Baras, Catanduanes
Baras is a coastal town in Catanduanes province, in the Bicol Region of the Philippines. It covers about 109.5 square kilometers and has 29 barangays, of which 6 are urban and 23 are rural. The population was 12,992 in 2024, and the town sits about 24 kilometers from Virac, the provincial capital. Baras is bordered by Gigmoto to the north, Bato to the south, Kaladapan Bay and the Philippine Sea to the east, and San Miguel to the west.
The name Baras comes from the badas plant that once grew in the area; local stories say it was used for making spear shafts and building huts. Baras began as a fishing village on a hill overlooking Baras Bay and became a municipality on May 11, 1897, with Capitan Mariano Teologo as its first town leader after earlier struggles with pirates and foreign rule.
During World War II, Baras served as a sanctuary for guerrilla fighters and helped liberate Catanduanes from Japanese occupation. After the war, the town continued to grow and develop.
Geography and economy: The terrain is rolling to mountainous, with most land classified as alienable and disposable and about a quarter as forest land. The dominant soils are Luciana clay and mountain soils. Baras has a tropical rainforest climate with heavy rainfall year-round, especially from October to December, making it one of the rainiest places in the Philippines.
Economically, Baras is a 5th-class municipality. The poverty rate was around 20.5% in 2021. In 2022, local government revenue was about ₱121.9 million, assets about ₱228.7 million, and expenditures about ₱100.6 million. Electricity is provided by First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative (FICELCO). The ZIP code is 4803.
Education in Baras is overseen by two school district offices, which manage all public and private schools from elementary to secondary levels.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 04:15 (CET).