Ecological Profile

I.

Introduction

II.

Geophysical Environment
1. Land Characteristics
a.

Geography

Ajuy is located within 123 degrees, 01 minute, and 16 seconds

longitude and 11 degrees, 10 minutes and 30 seconds latitude on the
northeastern part of the Province of Iloilo. The Municipality of Sara bound
it in the north, by the Ajuy Bay in the south by the Municipality of Barotac
Viejo, Lemery in the west and Municipality of Concepcion in the east. It is
87 kilometers away from the City of Iloilo. Based on the Land
Management Bureau data, the Municipality of Ajuy has a total land area of
17,557.19 hectares.
b.

Geology and geomorphology

c.

Topography, slope, slope aspect and elevation

0 3% slope
3 5% slope
5 8% slope
8 15% slope
15 18% slope

6,994 hectares
210 hectares
5,564 hectares
2,314 hectares
4,260 hectares

The town of Ajuy is coastal and agricultural municipality. It has an

irregular surface with high mountain range in the western part with an
elevation of up to 500 meters above sea level. The elevation of up to 100
meters above sea level is composed of about 9,731 hectares. That is almost
half of the total land area of Ajuy. The mountainous region, which has an
elevation of up to 500 meters above sea level, is composed of about 68
hectares.
d.

Soils

Ajuy is an agricultural town with an area of about 5,707.84

hectares devoted to agriculture. There are nine (9) types of soil found in
the municipality. These are Barotac loam, Barotac loam lowland phase,
Hydrosol, Luciana loam, Sara sandy loam, Sta Rita clay loam, Umingas
fine sandy loam and unknown. The Barotac loam is the most abundant of

all types and the Sta. Rita loam is the second. The Barotac loam lowland
phase is found mostly in the coastal areas. The Hydrosol and the Luciana
loam lowland divide the areas of Barangays Pedada and Bay-ang,
Barangay Central, Tanduyan, Pinay Espinosa, Pinantan Diel, parts of
Pinantan Elizalde, Poblacion and San Antonio are comprised of Sara
sandy loam. The Umingas fine sandy loam is the least of all types. The
Sta. Rita clay loam comprises parts of Barangays Luca, Culasi and
Barrido. The unknown type of soil can be found in the island barangays of
the municipality.
e.

Drainage, tributary patterns and catchment areas

f.

Land classification and regulatory status

g.

Land use and vegetation

Agricultural
Industrial/Commercial
Residential
Forest/Timberland
Aquatic (fishpond)
Open Grasslands
Mangrove Area
Total Area

5,567.84 hectares
16.39 hectares
97.05 hectares
3,384.49 hectares
1,170 hectares
7,281.57 hectares
35.00 hectares
17,552.34 hectares

h.

Mineral resources and reserves

i.

Natural disasters

2. Water Characteristics
a.
Location and extent/size of surface freshwater resources
b.

Location and extent/size of marine and coastal resources

c.

General groundwater information

d.

Water use and regulation

The town of Ajuy has plenty of rivers and creeks. It has the
Gubaton River and such creeks that are essential to farming/agriculture
industry. The municipality also possesses a sufficient supply of drinking
water supplied by Ajuy Water District to the residents especially in
Poblacion area. In the barangay areas, potable water is accessible through
jetmatic pumps, deep wells and even electric pumps.
e.

Surface water/stream condition

f.

Watershed status

g.

Prevailing tidal fluctuations

3. Atmosphere
a.
General climate type
The municipality has Type II climate. It has an average annual
rainfall of 60mm per month from January to April and 203mm per month
from May to December.
The climate of the town is characterized by no pronounced
seasons. The relatively wet season is from May to October and after that, it
is dry for the rest of the year. Maximum rain periods are not very
pronounced and dry season lasts from one to three mounts.
b.
III.

Air quality

Biological Environment
1. Vegetation/ Flora
2. Fauna
3. Bacteria and Fungi/ Monera

IV.

Socio-economic, cultural and political environment

1. Socio-economic
a.
Demography
Population
Number of Households
Growth rate
Death rate
Infant mortality rate
Literacy

45, 192 as of 2000 Census

8, 312
1.57%
1.6%
0.70%
93.20%

b.

Livelihood and income sources

c.

Sectoral production

d.

Power generation
Iloilo Electric Cooperative (ILECO III)

e.

Transportation and communication

Transportation:
Highways
Railways
Airports
Seaports
Inland waterways

26 km
none
none
Bay-ang Port
Culasi Port
72 km

Communications:
Telecommunications, Cellular Phone servers, 100 Handheld
Transceivers, and PLDT and Globelines Telephone systems
f.

Health and Education

g.

Tourism and recreation

Calabasa Island more commonly known to the locales as "Parola", on

its promontory nestles the remains of the 1900-built lighthouse and the
modern lighthouse constructed by the Philippine Navy in 1998. Possible
activities include swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing, boating
and strolling along the Cascaho (coral rubbles)-laden shores.
Nasidman Island - Nasidman Island is only 150 m. from Calabasa Island
or a ten-minute boat ride from the Brgy. Barrido. It has one (1) functioning
cottage for overnight stay and several umbrella-type cottages for
excursionists. Its accessibility makes it ideal for relaxation, fishing,
snorkeling and swimming. A tourist may witness a first-hand experience
of a typical life in a fishing village as he takes a stroll along the inhabited
northern tip of the island.
Marbuena Island Resort a privately owned resort sprawling at Binongaan Diutay Island. Amenities include a function hall, playground,
tennis/basketball court and spacious lawn for seminars, weddings or other
similar events. Accommodation varies from fan-rooms on its floating
cottages to fully airconditioned rooms. Activities include boating under
the mangroves, skin dipping, snorkeling, and bird watching.
Salog Dako Resort situated at Brgy. Punta Buri, this privately-owned
resort complete with amenities has a long stretch of cream powdery sand
and is ideal for retreats and family gatherings.
Bay-ang Point - Among the residents it is "Punta". Instead of sand, the
beaches have clean and smooth stones thus making the waters clear and

crystalline. It is an ideal place for swimming, fishing, skin diving, boating

and solitude.
Panalikdikon Falls - It is 4 kms. away from the Poblacion and located in
Barangay Tipacla. The cool cascading waters offer a refreshing break from
a busy life.
Other Beaches Pili Beach, Malayu-an Beach, Pedada Beach, Punta Bato
Beach, etc.
Other Waterfalls, Serruco Falls, Cagay Falls, Florida Falls, Agcolaknit
Falls, Manlud Falls, etc.
h.

Dumpsites and sewerage systems

i.

Wet Markets

j.

Cooperative and NGOs

1. Silagon Multi-purpose cooperative in Sitio Bubog, Silagon
Selling Consumer goods and fish cages (bangus project)
2. Sto. Rosario MPCI. Offers swine/cattle dispersal project and
credit assistance through LBP.
3. Tigbao, Pili MPCO. Offers credit assistance through LBP.
4. Southern Ajuy Tricycle Drivers-Operators' Association.
5. Ajuy Trisikad Drivers' Association.

2. Cultural Features
a.
Tribal/ ethnic groups
Ethnic Groups
The Aetas is the only ethnic group that occasionally roams in the
vicinity of Ajuy. However, they dont have a permanent settlement in the
municipality but rather in the other towns of the province.
b.

Religious groups

The Municipality of Ajuy is dominantly Roman Catholic, which is

composed of almost 80 percent of the entire population. The remainder
belongs to Aglipayan, Protestants, Iglesia ni Cristo, Baptist, Seventh Day
Adventist and other religious sects.
c.

Language and dialects

Among the town folks, hiligaynon is widely spoken. However,

Tagalog, Cebuano, and other dialects are also used as mediums of
communication.
d.

Ancestral domain

e.

History and archaeology

On the northern part of Iloilo lies the Municipality of Ajuy. It is 87

kilometers away from Iloilo City. It extends from Piliwan, its
southernmost sitio, to Serruco River on the north. Ajuy Bay bounds its
jurisdiction in the south, in the north by the town of Sara and in the west
by the town of Barotac Viejo.
The present municipality of Ajuy started from a small settlement
established by the early Malayan freedom-seekers on the north side of the
Gubaton River near the present site of Barangay Lanjagan. It was
originally called Asui by the natives. How the name Ajuy was later
adopted could not exactly ascertained because of the many versions
related about it. The most popular story, however which was latter
accepted as credible is the following.
On the Old Spanish times, a Spaniard who as assigned to list the of
coastal villages of this portion of ILoilo, came to his place. He met a
native who was gathering fuel. Talking in Spanish, which as accompanied
by signs to make himself understood, the stranger asked for the name of
the settlement. The native who could not understand Spanish thinking that
the Spaniard was asking what he was gathering answered kahoy. The
Spaniard did not distinctly hear the word but instead noted down the word
Ajoy which was later changed to Ajuy, the present official name of the
town.
After several years from its founding, the settlement prospered and
the population increased. The source of livelihood became varied. Many
people engaged in trade with the neighboring islands and towns. They
found much difficulty in transporting their goods to those places from
Asui so they looked for a more convenient place. Thus, the present site of
the Poblacion was chosen because of its ideal location.
The Municipality of Ajuy was formerly a part of Sara. It became a
full-fledged municipality in 1917 through the untiring efforts of its
education citizens, under the able leadership of Dioniosio Diel, Alejo
Posadaas, Manuel Arones and Antonio Manipula. These men were mainly
responsible for the separation of Ajuy from Sara.

f.
3. Political
a.

Traditions and beliefs on environment and resources

Political units

Political Subdivisions
Ajuy is composed of 34 barangays. These 34 barangays are divided
into six districts.
b.
c.
d.
V.
Summary
VI.
References
VII. Project Staff
Annexes and Maps

Citizen participation
Legal institution/ jurisdiction of natural resources
Local legislation on environment and natural resources