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Samar (province)
Province in Eastern Visayas, Philippines From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Samar, officially the Province of Samar (Waray: Probinsya han Samar; Tagalog: Lalawigan ng Samar), or also known named as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Catbalogan while Calbayog is the most populous city in the province. It is bordered by Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Leyte and Leyte Gulf, and includes several islands in the Samar Sea. Samar is connected to the island of Leyte via the San Juanico Bridge.
Samar
Western Samar | |
|---|---|
.jpg)      (from top: left to right) San Juanico Bridge, Tarangnan town, Talalora Bay, San Pedro Bay, Rocks of Marabut and Calbayog. | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: The Caving Capital Province of the Philippines[1] | |
 Location in the Philippines | |
OpenStreetMap  | |
| Coordinates: 11°50′N 125°00′E | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Eastern Visayas |
| Founded | August 11, 1841 |
| Capital | Catbalogan |
| Largest city | Calbayog |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Panlalawigan |
| • Governor | Sharee Ann T. Tan (NP) |
| • Vice Governor | Arnold V. Tan (NP) |
| • Legislature | Samar Provincial Board |
| Area | |
• Total | 6,048.03 km2 (2,335.16 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 10th out of 81 |
| Highest elevation (Mount Huraw) | 890 m (2,920 ft) |
| Population (2020 census)[3] | |
• Total | 793,183 |
| • Rank | 39th out of 81 |
| • Density | 130/km2 (340/sq mi) |
| • Rank | 64th out of 81 |
| Divisions | |
| • Independent cities | 0 |
| • Component cities | |
| • Municipalities | |
| • Barangays | 951 |
| • Districts | Legislative districts of Samar |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PHT) |
| ZIP Code | 6700–6725 |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)55 |
| ISO 3166 code | PH-WSA |
| Spoken languages | |
| Highway routes | _sign.svg){kind=small} .svg){kind=small} .svg){kind=small} .svg){kind=small} .svg){kind=small} .svg){kind=small} .svg){kind=small} |
| Website | samar |
In 1768, Leyte and modern Samar were created out of the historical province of Samar. In 1965, Northern and Eastern Samar were created.
Fishing and agriculture are the major economic activities in the province.[4]
On 8 November 2013, the province was significantly damaged by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), particularly the towns of Basey, Marabut and Santa Rita.[5]
Samar is said[by whom?] to derive from the word Samad, a Visayan word for "wound" or "cut", describing the rough physical features of the land which is rugged and deeply dissected by streams. Some historians however believe that Samar came Samaria, the ancient homeland of the lequios tribe that settled in the Lakanate of Lawan. Datu Iberein is said to be responsible for naming the island Samar.
Around 2 million to 8000 B.C., based on geologic findings, during the ice ages (2 million years – 8000 B.C.), the islands of Mindoro, Luzon, and Mindanao were connected as one big island through the islands of Samar, Leyte and Bohol.
In 8550 B.C., diggings in Sohoton Caves in Basey, Samar showed stone flake tools. In 1200 A.D., other diggings along the Basey River revealed other stone flakes used until the 13th century.[6]
In 1543, the explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, first came to the island and named it Las Islas Filipinas.
In 1596, many names, such as Samal, Ibabao, and Tandaya, were given to Samar Island prior to the coming of the Spaniards in 1596. During the early days of Spanish occupation, Samar was under the jurisdiction of Cebu.
On October 15, 1596, the first Jesuit missionaries arrived in Tinago (now Dapdap) in Tarangnan. From Tinago, the missionaries, Fr. Francisco de Otazo, Bartolome Martes and Domingo Alonzo began teaching Catechism, healing the sick and spreading the Christian faith into the interior settlements.
On June 1, 1649, the people of Palapag led by Agustin Sumuroy revolted against the decree of Governor General Diego Fajardo requiring able bodied men from the Visayas for service at the Cavite Shipyards. Like wildfire, the revolt quickly spread to the neighboring town in the Northern and Western coast of Samar and to the nearby provinces of Bicol, Surigao, Cebu, Camiguin and as far as Zamboanga. It was suppressed in 1650 by the combined forces of the Spaniards, Lutaos, and Pampangos.
In 1735, Samar and Leyte were united into one province with Carigara, in Leyte, as the capital town. In 1747, Samar and Leyte were separated for administrative effectiveness. In 1762, complaints from the Jesuits that the division was not working well, thus it was reunited again by the approval from the King of Spain.
In 1768, Jesuits were expelled in all Spanish dominions. The Franciscans arrived on September 25, 1768, and took over the administration of 14 of the 17 parishes which were under the spiritual care of the Jesuits for almost 172 years. The administration of the remaining three parishes namely Guiuan, Balangiga and Basey in the south of Samar were given to the Augustinians.
In 1777, the two provinces were divided for the last time, it was approved in Madrid in 1786 and had been effective in 1799.
In 1803, Guiuan, Balangiga and Basey were turned over to the Franciscans for the lack of Augustinian priests.
On August 11, 1841, Queen Isabella II of Spain signed a Royal Decree declaring Samar as a province.
The Battle of Catubig occurred on April 15–18, 1900 during the Philippine–American War.
On April 15, 1900, the Filipino guerrillas launched a surprise attack on a detachment of the US 43rd Infantry Regiment, forcing the Americans to abandon Catubig town after the four-day siege.
In 1901, the Balangiga massacre occurred during the Philippine–American War.
On September 28, 1901, the people of Balangiga, Giporlos, Lawaan and Quinapondan in Eastern Samar surprised and attacked the American forces stationed there, killing 48 American soldiers. To avenge their defeat, American general Jacob H. Smith ordered his men to turn Samar into a "howling wilderness".
On April 10, 1910, upon the papal bull of Pope Pius X separated the islands of Samar and Leyte from the Diocese of Cebu and erected the Diocese of Calbayog comprising both islands. Pablo Singzon de Anunciacion was named first Bishop and consecrated on June 12, 1910.
In 1942, the occupying Imperial Japanese forces arrived in the province of Samar.
On October 24, 1944, the Battle off Samar took place as Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force warships clashed with several allied naval vessels in a collision course. His forces sank escort carrier USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73), destroyers USS Hoel (DD-533) and USS Johnston (DD-557), and escort destroyer USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413), but at a cost of his cruisers Chikuma, Chokai, and Suzuya. Despite being a tactical victory for the Imperial Japanese Navy, it did not alter the course of the Philippines campaign.
On June 19, 1965, the Philippine Congress along with the three Samar Representatives, Eladio T. Balite (1st District), Fernando R. Veloso (2nd District) and Felipe J. Abrigo (3rd District), approved Republic Act No. 4221 dividing the region of Samar into three divisions: Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and Western Samar. Each region adopted a new capital: Catbalogan (Western Samar), Borongan (Eastern Samar), and Catarman (Northern Samar).[7] The law was later ratified by the majority of voters through a plebiscite held on November 9, 1965.[8] Esteban Piczon, the last governor of undivided Samar, continued as the first governor of Western Samar, while the aforementioned representatives were re-elected for the new provinces in 1965. The first provincial officials of Western Samar were elected on November 14, 1967, and on January 1, 1968, they officially assumed office.
On June 21, 1969, under Republic Act No. 5650, Western Samar was renamed Samar with Catbalogan still as the capital.[9]
The capital town Catbalogan became a component city by virtue of Republic Act No. 9391 which sought to convert the municipality into a city. The law was ratified on June 16, 2007. However, the cityhood status was lost twice in the years 2008 and 2010 after the League of Cities of the Philippines questioned the validity of the cityhood law. The cityhood status was reaffirmed after the Surepeme Court finalized its ruling on February 15, 2011 which declared the cityhood law constitutional.
On November 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Typhoon Yolanda, hit Samar province.[10] More than 300 people perished on the first day it hit the province.[11]
In June 2018, a friendly fire incident happened between Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines under the administration of Rodrigo Duterte. The incident led to the death of numerous police officials of Waray ethnic origin.[12][13]
On January 22, 2019, House Bill No. 8824 was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Edgar Mary Sarmiento to establish a new province called "Northwestern Samar", consisting of nine municipalities and one city of Samar's 1st congressional district, of which Calbayog would be the designated capital. The bill is yet to be reviewed.[14]
Samar province covers a total area of 6,048.03 square kilometers (2,335.16 sq mi)[15] occupying the central-western sections of the Samar island in the Eastern Visayas region. The province is bordered on the north by Northern Samar, east by Eastern Samar, south by Leyte and Leyte Gulf, and west by the Samar Sea.
Samar province is hilly, with mountain peaks ranging from 200 to 800 meters (660 to 2,620 ft) high and narrow strips of lowlands, which tend to lie in coastal peripheries or in the alluvial plains and deltas accompanying large rivers. The largest lowlands are located along the northern coast extending up to the valleys of Catubig and Catarman rivers. Smaller lowlands in Samar are to be found in the Calbayog area and on the deltas and small valleys of Gandara and Ulot rivers. Slopes are generally steep and barren of trees due to deforestation. Run-off waters after heavy rains can provoke flooding in low-lying areas and the erosion of the mountains enlarges the coastal plains of the province.
Areas near the eastern coast of the province have no dry season (with a pronounced maximum rain period usually occurring from December to January), and are thus open to the northeast monsoon. Municipalities in the southeastern section of the province experience this type of climate.
Areas located in the northwestern portion of the province have a more or less evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year.
The province of Samar comprises two congressional districts, 24 municipalities and two component cities. It has a total of 952 barangays.
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| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1903 | 118,912 | — |
| 1918 | 168,668 | +2.36% |
| 1939 | 236,909 | +1.63% |
| 1948 | 331,521 | +3.80% |
| 1960 | 368,823 | +0.89% |
| 1970 | 442,244 | +1.83% |
| 1975 | 478,378 | +1.59% |
| 1980 | 501,439 | +0.95% |
| 1990 | 533,733 | +0.63% |
| 1995 | 589,373 | +1.88% |
| 2000 | 641,124 | +1.82% |
| 2007 | 695,149 | +1.12% |
| 2010 | 733,377 | +1.97% |
| 2015 | 780,481 | +1.19% |
| 2020 | 793,183 | +0.32% |
| Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[16][17][17] | ||
The population of Samar (province) in the 2020 census was 793,183 people,[3] with a density of 130 inhabitants per square kilometer or 340 inhabitants per square mile.
Samar (Western Samar) is predominantly Roman Catholic. The Catholic Hierarchy (2014) states that 95 percent of its population adhere to Roman Catholicism.
Some other Christian believers constitute most of the remainder such as Rizalista, Iglesia Filipina Independiente, Born-again Christians, Iglesia ni Cristo, Baptists, Methodists, Jehovah's Witnesses, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Seventh-day Adventist, and Members Church of God International (MCGI). Muslims are also present and a few mosques are located within the province.
Residents of Samar are mostly Waray, the fifth largest cultural-linguistic group in the country. 90.2 percent of the household population speaks the Waray-Waray language, while 9.8 percent also speak Cebuano; 8.1 percent Boholano; 0.07 percent Tagalog; and 0.5 percent other languages.
There are two types of Waray spoken in the province, Waray Lineyte-Samarnon which is spoken from the southernmost tip of the province up to the municipality of Gandara and Waray Calbayog, an intermediary between the Waray of Northern Samar and the Waray of Samar, spoken in Calbayog, Santa Margarita, and in some parts of Tagapul-an, Santo Niño, Almagro and Matuguinao.
Poverty incidence of Samar
10
20
30
40
50
60
2006
40.37 2009
42.50 2012
50.03 2015
49.24 2018
29.25 2021
27.00 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] |
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19th & 20th Centuries
21st Century
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