Dapa township, Surigao del Norte

General Information

Dapa township is considered the port area of the municipality of Dapa, Surigao del Norte, in the Philippines. A municipality in the Philippines is not comparable to a town, village or city in the United States, the United Kingdom or Ireland. It is more comparable to counties in those countries. In fact, towns as such rarely exist in the Philippines as distinct political entities. Dapa is in the southwest area of Siargao Island.

Dapa is no exception. There is no political entity for the Dapa township. Instead, the occupied area of Dapa is constituted of thirteen barangays. A barangay is the basic and lowest political entity in Filipino society. In some cases, barangays are villages and towns. The National Statistical Coordination Board, an agency of the Philippine government, lists three urban barangays and nine rural barangays of the municipality of Dapa that are where the township is located. These are Barangays 1 through 13. Their total population (as of August 1, 2007), was 9,162 persons. The population of the entire municipality was 22,184 people.^[1]

To surfers, Dapa is an important stop on their way to the surfing areas around Cloud Nine^{[disambiguation needed ]} and General Luna^{[disambiguation needed ]}. Also, a number of tourists pass through Dapa to visit swimming areas and to participate in deep-sea fishing. This said, Siargao Island is not a trussed up tourist spot. Very little has been done to accommodate tourists, as most surfers are used to making do with very little available. Dapa and the Siargao Island Airport are the only entry points to reach the surfing, swimming and deep-sea fishing areas. As the ticket fees for flying are rather steep, most people reach the island through Dapa.

A ferry comes from Surigao City, on the northeastern tip of Mindanao, twice a day, landing at the port at Dapa. The return ferry also leaves Dapa twice a day.^[2]

Origins of Dapa

In the 1800s, when the Philippines was still under Spanish rule, Moro pirates occasionally raided the coastal villages of Siargao Island. They left behind death and destruction. Often villagers were captured and forced into slavery. Along the south coast of the island, villagers sought refuge in the place that is now Dapa.

The area was heavily wooded and tall mangrove formations, extending into the coastal waters, protected the area. At the north end of the modern township is a tall hill, where the refugees could see kilometers into the distance. From their vantage point the refugees could see pirates coming and had time to hide. The refugees usually lay prone on the ground, called hapa in the native tongue. The name Dapa is a corrupted usage of "hapa." The new inhabitants of the refugee village adapted the name "Dapa" to remind them of the Moro raids. Thus Dapa became a permanent settlement.^[3]

Demographics

Virtually the entire population of Dapa is Filipino. There are some foreigners visiting from Europe, Australia, Japan and the United States, mostly visiting the area enroute to the surfing areas around General Luna. The Siargo.com website says three percent of the town's population are foreigners. Most of the population speaks English and most speak Tagalog. Many also speak other languages native to the Philippines, such as Visayan.

Religious Institutions

Most people of Dapa are Roman Catholic. A large Catholic church, Santo Nino, is located in the northeastern area of the township. A nondenominational Christian church, the Word of God Church, is located in the business district, to the south of town. Dapa also has a number of Moslems.^[4]

Economy

Dapa is a very remote area. Its economy seems very self sufficient. Electricity is available everywhere and most houses and buildings have electricity. Residences range from very primitive to small, very basic houses built of block and on concrete slabs. A few residences are larger and more substantial. Very few houses are air conditioned. There is no land line telephone service, but many residents and businesses make use of mobile phones. Also, there is cable television and internet service available.

At present Dapa is served by a small fifty-bed hsopital (Siargao District Hospital), a dental clinic and several pharmacies. However, plans are underway to vastly expand the hospital.^[5]

The central business district starts on the port side on the south and goes about four blocks to the north. It is about six blocks wide. A block north of the ferry landing is the town square, essentially a large parking lot, around which various shops are located. Lines of motorized tricycles (see Motorized tricycle (Philippines)) and jeepneys traveling to other locations on Siargao Island are located along the east and west sides of the square. There are various types of stores and a few bakeries and restaurants. Tiny sari sari stores are located throughout the town. Dapa has two small pension hotels, MNRB Pension House (on the north of the business district) and Mem's Pensionne Hauz and Restaurant (near the ferry and boat landing).^[6]

There is no place in Dapa for persons to exchange foreign currency for Philippine pesos. However, Dapa has two banks in the business district, Green Bank and the Bank of Placer. Both are branches of larger banks.^[7]

Ocean fishing plays a major role in Dapa's economy. Numerous small fishing boats are based in the port area.

Schools

Dapa has various public schools, including San Nicolas High School and Siargao Island Institute of Technology, which is spread in buildings on the north side of Dapa.^[8]

Transport

Transportation within Dapa is done by foot or pedal tricycles, also known as pedicabs, or motorized tricycles. There are no taxicabs in Dapa. Transportation to other locations on the island is made by jeepney, motorized tricycle or motorcycle. Motorcycles have a roof built over them and can accommodate several passengers. They are known locally as habal-habal. The main roads in Dapa are paved and decently maintained. Some lesser streets are rocked or of dirt, but all seem maintained. The main road north is well maintained. The road leading to Giwan and Union (see Giwan, Surigao del Norte and Union, Surigao del Norte) for the most part is rough and in poor shape^[9]

To reach Dapa, most persons use the ferry service from Surigao. Two ferries, run by Montenegro Shipping Lines, arrive daily and they leave daily. Also, Cebu Pacific flies to the Siargao Airport, well to the north of Dapa, but the air fare is very costly.^[10]

Communications

Dapa, as said earlier, has no land line telephone service. However, a large communications tower on a hill on the north side of town allows for mobile phone service, cable television and internet service. Dapa has two public internet cafes and the Siargao Island Institute of Technology has one for use by both students and the public.^[11]

References

1. ^ National Statistical Coordination Board website, http://www.nscb.gov.ph/activestats/psgc ; Greg Bloom, Michael Grosberg, Virginia Jealous and Piers Kelly, Lonely Planet: Philippines (Footscray, Australia: Lonely Planet, May 2009), 10th ed., p.377.
2. ^ Bloom, Grosberg, Jealous and Kelly, pp. 377-8; William C. Pollard, Jr., interview with Jack L. Ferreras, Dapa township, Philippines, October 27, 2010.
3. ^ Surigaoislands.com website, http://surigaoislands.com/dapa_history.html .
4. ^ Siargao.com website, http://siargao.com/article.php?article=8&at=2 ; Wikimapia website, http://wikimapia.org/ .
5. ^ Siargao.com website; Nursingcrib.com website, http://nursingcrib.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/Hospitals/caraga.pdf ; Philippine Hospital Association website, http://pha.ph/members_reg13.htm .
6. ^ Wikimapia website; Pollard, email to Lonely Planet, November 1, 2010, p. 1; Ferreras interview.
7. ^ Pollard, email to Lonely Planet, pp. 1-2.
8. ^ Wikimapia website; online Directory of Philippine Schools, Colleges and Universities, http://www.eskwalahan.net/s8school.htm .
9. ^ Bloom, Grosberg, Jealous and Kelly, p. 378.
10. ^ Bloom, Grosberg, Jealous and Kelly, pp. 376, 378.
11. ^ Online Directory of Philippine Schools, Colleges and Universities.