Alabat 5.2

Alabat is a fifth class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines, located centrally on the eponymous Alabat Island. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 15,630. The name Alabat came from the local Tagalog word Alabat, meaning "balustrade". It is strategically located between Pacific Ocean and Lamon Bay. It is paradise island in the Pacific because of its excellent fishing grounds, fertility of the soil, wide plains and nearness to a river and safe landing shore.BarangaysAlabat is politically subdivided into 19 barangays, 5 of which are urban and 14 rural. Angeles Bacong Balungay Buenavista Caglate Camagong Gordon Pambilan Norte Pambilan Sur Barangay 1 (Pob.) Barangay 2 (Pob.) Barangay 3 (Pob.) Barangay 4 (Pob.) Barangay 5 (Pob.) Villa Esperanza Villa Jesus Este Villa Jesus Weste Villa Norte Villa VictoriaEtymologyLong before the colonial Spanish, Japanese, or Americans set foot on Alabat Island, the mountains were already inhabited by the “Baluga” . Nomadic by nature, they would clean patches of land, plant rice and vegetables and hunt. After harvest, they would migrate to another part of the forest and repeat the cycle. The elder of the community was their leader and adviser. During drought, they made temporary houses near the shore and used fishing as their primary means of livelihood.Local folklore says that a Spanish priest from the mainland saw the Island from across the Lamon bay. He was curious as to what lay in that island and its inhabitants. The Spanish priest crossed the bay on the boat and founded a church at what is today barangay Gordon. The church today is underwater but the cross can still be seen.