Eastern Samar

Eastern Samar Sámar Oriental
Province
Province of Eastern Samar
Flag Seal
Location in the Philippines
Coordinates: 11°40′N 125°25′E
Country	Philippines
Region	Eastern Visayas
Founded	June 19, 1965
Capital	Borongan
Government
• Type	Sangguniang Panlalawigan
• Governor	Conrado B. Nicart, Jr. (Liberal)
• Vice Governor	Marcelo Picardal (LDP)
Area
• Total	4,660.47 km2 (1,799.42 sq mi)
• Rank	24th out of 81
Highest elevation (Mount Pagcem)	590 m (1,940 ft)
Population  (2020 census)
• Total	477,168
• Rank	58th out of 81
• Density	100/km2 (270/sq mi)
• Rank	69th out of 81
Divisions
• Independent cities	0
• Component cities	1 Borongan
• Municipalities	22 Arteche Balangiga Balangkayan Can-avid Dolores General MacArthur Giporlos Guiuan Hernani Jipapad Lawaan Llorente Maslog Maydolong Mercedes Oras Quinapondan Salcedo San Julian San Policarpo Sulat Taft
• Barangays	597
• Districts	Lone district of Eastern Samar
Time zone	UTC+8 (PHT)
ZIP code	6800–6822
IDD : area code	+63 (0)55
ISO 3166 code	PH-EAS
Spoken languages	Waray-Waray Cebuano Tagalog English
Website	www.easternsamar.gov.ph

Eastern Samar (Waray-Waray: Sinirangan Samar; Cebuano: Sidlakang Samar; Tagalog: Silangang 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 the Leyte Gulf.

History

Colonial period

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.

On September 28, 1901 during the Philippine-American War, Filipino guerrillas in Balangiga ambushed American troops, killing 48 members of the US 9th Infantry. The incident triggered the infamous American retaliation against the Samar populace and guerrillas.

Further information: Balangiga massacre

During the Second World War 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.

Independent province

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

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 4,660.47 square kilometres (1,799.42 sq mi) occupying the eastern section 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 the 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 a single legislative district.

	City or municipality		Population			±% p.a.	Area		Density		Brgy.
			(2015)		(2010)		km2	sq mi	/km2	/sq mi
	Arteche		3.4%	16,026	15,164	+1.06%	169.82	65.57	94	240	20
	Balangiga		3.0%	14,085	12,756	+1.90%	190.05	73.38	74	190	13
	Balangkayan		2.2%	10,125	9,046	+2.17%	207.05	79.94	49	130	15
	Borongan	†	14.8%	69,297	64,457	+1.39%	475.00	183.40	150	390	61
	Can-avid		4.5%	21,015	19,785	+1.15%	288.70	111.47	73	190	28
	Dolores		9.2%	42,866	37,912	+2.37%	308.58	119.14	140	360	46
	General MacArthur		3.1%	14,550	12,214	+3.39%	117.29	45.29	120	310	30
	Giporlos		2.8%	13,308	12,040	+1.92%	97.51	37.65	140	360	18
	Guiuan		11.3%	52,991	47,037	+2.30%	175.49	67.76	300	780	60
	Hernani		1.8%	8,573	8,070	+1.16%	49.42	19.08	170	440	13
	Jipapad		1.7%	7,885	7,397	+1.22%	234.80	90.66	34	88	13
	Lawaan		2.7%	12,742	11,612	+1.78%	162.56	62.76	78	200	16
	Llorente		4.3%	20,149	19,101	+1.02%	496.07	191.53	41	110	33
	Maslog		1.2%	5,407	4,781	+2.37%	249.80	96.45	22	57	12
	Maydolong		3.2%	14,743	13,614	+1.53%	399.63	154.30	37	96	20
	Mercedes		1.3%	6,070	5,369	+2.36%	23.32	9.00	260	670	16
	Oras		7.8%	36,540	34,760	+0.96%	188.70	72.86	190	490	42
	Quinapondan		3.2%	14,779	13,841	+1.26%	83.24	32.14	180	470	25
	Salcedo		4.8%	22,532	19,970	+2.32%	113.80	43.94	200	520	41
	San Julian		3.1%	14,498	13,748	+1.02%	150.62	58.15	96	250	16
	San Policarpo		3.1%	14,687	13,836	+1.14%	78.00	30.12	190	490	17
	Sulat		3.3%	15,377	15,184	+0.24%	169.75	65.54	91	240	18
	Taft		4.0%	18,915	17,183	+1.85%	231.27	89.29	82	210	24
	Total			467,160	428,877	+1.64%	4,660.47	1,799.42	100	260	597
		†  Provincial capital and component city					Municipality

Demographics

Population census of
Eastern Samar

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1990	329,335	—
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%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

The population of Eastern Samar in the 2020 census was 477,168 people, with a density of 100 inhabitants per square kilometre or 260 inhabitants per square mile. The predominant language is Waray. Cebuano is also spoken to an extent.

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).

Population by ethnicity (2000)
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. 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, Jehovah'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 SkyJet Airlines operates out of Borongan Airport with flights weekly to serve locals and tourists to and from Manila.

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

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

Economy

Commercial activities in the province are centered on the provincial capital of Borongan City 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.

External links

• Eastern Samar travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Media related to Eastern Samar at Wikimedia Commons
• Geographic data related to Eastern Samar at OpenStreetMap
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Local Governance Performance Management System