II.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT)

Analysis of the CBD, Coastal, Upland, and Lowland Barangays in
the Municipality of San Juan La Union

A. CBD BARANGAYS

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

 Existence of mini-commercial stalls for  Lack of flood control.

lease.  Poor drainage systems.
 7-Eleven and Monterey (known  Insufficient evacuation centers in case
commercial franchises). of flood/fire/earthquake-related
 Increased number of business disasters.
establishments such as general  Highly susceptible to flooding. (see
merchandise, beauty/ parlor shops, Flood Map)
eateries, hardware and lumber,  Deprived coordination of municipal
internet shops, water refilling stations, officials to national officials about the
gasoline stations and funeral homes. provision of enough drainage systems
 Observed the laws of the Indies in in connection with the different road
terms of the town planning-provided widening projects along the CBD area
easy access to different public facilities and its fringes.
such as the town hall, church, public  Fully-utilized sanitary land fill.
market and town plaza as these are  Inadequate classrooms for the K-12
closely connected with one another. curriculum.
 Government buildings adapting  Lack of medical apparatuses and
Spanish motifs creates visual equipment in the municipal health
characteristic of the CBD. office.
 Municipal hall is spacious to  Lack of medical staff to accommodate
accommodate all the offices and patients and concerned residents. (i.e.
conference rooms. doctors, nurses, midwives)
 Public market has been renovated  Absence of birthing clinic and minor
which opened additional spaces for operating rooms in the municipal health
commercial stalls. center.
 Public market is spacious for market-  Ceiling of the San Juan church is
goers. dilapidated.
 The town plaza has been landscaped  The grandstand stage of the town
and planted with trees which provide plaza is full of vandals.
shades and pleasant atmosphere to
whomever utilizes it.
 Garbage collection is being
implemented in the two urban
barangays.
 Major road networks namely the
Manila-North road and the San
Fernando Bypass Road have been
concretized and widened.
 CBD is located along the National
Highway
 Any type of land transportation can
pass through the CBD area.
 Trees and plants were planted in
roadsides.
 Existence of two industrial
establishments (i.e. BAMCOR
Corporation- feed production and
Municipal Abattoir-meat production)
which contribute large percentage in
the annual income of the municipality.
 Limited industrial establishments- less
pollution and destruction of natural
cycles.

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

 Increasing number of residents within  The location of the CBD is among the
the CBD area. tsunami inundated areas as projected
 Growth of population by 3.32% in the by PHIVOLCS-DOST.
entire municipality.  Environmental degradation within the
 Increased demands on different goods CBD area due to massive volume of
and services, thus helping big and cars and rooting commercial
small-scale commercial establishments.
establishments uplift their  Possible alteration of agricultural areas
development. into commercial spaces.
 Presence and development of new  Suburbanization.
technologies concerning easements  Pollution related to air, soil, and water
on communication and transportation. as caused by increasing volume of
 Plans are laid to the construction of waste and garbage disposal.
additional evacuation centers with  Water insecurity if misused.
complete facilities such as storage for
blankets, food, and clothing, kitchens,
toilet and baths, and other needed
areas.
 Possible creation of meat trading post
along the municipal abattoir.
 A site is being studied for the proposed
new municipal sanitary landfill
 Extension of the garbage collection
services with 2-3 more barangays.
 B. COASTAL BARANGAYS

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

 Declared as the surfing capital of the  Tsunami inundation area as declared

Northern Philippines by PHIVOLC-DOST (see Tsunami
 Existence of 17 hotels/resorts Hazard Map)
accommodating foreign and domestic  Some coastal barangays are prone to
visitors. erosion, occupying property lines and
 Increased number of business corroding landforms.
establishments such as coffee shops,  Lack of parking spaces outside every
restaurants, souvenir shops, and food commercial establishment.
stalls along the surfing area and in the  Utilization of the National Highway as a
sides of the national highway. parking zone especially during peak
 Presence of apartments and transients seasons.
for hospitality purposes.  Lack of inspection and observation in
 Yearly events such as surfing break the part of the officials as to the
and October Fest are being held within implementation and issuance of
the coastal area. building permits to establishments
 Existing hotels and business which require numbers of parking
establishments have provided a great spaces.
number of employment throughout the
municipality.
 Beaches are being maintained and
cleaned.
 Coastal barangays are accessible by
any type of land transportation as they
are located along the National
Highway.
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
 Increased number of domestic and  Climate variability causing destruction
tourist arrival as reflected in the recent of activities in the coast.
CLUP of the municipality.  Lean seasons-rainy seasons/ school
 Progression of businesses along the days
coastal areas.  Possible environment destruction if
 Emergence of business investors and commercial establishments continue to
enthusiasts. be constructed.
 Plans are being made to create a food  Marine life destruction if tourists fail to
identity for San Juan (i.e. food derived observe proper waste disposal and
from internal organs of hogs being management.
slaughtered in the municipal abattoir)  Alteration of natural landforms and
 New livelihood programs can be vegetation due to the increasing desire
created with the new proposed plan of to put up commercial stalls.
establishing a food production facility
intended to advocate an identifiable
product from the municipality.
 Opens to event organizers to held
activities not just twice a year but
monthly.
 Presence and utilization of new
technological devices to promote
tourism and invite event organizers.
 Encourage community participation to
maintain the cleanliness and harmony
within the vicinity of the place.
 Creation of mangrove forest with areas
prone to erosion.
 Progression of local tourism thus
promoting folk-industries such as
pottery-making and bamboo-crafting.

C. UPLAND BARANGAYS

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

 Creation of a communal irrigation  Lacking of livelihood programs that

association that maintains the existing may help residents gain additional
irrigation system. income for other needs apart from the
 Abundant water resources (from spring basic. (i.e. gasoline to run tractors and
and river). water pumps)
 Eight hectares of agricultural land is  Some people exhaust their money to
being fed by the irrigation coming from gambling
a common spring.  Poor community participation in
 Plentiful natural resources surround developing water resources for
the upland barangays. irrigation and for domestic purposes
 Kaikanan falls. (i.e. spring)
 Existence of public facilities such as a  Deprivation of barangay officials to
health center, day care center, voice out problems to higher officials
elementary schools. such as the municipal mayor, the
 Low susceptible to flood municipal agriculturist, and the

 Offers vast hectares of land for plant municipal planner.

and tree cultivation.  Deficiency in sustaining programs with
 Existence of a water impoundment in regards to spring development.

Pacpacac.  Individualized creation of projects

 Production of rice, corn, and tobacco. concerning potable water rather

 Availability of fruit bearing trees. initializing a long-term communal

 system to assist needs about water
supply.
 Insufficient trainings of farmers due to
poor extension programs.
 Public utility jeeps rarely pass through
the area.
 Absence of material recovery facilities.
 Distant cemeteries.
 Narrow roads.
 Lack of machineries like tractors and
sprayers to use in land cultivation.
 Inadequate knowledge on upland soil
conservation farming as well as the
proper mix of farm enterprises.
 Farmers depend on inorganic fertilizers
rather than pursuing organic farming.
 Far from hospitals.
 Farmers and harvesters travel
kilometers to sell their produce.

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

 Willingness of local residents to  Costly budget for new construction of

participate in future developments. projects such as dams and recreational
 Municipal engineers and architects parks.
recently studied an area for a dam  Difficulty in the transportation of
construction. building materials and the passage of
 Opens job opportunities for residents if heavy and enormous equipment due to
prospect dam building pursues. narrow and rough roads.
 Creation of fish production within the 
proposed dam.
 Restoration of Kaikanan falls to serve
as a water resource and a tourist
attraction.
 Increasing tourist arrival in
municipality of San Juan. (see Table)
 Development of possible recreational
parks along the vicinity of the Kaikanan
falls and the dam.
 Availability of equipment for possible 
dam construction and restoration of the
Kaikanan falls.
 Funding the widening and concreting 
of roads in upland areas.
 Increasing demand for staple foods
such as rice and corn.
 Potential spring development projects
provided by the municipality.
 Promotion of agro-forestry
diversified plant production.
 Prospective construction of agricultural
trading center to contain agricultural
products of the residents.
D. LOWLAND BARANGAYS
STRENGTHS
 Concreted barangay roads
Adversity in the part of local residents
to adopt to new technological
advancements especially in the
dissemination of information valuable
in their occupations (i.e. farming and
the livestock grazing)
 Distant to the central business district
and other major facilities of the
municipality such as the municipal hall
and the municipal health office.
Possible degradation of soil, water,
and air quality due to absence of
material recovery facilities.
Alteration of some natural contours
and vegetation with the plans of
constructing new projects.
for
WEAKNESSES
 Public utility jeeps (cheapest form of  Highly susceptible to flood especially
transportation) often pass through. barangays near the Baroro river. (see
 Central business district, municipal Flood Map)
hall, and other public facilities can be  Poor drainage system.
easily access through tricycles and  Lack of operational evacuation centers
jeeps and private cars. for flood or fire-related disasters.
 Availability of small-scale businesses  Inadequate programs to develop
such as mini-grocery stores, and material recovery facilities.
construction supply.  Lacking of initiative from the barangay
 Supplies needed in agriculture and in officials to create and teach the
other domestic needs are available in residents on the importance of proper
short distances. waste management.
 The type of soil caters varied food-  Deprived irrigation systems or water
producing plants. impounding projects.
 Vast hectares of agricultural land.  Lack of community camaraderie to
 Farmers produces rice, corn, tobacco, build water impoundments or small
legumes and vegetables for food and farmer reservoirs for irrigation and
livestock production. livestock production.
 Existence of public facilities such as  Insufficient trainings of farmers due to
elementary schools, health centers, poor extension programs.
warehouses for rice and corn storage,  Lack of information about organic
corn dryer facility, and multi-purpose farming.
halls.  Improved spring as a source of potable
 Withdrawn to possible landslides. water serves little percentage of
 Availability of ample land for households.
prospective tourist recreational parks  Weak assistance to barangay
and facilities. cooperatives-offers cheap domestic
supplies and soft loans to marginalized
sector of the barangay.
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
 Plans are presented for widening of  Possible alteration of agricultural lands
farm to market roads. into residential areas due to increasing
 Increasing population (3.32 % as of projected population.
2010) with cumulative demands for  Degradation of soil, water, and air due
staple food supplies such as rice and to the absence of material recovery
corn and others such as vegetables, facilities.
fruits, fishes and meats.  Difficulty in the part of the farmers to
 Varied soil types are capable of acquire new techniques and
acquiring diversified crops, thus technologies about agriculture-related
enhancing soil condition and subjects.
increasing productivity.  Exhaustion of some natural resources
 Discovery of new materials to enhance and forms if development pursues.
production in farming.
 Prospective construction of agricultural
trading post to contain agricultural
products of the residents.
 Based from the 2013-2018
Comprehensive Land-use Plan of the
municipality, a proposed Eco-tourism
park is being studied.
 Increasing domestic and foreign
tourists’ arrival (see Table).
 Opening of job opportunities if the eco-
tourism park reach its full realization.
 Construction of evacuation centers/
multipurpose halls in barangays prone
to flooding.
 Growth on the awareness of the
residents to dredge canals and
drainage systems.
 Promotion of mangrove forestry along
riverbanks to avoid flooding as well as
to provide fish production.