Alegria, officially the Municipality of Alegria (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Alegria; Tagalog: Bayan ng Alegria), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,620 people.

Alegria is one of the eight municipalities comprising the 7th Congressional District Cebu Province. It is 131 kilometres (81 mi) from Cebu City.

It is home of the first onshore oil field in the Philippines, the Alegria Oil Field.

History

Timeline:

• Pre-1850: Native tribe; then a Spanish-era barrio called Tuburan after the spring (tubod) located at sitio Tubig (Santa Rosa) in the poblacion.
• 31 January 1850: Leaders of Tuburan ask Governor of Cebu to support their petition for civil separation from mother town (matriz) Malabuyoc.
• 4 February: Malabuyoc leaders send letter of support for said petition. Tuburan had a church made of tabique de pampango, a convent and tribunal of light materials, two rubble watchtowers and 410½ tributos (one family = 1 tribute; unmarried adult = ½ tribute).
• 15 February: Petition goes to the Civil Administrator and Commanding General of the Visayas then sent to Superior Government in Manila.
• 31 March: Assessor General recommends approval of said petition.
• 3 April: Captain and Governor-General of the Philippine Islands (Antonio María Blanco) approves establishment of Tuburan as a town.
• 24 August: Governor of Cebu recommends changing the town's name to avoid confusing it with similarly named barrios in Balamban and Bogo.
• 25 September: Captain and Governor-General of the Philippines (Antonio de Urbistondo y Eguía) issues order changing the town's name to Alegria.

Establishment of parish:

• 9 August 1854: The Padre Cura of Malabuyoc, Lucas Clavesillas de la Soledad recommends to the Bishop of Cebu (Romualdo Jimeno Ballesteros, O.P.) the creation of Alegria as a parish.
• 17 September: Governor of Cebu proposes separating barrio Guiuanon (Madridejos) from Badian and adding it to Alegria to form a new parish territory.
• 31 October: Bishop of Cebu supports creation of said territory.
• 10 November: Bishop informs Governor of Cebu that Badian does not object to creation of a new parish and separation of Guiuanon.
• 21 February 1856: Petition for said separation and the creation of new parish territory received by the Minister of Royal Treasury in Manila.
• 27 February: Governor of Cebu asks the Captain and Governor-General to create said parish.
• 3 July: the town of Alegria created as a parish. Tributes: 781 (Poblacion - 521½, Guiuanon - 259½)
• 13 March 1857: Parish of Alegria Canonically erected. Titular St. Francis Xavier Feast 3 Dec.

Geography

Alegria is bordered to the north by the town of Badian, to the west is the Tañon Strait, to the east are the towns of Dalaguete and Alcoy, and to the south is the town of Malabuyoc.

Barangays

Alegria is politically subdivided into 9 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

PSGC Barangay Population ±% p.a. 2020 2010 072203001 Compostela 5.9% 1,510 1,557 ▾ −0.31%   072203002 Guadalupe 10.2% 2,606 2,598 ▴ 0.03%   072203003 Legaspi 6.6% 1,694 1,652 ▴ 0.25%   072203004 Lepanto 8.2% 2,102 2,143 ▾ −0.19%   072203005 Madridejos 20.1% 5,141 4,459 ▴ 1.43%   072203006 Montpeller 5.5% 1,408 1,315 ▴ 0.69%   072203007 Poblacion 9.6% 2,450 2,255 ▴ 0.83%   072203008 Santa Filomena 12.5% 3,194 3,139 ▴ 0.17%   072203009 Valencia 12.5% 3,195 2,954 ▴ 0.79%   Total 25,620 22,072 ▴ 1.50%

Climate

Demographics

Population census of Alegria

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	9,579	—
1918	12,653	+1.87%
1939	13,303	+0.24%
1948	13,676	+0.31%
1960	12,817	−0.54%
1970	15,232	+1.74%
1975	14,928	−0.40%
1980	16,351	+1.84%
1990	18,253	+1.11%
1995	18,403	+0.15%
2000	20,677	+2.53%
2007	21,699	+0.67%
2010	22,072	+0.62%
2015	23,300	+1.04%
2020	25,620	+1.88%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

Economy

Poverty incidence of Alegria

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 2006 62.70 2009 62.36 2012 39.95 2015 40.51 2018 23.20 2021 45.33 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

The formal extraction of oil and gas reserves from the Alegria Oil Field Polyard-3 Well in Barangay Montpeller would generate numerous job opportunities and income for residents, neighboring towns and the entire Cebu province.

Extracted oil will be sold to power plants at US$70 per barrel with a current production of 200 to 300 barrels per day, as told by Country Manager Edgar Benedict Cutiongco of China International Mining and Petroleum Company Inc. (CIMP), the service contractor of the oil extraction project. The Municipal government will receive an 18% income share coming from the 60% allotted to the National Government, while 14% will go to Barangay Montpeller and 8% to the Provincial Government.

Tourism

The municipality of Alegria launched the Kawayan Festival on 2 December 2006, in time for the annual town fiesta. Local contingents paraded the streets, and locally produced kawayan (bamboo) products were on display. Kawayan Festival has been part of the fiesta celebration in honor of Saint Francis Xavier since then.

There is also a plan to develop Alegria as the "Organic Vegetable Basket" in Cebu and in the Visayas region by its mayor, Verna Magallon.

Education

The public schools in the town of Alegria are administered by one school district under the Schools Division of Cebu Province.

Elementary schools:

High schools:

• Inghoy National High School — Sitio Inghoy, Valencia
• Madridejos National High School — Madridejos
• Montpeller National High School — Montpeller
• Santa Filomena National High School — Santa Filomena

Private schools:

• Saint Peter Academy — Poblacion
• St. Francis School of Alegria — Poblacion

See also

• Municipalities of the Philippines
• Legislative districts of Cebu