Villaba


Villaba, officially the Municipality of Villaba, is a municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 42,859 people.
Villaba is a coastal municipality in the province of Leyte. The municipality covers a land area of 150.31 square kilometers, accounting for 2.37% of Leyte's total area. According to the 2020 Census, its population was 42,859, representing 2.41% of Leyte's total population and 0.94% of the entire Eastern Visayas region. This results in a population density of 285 inhabitants per square kilometer.

Geography

Barangays

Villaba is politically subdivided into 35 barangays.
  1. Abijao
  2. Balite
  3. Bangkal
  4. Buga-buga
  5. Cagnocot
  6. Cabunga-an
  7. Cabungahan
  8. Cahigan
  9. Calbugos
  10. Campurog
  11. Canquiason
  12. Capinyahan
  13. Casili-on
  14. Catagbacan
  15. Fatima
  16. Hibulangan
  17. Hinabuyan
  18. Iligay
  19. Jalas
  20. Jordan
  21. Libagong
  22. New Balanac
  23. Payao
  24. Poblacion Norte
  25. Poblacion Sur
  26. Sambulawan
  27. San Francisco
  28. San Vicente
  29. Santa Cruz
  30. Silad
  31. Suba
  32. Sulpa
  33. Tabunok
  34. Tagbubunga
  35. Tinghub

    Climate

History

Pre-Spanish history

The existence of the place now known as Villaba was discovered in about the last quarter of the sixteenth century by Boholano traders. These traders landed on the western coast and found fertile plains along the river and forest. The sea coast also proved to be good fishing ground. The settlers built their houses along the banks of the river and banded into groups to protect themselves from the moro pirates and wild animals. Along the banks of the river were "Hindang" trees which grew in abundance so they called the new settlement Hamindangon.
As the years passed, more settlers migrated from Bohol and Cebu. These new inhabitants likewise settled on the plains along the Hamindangon River.

Spanish period

During the expedition of the entire Eastern Visayas by Spanish conquistador in 1593, a group of Spaniards, led by the General-Governor's son, Luis Pérez Dasmariñas landed on the shores of Hamindangon and the named the place Nueva Galicia in honor of his father, the Governor-General of the Philippines, Gomez Perez Dasmariñas who is from Galicia, Spain.
The governor set sail from Cavite for Pintado province in October 1593, to join the part of the fleet under Luis Pérez who is already at the Visayas. Before he proceeded to Moluccas, Luis Pérez introduced the barrio of Nueva Galicia to the whole fleet. But the Governor-General renamed the place to Vilalba in order not to confused with other Nueva Galicia town that is located in Mexico.
Over the years, the natives of the barrio had problem of Spanish accented digraphs, mispronouncing Vilalba with Villaba, and perhaps, it is easier to pronounce the later name and thus retained it when the town was officially established in June 1910.

American period

The Spanish was defeated by the Americans who started their occupation of the Philippines on August 13, 1898. The following year, there was a popular revolt in the Visayas particularly in Samar and Leyte called the Pulahanes movement. One consequence of that revolution against the Americans was that the town of Villaba was reduced to a barrio and became part of the municipality of San Isidro, Leyte.
During that period, Villaba was then ran by local executives known as cabeza de barangay. For want of official records however, to provide a complete list and their specific terms of office, the following have served in the said capacity:
  1. Andres Gervacio
  2. Antonio Dejillo
  3. Fortunato Cabilar
  4. Hermogenes Tumamak
  5. Casimiro Tumamak
  6. Tomas Tumamak
  7. Luciano Domael

    The Villaba Town

In June 1910, the Provincial Board of Leyte passed and approved a resolution creating the Municipality of Villaba. Since then, there was a continuous change of Chief Executives in the municipality up to the present.
No.PortraitNameTerm
1Juan Burgos1910 - 1912
2Flaviano Domael1913 – 1915,
1919 – 1921,
1925 - 1927
3Carmelino Rubillos1916 - 1918
4Paulino Dejillo1922 - 1924
5Damian Perez1928 - 1930
6Bartolome Esmas1931 - 1939,
October 1963 - December 1963
7Vicente Veloso1940 - 1945
8Eusebio Gaviola1945 - 1946
9Fermin Tumamak1946 - 1950
10Francisco Burgos1951 - 1959
11Alberto S. Veloso1960 - 1963
12Sofronio Ramirez1964 - 1967
13Aurelio Veloso1968 - April 1980
14Antonio VillamorMay 1980 - April 20, 1986
15Faustino TumamakApril 21, 1986 - December 3, 1987
16Roman OmegaDecember 4, 1987 - February 1988
17Faustino Tumamak Jr.February 1988 - March 1992,
1998 - 2004,
18Leonora RosalMarch 1992 - June 1992
19Jorge Vallar VelosoJune 1992 - 1998,
2013 - 2016,
2019 - June 2022
20Claudio Martin Larrazabal2004 - 2013
21Juliet Aquino Larrazabal2016 - 2019
22Carlos Gonzalez VelosoJuly 2022 – present

In November 2013, Villaba was among the towns in Leyte that were heavily affected by Typhoon Haiyan, which caused extensive destruction across the province.
On the night of September 30, 2025, at 22:49 PST, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake off Cebu was strongly felt in Villaba, where a landslide occurred in Barangay Abijao.

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Villaba was 42,859 people, with a density of.

Economy