39,163.980 Total Land Area = 298, 981.34 Other publications and studies, however, cited varying total land areas of Benguet as follows: 1. 265, 583 ha – Marketing and Information Needs Assessment. Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (1994); 2. 265, 500 ha – Water Supply and Sewerage Sanitation Development Plan, PPDO assisted by the Dan Group International (1999); 3. 260, 648 ha – Geographic Information System-based Land Resources (1994), Information System Bureau Soils (1996); and 4. 283, 300 ha- Economic Access to Resources, Technology and Health in the Upland Areas Integrated Area Development Project, Office of the North Luzon Quadrangles Area Program Management Office (2005). In a reconciliation data conference held in December 2007, with the different agencies in the Province, representatives who attended the conference unanimously agreed that the area being used by the Department of Budget and Management with 276, 908 hectares be used while boundary disputes are still being settled. Finally, from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Land Management Bureau approved the area for Benguet as being 298, 921.294 hectares but this is without municipal desegregations. 3. Topography and Slope a. Topography Benguet has rugged, irregularly patterned ridges, canyons and peaks, many of which are above 2,400 meters above sea level (masl) in elevation. High mountains, precipitous escarpments, and high cliffs generally characterize the land. The lowest elevation is about 100 masl at the southern boundary of the province and the highest is at the northern area rising to more than 2,800 masl. Almost all (93%) areas of the province have an elevation of more than 500masl. Within Benguet is found the second highest mountain in the Philippines. Mount Pulag is a premier eco-tourist destination having a distinct floral and fauna. The mountainous terrain is cut up by the valleys of La Trinidad, Loo, Amburayan, Bued, and Galliano. Hot Springs dot the land with at least one found in almost all municipalities. 3 PENRO Benguet.docx….ma.ann L. Highest Peaks in Benguet: Pulag, Kabayan - 2,929 meters Osdong, Kibungan - 2,816 meters Pan-otoan, Kabayan - 2,684 meters Nan-agto, Buguias - 2,856 meters Paoay, Atok - 2,449 meters b. Slope Slope which the gradient of the land surface is measured and characterized as follows: 0.3% level to nearly level; 3-8% gently sloping to undulating; 8-18% undulating to rolling; 18- 30% rolling to moderately steep; 30-59% steep; and > 50%, very steep. At least two-fifth (60.16%) of Benguet has a very steep slope (>50%) while only one- fifth (19.41%) is steep (30-50%). All in all, 80% of Benguet has a slope category of steep to very steep. The remaining 20% constitute a slope category of level to nearly level, undulating to rolling and rolling to moderately steep. Municipal Area distribution of various slope classes Municipality 0-3% 3-18% 8-18% 18-30% 30-50% >50% Atok 668 1405 192 122 1341 9972 Bakun 711 1174 228 891 4255 16501 Bokod 1246 1449 497 11301 28034 Buguias 1550 8848 347 656 7909 Itogon 1570 693 82 122 10522 29381 Kabayan 409 2769 786 419 1639 11998 Kapangan 702 1431 1105 1538 3229 5635 Kibungan 2785 69 262 2282 13812 La Trinidad 527 1193 523 956 1928 1013 Mankayan 1603 1812 340 501 983 7931 Sablan 539 237 354 1477 3553 3000 Tuba 1078 1118 1743 7011 20490 Tublay 1408 2340 61 1307 2154 1130 Total 12014 26226 4838 10182 20284 1583804 Percent 4.61% 10.60% 1.86% 3.91% 19.41% 60.165 4. Climate a. Type I (Corona System of Classification) Wet from May to October and dry during the rest of the year b. Temperature Benguet is known for its cold pleasant weather the whole year round. Its temperature readings are the lowest in the country mainly due to its topography and elevation. From 2000 to 2006 the lowest temperature recorded is 11.2 ˚C and the maximum is 24.4 ˚C in April 2003. 4 PENRO Benguet.docx….ma.ann L. Minimum and Maximum monthly temperature in ˚C (C.Y 2010) 2010 Month MAX MIN January 27.2 12.2 February 25.0 14.0 March 26.6 13.4 April 26.4 19.2 May 25.8 15.2 June 26.4 15.2 July 27.8 15.6 August 27.6 15.0 September 30.0 14.6 October 28.2 12.4 November 26.4 12.6 December 24.8 10.5 Source: PAGASA-Baguio c. Average rainfall The Southern and western potions of the province received the lowest annual rainfall ranging from 2,500 to 3,000mm. In the western areas, the mean monthly total show that approximately 90% of the total annual rainfall occurs from May to October and only 10% from November to April showing no pronounced seasons. In the eastern portion approximately 60% of the total rainfall was from May to October and 40% from November to April showing that the seasons are not very pronounced. Average monthly rainfall C.Y 2010 (in mm) Months Rainfall January 47.4 February 226.4 March 920.1 April 296.8 May 536.6 June 543.7 July 254.0 August 242.6 September 148.6 October 15.3 November 0 December 0 Total 3,231.5 Source: PAGASA-Baguio 5 PENRO Benguet.docx….ma.ann L. 5. Soil Characteristics a. Soil Types by Municipality (source : DA) Atok - Sand-loam Bakun - Clay-loam Bokod - Clay-guimbatan anam Buguias - Sand-loam Itogon - Sand-loam and Clay-loam Kabayan - Clay Kapangan - Sand-loam and Gravel loam Kibungan - Gravel, gravel loam La Trinidad - Loam, clay loam, gravel loam Mankayan - Sand-loam Sablan - Clay Tuba - Clay-loam, gravel loam Tublay - Silt-loam b. Soil Erosion Benguet is highly vulnerable and prone to soil erosion. 81.03% or 211,211 ha of its lands are classified as severe. Distribution of erosion classes Municipality No Apparent Slight Moderate Severe Unclassified Erosion Atok 586 1,144 246 11,313 125 Bakun 711 1,026 993 20,996 14 Bokod 895 1,449 197 39,815 174 Buguias 1,400 8,739 347 8,563 205 Itogon 1,306 214 122 40,299 429 Kabayan 409 1,059 371 15,607 304 Kapangan 439 1,932 1,653 9,101 425 Kibungan - 2,390 331 16,398 91 La Trinidad 207 1,026 1,330 3,052 525 Mankayan 1,342 1,858 501 9,208 261 Sablan 247 293 2,999 5,374 247 Tuba 180 679 3,245 27,147 189 Tublay 1,145 1,623 1,307 4,248 167 Data Source: Bureau of Soils 2007 6.