Profile of the City

SOCIAL SECTOR

DEMOGRAPHY

Population Growth

The City of General Trias registered a total population of 107,691 in 2000. From 66,837 in 1995, it increased by around 61.12% over a 5-year period. The present annual growth rate is 10% as compared to the past census year, with only 4.80% indicating that it has more than doubled in five (5) years.The population is distributed in its thirty three (33) barangays and is considered to be 5.52 % of the total provincial population of 2,063,161. It ranks 7th as to population size compared to the three (3) cities and nineteen (19) municipalities comprising the province. The increasing growth rate is brought about by heavy in-migration due to expanding industrial activities and the booming residential and commercial subdivisions due to rapid urban development.

Number of Households and Household Size

As per 2000 Census of Population, the number of households grew at a faster rate than its population. In fact while the household population grew by 61% between 1995 and 2000, the number of households increased by 70%. This gap manifests the increasing rate of household formation, which is primarily induced by the significant number of in-migrating families to the municipality. However, the household size decreases from 4.8 to 4.6 during the same 5-year period which is an indication of increasing household dissolution which in turn is affected by the increasing purchasing power of families and individuals in extended households to acquire their own houses.

The most populated areas were San Francisco, Pasong Camachile II, Manggahan, Tejero, Santiago, Pinagtipunan and San Juan I. Barangay San Francisco posted a great increase of 157% in population from 1995 to 2000 whereas Barangays Manggahan and Pasong Camachile II population almost more than doubled in size within that 5-year period. The unprecedented growth may not be possibly being attributed solely to natural increases but rather to in-migration at a large extent being either employment-led or housing-led.

Population Projection

The population projection indicates that with an increasing growth rate, it will arrive at a count of 279,323 by the year 2010. The town’s population this year 2005 is estimated at 173,437. If the current trend in its population would persist, General Trias will have 449,852 by the year 2015 which suggest that the present population is expected to be more than doubled in 10 years.

HOUSING AND RESETTLEMENT

The City of General Trias recorded a total number of 22,898 occupied housing units as per 2000 Census of Population and Housing. Of these, 65.40 percent (14,976) were single houses while 23.91 percent (5,475) were multi-unit residential. About 67.43 percent or 15,440 of the total occupied housing units make use of concrete as construction materials of the outer wall. Most of the housing units use galvanized iron or aluminum as construction materials of the roof. The ratio of household to occupied housing units is registered at 1.02 while the household population to occupied housing unit is recorded at 4.68.

Presently, there were 58 registered residential subdivisions comprising the town, indicating an increase from 51 in 2003. Private developers have put up several economic socialized housing projects as part of their 20 percent total subdivision area appropriation or the BP 220 requirement, with a total number of 25 for the year 2005. On the other hand, there are currently eight (8) relocation/resettlement projects in General Trias intended for the displaced residents particularly from Metrosouth, Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club and Parklane Country Homes. The displaced families from Freedom Islands in Pasay City were the target beneficiaries of the Pabahay 2000 Project.

HEALTH AND NUTRITION STATISTICS

The town’s crude birth rate (CBR) was posted at 33.66 per 1000 population in year 2005. The rate had increased slightly by 1.23 percent compared to previous year rate of 33.25. However, the CBR is still more than three times compared from a low 10.42 in 2001.

Crude Death rate (CDR) has also gone up to 3.34 in 2005 as compared to the 3.00 registered in 2004. In the same way as CBR, the 2005 CDR value remained higher than 2001 with only 2.62 value.

The Infant Mortality Rate of the town grew considerably from 4.29 in 2004 to a high 10.83 in 2005. The leading cause of infant death is prematurely followed by Accident (All forms) registering a total of 15 infant deaths in 2005. The reported high incidence of the former gives rise to questions as whether the existing health related services i.e. Maternal and child health care programs are being optimized.

When it comes to nutrition status of the children, there are 661 severely malnourished children from age 0 – 6 years old in 2005. Yet, for the combination of below normal, low and very low, there were about 10.80 percent or 2,740 among the 25,217 pre-school children. It significantly reduced from 15.50 percent (2,989) among the 19,248 pre-school children in 2004. These figures suggest that good nutrition were provided and improved nutrition program were properly carried out among children.

EDUCATION

Formal education is provided through a network of schools strategically located throughout the town. In 2005, the total number of educational facilities was summed up to 85 in General Trias , 55 of which are privately owned while 30 are public institutions. Enrolment figures show the majority of patronage of the population on the educational facilities provided by the local government with a total enrollment of 19,261 for the elementary and 7,035 for the secondary level.

Participation rate has been slightly reduced from 96.69 % in SY 2003-2004 to only 95.47% for District I while in District II it remained steady at 92.78% during SY 2003-2004 and SY 2004-2005. On the other hand, survival rate for both indicated an increase from 82.79 to 86.57 for District I and 87.15 % to 88.26 % for District II. The consistent zero drops out rate and the average completion rate of 100% particularly in District II during the last three school year period indicates the good performance of the public education sector.

Public secondary education is complemented by (5) five public high schools run by the national and local government. There were a total of 7,035 public high school enrollees for the SY 2005-2006. The highest participation rate recorded so far was 99% for Biclatan Annex as well as the survival rate with 89% during the SY 2004-2005. Meanwhile, Santiago National High School has the lowest drop-out rate of 0.5% during the same school year.

Using the Special Education Fund, General Trias was able to extend financial assistance for the rehabilitation and construction of school buildings and improvement of school facilities. It has also given teaching aids, materials, public school teacher’s benefits and school supplies for public school students at the beginning of each school year.

Moreover, one of the breakthroughs in the field of education is the Volunteer Matching Grant sponsored by Intel, Phils. In which for every hour spent by their volunteer employees (the Intel Involved) in the schools (tutorial, repair, and painting of classrooms) Intel Phils. will donate US$ 50.

There is also an Alternative Learning System (ALS) being implemented by the LGU in partnership with the Department of Education and Intel Technology Phils., Inc. This is a six-month program consisting of five (5) modules (or strands) and held at different identified schools throughout the municipality. Intel Phils, provided volunteers who function as instructional managers who facilitate the regular Saturday sessions while the local government shouldered the purchase of school supplies. There are a total of 540 learners or beneficiaries under this program. The grade school level has the number of 153 enrollees while the enrollees for the high school level reached to 377.

In view of non-formal education, there are year-round and seasonal practical training programs being implemented by the MSWD which offer short courses on industrial (hi-speed) sewing, food processing and preservation, baking, handicraft-making and cosmetology.

PEACE AND ORDER/PUBLIC SAFETY

The local police and fire fighting forces are tasked to maintain a safe and crime-free system of living in the locality. The police force’s main responsibility is peace management which includes both prevention and solution of crimes. Crimes are categorized into index and non-index. Index crimes include crimes against persons i.e. Murder, homicide, rape among others and crimes against property to include robbery and theft. All these are considered heinous. Non- index crimes include gambling, use of illegal drugs, illegal possession of firearms and child abuse.

Index crimes committed have the number of 54 in 2005, it increased by 31.71% from 41 in 2004. Although non-index crimes declined by 5 points to 48 in 2005 from 53 in 2004. Monthly crime rate was posted at 4.9 in 2005 with crime solution efficiency rating of 87.25 %. The rating had decreased by 4.42 percentage points compared to previous year rating of 91.67 %. The total number of crime unsolved was registered at 13 in year 2005, representing a considerable increase from 6 unsolved crimes committed last 2004.

Police and protection services are made up for by 47 policemen, 25 traffic aides and three (3) not in uniform personnel through the main police station located in the Poblacion and two (2) Police Kababayan Center (Sub-Station 1 & 2) at Pasong Camachile and Manggaghan Juction respectively. The said stations are equipped with computers, UHF radios, firearms , three (3) police mobile cars and (4) motorcycles for use in their service operations.

The fire control and prevention unit’s main role is to protect the lives and properties through fire fighting operations. Services are being carries out by one main fire station located in the Poblacion . It is manned by nine (9) fire personnel and eight (8) local fire aides , through the use of one (1) unit national firetruck , three (3) units local firetrucks and 79 fire hydrants installed at various busy areas. There are about three (3) reported fire incidence in year 2004 with estimated damages of P 442,100.00 whereas in the year 2005 there are five (5) reported cases of fire with estimated damages reaching to P 7,358,000 yet no reported deaths and injuries.

SOCIAL WELFARE SERVICES

The City Social Welfare and Development Office has been mandated to care, protect, rehabilitate and empower the socially, economically and physically disadvantaged sectors in the municipality. Thus, its immediate mission is meeting its clients’ emergency needs brought about by natural and man-made disasters, and helping individuals in crisis that need immediate attention.

Being the heart of the municipality, CSWD had faithfully served our less fortunate and needy inhabitants through the provision of various programs such as day care services, supplemental feeding, practical skills training, marriage counseling, senior citizens’ program and aid to individual in 33 barangays. At present, the Day Care services are complemented by fifty (50) day care workers with a total of 3,124 children served.

Except for day care service program and marriage counseling, the number of clients availing of social services increased in 2005 as compared to 2004. The CSWD Office has performed fairly in terms of the number of clients served by way of its various programs. Currently, there are five (5) reported women in difficult circumstances, 18 reported child abuses, 45 disabled persons and eight (8) youth offenders within the locality availing of the welfare services.

SPORTS AND RECREATION

Each barangay is provided by the local government unit with at least one (1) basketball court to support the town’s sports development. Besides, there is a tennis court, a gymnasium and six (6) badminton courts within the vicinity of the Poblacion

which are privately owned. There are also six (6) privately operated swimming pools/resorts.

In terms of recreational facilities, a multi-purpose convention center and the newly renovated sports complex are also found in the municipality that serve as a venue for meetings, conferences, sports festival and other social function The town plaza which is located in front of the municipal hall has fountains and park benches and serves as town park. The display of lights and music at night is an added attraction to the place. Billiard halls designed for amusement and diversion among the males can also be found in General Trias.

ECONOMIC SECTOR

AGRICULTURE

General Trias has a total land area of 8,700 hectares, where 5,162 hectares or 59.34 % is devoted to agriculture. The total area is comprised by agricultural, forest park, agro-industrial and idle or vacant lands. Rice farming is the predominant farming system followed by fruit trees and vegetable farming consisting of 2,134.35, 90.50 and 82.50 hectares of the land area, respectively. The total agricultural production reached 17,840.83 metric tons. About 79% of this was contributed by rice with a production of 14, 103.61 metric tons, contributing the highest amount of Php 133 million in 2005.

A supply and demand analysis is conducted to ascertain whether nutritional requirements of the population are being met . Considering all the crops produced in the area as well as the increasing demand by the populace , the current food production is not capable to sustain self-sufficiency and is way below the demand to support the people’s needs. Currently, General Trias registered a food sufficiency level of 55.12% with a total deficit of 14,527.72 metric tons. The increasing number of idle lands, cutting of fruit trees and less program on regreening greatly contributed to the deficit as the population continuously expanded.

While there is a deficit in the amount of agricultural crops, livestock and poultry products registered a surplus of 22,404.79 metric tons. There were a total of 372, 74 heads of hogs produced in 2005. On the other hand, production of chicken and ducks registered a deficit of 218.49 MT and 244.005 MT, respectively.

Fishpond operation in 2005 extended over a total of 20,400 square meters. Tilapia is the main type of fish harvested. For a harvest time of three to five months, the fishponds were able to produce 13,693 kilos of annual catch valued at Php 958,510.00.

The largest fishpond is located in Pasong Camachile II occupying 5,000 square meters. It is noted that the sufficiency level for fish production is only 0.26 % with a total deficit of 5,303.88 metric tons. There are only 13.69 metric tons of fish production which is not enough to provide nourishment for a population of about 173,437.

The City has 21 rice mills with drying pavements and 2 outdoor storage in Barangay Scholars Multi-Purpose Coop., Inc. The farms-to- market roads are passable. While the irrigation facilities seem adequate, it was observed that there are areas where irrigation is needed but no water is running through the facility. It has two (2) extension services office namely Farmers Training Center in Barangay San Juan and Municipal Seedbank/Nursery in Barangay Sampalucan.

Information gathered show that General Trias has a total of 30 cooperatives which are considered vital partners in development. At present, cooperative strengthening and enhancement is continuously being carried out in the municipality covering pre-membership education, directorship training, financial management training and business opportunities training, as part of the Cooperative Strengthening and Enhancement Program of the Provincial Government.

There is also an Agrarian Reform Community (ARC’s) covering barangays Pasong Kawayan II and Buenavista established in General Trias in June 1994. Buenavista ARBA MDC was established as part of DAR’s institutional building, having a total asset of Php 565,360.98. The cooperative is engaged in providing credit to its members as well as in renting out solar dryers and power tillers.

As part of Agrarian Reforrn Infrastructure Support Project II (ARISP II), the improvement of the Ipilan-Gaerlan farm to market road in Buenavista – Pasong Kawayan II ARC having a total length of 4,227.98 meters has been programmed and is currently being implemented.

LAND CONVERSION

The City has been experiencing its full share of rapid land use conversion and idle lands held for speculative purposes. The conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses has contributed to the town’s decreasing agricultural production and threatened the town’s food sufficiency. The high incidence of land banking or the purchase of large tracts of cheap agricultural lands for the sole purpose of reclassifying them and developing them into other land uses has further worsen the situation.

Large areas are now left idle by speculative developers just waiting for the favorable time when a market and viable type of development have been identified which will yield high returns on their investment. Such practice of land banking has sent land values soaring and has increased the number of idle lands that used to be productive agricultural lands.

Land conversion as of 2004-2005 focused along Barangay Pasong Camachile with a total of 23.55 hectares and some portion along Barangay Bacao I with 2.2563 hectares which was used as private cemetery. As of year 2004, 444.43 of the 455 hectares total allowable for reclassification have already been reclassified. This leaves only about 10.57 hectares of the allotted ten percent allowed for reclassification.

In spite of this, in 2005, there were about 17.8188 hectares of land subject for reclassification. These covered Barangays Tapia, Manggahan, San Juan II and Santiago to be converted from agricultural into other land uses for instance residential, commercial, and industrial or other mixed -use development.

To date, it still has already consumed its 455 hectare reclassification limit. In consequence, zoning regulations and land use restrictions must as it should be, enforced in order to identify areas that are highly restricted from conversion. Land identification must properly be based on the potentials and limitations of the land. New applications for the reclassification of existing agricultural lands to other uses will be discouraged. Besides, the municipal government may impose higher taxes on idle lands to discourage further land banking.

COMMERCE

The total number of registered commercial establishments in 2005 was 2,579, posing an 11.79% increase from 2,307 in 2004. Of these, 4.30 percent (111) were wholesale establishments, 3.96 percent or 102 were real estate while 60 or 2.33 percent were banking and finance. Retail establishments and service firms are concentrated mainly in the Poblacion and public market as well as in Barangay Manggahan, San Francisco and Tejero comprising about 62.27 percent (1,606) and 25.67 percent or 662, respectively.

There were also fifteen (15) registered commercial subdivisions operating within the subdivision as part of the subdivision amenities that cater the needs of the homeowners and residents.

In terms of banks and lending institution providing a wide array of financial services, there were a total of 52 firms to include banks, lending companies and pawnshops operating in the municipality catering to the needs of entrepreneurship. Among these, are GSIS Bank, RCBC, Metrobank, Landbank of the Phils. and Cebuana Lhuillier Pawnshop.

Industrialization and rapid urban development are the main aspects in the formation of more businesses in General Trias.

INDUSTRY

The development of industrial parks in the municipality brought about a shift from an economy focused on agriculture to one focused on industry and real estate development. This shift gave way to the rise of the financial status of General Trias. From the four (4) factories operating in the town in 1991, a total of 130 firms came about in 2005. Eighty five percent (85%) of these are located in five (5) major industrial estates with a land area of 421 hectares. Among the 130 industrial firms, 20 are found outside the industrial zone, five (5) outside the special zone at the Gateway Business Park, 32 in the New Cavite Industrial City, 18 in side the special zone at the Gateway Business Park and 55 in the Cavite Export Processing Zone , Phase 4 along Barangays Bacao and Tejero. However, due to the economic crisis experienced all over the country, 22 factories have closed or were temporarily shut down, hence a total of 109 factories are still operating in full blast within the municipality.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND UTILITIES

ROADS AND TRANSPORT

Data gathered reveal that there is a total of about 136.33 kilometers of road in the municipality, 29.11 kms. of which are national, 15.85 kms provincial, 4.59 kms. municipal and 65.96 kms barangay roads. All national, provincial and municipal roads are of the all-weather type as these are paved with either concrete or asphalt. However, more than 43 kilometers or 33 % of barangay roads remained unpaved.

Some portions of national roads was improved due to transport demand especially on busy section along Governors Drive, Tejero-Bacao Diversion Road along Gate 2 and Gate 4 of the Economic and Processing Zone (EPZA) and the General Trias-Amadeo road section along Manggahan to Buenavista I. Municipal roads were partially improved by asphalting and renovation of existing drainage system.

Newly donated subdivision roads in Javalera Relocation Site (Phase 1-4) has a total length of 16.07 kilometers and Holiday Homes Subdivision with 4.758 kilometers, are accepted in participation of the owner/developer, homeowner’s association and government agencies involved. Meanwhile, the donation of Stateland Subdivision and New Cavite Industrial City roads are still on process due to pending agreement by the parties concerned. Likewise, major road infrastructure in the Poblacion leading to Bacao-EPZA was delayed due to road right of way acquisition and illegal squatting.

There are also a number of bridges in the municipality, mostly in the rural areas. From a total of 30, six (6) are hanging bridges, which have a total length of 889.03 meters.

The town may be reached by all modes of transportation such as jeepneys, tricycles, private cars and trucks. Tricycle Operators and Driver’s Association at the municipality reached to 21 consisting of 3,057 members. There are two (2) jeepney terminals located in the Poblacion and Manggahan. The one located in the Poblacion near the market site can accommodate 70 vehicles while that located in Manggahan has a capacity of 50 vehicles. Both terminals are concrete paved. Traffic congestion is experienced in several nodal points such as the Mangahan junction, Tejero, Bacao and Poblacion area.

Moreover, General Trias is one of the municipalities composing the CALA area and is one of those to be benefited by the CALA road projects. The proposed East-West roads namely the Tanza-Muntinlupa-and Calibuyo-San Pedro roads will greatly augment the present transport network of the town. The construction of the laterals will improve intra-municipal accessibility as well as provide alternative linkages to other areas particularly Metro Manila.

WATER

In terms of Level III water systems, the town is served by the General Trias Water Corp. and several privately-owned systems serving the industrial estates and residential subdivisions. As of 2005, there were a total of 18,159 households being served by 22 pumping stations scattered in different barangays . A 250,000-gallon ground reservoir is located in Brgy. Tapia. There are 15,699 residential, 93 commercial, 32 industrial and 12 institutional types of water connections. The average water sales per day for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional uses were 13,690, 330, 211 and 12 cubic meters, respectively.

The industrial estates are served by independent level III systems operated and maintained by the industrial estates operators. Deepwells are tapped to supply the water requirements of the industries. The total allowed extraction rate is around 174.60 liters per second or about 15.083 cubic meters per day.

COMMUNICATION

Telephone services are provided by PLDT, Globe telecoms and DIGITEL. PLDT has the largest number of subscribers in the Poblacion and the majority of the barangays. In 2004-2005, PLDT registered a total number of 965 subscribers while Globe Telecoms had 370 and Digitel had 948 subscribers.

Cellular services are provided by Dito Telecommunity, Smart, Globe Telecom, Extelcom and Islacom covered by seven (7) cell site stations for cellular phone services. Reception of television is good enough to cover all local TV stations aside from cable television being provided by the Cavite Cable Corporation. There are approximately 350 active cable TV subscribers from the Pobalcion and Barangays Pinagtipunan, Sta. Clara, San Juan I & II.

With reference to postal services, General Trias received a total volume of 3,625 domestic mails for the month of December 2005 whereas the volume of international mail handled is registered at 1,100. The revenue collected from international mail volume posted for the month reached P 69,314. Other communication services available in the municipality include telegrams and telegraphic transfers being provided by LBC Express, RCPI, PT&T and JRS Express.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

General Trias has its own 1.5 hectare controlled dumpsite located in Barangay Tapia. The operation of this dumpsite started during the last quarter of 2000. It is 1.5 km. from the barangay proper and about 3.93 kms. from the Poblacion.

Based on the data gathered, the population of General Trias produces an estimated value of 54,922.50 kilogram of garbage per day, 9.54 percent of which comes from the Poblacion and the remaining from outside the other barangays.

The CENRO is responsible for the collection of almost 96.96 percent of the barangay wastes. There are some sitios in barangays such as San Francisco, Santiago, Pasong Kawayan I & II, Bacao I & II and Alingaro where wastes are not collected due to their accessibility.

The collection equipment’s used are 10 units of elf trucks, one unit unit dump truck and one unit compactor truck. Their total garbage capacity amounts to 90.68 cubic meters or 29,294.40 kilograms. A total of 119 personnel are responsible for integrating and coordinating solid waste management activities. Of the 119 personnel, there are six (6) MENRO staff, 15 Linis Bayan drivers, 55 garbage collectors, six (6) grass cutters and 37 street sweepers.

Due to rapid industrialization and urbanization, emerging environmental problems became apparent in the municipality. These include proliferation of squatters, illegal dumping of domestic wastes along river easements and air and noise pollution from the increasing number of industries.

With the increasing population and the considerable growth of commercial and industrial establishments in the municipality, solid waste management would continue to pose serious problems if no appropriate action is taken. The local government should identify and develop a sufficient landfill that would cater to the bulging wastes generated by the municipality.

DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

General Trias has visibly showed its endeavor in implementing an efficient and effective governance and public service as well as in providing basic services and facilities to its constituents. Besides, it turned out to be an effective counterpart of the national government in achieving sustainable growth and development through the consolidated efforts of the local government officials, barangay officials, department heads, and other non-government agencies.

The population of General Trias is served by 1,453 personnel by the municipal government. Two hundred ninety two of these are permanent and 1,161 are contractual. These local government employees are distributed to 16 major offices/departments responsible for performing service delivery tasks and development planning responsibilities.

There is a need to reorganize the LGU’s structure in order to be able to solve complex and modern day problems. Administrative and management procedures will have to be improved to allow the municipal bureaucracy to work effectively. Municipal government personnel are continuously undertaking sectoral training courses concerning their duties and responsibilities and are merely for staff development.

The local government is administered by twelve (12) duly elected municipal officials and 33 barangay captains distributed in each barangay. They were elected by the General Trias’ population with 72,499 registered voters spread out in 450 voting precincts approved by the Commission on Elections.

The total income of the City in 2005 was summed up to Php 343,732,402.64 representing an increase of 37.41 % from Php 250,156,502.95 earned last 2004. This can be attributed to an increase in IRA Allotment amounting to Php 70,524,451.59 as well as the much higher increase in its revenue collection mainly from business licenses, RPT and other local taxes.

Despite economic crisis, it is noted that RPT collection has more than doubled from a mere P 39.1 million in 2004 to P 83.5 million in 2005. Likewise, business tax collections have even increased by 34.34 %. It is hoped that this trend will continue and business conditions will improve in order for the municipality to be able to increase its tax collections efforts to expand its revenue base.

GEOGRAPHY AND PHYSICAL FEATURES

LOCATION

The town is situated at the northern part of the province and is located 14°23′ latitude and 121°53′ longitude. The distance from the Provincial Capitol in Trece Martires City is 18.27 km. and 35 kms. Southwest of Manila. The land shape of General Trias follows the path of its territorial boundaries in the eastern and western section, which is the river. It is bounded in the north by Noveleta; in the northeast by Imus and Kawit; in the east by Dasmariñas; in the southeast by Silang; in the south by Amadeo; in the west by Tanza; Rosario in the northwest and Indang in the southwest.

GEOLOGY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY

General Trias, like most part of the Cavite province, is a volcanic region which is underlain by volcanic ejecta deposits that are characteristically water laid. Recent study conducted by Infra-Geo Services dated September 1998 shows that the allowable bearing capacity of soil within the site of the new public market was 145 kpa (3,000 psf) at a depth not to exceed 2.50 meter from the natural ground and resting on weathered tuffaceous sandstone or silty sand. According to the 1996 study of GAIA South Consultant on Monterey Property, Cavite as a part of Southwest Luzon is susceptible to seismic structure present in the region. The seismogenic structure includes the Verde Island Fault, Lubang Fault, Philippine Fault and the Manila Trench. The possible seismogenic structures are the Taal Fault, Manila Bay Fault Zone and the Marikina Fault. Generally, General Trias is considered less susceptible to seismic structure than the other parts of Cavite because of its underlain soil structure of consolidated alluvial materials and since it is outside the recognized area of Taal Volcano. The substrate of the southern part of General Trias consists of a thick sequence of Taal Tuff.

The soil structure of General Trias, based on the observed and assessed consolidated result of Soil/water exploration conducted by different well drillers from 1990-1998, showed that all topsoil are covered by clay or with combination of sand or silt. Underneath are layers of sandstone, stiff clay, clayey rock or with combination of the sand, clay or silt of various gradings (fine to medium, coarse) and at varying depth.

TOPOGRAPHY, SLOPE AND ELEVATION

General Trias is characterized as having a flat terrain ranging from 0-3% in the northern portion while the remaining portion of land in the southern part is hilly and rolling, ranging from 3 to 40% slope and the rest comprises the steep portion of the waterways. Table 1 summarizes the slope characteristics of General Trias.

The topography of the municipality of General Trias and its surrounding area is generally flat to gently rolling with deeply incised river channels. The drainage pattern is primarily parallel to sub-parallel while the river system flows northwards of Manila Bay. The lowest elevation is in Barangay Tejero and Bacao II at an elevation of 8.0 meters above mean sea level; while the Poblacion is at an elevation of 12.0 meters; Barangay Manggahan junction of Governor’s Drive at elevation of 114.0 meters. Southern portion of the municipality in particular to Brgy. Panungyanan has an elevation of 250 meters and Brgy. Javalera at an elevation of 200 meters above mean sea level.

Table 1. Land Area by Grade of Slope : Municiplality of General Trias

SOILS AND SOIL EROSION

Soil types of General Trias are suited to a wide range of agricultural crops. Major soil types ranges from clay, clay loam, loam and sandy loam. But certain areas of flat lands exhibit a decrease in thickness of clay as observed in some parts of Brgy. Bacao-Navarro and other barangays.

There are no recorded specific areas in the municipality that experienced a regular heavy to light stages of soil erosion. Erosion occasionally occurs only along the riverbanks of Ylang-Ylang River and Malabon Grande River, brought by rampage of floodwater rising along narrow and deep stream channels of rivers during rainy season. Man-made soil erosion was also observed in some real estate development projects when developers try to recover lost portions of land or sometimes dumping of top soil along the edge and depressed portions of the riverbanks. Table 2 presents the soil type of the municipality.

Table 2. Land Area by Grade of Soil : City of General Trias