EASTERN VISAYAS

Is one of the 17 regions of the Philippines,

designated as Region VIII. It is composed of two main islands, Leyte and Samar, connected by the San Juanico Bridge, as well as Biliran Island. It is one of only two regions having no land border with another region, MIMAROPA being the other. Composed of six provinces and seven cities. Tacloban City is their regional center.

GEOGRAPHY
Eastern Visayas lies on the east central part of

the Philippines archipelago. Eastern Visayas directly faces the Pacific Ocean. It has a total land area of 2,156,285 hectares or 7.2% of the countrys total land area.52% of its total land area are classified as forestland and 48% as alienable and disposable land.

MAP OF EASTERN VISAYAS

CLIMATE
There are two types of climate prevailing in the

region under the Corona system of classification: Type II and Type IV. Type II climate is characterizes by having no dry season but a pronounced maximum rainfall from November to January. Type IV on the other hand has an even distribution of rainfall the year round and a short period of dry season that can be observed starting February up to May.

DEMOGRAPHICS
Population census of Eastern Visayas Year 1990 2000 2010 Population 3,054,490 %
As of 2010, Eastern

Visayas has a population of 4,101,322 people.

3,610,355 +18.2% 4,101,322 +13.6%

SUBDIVISIONS
Flag Province Biliran Eastern Samar Capital Naval Borongan City
Population (2010) Area (km)

161,760 428,877

555.4 4,339.6

Leyte
Northern Samar

Tacloban City
Catarman

1,567,984
589,013

5,712.8
3,692.9

Southern Leyte Samar

Maasin City

399,137

1,734.8 5,591.0

Catbalogan City 733,377

CITIES
Tacloban City- Highly-Urbanized City Ormoc City, Leyte- Independent City

COMPONENT CITIES
Baybay City, Leyte
Catbalogan City, Samar

Maasin City, Southern Leyte

Borongan City, Eastern Samar Calbayog City, Samar

LANGUAGES
Waray-Waray is spoken on the island of Samar,

Biliran and north-eastern Leyte.

A Sama language, distantly related to the

languages of the region, called Abaknon is spoken in the island of Capul in Northern Samar. Cebuano is spoken in western, central,

and southern parts of Leyte and in Southern

Leyte.

ECONOMY

Eastern Visayas is

primarily an agricultural region with rice, corn, coconut, sugarcane and banana as its major crops. Primary sources of revenue are manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade and services. Mining, farming, fishing and tourism contribute significantly to the economy. Float exhibiting products of Eastern Visayas.

POINT OF INTEREST
San Juanico Bridge is the longest and the most beautifully designed bridge in the Philippines.

Agas-Agas Bridge
the highest bridge in the country, located at Southern Leyte as part of the Maharlika Highway.

Lake Danao
a guitar-shaped lake on the hills of Ormoc City in

the province of Leyte.

 It displays the fortune and previous properties of the

Sto. Nino Shrine

first dictator of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos.

BILIRAN
is an island province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Biliran lies just a few kilometers north of Leyte Island. Its capital is Naval. Biliran is one of the country's smallest and newest provinces, being formerly a part (subprovince) of Leyte until achieving full-fledged province hood in 1992.

GEOGRAPHY
Biliran has a total land area of 53,601 hectares

making it is the fourth smallest province in the Philippines.

The province is composed of two major

islands; Biliran Island and Maripipi Island. Other islands include Higatangan Island and Dalutan Island (inhabited).

SUBDIVISIONS
Biliran is subdivided into 8 municipalities, with a

total of 132 barangays. All the municipalities

except Maripipi are located on Biliran Island while Maripipi is an island municipality located to the northwest.
The largest among the towns is Naval which is

the capital of the province while the smallest is

Maripipi.

LANGUAGES
The inhabitants of Biliran primarily speak

Cebuano and Waray, both Visayan

languages. Majority of the residents also

speak and understand Tagalog and

English.

DEMOGRAPHICS
Population census of Biliran Year Pop. % p.a.
Based on the May 2000 census, Biliran had a total population of 140,274, which made it the fifth least populous

2000 2007
2010

140,274 150,031
161,760

1.19% 0.97%
2.54%

province in the country, and the smallest in the region. In the 2010 census, the population had increased to 161,760 persons.

ECONOMY
The economy of Biliran is largely based on fishing. Most of its towns, especially Naval and Biliran, have excellent seaports.
There are 95 hectares of brackish water fishponds which produce prawns, shrimps and milkfish. Another 30 hectares of seawater are suitable for seaweed farming and 10 more hectares for fish cage culture.

DELICACIES
SUMAN BILIRAN
PAPAYA PICKLES

TOURIST SPOTS

Sambawan Island

Higatangan Island

Dalutan Island

Tinago Falls

Tomalistis Falls

Ulan-ulan Falls

BUSAI FALLS

Kinaraha Cascades

MAINIT HOTSPRING

FESTIVALS
Gapnod Festival

Bagasumbul Festival

Provincial Governor:

ESPINA, GERRYBOY
Vice- Governor:

TUBIS, BOBOY

Eastern Samar
Is a province of 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 and to the east is the vast Pacific Ocean. Off the coast of Leyte

Gulf, the province faces the province of Leyte. The province occupies a total land area of 466,047 hectares (1,151,630 acres).

SUBDIVISIONS
Eastern Samar is subdivided into 22

municipalities and one city.

City: Borongan City
Eastern Samar has 597 barangays.

MUNICIPALITIES

DEMOGRAPHICS
The province has a

Year 2000

Pop. 375,822

% p.a. 0.73%

population of
461,300 as of 2010

census.
The common

2007 2010

405,114 428,877

1.08% 1.92%

language is Waray.

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 copra, corn, rice, sugar, and vegetables. Tourism potential is untapped on the northern part of the province.

DELICACIES Binagol

Sasima

HISTORY
The province of Eastern Samar was

created from Samar by virtue of Republic Act No. 4221 on June 19, 1965.

Provincial Governor: Conrado B. Nicart Jr.

Vice- Governor: Marcelo Picardal

FESTIVALS
Karayapan Festival

Padul-Ong Festival

TOURIST ATTRACTION Homonhon Island

Santa Monica Cave

Suluan Island

Guiuan Church

SAMAR

Also known as Western Samar. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar Island as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located west of the mainland. The province is bordered to the north by Northern Samar and Eastern Samar to the east. 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 world. To its south is Leyte Gulf.

GEOGRAPHY
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, with mountain peaks

ranging from 660 to 2,600 ft high and narrow

strips of lowlands, which tend to lie 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.

SUBDIVISIONS
The province of Samar is composed of two

congressional districts, 24 municipalities and two cities (Catbalogan and Calbayog). It has a total of 952 barangays.
CITIES: Calbayog

Catbalogan

Almagro Basey Calbiga Daram Gandara Hinabangan Jiabong Marabut Matuguinao Motiong Pagsanghan Paranas (Wright)

Pinabacdao San Jorge San Jose de Buan San Sebastian Santa Margarita Santa Rita Santo Nio Tagapul-an Talalora Tarangnan Villareal Zumarraga

DEMOGRAPHICS
Population Census of Samar
Year 2000 2007 2010 Pop. 641,124 695,149 733,377 % p.a. 1.70% 1.16% 1.80%

As of 2010,

samar has a population of 733,377 people.

DIALECTS
Residents of Samar are mostly Waray, the sixth largest cultural-linguistic group in the country. There are two types of Waray spoken in the province, Waray Lineyte-Samarnon which is spoken from the southernmost tip of the province

up to the municipality of Gandara and Waray Calbayog, an intermediary between the Waray of Northern Samar and the Waray of Samar, spoken in Calbayog City, Santa Margarita, and in some parts of Tagapul-an, Santo Nio and Almagro.

DELICACIES
Pinato

Pastillas

FESTIVALS Bagolan Festivals

Patiklos Festival

Mayaw-mayaw Festival

Sarakiki-Hadang Festival

TOURIST ATTRACTION
Burabod Caves

Pinipisakan Falls

Tarangban Falls

Tooth Rock Formation

Provincial Governor:

SHAREE ANN T. TAN

Vice Governor: STEPHEN

JAMES T. TAN

NORTHERN SAMAR
One of the three provinces comprising Samar

Island (the other two are Samar and Eastern Samar provinces). 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. To the northwest, across the San Bernardino Strait is Sorsogon; to the east is the Philippine Sea and to the west is Samar Sea.

GEOGRAPHY
It is located at the eastern edge of the Archipelago

with an area of 369,293 hectares. About 52 percent

of the total land area is covered by forest and 42 percent is classified as alienable and disposable.
It is bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the east, the

San Bernardino Strait on the north, Samar Sea on

the west, and the Samar and Eastern Samar

provinces on the south.

Socio-Demographic Situation
Northern Samar is classified as second class province. Based on the 2010 National Census, the province has a total population of 589,013.
Catarman is the capital town of the province where most political and economic activities take place. It is the seat of administration and the center of trade and commerce as well as industry.

CLIMATE
Northern Samar falls under the

intermediate type climate, which has no

distinct dry and wet seasons. The rainiest

months are October to January, while the

driest is the month of May.

LANGUAGES
Majority of the people in the province of

Northern Samar speak the Norte

Samarnon, a variation of Waray-Waray.

Tagalog and English are also widely used

and understood in Northern Samar.

SUBDIVISIONS
Northern Samar is divided into three (3) major

geographical areas, namely: Balicuatro area, Central area, and Pacific area including Catubig Valley the provinces rice granary.
It comprises 24 towns or municipalities with 569

registered barangays.

MUNICIPALITIES
Allen Biri Mapanas Mondragon

Bobon
Capul Catarman

Palapag
Pambujan Rosario

Catubig
Gamay Laoang Lapinig Las Navas Lavezares Lope de Vega

San Antonio
San Isidro San Jose

San Roque
San Vicente Silvino Lobos Victoria

people of Northern DEMOGRAPHICS The Samar were previously

Population Census of Northern Samar Year 2000 2007 2010 Pop. % p.a. 500,639 549,759 589,013 1.97% 1.35% 2.33%

called the "Ibabaonons". Generally, they are members of the "Waray" or "Waraywaray" or "Waraynon". To distinguish themselves from the Westehanon (people from Samar) and Estehanon (from Eastern Samar) they are called themselves as "Ninorte Samareo or Nortehanon".

DELICACIES
Moron Sumarungsong

FESTIVALS
Pahoy-pahoy Festivals

TOURIST ATTRACTION

Mantikawol Falls

Pinipisakan Falls

The Marine Sanctuary

Biri Rock

Hamorawon Spring

Onay Beach

Provincial Governor: JOSE

L. ONG Jr.
Vice Governor:

GARY M. LAVIN

LEYTE
is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region.
Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the

northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran. To the west of Leyte across the Camotes Sea is Cebu Province.

AREA
Leyte has an area of 5,712.8 square

kilometers. About 73% of Leyte's land

resources is alienable and disposable

while 27% is classified as forest land.

TOPOGRAPHY
The terrain of the province is relatively flat to

gently rolling and becoming mountainous and rough towards the center where a mountain range begins. This cordillera divides the province into its eastern and western plains. Peaks of approximately 2,295 to 3,280 feet high extend from north to south.

CLIMATE
The province's eastern portion has a type II

climate. It has no distinct wet or dry season

but with pronounced rainfall from

November to January while the western

portion has a type IV climate with rainfall

evenly distributed throughout the year.

DISCOVERY
The explorer Ruy Lpez de Villalobos, first

came to the island in 1543 and named it

Las Islas Felipinas.

Provincial Governor:

DOMINICO PETILLA
Vice Governor:

CARLO LORETO

SUBDIVISION
Leyte is subdivided into 41 municipalities and three cities.

CITIES:
Tacloban City- Highly urbanized city Baybay City- component city

Ormoc City- Independent component city

MUNICIPALITIES
Abuyog Alangalang

Carigara Dagami

Albuera
Babatngon Barugo

Dulag
Hilongos Hindang

Bato
Burauen Calubian Capoocan Kananga

Inopacan
Isabel Jaro

Javier
Julita

Kananga La Paz Leyte MacArthur Mahaplag Matag-ob Matalom Mayorga Merida Palo Palompon

MUNICIPALITIES

Palo Palompon Pastrana San Isidro San Miguel Santa Fe Tabango Tabontabon Tanauan Tolosa Tunga

DEMOGRAPHICS
Population census of Leyte
Year Pop. 2000 2007
As of 2010, Leyte has a population of 4,101,322 people.

2010

% p.a. The people of Leyte are divided into two main 1,413,697 1.02% groups, primarily by language. In the west 1,506,096 0.91% and south are the Cebuanos, while in the north and east is 1,567,984 1.35% the Waray-Waray (Leyte dialect).

ECONOMY
The economy of Leyte is a mixed agriculture, fishing,

industrial, energy and mining. Rice is farmed in the lowland plains areas specifically those around Tacloban, while coconut farming, is the main cash crop in upland and mountainous areas. Sugarcane plantation is no. 1 produce in Ormoc City. Since Leyte

is an island province, fishing is a major source of

livelihood among coastal residents.

DELICACIES
Puto

Bibingka

FESTIVALS
Pintados Kasadyaan Festival

Sangyaw Festival

TOURIST ATTRACTION
Leyte Landing Memorial
Memorial of former

Philippine president Osmea and then Pacific Theatre World War II commander, Gen. MacArthur, and their staff

Palo Cathedral

 Tangkaan Beach

 Southern Leyte was once a sub-province of Leyte before it

SOUTHERN LEYTE

was divided from the latter. Limasawa, an island to the south is part of the province where the first Christian Mass was held and is said to be the birthplace of Christianity in the Philippines. The province ranks as the second least populated in the region. According to the 2010 census, the province has a population of 399,137 Southern Leyte's geological features created several issues in the province after the flooding of the Subangdaku River and the awful mudslide in Guinsaugon. Organizations warned the province it was susceptible to natural occurrences like landslides and floodings. Maasin City is the capital of the province.

ECONOMY
Southern Leyte contributes to the economy of

the country. It forms an important part of the

inter-island transportation system of the country, with ferries transporting people and goods between Liloan and Surigao del Norte in Mindanao. The province is well known for its quality abaca products and is the country's major producer of abaca fiber.

TOPOGRAPHY
Southern Leyte occupies the southern quarter of

the island of Leyte. It is bounded by the province of Leyte to the north, by Surigao Strait to the east, Bohol Sea to the south, and Canigao Channel, across from Bohol, to the west. Its total land area is 179,861 hectares. The province is characterized by relatively flat lands along the coastal areas where population centers lie, but rugged mountains towards the interior.

LANGUAGE
The native language is Cebuano language.

However, the Waray-Waray is also spoken and understood in Southern Leyte. Natives also speak English and very few of them speaks Spanish.

POLITICAL DIVISIONS
Southern Leyte was originally consisting of

16 municipalities and 349 barangays. It was composed of four islands namely: Panaon Island, Limasawa Island, San Pedro Island and San Pablo Island.
CITY: Maasin City

MUNICIPALITIES
Anahawan Bontoc Hinunangan Hinundayan Libagon Liloan Limasawa Macrohon Malitbog Padre Burgos Pintuyan Saint Bernard San Francisco San Juan San Ricardo Silago Sogod Tomas Oppus

Provincial Governor:

ROGER MERCADO
Vice Governor:

BERTING LAGUMBAY

DELICACIES
Dyambol Pili Nuts

TOURIST ATTRACTION
Cambaro Cave

Kuting Reef

Subterranean River