SETTING YOUR SIGHTS FOR LUOP

Posted by : Laom Luop Saturday, May 31, 2014

Barangay Luop was formerly a sitio of Barangay Minsulao, Siay, Zamboanga Del Sur. Diplahan, where was the barangay falls under, was made into a Municipal on December 19, 1979 and sitio Luop was separated from Minsulao and created as a independent Barangay. Mr. Owhang Maro, a subanen man, gave Luop its name. Luop came from subanen word “Look” which means a creek or a river, in her case connecting to the Sibugay river.

Barangay Luop is situated 40 kilometers away from the provincial capitol. It has 6 puroks, headed by Barangay Chairman Wilson Montales and 7 other Sangguniang Barangay officials. It is bounded by Barangay Pilar at the North; Barangay Minsulao at the East; Barangay Boyugan at the West and Barangay Balingasan at the South boundary. It is compost mostly of rice paddies making rice its primary agricultural product.

Barangay Luop comprises of a mixture of Bisaya and Ilonggo, with the latter containing the majority of the residents. Majority of the population embrace Iglesia ni Cristo as their religion. However, despite the diversities in religion, culture and language, the residents still manage to coexist and live harmoniously with each other.

Access to a public Day care Center, Preschool and elementary school are available in the barangay. The secondary school that caters to the students of Luop is located at the adjacent barngay Minsulao and the nearest tertiary level school is found at the adjacent Munipality of Buug, which is 8 Kilometers from the Municipality of Diplahan.

The road to the barangay is mostly cemented and the major mode of transportation is “Habal-Habal”, a public motorcycle ride. Some residents also utilize horses and carabao but very rarely except in working their farmland.

A Barangay Health Station structure is available in the barangay but the health personnel cater to their health needs only twice a month. There were also 6 Barangay Health Worker (BHW) in the barangay with one representative per purok. The nearest hospital is the Wilfredo S. Palma Hospital that is located 40 kilometers away from the barangay Luop.

The Barangay’s power supply is coming from the ZamSurECo. The water system is Level II; their main water source came from a Large water tank that is chlorinated every 1^st week of every Saturday of the month.

Residents of Luop especially adolescents are actively involved in sports activities especially basketball. For this purpose, the covered court/ basketball court is being utilizednot just for special events but is also used for sports. Male residents especially adolescents regularly play basketball every Saturday and the barangay officials also usually organize basketball tournament during their barangay feast. Some female adolescents also play volleyball and badminton as part of their leisure activities at the covered court.