Tourism Packages

Location and Land Area

The Central Circuit is situated in the center of the Province comprising of coastal and mountainous areas. It is composed of 1 City and 3 Municipalities particularly San Fernando City and the Municipalities of Bacnotan, San Gabriel and San Juan. San Gabriel has the largest land area and San Juan has the smallest share in land area.

Coastal and Water Resources

San Fernando City, Bacnotan and San Juan have coastal barangays while San Gabriel, being an upland municipality, have none. One of the five river systems in the Province includes the Baroro River found in Bacnotan. In addition, the circuit is endowed with creeks and waterfalls.

Climate and Weather

The circuit has two (2) distinct seasons: the wet season which is characterized by abundant rainfall brought about by the southwest monsoon, and the dry season which is characterized by the striking low rainfall due to passing of the northeast monsoon over the Cordillera Mountains.

Natural Hazards

The eastern part of the circuit is prone to land erosion owing to its slope (mountainous). The Municipality of San Gabriel has the highest susceptibility to soil erosion being a mountainous hilly municipality.

Flooding is the inundation of land areas which are not normally covered by water. It is usually caused by a temporary rise of the water level of a river, stream or other water course, inundating adjacent lands or flood-plains. This hazard can be brought about by heavy rainfall or sometimes dam or dike failure. The three types of flooding according to location are the river flooding, coastal and urban flooding while there are two types when it comes to duration, the flash flood (upstream floods) and the sheet flooding or what we called downstream flooding. The table below illustrates the flooding susceptibility of the circuit.

Demographics

I. Population
As seen in the table below, San Fernando City has the largest population, this is so, because the City being the capital of the Province and also San Fernando City holds the regional seat for National Government Agencies, Business and Educational hub. The City of San Fernando is also the most dense among all LGUs in the Circuit.

II. Poverty Incidence
The average poverty incidence in the circuit is 14.03. And San Gabriel has the highest rate, this is due to the fact that the Municipality receives the least share in investments and job opportunities.

Utilities

I. Power
Power supply in the Circuit is adequate to meet the demands of both residential and commercial establishments. There are two power suppliers namely the La Union Electric Company, Inc. (LUECO) and La Union Electric Cooperative, Inc. (LUELCO). LUECO supplies power to San Fernando City and some parts of San Juan while LUELCO supplies power to San Gabriel, Bacnotan and some parts of San Juan.

II. Water
There is an adequate supply of water in the Circuit. One of the waterworks system operating under the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) is the Metro San Fernando Water District. The main source of water distribution for the Metro San Fernando Water District is Lon-oy, San Gabriel while the second source is Cadaclan, San Fernando City.

Its service area includes the LGUs in the Circuit particularly the urban areas of San Fernando City, San Juan and San Gabriel. In addition, most rural areas and most of the barangays in Bacnotan sources their water from shallow or deep wells.

III. Telecommunications
The telecommunication provider, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), has a strong presence in the 3 LGUs except San Gabriel. Cellular signal of Smart and Globe is strong in all major sites in the Circuit.

Commodities

All Central Circuit member LGU have the same top 5 commodities as of CY 2016, namely Fruit Trees (e.g. Mango, Banana), Rice, Leafy Vegetables, Fruit Vegetables (e.g. Eggplant, Tomato, Ampalaya) and Legumes (e.g. Peanut, Beans).

Accessibility

I. Gateways
The Central Circuit can be accessed either by the MacArthur Highway entering from Barangay Pagdalagan Norte, San Fernando City. The municipality of San Juan and the City of San Fernando hosts most of the accessible tourist service centers such as accommodation establishments and tourism sites.

II. Transportation
Bus terminals in the circuit such as Partas, Viron, and Dominion are mostly located in the City of San Fernando. Other bus lines pass through the circuit via the National Highway. The Municipality of San Gabriel is an interior LGU and can be accessed through the Municipality of San Juan or Bacnotan via tricycle or jeep.

• Jeepneys travel from San Fernando- Bacnotan (v.v) and San Fernando- San Gabriel (v.v).
• All municipalities have tricycles each with a color code: White- San Fernando; Red- San Juan, Orange- Bacnotan; Black- San Gabriel.