Eastern Samar


Eastern Samar, 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, which is the most populous. 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.
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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.
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. Samar and Leyte were later separated from Cebu in 1735. They were split in 1747 but was reversed in 1762 with the approval of the King of Spain, following complaints from the Jesuits. The province of Samar was later established as a distinct province in 1768 after it got separated from the province of Leyte. In 1777, Samar and Leyte split for the last time when it was approved in Madrid in 1786 and had been effective in 1799.

American colonial era

Philippine-American War

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

Japanese occupation

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.

Philippine independence

Foundation

Eastern Samar, as a province, was created from Samar province through Republic Act No. 4221 on June 19, 1965. Approved by Congress in 1963, it was authored by Samar congressmen Eladio T. Balite, Fernando R. Veloso, and Felipe J. Abrigo. The law, ratified in a plebiscite on June 19, 1965, divided Samar into three: Northern Samar, Eastern Samar and Samar. The first provincial officials of Eastern Samar, aside from the lone district representative, were elected on November 14, 1967, and on January 1, 1968, they officially assumed office.

Contemporary

The capital town of Borongan became a component city by virtue of Republic Act No. 9394 which sought to convert the municipality into a city. The law was ratified on June 21, 2007. However, the cityhood status was lost twice in the years 2008 and 2010 after the LCP questioned the validity of the cityhood law. The cityhood status was reaffirmed after the court finalized its ruling on February 15, 2011, declaring the cityhood law constitutional.
Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded, made its first landfall in the coastal town of Guiuan in November 2013.

Geography

Eastern Samar covers a total area of 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.

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.

Demographics

The population of Eastern Samar in the 2024 census was 472,683 people, with a density of. The predominant language is Waray and it is the main lingua franca of the entire island of Samar.
In the 2000 Census, Warays comprised of the total provincial population of 375,124 at that time. Kapampangan came second at, Bisaya/''Binisaya'', Cebuano at, and Tagalog at.

Religion

Catholicism

The people of the province are devoted Catholics where a majority adhere to Roman Catholicism. The dominant Catholic faith influences the events of the provincial education, politics and social functions of the people.

Others

Other Christians usually form the remaining groups of believers such as the Born-again Christians, Protestants, Iglesia Filipina Independiente or Aglipayan church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Iglesia ni Cristo, Baptists, Methodists, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Seventh-day Adventists. Non Christians 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.
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

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. Generally, the province's major economic resource is fishery and agriculture which include production of coconut, copra, corn, rice, sugar, and vegetables. Tourism potential is untapped on the northern part of the province.

Notable people