San Francisco, officially the Municipality of San Francisco (Cebuano: Lungsod sa San Francisco; Tagalog: Bayan ng San Francisco), is a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 59,236 people.[3]
History
Protohistory
Carl Guthe, director of the University of Michigan Anthropological Museum, during his 1923-25 collecting trip and explorations of archaeological sites in the Philippines,[5] conducted an archeological dig in a cave site on Tulang. Located on the southeastern coast of the island, the cave measures about 3.7 by 2.7 metres (12 by 9 feet). Guthe reported it to contain bone fragments and teeth of about 60 individuals. Associated grave goods included earthenware pottery, shell bracelets, bronze and iron artefacts (iron tang, bronze chisel, iron blade), glass and stone beads, hammerstone and pestle. Filed teeth were also recovered from this site.[a]
21st century
Just before Typhoon Yolanda struck in November 2013, the mayor of San Francisco ordered the evacuation of all the residents (approximately 1,000) to the main island. This was credited with saving their lives as all houses on the island (about 500) were completely destroyed.[6]
Geography
San Francisco consists primarily of Pacijan (also known as Pajican[7]) and Tulang (area less than 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi), just north of Pacijan) islands, which are part of the Camotes Islands (which also include Poro and Ponson islands). They are located east of the main island of Cebu, south and west of Leyte and north of Bohol.
San Francisco is bordered to the north by the Province of Leyte in the Camotes Sea, to the west is the Camotes Sea Facing Catmon, to the east is the island of Poro with town of Poro and to the south is the Camotes Sea.
Pacijan (Pajican) Island
Pacijan Island is about 14.75 kilometres (9.17 mi) long and 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi) wide. A 1,400-metre (1,530 yd) causeway crosses the mangrove swamp to connect Pacijan and Poro islands. It was constructed during the Spanish era, to bridge the islands for easier trading and attending services in Poro church.[citation needed]
Tulang
Tulang island (known locally as Tulang Diot) is a five-minute boat ride from Tulang Dako on the main island of Pacijan. Both Tulang Diot and Tulang Dako are part of Esperanza barangay. The islet is almost entirely covered with coconut palms and measures about 1.6 by 0.6 kilometres (1.0 by 0.4 mi): the residential area is confined to a small triangle at the southern end. Total area is less than 1 km2 (0.39 sq mi) or 40 ha (100 acres), of which only 3.5 ha (8.6 acres) (8.8%) is inhabited.[citation needed]
Barangays
San Francisco is politically subdivided into 15 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
The town is home to the Porohanon language, one of the most endangered languages in the Visayas. The language is only used in the Poro islands. The language is classified as distinct from Sebwano (Bisaya) by the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino and is vital to the culture and arts of the Porohanon people.
^Carl Guthe explored 485 sites comprising 120 caves, 134 burial grounds and 231 graves all over the Philippines that are contained in an inventory report now deposited at the University of Michigan.
(Administratively independent from the province but grouped under Cebu by the Philippine Statistics Authority. However, qualified voters in Mandaue are allowed to vote in elections for Cebu provincial officials by virtue of Republic Act No. 6641, in accordance with Section 452-c of the Local Government Code of 1991.)
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