Allen, officially the Municipality of Allen ( war, Bungto han Allen; tl, Bayan ng Allen), is a 5th class
municipality in the
province of
Northern Samar,
Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,228 people.
It is located on the northwestern tip of the province, bordering the municipality of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seyche ...
to the south, the municipality of
Lavezares
Lavezares, officially the Municipality of Lavezares ( war, Bungto han Lavezares; tl, Bayan ng Lavezares), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Northern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 29,390 ...
to the east, and the strategic
San Bernardino Strait to both the north and west.
Allen is an important port for inter-island transport, specifically between the island of Samar and the island of
Luzon.
Etymology
Before the Spanish colonisation of the Philippines, the original Malayan name of the town was Minapa-a. During the Spanish colonisation period, the name of the town was changed to La Granja. The name ''Allen'' was given by the Americans in honor of the American General
Henry Tureman Allen
Major General Henry Tureman Allen (April 13, 1859 – August 29, 1930) was a senior United States Army officer known for exploring the Copper River in Alaska in 1885 along with the Tanana and Koyukuk rivers by transversing of wilderness. His t ...
,the military governor of the
Visayas after the victory of the Americans over the Spaniards in the
Spanish–American War. During the
Japanese occupation, the town's name was changed to Tanaman, in accordance wit
Executive Order No. 110signed in December 1942, to be "in line with the objective of the
Greater East Asia War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
of eradicating all traces of Anglo-Saxon influence in East Asia."
History
Allen is part of Northern Samar which is according to Australian studies, a part of the Philippines which is the homeland of the Polynesians. Otley Bayer said that there are already people in the Philippines 250,000 years ago and this was confirmed by a French study which says that the Philippines has been populated by men as early as 700,000 years ago. Some old Filipino historians still have the mindset of "Filipinos are savage and it has to be discovered and cultured by anything foreign". These historians refuses to mention that there is a civilization of Viking – like people based in the Lakanate of Lawan in Northern Samar (Samar was derived from Samaria). The Samar civilization was once headed by Datu Iberein as written by historian Henry Scott, and take note of the name, very Hebrew, consistent with Jewish Samar from Samaria. These people have siday (native epic) in which one of them is Bingi of Lawan, as mentioned by historian Alcina. They have Almuraya which is now an ancient ruins and they have royal burial jars—all evidences would point that this civilization could be the Ophir, the homeland of the Polynesians and Viking – like people who sent people to different parts of the Philippines and islands in the Pacific Ocean, including the people of Taiwan.The area of present-day Allen was originally populated by natives of Malay stock from the western and central portions of the island of Samar, particularly Catbalogan and Calbayog. Successive migrations to Allen from other islands that are near Allen were characterised by several waves. Malays from the neighbouring
Bicol Peninsula
Bicol, known formally as the Bicol Region or colloquially as Bicolandia ( bcl, Rehiyon kan Bikol; Rinconada Bikol: ''Rehiyon ka Bikol''; Waray Sorsogon, Masbateño: ''Rehiyon san Bikol''; tl, Rehiyon ng Bikol), is an administrative region o ...
in what is now
Sorsogon
Sorsogon, officially the Province of Sorsogon ( Bikol: ''Probinsya kan Sorsogon''; Waray: ''Probinsya han Sorsogon''; tl, Lalawigan ng Sorsogon), is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region. It is the southernmost province in ...
crossed what is now the San Bernardino Strait using small sailing barges, trading with the locals before settling in, and inter-marrying with the local Malays many years after. Simultaneously, Malays of southern stock from Bohol through the islands of Capul and San Antonio crossed the strait and settled in the area.
The heavy waves of migration from
Bicol to Allen in Samar in the course of the centuries is attested by the fact that almost 70% of the peoples of Allen trace their ancestries to the families in Bicol, from the province of
Sorsogon
Sorsogon, officially the Province of Sorsogon ( Bikol: ''Probinsya kan Sorsogon''; Waray: ''Probinsya han Sorsogon''; tl, Lalawigan ng Sorsogon), is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region. It is the southernmost province in ...
.
The first recorded persons to have their names officially entered into a Spanish census in Allen were that of Cosmenia Cajandab and Mariano Cabacang; both surnames originated from the island of Capul.
Allen is also the hometown of Filipino sailing hero
Florentino Das
Florentino R. Das (August 19, 1918 – October 7, 1964) was a Filipino yachtsman and immigrant to the United States who holds the earliest record of Single-handed sailing from Hawaii to the Philippines on a 27-footer homebuilt sailboat.
Early y ...
who holds the earliest record of a Trans-Pacific crossing from
Hawaii to the Philippines. A memorial commemorating his achievement of 1956 is found in the town.
Geography
Barangays
Allen is politically subdivided into 20
barangay
A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...
s.
* Alejandro Village (Santiago)
* Bonifacio
*
Cabacungan
* Calarayan
* Frederic
* Guin-arawayan
* Imelda
* Jubasan
* Kinabranan Zone I (
Poblacion
''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippine city or municipality, which may take up the a ...
)
* Kinabranan Zone II (
Poblacion
''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippine city or municipality, which may take up the a ...
)
* Kinaguitman
* Lagundi
* Lipata
* Londres
* Lo-oc
* Sabang Zone I (
Poblacion
''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippine city or municipality, which may take up the a ...
)
* Sabang Zone II (
Poblacion
''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippine city or municipality, which may take up the a ...
)
* Santa Rita
* Tasvilla
* Victoria
Climate
Demographics
Economy
Infrastructure
Allen serves as an important transit point, connecting Samar and other islands with
Luzon. It is opposite the Luzon transit point in the municipality of
Matnog, Sorsogon
Matnog, officially the Municipality of Matnog ( Waray Sorsogon: ''Bungto san Matnog''; war, Bungto han Matnog, tl, Bayan ng Matnog), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Sorsogon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a po ...
. The primary modes of transport are the inter-island bus route via the
Maharlika Highway
The Pan-Philippine Highway, also known as the Maharlika Highway ( tl, Daang Maharlika; ceb, Dalang Halangdon), is a network of roads, expressways, bridges, and ferry services that connect the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao in t ...
, and the ferry crossing the San Bernardino Strait.
Transportation
Ferry Service
Ferries cross the strategically important Strait of San Bernardino, transporting passengers and vehicles to and from Allen in Samar and Matnog in Luzon. Travel time ranges between one hour to 2 hours depending on the speed of the ferry.
Bus
Buses from the various provinces of the Visayas and Mindanao bound for various destinations in Luzon pass through Allen, riding the ferry services of Allen to Matnog, and vice versa.
The bus terminals servicing the numerous passengers crossing the San Bernardino Strait are located at the piers and ports that are operational in Allen. Booking offices for buses that ply the route are also located at these terminals.
Accommodations
A number of relatively low-priced hotels and inns within the town serve most of the transit passengers for overnight stay, specially during bad weather when some stranded passengers take refuge in the small hotels and inns. During bad weather conditions, ferries cannot cross the San Bernardino Strait due to high waves.
See also
*
References
External links
*
Philippine Standard Geographic Code
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Northern Samar
Port cities and towns in the Philippines