The Municipality of Liloy is located along the national highway at approximately one hundred eighty-four (184) kilometers from the City of Zamboanga and about one hundred thirty-two (132) kilometers south of Dipolog City. It lies on the northwestern side of the Zamboanga Peninsula at latitude 8 degrees 06 minutes North, and longitude 122 degrees 38 minutes East.
It is bounded on the North, by the Sulu Sea; on the South, by the Municipality of Tampilisan; on the East, by the Municipality of Salug; and on the West, by the Municipality of Labason.
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION MAP
POLITICAL JURISDICTION
The Municipality of Liloy, prior to its creation was one of the biggest barangay of the municipality of Sindangan. It acquired its juridical personality on August 22, 1951 by virtue of Executive Order No. 469 signed by the Philippine President Elpedio Quirino and was later inaugurated on December 16, of the same year.
Upon its creation, the municipality has a total land area of 44,600 hectares with twenty-five barangays. However, in 1959, a huge portion of its territorial jurisdiction had been taken away as a result of the separation and creation of the municipality of Salug, and later, the municipality of Tampilisan in 1978.
Thus, Liloy at present has only about 12,843 hectares with a total of 37 barangays within its juridical responsibility. Comprising the Twelve Coastal barangays namely: Barangay Banigan, Baybay, De La Paz, Kayok, Lamao, Patawag, Punta, San Miguel, Santa Cruz, Timan, Villa C. Sudiacal and Villa M. Tejero. The remaining twenty Five inland Barangays are: Barangay Cabangcalan, Canaan, Candelaria, Causwagan, Comunal, Compra, , El Paraiso, Fatima, Ganase, Goaw, Goin, La Libertad, Mabuhay, Maigang, Malila, Mauswagon, New Bethlehem, Overview, Panabang, San, Francisco, San Isidro, San Roque, Silucap, Santo Nino, Tapican.
2.3 Topography
Liloy is one of the southern municipalities of the province of Zamboanga del Norte. It is classified as generally rolling with plateaus and a few narrow lowland plains near the shores. It has a terrain ranging from relatively flat to gently undulating and moderately rolling to mountainous.
Being a coastal municipality, it has approximately sixteen (16) kilometers of shoreline, stretching from the boundary of Labason to the boundary of Salug. The shallow waters along these shorelines abound with bangus and prawn fries.
Likewise, the municipality is traversed by creeks and being bounded by two big rivers, namely: the Mucas River on the East and Patawag River on the West. The presence of these rivers and creeks not only favor the farmers for the cultivation of their crops, but also serve as natural drainage of the municipality.
2.4 SLOPE
One of the factors to be considered in determining the suitability of lands for urban development as well as its capability for cultivation is the slope of the land. The different slope categories used as basis for settlement planning are the following:
Table 19 – SLOPE CATEGORY
| TYPE | SLOPE RANGE (%) | CHARACTERISTICS |
| A | 0 – 2.5 | LEVEL TO NEAR LEVEL |
| B | 2.5 – 5.0 | VERY GENTLY SLOPING OR UNDULATING |
| C | 5.0 – 10.0 | GENTLY SLOPING OR UNDULATING |
| D | 10.0 – 18.0 | MODERATELY SLOPING OR ROLLING |
| E | 18.0 – 25.0 | STRONGLY SLOPING OR STRONGLY ROLLING |
| F | OVER 25.0 | STRONGLY HILLY TO MOUNTAINOUS |
Levels to moderately sloping areas having good soil are favorable for cultivation and urban development.
Strongly sloping to mountainous condition renders the land highly prone to soil erosion and unfavorable for agricultural production and urban utilization.
The Municipality of Liloy has 700 feet elevation at its highest peak. Of the total municipal land area, approximately 25 percent are considered flat, 50 percent rolling and the rest are classified as hilly to mountainous.
2.5 CLIMATE
The climate of Liloy, like most municipalities of Zamboanga del Norte is classified as belonging to Type IV with no distinct dry and wet seasons. However the months of February, March and April are observed to be the hottest months. Heavy rainfall was occur during the months of June to January. The highest monthly rainfall was recorded in the month of July and the lowest is in February.
Liloy has a fairly warm temperature with monthly average of 28.50 degrees Celsius and due to lack of dry season relative humidity was recorded at its highest at 88 percent in the month of January. Prevailing wind directions are generally from the northeast from January to June and southwest from July to September.
2.6 EROSION POTENTIAL
Approximately 25 percent of the total municipal land area is classified as steep to too steep. These areas are most prone to soil erosion, thus, intensive soil conservation measures should be undertaken. Like planting of annual crops on these areas should be discouraged.
2.7 SOIL TYPE
Knowledge of the basic soil types and its characteristics existing in the area is necessary in the selection of the various uses of the land. It is also needed in the selection of crops best suitable for cultivation thereat.
Records show that the municipality has three basic soil types. These are: the Bolinao Clay, Miral Sandy Loam and the Mt. Soil Undifferentiated. Approximately 30 percent of the total municipal land area of Liloy is classified as Mt. Soil Undifferentiated, 60 percent as Bolinao clay and 10 percent as Miral Sandy Loam.