Santo Niño, officially the Municipality of Santo Niño ( ceb, Lungsod sa Santo Niño; war, Bungto han Santo Niño; tl, Bayan ng Santo Niño), is a 5th class

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

in the

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

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 ...

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 ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 12,519 people. Formerly known as Limbancauayan, it consists of the northern island of Camandag and the larger Santo Niño Island about to the south. In between those two islands is the smaller Pilar Island. The municipality's ''

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 ...

'' (town center) is located in Santo Niño Island.

History

This town has an ancient Bisayan name Limbankawayan which derived from the word ''limba'' meaning red and ''kawayan'' means bamboo thus a red colored bamboo (phyllostachys iridescens) which is abundant during those days. It was separated from Calbayog and made a pueblo and a parish by a Royal Decree of September 29, 1898. The Bishop of Cebu had recommended in 1895 that it achieve parish status, though final approval and confirmation was not relayed from Madrid through Manila until the year 1897.

Geography

The islands are located in the

Samar Sea The Samar Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, situated between the Bicol Region of Luzon and the Eastern Visayas. It is bordered by the islands of Samar to the east, Leyte to the south, Masbate to the west, and Luzon to the ...

about south-west of Calbayog on the main island of

Santo Niño Island

The larger Santo Niño Island is about north-west of

Maripipi Maripipi, officially the Municipality of Maripipi ( war, Bungto san Maripipi; ceb, Lungsod sa Maripipi; tl, Bayan ng Maripipi), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Biliran, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

Biliran Biliran, officially the Province of Biliran ( Waray-Waray: ''Probinsya han Biliran''; ceb, Lalawigan sa Biliran; tl, Lalawigan ng Biliran), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region (Region VIII). Biliran is ...

province with an area of about . Both islands are volcanic in origin with Santo Niño having the highest elevation in the municipality at .U.S. Army Corps of Engineer (1954)
"Bogo (topographical map)"
University of Austin Library. Retrieved on 2013-11-11. * Baras * Basud (

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 ...

) * Buenavista * Cabunga-an * Ilijan * Ilo (

) * Takut

Camandag Island

The circular Camandag Island is located north of Santo Niño Island, about shore to shore. It has area of about with an elevation of . * Balatguti * Corocawayan * Lobelobe * Pinanangnan (JMBere Coco+Cacao Farms) * Sevilla * Villahermosa

Pilar Island

The smallest island of the municipality is located off north-west of Santo Niño Island and about south-west of Camandag Island. Pilar Island has an elevation of .U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (1919)
"United States Coast Pilot, Philippine Islands, Part 1"
pg. 205. Government Printing Office, Washington.

Barangays

Santo Niño is politically subdivided into 13

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 metropolita ...

s. * Balatguti * Baras * Basud (

) * Buenavista * Cabunga-an * Corocawayan * Ilijan * Ilo (

) * Lobelobe * Pinanangnan * Sevilla * Takut * Villahermosa

Climate

Demographics

Economy

Transportation

There are no airports on the islands of Santo Niño and Camandag. The islands are reached by boats from the Port of Calbayog.Fabian, Galwin (2013-09-21)
"Santo Niño Island in Samar"
Intrepid Wanderer. Retrieved on 2013-11-11.