Binahian is a barangay

Barangay

A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...

 of Sipocot, Camarines Sur

Sipocot, Camarines Sur

Sipocot is a 1st class municipality in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 57,861 people.- Geography :Notable hills include:* Susong Daraga Hill, located at Brgy...

 (Region V), in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 on the eastern shoreline of Ragay Gulf

Ragay Gulf

Ragay Gulf is a large gulf in the southern part of Luzon island, Philippines, at . It is separated from the Sibuyan Sea by Bondoc Peninsula in the west....

. Its neighbouring barangays include Caima, Manlubang, Lipilip, and Carayrayan (all part of the Municipality of Sipocot) and Bangon (part of Municipality of Lupi

Lupi, Camarines Sur

Lupi is a 4th class municipality in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 27,630 people. It is listed as a 4th class municipality.-History:...

).

The native dialect spoken in Binahian is Bikol

Bikol languages

The Bikol languages are a group of Central Philippine languages spoken particularly on the Bicol Peninsula on the island of Luzon and parts of Catanduanes and Burias Island, Masbate Province...

, or as some would claim, Mainland Bikolnon. This can be understood by the Bicolanos in all provinces of Region V unlike other Bikol dialects, which vary from town to town and can be very hard to understand.

Economy

Because of its remote location along the coast, many of the residents depend on fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 for food, whilst others run water taxi

Water taxi

A water taxi or water bus, also known as a commuter boat, is a watercraft used to provide public transport, usually but not always in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or on demand to many locations, operating in a similar...

s to shuttle passengers to and from Tagbac, the nearest harbour with access to the mainland. Binahian has many sari-sari store

Sari-sari store

A sari-sari store is a convenience store found in the Philippines. The word sari-sari is Tagalog meaning "variety". Such stores form an important economic and social location in a Filipino community. It is present in almost all neighborhoods, sometimes even in every street. Most sari-sari stores...

s, and a couple of copra

Copra

Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. Coconut oil extracted from it has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake which is mainly used as feed for livestock.-Production:...

 dealers; otherwise the main industry is agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

. Coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...

, rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

 and other seasonal crops such as mongo beans

Mung bean

The mung bean is the seed of Vigna radiata. It is native to the Indian subcontinent.-Description:They are small, ovoid in shape, and green in color...

, corn

Corn

Corn is the name used in the United States, Canada, and Australia for the grain maize.In much of the English-speaking world, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, such as* Barley* Oats* Wheat* Rye- Places :...

, tomato

Tomato

The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

es, and other ethnic vegetables are grown in smallholdings to help meet the needs of the population. Some locals have poultry

Poultry

Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...

, pig

Pig

A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...

, or fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

 farms, and so the village always has a wide variety of truly local products to offer.

Education

Binahian Elementary School is the only educational institution in the village.

Religion

Binahian is the seat of the 22nd parish in the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Prelature of Libmanan (created on 9 December 1989). The parish is named under the patronage of St. Anthony of Padua. Canonically erected as a parish on 13 June 2002, the first pastor was 29 year old Rev. Fr. Apolinar Rull Napoles Jr.. There are nine barangays being taken care of by the pastoral program and ministry of the parish. Seven barangays are from the west mountain and seaside of the municipality of Sipocot (Bagong Sirang, Lipilip, Carayrayan, Gabi, Caima, Binahian, Manlubang), one from the municipality of Libmanan (Caima-Libmanan), and one from the municipality of Lupi (Bangon-Lupi).

A Born Again Christian Church, under the umbrella of Asian Christian Charismatic Fellowship, also thrives. Pastor Palermo and Pastor Joe Mangampo started sharing the Gospel/Good News - A Bible Based Doctrine - in the late 1970s.

Health

There is no hospital nor a good clinic yet that could give immediate treatment when a resident needs urgent medical attention. Provision of medicines at the barangay center is quite limited.
However, the municipal health office has stationed a midwife to assist the pregnant women.

Government

Just like any other community, Binahian is headed by a Barangay Captain who oversees the entire village with the assistance of the other Barangay Officials and volunteer peacekeepers. He also represents the people of the Barangay in any government conferences and/or meetings concerning any development, new policies and the like which he will, in turn, disseminate to the whole village afterwards.

List of Barangay Captains

• Anecito Samson
• Francisco Moreno
• Juan Biana
• Feliciano Retardo
• Jose Bacho
• Joaquin Vela Jr.
• Juanito Tabirara
• Fructuso Duran
• Jovito Enriquez
• Virgilio Palmes
• Jovito Enriquez