# Bulalacao

Bulalacao, officially the Municipality of Bulalacao (Tagalog: Bayan ng Bulalacao, Hiligaynon: Banwa sang Bulalacao), is a municipality in the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,366 people.
It is formerly known as San Pedro.

## History
### Precolonial period

Ma-i was a medieval state first recorded in Chinese documents, such as the History of Song and the Zhu Fan Zhi (1225) by Zhao Rukuo. Ma-i was described to be located north of Borneo, and were highly competitive in the trade with China. While the location of Ma-i remains disputed, most historians agree that it was located in Mindoro, specifically at the Mauhaw River around Bulalacao according to William Henry Scott. This is corroborated by Spanish records, such as the account of Juan Francisco de San Antonio, called the "Chronicas de N.S.P. Francisco en las Islas Filipinas, China y Japon 1738", where Chapter 36 of the book is called "De la Provincia y Isla de Mait o Mindoro" (The Province of the Island of Mait or Mindoro), showing that the term 'Mait' and 'Mindoro' were once interchangeably used.

### Spanish to early American period

In the early 19th century, Datu Calido of Panay was in control of Bulalacao. Following the expansion of the settlement, it was ruled by the capitanes. They were Paigao, Gabriel Contreras, Jacinto Pajado and Narciso Pandino. They ruled the area until the arrival of Lieutenant Morris in 1903. In 1906, the settlement became a township, which included Paclasan, Mansalay, Mangaring, and the islands of Caluya, Sibay and Semirara.

### Modern period

On May 7, 1995, re-electionist Mayor Guillermo Salas was assassinated a day before the 1995 election by Rodel Gonzales of the Mangyan tribe; Gonzales eventually surrendered to authorities five days later, confessing to the crime.

## Geography

Bulalacao is located at the southernmost tip of the province and is 176 kilometres (109 mi) from the provincial capital Calapan and 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Roxas.

### Climate

Climate data for Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29 (84) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 30 (86) | 29 (84) | 30 (86) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 30 (85) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 24 (75) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 45 (1.8) | 34 (1.3) | 62 (2.4) | 64 (2.5) | 127 (5.0) | 159 (6.3) | 172 (6.8) | 147 (5.8) | 167 (6.6) | 182 (7.2) | 172 (6.8) | 88 (3.5) | 1,419 (56) |
| Average rainy days | 12.1 | 9.4 | 13.0 | 14.3 | 22.7 | 26.9 | 28.0 | 26.4 | 27.0 | 27.0 | 22.7 | 17.8 | 247.3 |
| Source: Meteoblue ||||||||||||||

### Barangays

Bulalacao is politically subdivided into 15 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
* Bagong Sikat
* Balatasan
* Benli (Mangyan Settlement)
* Cabugao
* Cambunang (Poblacion)
* Campaasan (Poblacion)
* Maasin
* Maujao
* Milagrosa (Guiob)
* Nasukob (Poblacion)
* Poblacion
* San Francisco (Alimawan)
* San Isidro
* San Juan
* San Roque (Buyayao)

## Economy

Poverty incidence of Bulalacao
* 10
* 20
* 30
* 40
* 50
* 60
* 70
* 80
* 2006 71.30
* 2009 51.48
* 2012 39.97
* 2015 40.97
* 2018 23.93
* 2021 31.75
* Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

## Transportation

Bulalacao has a port that serves as a gateway from Mindoro to Caticlan in Malay, Aklan. FastCat operates in the port.