Albuera, Leyte

Albuera, officially the Municipality of Albuera (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Albuera; Waray: Bungto han Albuera; Tagalog: Bayan ng Albuera), is a First Class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 47,151 people.^[3]

Albuera
Municipality
Municipality of Albuera
Flag
Nickname:  Heart of Leyte
Map of Leyte with Albuera highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Albuera Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 10°55′07″N 124°41′32″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Eastern Visayas
Province	Leyte
District	4th District
Barangays	16 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Sixto B. dela Victoria
• Vice Mayor	Imelda “Edang” A. Fadul
• Representative	Richard I. Gomez
• Councilors	List • Germanico C. Barte • Mary Jane B. Cagula • Imelda A. Fadul • Leny S. Bilbao • Manuel E. Bantasan • Miguel D. Retuya • Mario T. Barte • Roxanne R. Zaldivar DILG Masterlist of Officials
• Electorate	32,251 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	303.35 km2 (117.12 sq mi)
Highest elevation	848 m (2,782 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	47,151
• Density	160/km2 (400/sq mi)
• Households	11,992
Economy
• Income class	3rd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	29.14 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 299.9 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 755.5 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 219.8 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 107.7 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Leyte 5 Electric Cooperative (LEYECO 5)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	6542
PSGC	0803703000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)53
Native languages	Cebuano Tagalog
Website	www.lgualbuera.com

Etymology

The place got its name Albuera which means fresh water lake, named after a town in Galicia, Spain by a Spanish Priest.

History

Consolidation of Albuera into Ormoc

In 1903, Albuera was consolidated into Ormoc.^[5]

This is the only town in the history of the Philippines that elected a self-confessed drug lord, Kerwin Espinosa as their mayor and his wife as the vice mayor in 2025 elections.

Mayor shot dead inside prison

Main article: Death of Rolando Espinosa

On November 4, 2016, 1st-term Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., who was linked to illegal drugs through his son and alleged drug lord Rolan "Kerwin" Espinosa, was shot dead inside his prison cell at the Baybay City Sub Provincial Jail.^[6] Espinosa was replaced by his vice mayor Rosa Meneses while councilor Sixto dela Victoria filled in as vice mayor.^[7]

Geography

Barangays

Albuera is politically subdivided into 16 barangays. ^[8] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Antipolo
• Balugo
• Benolho
• Cambalading
• Damula-an
• Doña Maria (Kangkuirina)
• Mahayag
• Mahayahay
• Poblacion
• Salvacion
• San Pedro
• Seguinon
• Sherwood
• Tabgas
• Talisayan
• Tinag-an

Climate

Climate data for Albuera, Leyte
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	28 (82)	28 (82)	29 (84)	30 (86)	31 (88)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	28 (82)	29 (84)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	22 (72)	22 (72)	22 (72)	23 (73)	24 (75)	25 (77)	24 (75)	25 (77)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (74)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	73 (2.9)	56 (2.2)	75 (3.0)	71 (2.8)	114 (4.5)	174 (6.9)	172 (6.8)	163 (6.4)	167 (6.6)	161 (6.3)	158 (6.2)	125 (4.9)	1,509 (59.5)
Average rainy days	15.2	12.5	16.2	17.3	23.9	27.3	28.4	26.9	26.9	27.1	23.8	19.3	264.8
Source: Meteoblue[9]

Demographics

Population census of Albuera

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	4,635	—
1918	8,542	+4.16%
1939	13,696	+2.27%
1948	20,950	+4.84%
1960	18,501	−1.03%
1970	22,205	+1.84%
1975	25,368	+2.71%
1980	27,585	+1.69%
1990	32,395	+1.62%
1995	33,939	+0.88%
2000	34,335	+0.25%
2007	39,199	+1.84%
2010	40,553	+1.24%
2015	46,332	+2.57%
2020	47,151	+0.35%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [10][11][12][13]

In the 2020 census, the population of Albuera, Leyte, was 47,151 people,^[3] with a density of 160 inhabitants per square kilometre or 410 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy

Poverty incidence of Albuera

10 20 30 40 50 2000 44.10 2003 41.93 2006 28.90 2009 33.60 2012 38.91 2015 33.94 2018 27.20 2021 29.14 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

Education

Albuera has 4 secondary schools

• Balugo National High School
• Damula-an National High School
• Doctor Geronimo B. Zaldivar Memorial School of Fisheries
• Seguinon National High School