Donsol

Donsol
Municipality
Municipality of Donsol
Port of Donsol
Flag Seal
Nickname:  Whale Shark Tourism Capital of the Philippines
Map of Sorsogon with Donsol highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Donsol Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 12°54′30″N 123°35′53″E / 12.9083°N 123.5981°E / 12.9083; 123.5981
Country	Philippines
Region	Bicol Region
Province	Sorsogon
District	1st district
Founded	1668
Barangays	51 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Teodoro De Guzman
• Vice Mayor	Josephine Alcantara-Cruz
• Representative	Evelina G. Escudero
• Municipal Council	Members Ma. Christiana R. Abetria Teodoro B. de Guzman Nicolas A. Nato Mary Antoinette G. Aquino Helene A. Garay Argel D. Hernandez Jerome R. Alcantara II Victor V. Alim
• Electorate	30,878 voters (2022)
Area [2]
• Total	156.20 km2 (60.31 sq mi)
Elevation	13 m (43 ft)
Highest elevation	84 m (276 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	50,281
• Density	320/km2 (830/sq mi)
• Households	11,262
Demonym	Donsolanon
Economy
• Income class	3rd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	37.54 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 172.7 million (2020)
• Assets	₱ 623.7 million (2020)
• Expenditure	₱ 184.3 million (2020)
• Liabilities	₱ 288 million (2020)
Service provider
• Electricity	Sorsogon 2 Electric Cooperative (SORECO 2)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	4715
PSGC	056207000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)56
Native languages	East Miraya Tagalog
Website	www.donsol.gov.ph

Donsol, officially the Municipality of Donsol, (Central Bikol: Banwaan kan Donsol; Tagalog: Bayan ng Donsol) is a municipality in the province of Sorsogon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 50,281 people.^[3]

Donsol is 66 kilometres (41 mi) from Sorsogon City, 571 kilometres (355 mi) from Manila, and 94 kilometres (58 mi) from Legazpi City.

Donsol is politically subdivided into 51 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Population census of Donsol

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	6,685	—
1918	10,656	+3.16%
1939	18,050	+2.54%
1948	20,681	+1.52%
1960	23,703	+1.14%
1970	30,548	+2.57%
1975	32,310	+1.13%
1980	33,785	+0.90%
1990	33,159	−0.19%
1995	36,013	+1.56%
2000	39,995	+2.27%
2007	43,996	+1.32%
2010	47,563	+2.88%
2015	49,711	+0.84%
2020	50,281	+0.22%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[6][7][8][9]

The majority of the population speak Eastern Miraya, an Albay Bikol language of Inland Bikol group of languages. The language is also spoken in four towns of Albay and some parts of Pilar and Castilla, Sorsogon. It is mutually intelligible with Western Miraya. People of Donsol can also speak and understand Tagalog or Filipino, the national language, and English.

The majority of the people adhere to Catholicism and each barangay has a patron saint and fiestas are held annually. Iglesia ni Cristo is the second largest religion of the population and has several local congregations in the municipality.

Poverty incidence of Donsol

10 20 30 40 50 60 2006 54.60 2009 47.30 2012 44.13 2015 46.80 2018 37.10 2021 37.54 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

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Swimming with whale sharks, locally known as butanding, was featured as the Best Animal Encounter in Asia by Time magazine in 2004. Whale sharks can be seen between November and June, with presence peaking between February and May.

The presence of whale sharks in the town of Donsol was known to the local residents for more than 100 years, but the locals believed these gentle giants were dangerous. This wrong notion changed when on December 26, 1997, a group of scuba divers led by Romir Aglugub – a PADI diving instructor, discovered their presence, interacted with, and came in contact with the whale sharks. Even the members of the diving group of Romir were having second thoughts about whether the fish is docile, until the instructor led the way into the water and came in contact with the whale sharks. Copy of video footage taken by the group was passed on to the media and the WWF-Philippines. By March 1998, Donsol became world-class tourist destination and now known as the “Whale Shark Capital of the World”.

Interaction with the whale sharks is regulated by the local Department of Tourism (DOT) office. WWF guidelines are generally observed to protect the sharks. Rules include limiting the number of swimmers per boat to six, prohibiting scuba divers, and requiring staying farther than three meters from the sharks.

In recent years the number of male sharks has out-numbered female sharks by 20:1. Generally, the females that are seen are large mature adults in the 7m ~ 9m range. Increasing numbers of sharks show propeller marks on their backs. Anecdotal evidence from local fishermen suggests that prop strikes are from fishing boats in the off-season, rather than from tourist boats during the main February–June tourist season.

In 2006 five sharks were found dead on the surface of the water, within 30 miles of Donsol. They had all been shot at close range. One shark had 13 bullet wounds to the head. The locals blame this on commercial fishermen shooting the sharks if they are caught in their nets. Manta rays, which are also protected in the Philippines, are also over-fished and sold in local markets in the Sorsogon area.

Groups from Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Philippines make up the largest groups of visitors. Most tourists book guided tours with dive centers familiar with whale shark interaction.

Bicolano delicacies are plentiful in Donsol. Bicolano cuisine is well known for dishes cooked in "gata" or coconut cream. A famous dish to try is "laing" or "gabi", which is dried taro leaves cooked in coconut cream with cuts of meat or fish. Another famous Bicolano dish available in Donsol is "Bicol Express" which is pork stir fried with shrimp paste, heavy coconut cream, and green chilli peppers. It is a spicy dish that is best eaten with hot, steamed rice. A Filipino favourite is a dish called Sisig. Sisig is deep fried pork simmered in Calamansi juice, salt, pepper, and chilli peppers. It is eaten with hot, steamed rice or as a bar snack. There are a few restaurants in Donsol that serve these dishes.

Tourism continues to develop piecemeal in Donsol. The first hotel in the area is the Amor Farm Beach Resort, established in 1997, followed by the Woodland Beach Resort in 1998 that started off as a family vacation house. Interest to visit the quaint and quiet town grew as soon as news of whale shark sightings grew amongst the international marine biologist community. Tourists can now avail rooms that cater to all financial budgets, from the backpacker to the family vacationer from various resorts and homestays in Donsol.

Most establishments accept only cash, but there is an ATM in Donsol located inside the Municipal Town Hall. There now are several resorts that accept credit cards. Giddy's Place PADI Dive Resort in the town center and Elysia Beach Resort in Dancalan are two of them. Landlines are non-existent in Donsol and most rely on mobile telephones. Internet service came to Donsol in 2008 using cellular technology. There are a few internet shops in town.

Donsol has a not so known, but equally unique, night firefly tour and shrimp-catching night tour available all-year round. Donsol also is becoming the best jump-off and base for divers to the Manta Bowl and San Miguel Island in Ticao due to the existence of better tourist facilities than the other rural towns. Diving in Donsol itself is not allowed. Donsol also is a great trekking and biking site, due mainly to the abundance of hilly areas and fields.

• Donsol Profile at PhilAtlas.com
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
• LGU Profile of Donsol, Sorsogon
• WWF's Community-Based Ecotourism and Coastal Resources Management Project in Donsol, Sorsogon