Samar
Encyclopedia
Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province
in the Philippines
located in the Eastern Visayas
region
. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea
located to the west of the mainland. Catbalogan City and Calbayog City
, two of the three cities on Samar Island, are located in the province of Samar. The province is bordered by Northern Samar
and Eastern Samar
. Samar is connected to island and province of Leyte via the San Juanico Bridge
, which spans the San Juanico Strait
, the narrowest strait
in the country. To the south is the Leyte Gulf
.
For the 4th type of climate, rainfall is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year. This is an intermediate between the 1st and 2nd types, although it resembles the 2nd type more closely since it has no dry season. Those areas located in the northwestern part of the province has this type of climate.
, first came to the island in 1543 and named it +Las Islas Filipinas.
Provinces of the Philippines
The Provinces of the Philippines are the primary political and administrative divisions of the Philippines. There are 80 provinces at present, further subdivided into component cities and municipalities. The National Capital Region, as well as independent cities, are autonomous from any provincial...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
located in the Eastern Visayas
Eastern Visayas
Eastern Visayas is one of the two regions of the Philippines having no land border with another region, MIMAROPA being the other, and is designated as Region VIII...
region
Regions of the Philippines
In the Philippines, regions are administrative divisions that serve primarily to organize the provinces of the country for administrative convenience. Currently, the archipelagic republic of the Philippines is divided into 17 regions...
. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea
Samar Sea
The Samar Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, between the Eastern Visayas and Luzon.It is bordered by the islands of Samar to the east, Leyte to the south, Masbate to the west, and Luzon to the north...
located to the west of the mainland. Catbalogan City and Calbayog City
Calbayog City
Calbayog City is a first class city in the province of Samar, Philippines. It lies along the coastal region of the province stretching about from the northern tip of the island and from southern boundaries...
, two of the three cities on Samar Island, are located in the province of Samar. The province is bordered by Northern Samar
Northern Samar
Northern Samar is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catarman and is located at the northern portion of the island of Samar. Bordering the province to the south are the provinces of Samar and Eastern Samar...
and Eastern Samar
Eastern Samar
Eastern Samar is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Borongan.-Location:...
. Samar is connected to island and province of Leyte via the San Juanico Bridge
San Juanico Bridge
The San Juanico Bridge, part of the Pan-Philippine Highway, stretches from Samar to Leyte across the San Juanico Strait in the Philippines. Its longest length is a steel girder viaduct built on reinforced concrete piers, and its main span is of an arch-shaped truss design. With a total length of ,...
, which spans the San Juanico Strait
San Juanico Strait
San Juanico Strait is a narrow strait in the Philippines. It separates the islands of Samar and Leyte. At its narrowest point, the strait is only wide, said to be the narrowest strait in the world. It is crossed by the San Juanico Bridge....
, the narrowest strait
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
in the country. To the south is the Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
.
Languages/Dialect
Residents of Samar are mostly Waray, the sixth largest cultural-linguistic group in the country. 90.2% of the household population speaks the Waray language with 9.8 percent speaks Cebuano (8.1%), Boholano (0.07%), Tagalog (0.5%) and other languages. English and Chinese languages are also spoken.Climate and Rainfall
Samar province falls under the 2nd and the 4th type of climate. The 2nd type is characterized by having no dry season with a very pronounced maximum rain period which usually occur in December to January. Areas characterized by this climate are generally along or very near the eastern coast, thus are open to the northeast monsoon. Municipalities in the southeastern part of the province experience this type of climate.For the 4th type of climate, rainfall is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year. This is an intermediate between the 1st and 2nd types, although it resembles the 2nd type more closely since it has no dry season. Those areas located in the northwestern part of the province has this type of climate.
Economy
Primarily, fishing and agriculture are the major economic activities of the province. Economical DataGeography
Samar island occupies the eastern portion of the Philippines.. It lies southeast of Luzon and occupies the northernmost section of Eastern Visayas. It is separated from Luzon on the north by San Bernardino Strait and from Leyte on the southwest by the narrow San Juanico Strait. It is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by Leyte Gulf and on the west by the Samar Sea.Topography
Samar province is hilly, has some mountain peaks ranging from 200 to 800 meters 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 bare 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.Governance
The province of Samar is composed of two (3) congressional districts, twenty four (24) municipalities and two (3) cities (Catbalogan and Calbayog). It has a total of nine hundred fifty two (952) barangaysMunicipalities
|
|
History
The explorer Ruy López de VillalobosRuy López de Villalobos
Ruy López de Villalobos was a Spanish explorer who sailed the Pacific from Mexico to establish a permanent foothold for Spain in the East Indies, which was near the Line of Demarcation between Spain and Portugal according to the Treaty of Saragossa in 1529...
, first came to the island in 1543 and named it +Las Islas Filipinas.
- 1596: Many names (Samal, Ibabao, Tandaya) were given to Samar Island prior to the coming of the Spaniards in 1596. The name Samar was derived from the local dialect “samad”, meaning wound or cut, which aptly describes the rough physical features of the island that is rugged and deeply dissected by streams. During the early days of Spanish occupation, Samar was under the jurisdiction of Cebu.
- 1735: Samar and Leyte were united into one province with Carigara, with Leyte as the capital town.
- 1768: Again Samar became a separate province in 1768.
- 1901: The Balangiga massacreBalangiga massacreThe Balangiga massacre, as it is known in the Philippines, or the Balangiga affair, as it is known in the United States, was an incident in 1901 during the Philippine-American War where more than forty American soldiers were killed in a surprise guerrilla attack in the town of Balangiga on Samar...
occurs during the Philippine–American War. - 1941: The invasion by the Japanese fighter and bomber planes was attacked in the province of Samar.
- 1941 to 1942: During the Japanese invasion during Second World War, when Filipino troops of the 91st Infantry Division, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFFE under the Visayan-Mindanao Force was established and general headquarters in Samar and started the fall to invasion of Samar and fought against the Japanese forces. This resulted in the defeat of the Filipino troops of the USAFFE 91st Division.
- 1942: The occupation of the Imperial Japanese forces arrives in the province of Samar.
- 1942 to 1944: During the Japanese Occupation, many of the several hundreds of thousands of local Samareño men and women was joining the recognized guerrilla groups in Samar and helping the local Filipino troops of the Philippine Commonwealth Army units against the Japanese Imperial forces and started the pre-Allied Liberation.
- 1942 to 1944: During the Japanese Occupation, The 4th, 9th, 93rd, 95th and 96th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army was re-established from 1942 to 1946 at the military general headquarters and military camps and garrisoned in the province of Samar was the military unit organization and started by the Anti-Japanese military operations in the province of Samar on 1942 to 1945 and fought against the Japanese Imperial forces.
- 1942 to 1944: The 96th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army was founded and establishment on 1942 to 1946 at the military general headquarters in the province of Samar in Eastern Visayas. The engagements of the Anti-Japanese military operations in the province of Samar on 1942 to 1945 and fought against the Japanese Imperial forces.
- 1942 to 1944: During the Japanese Insurgencies and Occupation, the Philippine Guerrilla Forces or PGF were established from 1942 to 1945 as a guerrilla resistance headquarters in San Andres in Villareal, Samar was the guerrilla unit organization and started by the anti-Japanese military operations in the province of Samar on 1942 to 1945 to helping the Filipino troops under the 4th, 9th, 93rd, 95th and 96th Infantry Divisions of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and fought against the Japanese Imperial forces.
- 1944: The Battle off SamarBattle off SamarThe Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar Island, in the Philippines on 25 October 1944...
took place on October 24, 1944 as Vice AdmiralVice AdmiralVice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Takeo KuritaTakeo KuritaVice Admiral was a vice-admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.-Early life:Kurita was born in Mito city, Ibaraki Prefecture in 1889. He was sent off to Etajima in 1905 and graduated from the 38th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1910, ranked 28th out of a class of...
's Center Force warships clashed with several allied naval vessels in a collision course. His force sinks escort carrier , destroyers and , and escort destroyer , but at a cost of his cruisers Chikuma, , and , which despite a tactical victory for the Imperial Japanese Navy, does not alter the course of the entire Philippines Campaign. - 1944 to 1945: Combined U.S. and Philippine Commonwealth military forces including recognized guerrillas liberated the province of Samar and defeated Imperial Japanese forces. When the local Filipino soldiers under the USAFFE 91st and the 4th, 9th, 93rd, 95th and 96th Infantry Divisions of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and 9th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary started the battles in Samar and fought against the Japanese troops.
- 1945: Filipino and Filipino-American soldiers under the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment1st Filipino Infantry Regiment (United States)The 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment was a segregated United States Army infantry regiment made up of Filipinos and Filipino Americans from the continental United States and a few veterans of the Battle of the Philippines that saw combat during World War II. It was formed and activated at Camp San...
of the United States Army was beginning and started during the Battle of Samar and aided the local Filipino soldiers of the Philippine Commonwealth Army 4th, 9th, 91st, 93rd, 95th and 96th Infantry Division and the Philippine Constabulary 9th Infantry Regiment, the local Samareño guerrilla resistance and the U.S. liberation military forces defeats and attacking the Japanese liberated the province of Samar. - 1965: On June 19, 1965 the Philippine Congress along with the District's Congressman, Felipe Abrigo, approved Republic Act No. 4221 dividing the region of Samar into three divisions: North Samar, East Samar, West Samar. Each region adopted a new capital: Catbalongan (West Samar), Borongan (East Samar), and Catarman (North Samar).
- 1969: On June 21, 1969, under Republic Act No. 5650, Western Samar was renamed Samar with Catbalogan still as the capital.
External links
- Official Website of the City Government of Calbayog
- Official Website of the City Government of Catbalogan
- Samar News.com—based in Catbalogan, it is a source of news and information on Eastern Visayas.
- Province of Samar—Profile of the Samar province