Eastern Samar
Silangang Samar (Filipino)
Province
Province of Eastern Samar
(from top: left to right) Port section of the Guiuan Integrated Transport Terminal, Baybay Boulevard in Borongan, Balangiga Church, Church of San Julian, Homonhon and Borongan Cathedral.
Flag of Eastern Samar
Flag
Official seal of Eastern Samar
Seal
Location in the Philippines
Location in the Philippines
OpenStreetMap
Coordinates: 11°40′N 125°25′E / 11.67°N 125.42°E / 11.67; 125.42
CountryPhilippines
RegionEastern Visayas
FoundedJune 19, 1965
Capital
and largest city		Borongan
Government
 • GovernorBen P. Evardone (PDP–Laban)
 • Vice GovernorMaria Caridad S. Goteesan (PDP–Laban)
 • LegislatureEastern Samar Provincial Board
Area
[1]
 • Total4,660.47 km2 (1,799.42 sq mi)
 • Rank24th out of 81
Highest elevation
(Mount Mactaon)
673 m (2,208 ft)
Population
 (2020 census)[2]
 • Total477,168
 • Rank60th out of 81
 • Density100/km2 (270/sq mi)
  • Rank69th out of 81
Divisions
 • Independent cities0
 • Component cities
1
 • Municipalities
22
 • Barangays597
 • DistrictsLegislative districts of Eastern Samar
Time zoneUTC+8 (PHT)
ZIP code
6800–6822
IDD : area code +63 (0)55
ISO 3166 codePH-EAS
Spoken languages
Highway routes
Websitewww.easternsamar.gov.ph

Eastern Samar (Waray-Waray: Sinirangan Samar; Tagalog: Silangang Samar[3]), officially the Province of Eastern Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Borongan. Eastern Samar occupies the eastern portion of the island of Samar. Bordering the province to the north is the province of Northern Samar and to the west is Samar province. To the east lies the Philippine Sea, part of the vast Pacific Ocean, while to the south lies Leyte Gulf.

History

Spanish colonial era

During his circumnavigation of the globe, Ferdinand Magellan had set foot on the tiny island of Homonhon in the southern part of the province. On March 16, 1521, the area of what is now Eastern Samar is said to be the first Philippine landmass spotted by Magellan and his crew.[4][5][6]

American invasion era

Philippine-American War

Maj. Eugenio Daza Area Commander of General Lukbán's forces for Southeastern Samar

Balangiga Encounter

On September 28, 1901, Filipino guerrillas led by Valeriano Abanador and Eugenio Daza in Balangiga ambushed American troops, killing 48 members of the US 9th Infantry. The incident triggered the infamous American retaliation March across Samar against the Samar populace and guerrillas.[6]

Japanese occupation era

In 1944, combined Filipino-American troops involved in the liberation of the Philippines from Japan built in the town of Guiuan the largest military base in the Pacific. In the same town in 1949, approximately 5,000 Russian refugees escaping from communist China temporarily settled on Tubabao Island until 1951, when they were transferred to Australia and the United States.[5]

Philippine independence

Foundation

Eastern Samar, as a province, was created from Samar province through Republic Act No. 4221 on June 19, 1965.[7] Approved by Congress in 1963, it was authored by Samar congressmen Eladio T. Balite (1st district), Fernando R. Veloso (2nd district), and Felipe J. Abrigo (3rd district). The law, ratified in a plebiscite on June 19, 1965, divided Samar into three: Northern Samar, Eastern Samar and (Western) Samar.

Contemporary

Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded, made its first landfall in the coastal town of Guiuan in November 2013.[8]

Geography

Eastern Samar covers a total area of 4,660.47 square kilometers (1,799.42 sq mi)[9] occupying the eastern section and majority of southern Samar's coast of Samar Island in the Eastern Visayas region. The province is bordered to the north by Northern Samar and to the west by Samar. To the east lies the Philippine Sea, part of the vast Pacific Ocean, while to the south lies Leyte Gulf.

Because it faces the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, Eastern Samar suffers heavily from powerful typhoons.[4]

Administrative divisions

Eastern Samar comprises 22 municipalities and one city, all encompassed by an lone congressional district and two provincial districts that elect a representative and provincial board members, respectively.

Political divisions

Demographics

Population census of Eastern Samar
YearPop.±% p.a.
1903 79,645—    
1918 117,348+2.62%
1939 154,347+1.31%
1948 197,734+2.79%
1960 237,747+1.55%
1970 271,000+1.32%
1975 287,149+1.17%
1980 320,637+2.23%
1990 329,335+0.27%
1995 362,324+1.80%
2000 375,822+0.79%
2007 405,114+1.04%
2010 428,877+2.10%
2015 467,160+1.64%
2020 477,168+0.42%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[10][11][11]

The population of Eastern Samar in the 2020 census was 477,168 people,[2] with a density of 100 inhabitants per square kilometre or 260 inhabitants per square mile. The predominant language is Waray[6] and it is the main lingua franca of the entire island of Samar.

In the 2000 Census, Warays comprised 97.78% (366,787) of the total provincial population of 375,124 at that time. Kapampangan came second at 0.55% (2,067), Bisaya/Binisaya 0.43% (1,613), Cebuano at 0.18% (680), and Tagalog at 0.17% (621).[12]

Population by ethnicity (2000)[12]
Ethnicity Number
Waray
 
 366,787 (97.78%)
Kapampangan
 
 2,067 (0.55%)
Bisaya/Binisaya
 
 1,613 (0.43%)
Cebuano
 
 680 (0.18%)
Tagalog
 
 621 (0.17%)
Others
 
 2,510 (0.67%)
Not Reported
 
 846 (0.23%)

Religion

The people of the province are devoted Christians where a majority adhere to Roman Catholicism.[6] The dominant Catholic faith influences the events of the provincial education, politics and social functions of the people. Other Christians usually form the remaining groups of believers such as the Born-again Christians, Protestants, Iglesia Filipina Independiente or Aglipayan church, Jehova's Witnesses, Iglesia ni Cristo, Baptists, Methodists, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Seventh-day Adventists. Non Christians (mostly Muslims) are also found.

Transportation

The province has one operational airport; Borongan Airport located in the capital city. Currently, only Leascor operates out of Borongan Airport with flights weekly to serve locals and tourists to and from Cebu.

Borongan's Wilsam Uptown Mall, the largest shopping mall in the province

By land, mini buses and vans ply from the regional center in Tacloban, Catbalogan, and Calbayog in Samar province and to some towns in Eastern Samar. From Borongan, buses ply to Metro Manila. Motorized boats plies through Leyte Gulf ferrying passengers going to Tacloban City seaport.

Economy

Poverty Incidence of Eastern Samar
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[13][14]
[15][16][17][18][19]

Commercial activities in the province are centered on the provincial capital of Borongan while tourism activities are centered in Guiuan town where Calicoan Island and the historical Homonhon Island are located.[6] Generally, the province's major economic resource is fishery and agriculture which include production of coconut, copra, corn, rice, sugar, and vegetables.[6] Tourism potential is untapped on the northern part of the province.

References

  1. ↑ "List of Provinces". PSGC Interactive. Makati, Philippines: National Statistical Coordination Board. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Census of Population (2020). "Region VIII (Eastern Visayas)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "Mapa ng mga Wika (Rehiyon) - Rehiyon VIII" (in Tagalog). Commission on the Filipino Language. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  4. 1 2 Lancion, Jr., Conrado M.; cartography by de Guzman, Rey (1995). "The Provinces; Eastern Samar". Fast Facts about Philippine Provinces (The 2000 Millenium ed.). Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines: Tahanan Books. p. 72. ISBN 971-630-037-9. Retrieved 4 December 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 Labro, Vicente S. (11 June 2011). "Guiuan's treasure chest of history, natural wonders". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Province of Eastern Samar". National Statistical Coordination Board. Archived from the original on 6 December 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  7. ↑ Republic Act No. 4221 (19 June 1965), An Act Creating the Provinces of Northern Samar, Eastern Samar and Western Samar, retrieved December 19, 2015
  8. ↑ Baylis, Paul; Te-Ping Chen (22 November 2013). "How One Philippine Town Avoided Calamity". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Province: Eastern Samar". PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  10. 1 2 Census of Population (2015). "Region VIII (Eastern Visayas)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  11. 1 2 Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region VIII (Eastern Visayas)" (PDF). Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. National Statistics Office. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  12. 1 2 "Eastern Samar: Home of the Warays; Table 4. Household Population by Ethnicity and Sex: Eastern Samar, 2000". Philippine Statistics Authority. 7 June 2002. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  13. ↑ "Poverty incidence (PI):". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Estimation of Local Poverty in the Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 29 November 2005.
  15. ↑ "2009 Official Poverty Statistics of the Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 8 February 2011.
  16. ↑ "Annual Per Capita Poverty Threshold, Poverty Incidence and Magnitude of Poor Population, by Region and Province: 1991, 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. 27 August 2016.
  17. ↑ "Annual Per Capita Poverty Threshold, Poverty Incidence and Magnitude of Poor Population, by Region and Province: 1991, 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. 27 August 2016.
  18. ↑ "Annual Per Capita Poverty Threshold, Poverty Incidence and Magnitude of Poor Population, by Region and Province: 1991, 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. 27 August 2016.
  19. ↑ "Updated Annual Per Capita Poverty Threshold, Poverty Incidence and Magnitude of Poor Population with Measures of Precision, by Region and Province: 2015 and 2018". Philippine Statistics Authority. 4 June 2020.
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