San Juan, Southern Leyte
Encyclopedia
San Juan is a 5th class municipality in the province of Southern Leyte, 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...
. It was formerly known as Cabali-an. According to the 2007 National census, it has a total population of 14,442 and 3,055 households.
On September 15, 2010, San Juan "Cabalian" celebrate its 150th Founding Anniversary.
On June 17, 1961 Republic Act 3088 which changed the name Cabali-an to San Juan was signed into law by the President of the Republic of the Philippines. It is almost fifty years old now yet the name Cabali-an neither died nor faded away. It simply refused to disappear on maps, telecommunication directories and in most people’s minds.
The resistance is understandable. Cabal-an is a name that links the people of this town to a rich cultural past. This romance with the past, a subconscious emotional attachment to a previous experience, has rooted rather deeply and from it the use of Cabali-an as name has been infused into a sociological mainstreams. In another form it is called plain sentimentalism.
Incidentally, there seems to be no consensus on the exact origin of the name Cabali-an. Three versions, have ever stood out as the most popular ones Magellan happened to pass by Cabalian. . .
This account tells of Magellan and his crew attempting to land this settlement after being battered by a heavy storm known locally as “subasco”. One of his ships had a broken main mast that required immediate repair. The curious natives led by their chieftain, Datu Malitik, gathered on the shore as they closely watched the approaching ships. The natives who were armed noticed the broken mast and shouted “gikabali-an”. Roughly translated, the word means “to experience a breakage or broken materials”. Magellan and his men interpreted the hostile-surrounding shouts as the name of the place. Not wishing to engage the natives in combat after the battering of the storm, the explorers lifted anchors and sailed away.
Municipal Elected Officials
- Hon. Federico Ramos Flores - Municipal Mayor
- Hon. Lolito A. Casera, Jr. - Municipal Vice Mayor
- Members
- Hon. Ranulfo B. Laturino
- Hon. Apolonio Petate Alvinez
- Hon. Lindy J. Nombrado
- Hon. Reynaldo E. Ramos
- Hon. Reynaldo A. Orozco
- Hon. Edilbero Cinco
- Hon. Victor M. Cero
- Hon. Peregrino - ABC (Association of the Barangay Council) President
- Hon. Mikhail Jose C. Lepiten - Sangguniang Kabataan Municipal President
Barangays
San Juan (Cabali-an) is politically subdivided into 18 barangayBarangay
A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...
s.
| Barangay | Population (As of August 1, 2007) |
|---|---|
| Agay-ay | 615 |
| Basak | 1,248 |
| Bobon A | 353 |
| Bobon B | 381 |
| Dayanog | 740 |
| Garrido | 410 |
| Minoyho | 930 |
| Osao | 1,117 |
| Pong-oy | 1,104 |
| San Jose (Pob.) | 1,000 |
| San Roque | 510 |
| San Vicente | 631 |
| Santa Cruz (Pob.) | 1,263 |
| Santa Filomena | 380 |
| Santo Niño (Pob.) | 2,120 |
| Somoje | 600 |
| Sua | 646 |
| Timba | 394 |
Elementary School
San Juan District School has about 8 Elementary schools leading to San Juan Central School.- San Juan Central Elementary School - Town Proper
- Pong-oy Elementary School, Barangay Pong-oy
- Sua Elementary School, Barangay Sua
- Timba Elementary School, Barangay Timba
- Garsavic Elementary School, Barangay San Vicente and Barangay Garrido
- Basak Elementary School, Barangay Basak, San Juan
- Somoje Elementary School, Barangay Somoje, San Juan
- Bobon Elementary School, Barangay Bobon, San Juan
- Saint Joseph College, San Juan Campus, Poblacion San Juan
High School
- San Juan National High school
The school was founded in 1946 as Southeastern Leyte Provincial High School. Being the only public high school among the six towns of Pacific area it enrolled more than 1,000 students in its second year of operation.
It was changed to Cabalian Municipal High School in 1952. Due to financial difficulties as a result of the destruction caused by a strong typhoon in that year the management of the school was transferred to the Province of Leyte and it was converted to Cabalian Provincial High School a year later. In 1964 the school changed name and curriculum to Cabalian National Vocational High School. In response to public demand to expand widen its curriculum, R.A. 4295 changed this school to San Juan Comprehensive High School. Enrollment rose to more than 1,200. On June 24, 1983 Batas Pambansa Blg. 569 converted the high school into San Juan Polytechnic College with a tertiary curriculum focused on Science and Technology.
Then in 1999, a special provision of General Appropriation Act No. 8745 mandated the integration of the college into Southern Leyte State College of Science and Technology and, in effect, transferred the governance of the school to the Board of Trustees of the host SUC. The high school department – with a population 1,200 – was also transferred to the nearest public secondary school.
- San Juan National High School - Mrs. Rachel R. Cuevas
University
- Southern Leyte State University,(formerly San Juan Polytechnic College)
Congress Bill Converted the Southern Leyte State College of Science and Technology which includes the San Juan Campus into University on March 7, 2004 and this date marked as Founding Anniversary of the Institution
Mobile
- Serviced by Smart CommunicationsSmart CommunicationsSmart Communications is a wholly owned mobile phone and Internet service subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company .On June 30, 2010 the company reported that it had over 45 million cellular subscribers.-Brands:...
(Since 2002) - Serviced by Globe TelecomGlobe TelecomGlobe Telecom , commonly known as Globe, is a telecommunications company in the Philippines. Globe provides mobile, fixed line, and broadband Internet services.- History :In 1928, Congress passed Act No...
(Since 2004) - Serviced by Sun CellularSun CellularDigitel Mobile Philippines, Inc., is a mobile telecommunication service provider in the Philippines doing business as Sun Cellular. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Digital Telecommunications Philippines, or Digitel. Digitel is in turn owned by the JG Summit Group with a minority stake...
(Since 2010)
Cable television
- Fiesta Cable, Inc is the first cable TV entirely Pacific Area in Province. Fiesta Cable's main office is located in Rizal Sreet, Barangay Sto. Nino, San Juan, Southern Leyte. Its monthly subscription is very affordable and reasonable price.
Banking and Finance
- Rural Bank of San Juan (Southern Leyte) Inc.
- Green Bank
- Coop-Natco
- Westen Union
- Cebuana Lhuiller
- ML Lhuiiller
- HL Lhuiller
- Palawan Pawnshop
Festival
The town celebrates its rich Catholic heritage every 24th day of June, the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Precursor to the Divine Word, Our Lord Jesus Christ. The "novemdiales" or novena in honor of the patron saint commences every 15th day of June, and is referred to as jornadas. Jornadas in Spanish means sojourns or journeys, which specifically refer to the translation of the patron saints of all barangays to kiosks or minuscule chapels outside the baroque parish church. In addition to the eighteen patron saints of the 18 barangays of Cabalian, more come from the hill villages of Hinunangan. They remain in those chapels until the 24th day of June, called the kahuyugan, whence they are processed around the town in andas and carrozas.The fiesta spans for three (3) days: (1) disperas (Sp. vísperas) which falls on the 23rd day of June, coinciding with the Vespers for the Nativity of St. John the Baptist in the Divine Office; (2) kahuyugan (lit. the day on which the fiesta falls) on the 24th of June, coinciding with the main celebrations; and (3) liwas (lit. post-fiesta) on the 25th day of June, when the remaining victuals are served to fiesta-goers who want to avoid the fiesta traffic and hullabaloo.
The novena is said in the parish church. Preserving the incorruptible tradition of Visayan Catholic identity, the long Gozos in honor of St. John is sung. The tradition of the gozos goes back to the august cathedrals of Spain and Portugal. The structure of the gozos follows the usual format of the Spanish gozos: an estribillo (couplet) repeated after every estrofa (verse).
Although, the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist was traditionally not celebrated with water dousing, sometime in 2000, the LGU launched the Sinabligay Festival, which translates as Water Dousing Festival. The LGU has passed ordinances prohibiting the use of dirty water during this Festival.
Amongst the activities included in the Town and Patronal Fiesta are the following
- 1.) SLSU Alumni Homecoming organized by the Southern Leyte State University
- 2.) Jag-aw (Singing Competition)organized by Local Government Unit
- 3.) Central Alumni Day (San Juan Central Elementary School) Organized by Department of Education headed by School Principal.
- 4.) Parish Pastoral Night
- 5.) The Search for Ms. TEEN Cabalian organized by the Municipal Federation of Sangguniang Kabataan, in partnership with KUYOGG Inc. (Kabalian United Youth Organization for Good Governance.
- 6.) The Most anticipated event the "Sinabligay Festival"
- 7.) and a lot more....