San Juan, officially the Municipality of San Juan ( Kabalian: ''Lungsod san San Juan''; ; ), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Southern Leyte Southern Leyte (; Kabalian: ''Habagatan nga Leyte''; ; ), officially the Province of Southern Leyte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Maasin. Southern Leyte comprised the ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 14,912 people. It was formerly known as Cabali-an. It is spelled as "Caualian" in the first Murillo-Velarde Map published in 1734. The

Kabalian language The Kabalian (Cabalian) language, ''Kinabalian'', is spoken in the municipality of San Juan in the province of Southern Leyte in the Philippines. It is closely related to Waray-Waray. Native speakers refer to the language as ''Cabalianon'' or ' ...

, a

Visayan language The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. Mos ...

distinct from Waray-Waray and Cebuano, is spoken in San Juan.

History

There seems to be no consensus on the exact origin of the name Cabali-an. While there are several versions, the most popular one involves Magellan who 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. Cabalian used to be the largest Leyte town facing the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

until its 19 barrios were excised to form the new municipality of Saint Bernard, by virtue of Executive Order No. 84 signed on December 9, 1954. On June 17, 1961, Republic Act No. 3088, which changed the name Cabali-an to San Juan, was signed into law by President

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (; November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971), often referred to by his initials CPG, was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the ...

. However, up to this day, the town is still known as Cabali-an. The name simply refuses to disappear on maps, telecommunication directories and in most people's minds.

Geography

Barangays

San Juan (Cabali-an) is politically subdivided into 18

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. * Agay-ay * Basak * Bobon A * Bobon B * Dayanog * Garrido * Minoyho * Osao * Pong-oy * San Jose (

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

) * San Roque * San Vicente * Santa Cruz (

) * Santa Filomena * Santo Niño (

) * Somoje * Sua * Timba

Climate

Demographics

Economy

Government

Elected officials

Elected officials (2022-2025): * Municipal Mayor: Reynaldo D. Saludo * Municipal Vice Mayor: Lou Bienvenido G. Laplap * Municipal Councilors: ** Catherine C. Renegado ** Evencio M. Castillones ** Rico B. Calas ** Valentin B. Ouano Jr. ** Rolando L. Evaldez ** Arnold F. Luego ** Cherymer C. Yu ** Sixto B. Evaldez

Communication

Mobile services are serviced by

Smart Communications Smart Communications Inc., commonly referred to as Smart, is a wholly owned wireless communications and digital services subsidiary of PLDT Inc., a telecommunications and digital services provider based in the Philippines. As of November ...

(since 2002),

Globe Telecom Globe Telecom, Inc., commonly shortened as Globe, is a major provider of telecommunications services in the Philippines. The company operates one of the largest mobile, fixed-line and broadband networks in the Philippines. As of November 2023, ...

(since 2004), and

Dito Telecommunity Dito Telecommunity Corporation (stylized as DITO), formerly known as Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc. or Mislatel, is a telecommunications company in the Philippines which is also engaged in the business of multimedia and information te ...

(since 2023). Cable television include Fiesta Cable Inc., the first cable TV entirely Pacific Area in the province and is based in the municipality.

Culture

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

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. 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 Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

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 # SLSU Alumni Homecoming, organized by the Southern Leyte State University # SJNHS Grand Alumni Homecoming, organized by the San Juan National High School # Parish Pastoral Night # 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. # The "Sinabligay Festival" # The "Wet and Wild Party"

References

External links

*
San Juan Profile at PhilAtlas.com
{{Authority control Municipalities of Southern Leyte