Misplaced Pages

#560439

64-607: Borongan , officially the City of Borongan ( Waray : Siyudad han Borongan ; Filipino : Lungsod ng Borongan ), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Eastern Samar , Philippines . According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 71,961 people. It is the most populous LGU in Eastern Samar and it is also nicknamed as the "City of the Golden Sunrise/Sunshine" and aspiring to be

128-474: A sound change in which Proto-Bisayan *s becomes /h/ in a small number of common grammatical morphemes. This sound change occurs in all areas of Samar south of the municipalities of Santa Margarita , Matuginao , Las Navas , and Gamay (roughly corresponding to the provinces of Samar and Eastern Samar , but not Northern Samar ), as well as in all of the Waray-speaking areas of Leyte , except

192-523: A city again including the 15 municipalities declaring that the conversion to cityhood met all legal requirements. After six years of legal battle, in its board resolution, the League of Cities of the Philippines acknowledged and recognized the cityhood of Borongan and 15 other cities. The City of Borongan is located along the middle coastal part of the province of Eastern Samar. The city center itself

256-504: A component city by virtue of Republic Act No. 9394 which sought to convert the municipality into a city. The law was ratified on June 21, 2007. However, the cityhood status was lost twice in the years 2008 and 2010 after the LCP questioned the validity of the cityhood law. The cityhood status was reaffirmed after the court finalized its ruling on February 15, 2011, declaring the cityhood law constitutional. Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) , one of

320-526: A lone university. It has the highest literacy rate among the municipalities in the whole province of Eastern Samar. The university offers undergraduate and graduate course in sciences, technology, literature, humanities, philosophy, agriculture, education, forestry, arts and science, and other degrees/courses within it areas of specialization and according to its capabilities as the Board of Regents may deem necessary to carry out its objectives, particularly to meet

384-558: Is walay with the same meaning. During the Spanish period, texts refer to the language as simply being a dialect of "Visayan". In contrast, most contemporary linguists consider many of these "Visayan dialects" (e.g., Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Karay-a, etc.) to be distinct languages, and the term Visayan is usually taken to refer to what is called Cebuano in contemporary linguistic literature. Domingo Ezguerra's 1663 (reprinted 1747) Arte de la lengua bisaya de la provincia de Leyte refers to

448-481: Is copra . It has lively commercial activity throughout the year not only catering to the needs of the local city populace but serving as well as the central business hub of the entire province of Eastern Samar. Many families rely on coastal and deep-sea fishing as well as lowland and upland farming as means of livelihood. Others have spouses, children, parents or other relatives working in Manila or in other places within

512-552: Is also available to city subscribers as well as to inhabitants up to a certain limited distance from the city proper. The city has a government-run FM radio station although it operates only on limited broadcast time at certain hours of the day. Main electric power supply to the city is through an interconnection with the Leyte electric power grid that comes from the electricity generated by the Tongonan geothermal power plant located in

576-514: Is in anticipation of the actual Feast day. Being part of Eastern Samar, the surfing capital of the Visayas, Borongan is blessed with several surfing spots. More often than not, these spots are uncrowded, easily making it a surfer's paradise. The city's waves are at their best during the Amihan ( Northeast Monsoon ) season which runs from November to April. Among the numerous surf sites in the city,

640-422: Is represented by the local Sangguniang Panglungsod composed of ten (10) elected members headed by the city vice mayor as the presiding officer thereof. The local inhabitants are generally peace-loving and law-abiding citizens who follow all the laws, ordinances, rules and regulations promulgated by the duly-constituted authorities, be they national or local. Except for the lingering insurgency problem, which however

704-408: Is restricted to the hinterland barangays, does not affect the normal course of political and business activities of the city. The place has no major peace and order nor internal security problems. Landline telephone, cellular phone as well as internet (both landline and wireless) connections are available within the city limits and up to a certain limited distance from the city proper. Cable television

SECTION 10

#1732780926561

768-472: Is said to be the first Philippine landmass spotted by Magellan and his crew. In 1596, many names, such as Samal, Ibabao, and Tandaya, were given to Samar Island prior to the coming of the Spaniards in 1596. During the early days of Spanish occupation, Samar was under the jurisdiction of Cebu . Samar and Leyte were later separated from Cebu in 1735. They were split in 1747 but was reversed in 1762 with

832-704: Is situated along the northern banks of the Lo-om River and is set back a little distance away from the shoreline of Borongan Bay. The province itself comprises a part of the Eastern Visayas region (Region VIII) of the Republic of the Philippines. The city is bounded on the north by the municipality of San Julian , in the south by the municipality of Maydolong , in the west by the Samar municipalities of Hinabangan , Calbiga , Pinabacdao and Basey , and in

896-583: Is through the Pan-Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway on a west-to-east-to-north course that traverses the southern coastal fringe of the island of Samar crossing the San Juanico Bridge from Tacloban City turning right at the junction southwards to Basey and then Marabut, Samar then eastward across the provincial boundary to Lawa-an in Eastern Samar passing by the famous municipality of Balangiga, turning left at

960-636: Is used in education from kindergarten to primary level as part of the Philippine government's K–12 program since 2012 in which pupils from kindergarten to third grade are taught in their respective indigenous languages. Waray is also used in the Mass in the Roman Catholic Church and in the worship services of different Christian sects in the region. Bibles in Waray are also available. In 2019,

1024-833: The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures was released in Waray-Waray. However, there is a growing population of Muslims in the region with the first mosque, Tacloban Mosque and Islamic Center, through a charity built by a Turkish Islamic religious authority in Tacloban at 2017 which teaches the scriptures and offers Friday sermons in both Waray and Cebuano in general. Most Waray dialects have three vowel phonemes: /a/ [a] , /i/ [ɛ~i] and /u/ [ɔ~u] . Some dialects have an additional vowel /ə/ [ə] ; words with /ə/ in these dialects have /u/ in

1088-733: The Pan-Philippine Highway (Maharlika Highway) through southern Luzon, a short roll on, roll off 1-hour boat ride across the San Bernardino Strait from Matnog, Sorsogon to Allen, Northern Samar, then southwards to Catbalogan, Western Samar, east across the mountainous and forested geographical spine of the island, then southwards again from the town of Taft until finally entry into the city on the eastern coast of Samar. There are also ordinary mini-buses and air-conditioned shuttle vans from Tacloban City going to Borongan (and vice versa). Another route from Tacloban City

1152-602: 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 . Eastern Samar, as a province, was created from Samar province through Republic Act No. 4221 on June 19, 1965. Approved by Congress in 1963, it

1216-514: The "King City of the East". Its cityhood was settled by the Supreme Court of the Philippines when it decided with finality on April 12, 2007, the constitutionality of its city charter, Republic Act 9394, which conferred upon and elevated the status of the municipality of Borongan into a component city of the province of Eastern Samar . Pronounced bo-róng-gan , the name Borongan was taken from

1280-406: The "Visayan tongue of the province of Leyte", Figueroa's Arte del idioma Visaya de Samar y Leyte refers to the "Visaya language of Samar and Leyte". Antonio Sanchez's 1914 Diccionario español-bisaya (Spanish-Visayan Dictionary) refers to the speech of "Sámar and Leyte". Linguist Jason Lobel (2009) considers there are 25 dialects and subdialects of Waray-Waray. Many Waray dialects feature

1344-533: 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 and it is the main lingua franca of the entire island of Samar . 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). The people of

SECTION 20

#1732780926561

1408-449: The 2020 census, it has a population of 71,961. The local dialect is Waray-Waray and some locals are able to speak and understand Cebuano with varying fluency, locals are literate in both English and Filipino . Boronganons are predominantly Roman Catholic , but it also has other small Christian as well as minority religious sects. Poverty incidence of Borongan Source: Philippine Statistics Authority Borongan's main product

1472-840: The Commandancia and the Very Rev. Father Superior of the Jesuits from Palapag , a town in Northern Samar, went to Ibabao to install the first priest of Borongan, Fr. Manuel Martinez, who served up to 1627. At the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution in 1898, Borongan was the site of an uprising led by the Pulahanes. The first public municipal officials were Sr. Magno Abenis, President, and Sr. Andres Hipe, vice-president, who held office from 1899 to 1903. After

1536-485: The Japanese occupation in 1941–1945, the town was henceforth led by a mayor and a vice mayor. Hilarion Basada and Ignacio Brozas were the first mayor and vice mayor, respectively, from 1945 to 1947. Borongan was legally constituted as a provincial capital when Eastern Samar was created as a separate province under Republic Act No. 4221, which was enacted on June 19, 1965. The law dividing the original province of Samar

1600-583: The Philippine society. Eastern Samar Eastern Samar ( Waray-Waray : Sinirangan Samar ; Tagalog : Silangang Samar ), officially the Province of Eastern Samar , is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region . Its capital is the city of Borongan , which is the most populous. Eastern Samar occupies the eastern portion of the island of Samar . Bordering

1664-733: The Philippines or abroad either as professionals, contract workers or domestic helpers who regularly remit part of their earnings to their families back home. The single biggest employer of its local populace is the government. Borongan has a wet market located a little upstream and beside the northern bank of the Lo-om River in the Puray district of Barangay H (Tarusan) selling the usual foodstuffs like rice & corn grains, dried & fresh fish (either caught locally or brought in frozen from Catbalogan or Guiuan as well as other nearby towns), pork, beef, chicken, carabeef, preserved meats, vegetables, fruits, condiments & spices, rootcrops, native cakes and

1728-591: The adjacent island of Leyte. The distribution of the power supply within the city and the entire province of Eastern Samar is operated and managed by the Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative (ESAMELCO) The Borongan Airport is located at Barangay Punta Maria. The Airport has undergone several improvements through the years since its construction during the Second World War, where it was constructed as an emergency air strip for

1792-635: The approval of the King of Spain , following complaints from the Jesuits . The province of Samar was later established as a distinct province in 1768 after it got separated from the province of Leyte . In 1777, Samar and Leyte split for the last time when it was approved in Madrid in 1786 and had been effective in 1799. Maj. Eugenio Daza Area Commander of General Lukbán's forces for Southeastern Samar In 1944, combined Filipino-American troops involved in

1856-617: The capital city. Currently, only Leascor operates out of Borongan Airport with flights weekly to serve locals and tourists to and from Cebu . By land, mini buses and vans ply from the regional center in Tacloban , Catbalogan , and Calbayog in Samar province and to some towns in Eastern Samar. From Borongan , buses ply to Metro Manila . Motorized boats plies through Leyte Gulf ferrying passengers going to Tacloban City seaport. Poverty incidence of Eastern Samar Source: Philippine Statistics Authority Commercial activities in

1920-431: The city proper. Borongan's pristine and undisturbed forests contain spectacular streams, river rapids, waterfalls and caves sought after by nature lovers, trekkers and spelunkers - locals and foreign visitors alike. With its vast virginal landscape, most of its scenic spots can be reached by those who have the time and energy. There is said to be a famed hidden cave in one of the offshore islands of Borongan Bay containing

1984-597: The cityhood law (RA 9394) which granted the town its city status, unconstitutional. The said 16 cities, the court ruled, did not meet the requirements for cityhood. On December 22, 2009, the cityhood law of Borongan and 15 other municipalities regain its status as cities again after the Supreme Court reversed its ruling on November 18, 2008. On August 23, 2010, the court reinstated its ruling on November 18, 2008, causing Borongan and 15 cities to become regular municipalities. Finally, on February 15, 2011, Borongan becomes

Borongan - Misplaced Pages Continue

2048-487: The convent building itself. The major settlements then were Borongan, Bacod/Jubasan/Paric (now Dolores), Tubig (Taft), Sulat, Libas/Nonoc (now San Julian), Butag (now Guiuan) and Balangiga. The development of Borongan was greatly influenced by the religious missions of the Jesuits during the period 1604–1768, and the Franciscans from 1768 to 1868. Borongan was established as a pueblo on September 8, 1619. On this date,

2112-588: The east by the Pacific Ocean. The city's territory include the islands of Ando, Monbon, and Divinubo in Borongan Bay. Borongan is politically subdivided into 61 barangays . Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios . According to the 2007 census conducted by the CBMS, Borongan had a total population of 59,354 people in 10,699 households. This rose to 64,457 people in the 2010 census. As of

2176-613: The east lies the Philippine Sea , part of the vast Pacific Ocean , while to the south lies Leyte Gulf . Because it faces the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, Eastern Samar suffers heavily from powerful typhoons . Eastern Samar comprises 22 municipalities and one city , all encompassed by an lone congressional district and two provincial districts that elect a representative and provincial board members, respectively. The population of Eastern Samar in

2240-511: The faith, raised stone churches, and protected the people from the Muslim predatory/piratical raids from the south. This is probably the reason why the town itself was established some distance away from the shoreline and built on a hill overlooking the northern banks of the Lo-om River. In fact, the old Catholic church convent has its own self-contained water supply: a deep dugout well lined with big blocks of ancient hewn stones located underneath

2304-483: The fenced grounds fronting it served as the venue for social gatherings. This was the brainchild of then Mayor Pablo "Buaya" Rosales. On its left side but still within the park grounds is the city tourism building. From underneath this giant clamshell bubbles and flows the Hamorawon natural spring, the only one place in the entire province of Eastern Samar which has a naturally occurring fresh-water spring, flowing from

2368-540: The following are considered to be the top pick for surfers and tourists: Borongan has many beaches, the most notable of which can be found in Divinubo Island and in Ando Island , both of which boast of white sand beaches, vibrant coral formations alive with teeming marine life in sparkling clear blue waters, incidentally ideal also for diving and snorkeling. Cabong gray-sand beach is a favorite destination of

2432-439: The junction past Quinapondan town northward to the municipality of Gen. MacArthur and onwards to Borongan itself. The main forms of public mass transport in and around the city are motorized tricycles, motorcycles, passenger jeepneys, multicabs and bicycles. There is no taxicab service available within the city. Accredited Transport Cooperatives as of January 2021: Borongan has many elementary schools, high schools, colleges and

2496-638: The language following the current orthographic conventions of Filipino. Waray uses many different words to specify a particular thing. These words might not be the same in spelling and in construction but they share the same meaning, making it a very diverse language. Here are some examples of demonstratives and adverbs together with their equivalent definition in Waray-Waray: Native numbers are used for numbers one through ten. From eleven onwards, Spanish numbers are exclusively used in Waray today, their native counterparts being almost unheard of by

2560-408: The length and breadth of the city selling items ranging from basic necessities to supplies for recreational and entertainment activities. There are several hardware stores that also operate catering to the needs of the city's construction industry. The city has numerous restaurants and eateries offering local cuisine randomly located throughout the city limits while nightspots can be found mostly along

2624-522: The length of Baybay Boulevard at the eastern edge of the city immediately abutting the shoreline of Borongan Bay. Major and new oil companies have their own oil refueling stations within the city limits selling engine lubricants, kerosene as well as regular, unleaded and premium gasoline and diesel fuels. Now, Borongan boasts several large establishments that opened throughout the years. These include several department stores and another Mall that opened in 2017. Most of these establishments are located within

Borongan - Misplaced Pages Continue

2688-600: The like. The place also sells locally-made and beautiful native basketware. In 2005, the municipality (then) saw the opening of the largest and only Mall in Eastern Samar , the Uptown Mall which opened in 2005 for business operations and is located along the national highway in Barangay Songco at the northern fringe of the city. Appliance stores, mini-groceries and 'sari-sari' stores also abound throughout

2752-577: The local word " borong ", which in the Waray-Waray language means " fog ". The mountainous terrains surrounding Borongan is covered by a heavy veil of fog which can usually be seen during the cold and raining seasons and in the early hours of the morning. Because of this characteristic, the pre-Hispanic natives attributed the name borongan to the place, which was then a fragmented commune of households. Boronganons were known to be fierce fighters according to William Henry Scott , who stated that, "There

2816-513: The locals, with excursionists, bathers and picnic-goers spilling over from one end of the beach to the other especially during special occasions, weekends and holidays. The strip of white-sand beach in Guintagican or Punta Maria is also a good bet, although it takes some effort to get there as it is several kilometers away from the town proper and accessible only through a feeder road, the final stretch of which can be reach on foot only because of

2880-504: The long-boned remains and antique artifacts (i.e. necklaces, porcelain, etc.) of apparently ancient people whose true history have been obscured by the mists of time and only snippets of which have survived to this day in tales and legends among the local folk who continue to zealously preserve as well as guard and protect them from the curious and from the occasional vandal/looter, believing that allowing such remains and artifacts to be disturbed or taken away will bring bad luck or misfortune to

2944-548: The majority dialects. Waray has a total of 16 consonant phonemes: /p, t, k, b, d, ɡ, m, n, ŋ, s, h, l, ɾ~r, w, j, ʔ/ . Two extra postalveolar sounds [tʃ, dʒ] are heard when /i/ occurs after /t, d/ , further proceeding another vowel sound. Waray, like all Philippine languages today, is written using the Latin script. There is no officially-approved orthography for the language and different writers may use differing orthographic styles. In general, it has become common to write

3008-399: The majority of native speakers (except for gatos for hundred and yukot for thousand ). Some, especially the old ones, are spoken alongside the Spanish counterparts. Waray has borrowed vocabulary extensively from other languages, especially from Spanish. These words are being adopted to fill lexical gaps of the recipient language. Spanish colonialization introduced new systems to

3072-461: The military. The Air strip is serviceable to smaller aircraft, such as turbo-propelled Airplanes, which was seen when the airport had chartered flights on different occasions. On December 19, 2022, Philippine Airlines subsidiary PAL Express , commenced operations between Cebu to Borongan with 3x weekly flights from Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The Port of Borongan is classified as a national port and can accommodate medium-draft sea vessels, linking

3136-469: The narrow width of the footpath. The Hamorawon park is located at the center of the city proper itself and can easily be located by the presence of the giant acacia tree beside it. It contains the stylized rendition of a concrete giant clamshell the upper half of which being held up by two mermaids while at its base are two crocodiles with their mouths agape. This giant clamshell served as the then town's cultural stage where social presentations were held while

3200-573: The nearby local inhabitants. The City celebrates its annual Fiesta celebration in honor of its Patroness, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Albeit the actual Feast day is on September 8, the celebration is usually a month long as each Barangay will hold its own "Barangay Night" where barangays would have a barangay-wide party through programs held in their respective Barangay Plazas. At the same time, schools would also have their annual reunions and respective "School Night". The series of celebrations

3264-663: The needs of the Province of Eastern Samar and the Region. Its main campus is located in Borongan. Waray-waray language The term Waray comes from the word often heard by non-speakers meaning 'none' or 'nothing' in the language; similarly, Cebuanos are known in Leyte as mga Kana and their language as Kana (after the oft-heard word kana , meaning 'that' in the Cebuano language ). The Cebuano pronunciation of Waray

SECTION 50

#1732780926561

3328-456: The province are centered on the provincial capital of Borongan 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

3392-725: The province are devoted catholics 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, Iglesia Filipina Independiente or Aglipayan church, 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. The province has one operational airport; Borongan Airport located in

3456-417: 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 Leyte Gulf . 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

3520-630: The scattered hamlets located on the banks of the adjacent Guiborongani (Borongan or Sabang) River and Lo-om River. Guiborongani was the larger settlement and was later on called Borongan because of the heavy fog that usually covered the place. The people inhabiting the eastern coast of Samar were originally called "Ibabao" during the pre-Spanish period. As early as 1595, or 74 years after Ferdinand Magellan 's landing in Homonhon (now an island barangay of Guiuan , Eastern Samar) Spanish Jesuit missionary priests from mission centers in Leyte began to evangelize

3584-516: The southern portion of the island of Samar. The first evangelical mission was established in Tinago, Western Samar and gradually expanded to Catubig . In 1614 Palapag was selected as the mission center of the Ibabao region or the north-eastern coast of the island; from this mission center in turn was the eastern coast of Samar subsequently evangelized. The missionaries proselytized to the inhabitants in

3648-438: The spring almost unnoticeable already to busy passersby. As the provincial capital, provincial government institutions are located in the city. The city government also has its own executive, legislative and judicial bodies. The seat of the executive branch of the local government of Borongan is at the city hall located at the city proper itself with the city mayor acting as the local chief executive. The legislative department

3712-471: The strongest typhoons ever recorded, made its first landfall in the coastal town of Guiuan in November 2013. Eastern Samar covers a total area of 4,660.47 square kilometers (1,799.42 sq mi) occupying the eastern section and majority of southern Samar's coast 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

3776-465: The town with the other coastal and riverine towns of the province as well as major coastal cities of Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas and Bicol regions. Access to and from the outlying inhabited offshore islands of Borongan Bay is either through motorized as well as sail- or oar-driven outrigger bancas. Bus transport, airconditioned and ordinary, is the dominant means of public land conveyance to Borongan from Manila (and vice versa) passing overland through

3840-614: The towns of Javier and Abuyog . However, this sound change is an areal feature rather than a strictly genetic one (Lobel 2009). Most Waray dialects in northeastern and Eastern Samar have the close central unrounded vowel /ɨ/ as a reflex of Proto-Austronesian *e. Waray is one of the many regional languages found in the Philippines and used in local government. It is widely used in media particularly in television and radio broadcasts, however, not in print media because most regional newspapers are published in English. The language

3904-465: The very center of the city itself towards the Lo-om River a short distance downstream. The waters of this spring has been said to be miraculous the site itself having allegedly been the place where appearances of a lady in white (supposed to be the patroness saint of the city) have reportedly been seen. Unfortunately, access to this natural water source has of late been impeded and virtually blocked, its previous access road having been long fenced off leaving

SECTION 60

#1732780926561

3968-414: Was an Indio of gigantic stature called Pusong, a native of the town of Magtaon in the interior of the island of Samar and lbabao, who used to make frequent invasions of the towns of Calbiga and Libunao which are on the Samar side, but not so much around Borongan because those on that coast were much more feared." Its development into a town, and eventually into a city, is traced back to the early 1600 out of

4032-504: Was authored by Samar congressmen Eladio T. Balite ( 1st district ), Fernando R. Veloso ( 2nd district ), and Felipe J. Abrigo ( 3rd district ). The law, ratified in a plebiscite on June 19, 1965, divided Samar into three: Northern Samar , Eastern Samar and (Western) Samar . The first provincial officials of Eastern Samar, aside from the lone district representative, were elected on November 14, 1967, and on January 1, 1968, they officially assumed office. The capital town of Borongan became

4096-424: Was later ratified through a plebiscite held on November 9, 1965. Borongan's first municipal mayor as the capital town of Eastern Samar was Luis Capito. On June 21, 2007, Borongan became the first city in Eastern Samar. However, it subsequently lost its cityhood, along with 15 other cities, after the Supreme Court of the Philippines granted a petition filed by the League of Cities of the Philippines , and declared

#560439