Community Case # 1: Municipality of Sta.

Ana
I. Introduction:
Sta. Ana is a municipality of Dalton located at the northeastern part of the province about 121
kilometers south Manila via the South Express Way. Sta. Ana is in the west adjacent to Dalton Bay and in the
east to the mountainous region of Abacahan. The There are eight Barangays namely Planas, San Rafael, San
Simon, Carmen, Nazareno, Liquiran, Madrigal and Sinalukan. The Barangays are all accessible by land and by
water transportation. The total land area is 6,947.845964 hectares of which 13.61% is used for agriculture and
20.14% is still forest area. From the table of land distribution it is easy to see that the population lives mainly of
agriculture and that any industrial development is still far behind. In contrast to the further west municipalities
of Dalton, Sta. Ana is still considered among the less developed areas.

Table 1: Distribution of land of Sta. Ana according to use and area, December 2003

Land Use Area % of Total Land Area

Agricultural Area 4,546.432137 13.61
Forest area 945.3961 20.14
Build up area 116.375659 1.67
Residential 68.32705 0.983
Commercial 0.1599 0.002
Institutional 7.22874 0.104
Functional (open spaces, 2.06943 0.030
playground, dumpsite and
cemetery)
Roads 38.59475 65.44
Grassland 1,327.525342 19.11
Agro-livestock and Poultry 4.93 0.071
Industrial 0.335 0.005
Tourism 4.4675 0.064
Swamp and Marshes 2.384226 0.034
TOTAL 6,947.845964 100.00%

The upland area of Sta. Ana is hilly with areas of landslide risk at the foot of the mountains.
Productive soils such as fluviatile alluvium are found in the flood plains and are ideal for production of wetland
rice and food crops. The bay area is also being used for recreational as well as livelihood activities.

The water supply in Sta. Ana is secured. The water supply comes from spring water from the
Abacahan mountain area and from underground water resources. Unfortunately, Dalton Bay has been polluted
by factory emissions in the neighboring provinces and high levels of lead contamination have been found. The
Dalton Bay Authority is currently working on reestablishing the water quality of the lake. The Climate is hot
with low rainfall in summer months and cooler but more humid from June to October.

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II. Demography:

Records in the municipal office in 2009 shows that Sta. Ana has a total population of 60,902 with a
population density of 27 persons per hectare. Among the eight barangays of the municipality, population is
concentrated in Carmen and Nazareno which comprises 55% of the total population. The six remaining
barangays are rural, and the two barangays (Carmen and Nazareno) are urbanized, but is still far away from
development as compared to Manila. The next table is the Age-Sex composition of Sta. Ana.
Table 2. Age-Sex Composition of Sta. Ana, 2009
Age Group (in % Total
years) Male Female Total Population
0-4 2352 2179 4531 7.47
5-9 2987 2007 4994 8.28
10-14 2866 2913 5779 9.49
15-19 3549 3182 6731 11.05
20-29 6560 7173 13733 22.55
30-39 4039 4161 8200 13.46
40-49 3545 4259 7804 12.78
50-59 2816 2570 5386 8.85
60-69 1444 1469 2913 4.78
70 and above 440 391 831 1.36
Total 30598 30304 60902 100

III. Health Statistics:

10 Leading Causes of Mortality in Sta. Ana, 2009
Rate per 100,000
Diseases Number population
1. Pneumonia 15 55.24
2. CVD 13 47.88
3. Cancer, all forms 10 36.83
4. Pulmonary tuberculosis 7 25.78
5. Congestive heart failure 6 22.00
Diabetes Mellitus 6 22.00
6. COPD 5 18.41
7. Dehydration 4 15.31
8. Pancreatitis 3 11.04
9. Cirrhosis 2 7.36
10. Accidents 1 3.68

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 10 Leading Causes of Morbidity in Sta. Ana, 2009
Rate per 100,000
Diseases Number population
1. URTI 9452 34.81
2. Tonsilitis 1764 6.5
3. UTI 924 3.4
4. HPN 497 1.83
5. Dermatitis 308 1.13
6. Infected Wound 256 0.09
7. Gastritis 238 0.088
8. Diarrhea 232 0.085
9. Anemia 231 0.085
10. Dental Caries 223 0.082

IV. Socio-economic Characteristics:

The municipality of Sta. Ana is mainly agricultural in set-up, and no industrial factories are present.
Livestock production such as meat and poultry has been a major production, being second to farming. Fishing is
also one of the sources of living among its residents. Tourist spots in the bay area started to decline because of
the water pollution. There are also chapels and primary schools in each barangay. The state college, municipal
office as well as the Sta. Ana general Hospital is located in Carmen. All barangays has a health center, except
for Sinalukan, which is partly upland, and shares with the health service in its neighbor barangay, Madrigal.

V. Social Welfare Indices:

A. Education
The literacy rate in Sta. Ana is quite high. About 90% of the population has reached elementary while
around 75% reached secondary school level. Only 20% of the population reached college level. The
municipality has 8 day care centers, 6 elementary schools, 4 high schools and one state college, that also offers
vocational courses. According to the inspection done by the Department of Education, there is no non-
compliance of the municipality with regards to classrooms and availability of teachers in elementary and high
schools. The Sta. Ana State College has just upgraded from a vocational school, and so still majority of its
students are taking only vocational courses.

B. Housing
More than 80% of the housing units in the municipality are constructed with strong materials like
concrete walls, galvanized roofs, while about 5% are made up of bamboo. Others are made up of combination
of strong and light materials.

C. Electrification
90% of the residents has electricity provided by Meralco. The remaining percentage of population that
cannot afford to pay the cost of electricity use alternative energy sources such as kerosene, candles and oil
lamps.

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VI. Environmental Indices:

A. Water Supply
Type of Water Supply % of Total
Households
Level III 14
Level II 60
Level I 20
Dubious Sources 6
Total 100

B. Human and Household Waste Disposal

Only 80% of the total households have sanitary toilets. 15% has unsanitary toilet conditions, while 5%
of the households have no toilets. These people are living near the river which is connected to the bay, and
they most likely dump their human waste near the river. There is a regular garbage collection, but some of
the residents still practice open dumping.

C. Food Establishments

There are 120 food establishments and canteens in the municipality. Around 96% has sanitary
permits, and almost all food handlers have health certificates. However, there are some establishments
which are registered as canteen, but they are actually serving alcoholic drinks during the evening. This is
being entertained by men after working hours. The said food establishment is also rumored to be
transforming into a “red house” as the night falls.

VII. Nutrition:

Since the municipality is rich in agricultural products, under-nutrition is not a problem. For the past
few years, obesity was said to be slightly increasing in the working ages.

VIII. Socio-cultural and Political Indices:

Majority of the population are Roman Catholics (80%). The remaining 20% are members of Born
Again Christians, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Iglesia ni Cristo, Aglipayans and other religious groups.

Sta. Ana has recreational areas for sports like basketball court, badminton court, and gym. There is
one cockpit arena which being entertained even by neighboring municipalities. There are a few karaoke bars
around there are of the cockpit. Smoking and drinking is becoming common in the teenagers. Although
there are facilities for sports, the younger age group prefers video games instead, which are present in all
barangays.

There is a Rotary Club of Sta. Ana who actively participates in the medical missions. However, the
club does not have its own fund and relies only to sponsorship, so the projects are conducted irregularly.

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 IX. Health Sector:

There is one Rural Health Unit of Sta. Ana is located in Nazareno, and is headed by the municipal
health officer. The primary role of the rural halth unit is to give medical assistance to its constituents and to
practice disease prevention. All barangays has health centers. There is one private secondary hospital in the
municipality. Patients are being traveled by the paramedics to other municipalities if there are some medical
examinations needed to perform but is not available in the hospital. There are also 8 drugstores and 4
private clinics in the municipality.

X. Health Facilities and Human Resources:

The manpower of the rural health units in Nazareno is quite enough to deliver health services to the
residents of Sta. Ana. Each health center in the barangays is headed by a physician. There are 2 nurses, 5
midwives, 1 laboratory aide, 5 barangay health workers, 1 nursing aide and 1 utility worker in each health
center. There are only 4 medical technologists in Sta. Ana, and 2 health centers are assigned to each of
them. The dental service is available only in the rural health unit because the municipality has one dentist
only.

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