Samar was a
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
in the
Philippines
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 ...
which is coterminous with
the island of Samar and its outlying islands.
History
It was established in 1768 after it got separated from the province of Leyte.
On June 19, 1965, the
Philippine Congress
The Congress of the Philippines ( fil, Kongreso ng Pilipinas, italic=unset) is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, although colloquially the ter ...
along with the three Samar
Representatives, Eladio T. Balite (1st District), Fernando R. Veloso (2nd District) and Felipe J. Abrigo (3rd District), approved ''
Republic Act No. 4221'' dividing the province of Samar into three divisions: ''
Northern Samar
Northern Samar ( war, Amihanan Samar/Norte san Samar; tl, Hilagang Samar), officially the Province of Northern Samar, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas Regions of the Philippines, regio ...
'', ''
Eastern Samar
Eastern Samar (Waray-Waray: ''Sinirangan Samar''; tl, 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. Eastern Samar occupies ...
'', and ''
Western Samar
Samar, officially the Province of Samar ( war, Probinsya han Samar; tl, Lalawigan ng Samar), formerly named as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Catbalogan. It is ...
''. Each province adopted a new capital:
Catbalogan
Catbalogan, officially the City of Catbalogan ( war, Siyudad han Catbalogan; fil, Lungsod ng Catbalogan), is a 5th class component city and capital of the province of Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 106,44 ...
(Western Samar),
Borongan
Borongan, officially the City of Borongan ( Waray: ''Siyudad han Borongan''; fil, 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 populatio ...
(Eastern Samar), and
Catarman (Northern Samar).
On June 21, 1969, under ''Republic Act No. 5650'', ''Western Samar'' was renamed simply into ''Samar'' with Catbalogan still as the capital.
See also
*
Samar
Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...
*
Samar (province)
Samar, officially the Province of Samar ( war, Probinsya han Samar; tl, Lalawigan ng Samar), formerly named as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Catbalogan. It is b ...
*
Northern Samar
Northern Samar ( war, Amihanan Samar/Norte san Samar; tl, Hilagang Samar), officially the Province of Northern Samar, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas Regions of the Philippines, regio ...
*
Eastern Samar
Eastern Samar (Waray-Waray: ''Sinirangan Samar''; tl, 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. Eastern Samar occupies ...
References
{{Coord missing, Philippines
Former provinces of the Philippines
States and territories established in 1768
States and territories disestablished in 1965
1768 establishments in the Spanish Empire