Villaba (
IPA: ">ɪ'ÊŽabÉ, officially the Municipality of Villaba ( ceb, Lungsod sa Villaba; war, Bungto han Villaba; tl, Bayan ng Villaba), is a 3rd class
municipality in the
province of
Leyte,
Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 42,859 people.
History
Pre-Spanish History
The existence of the place now known as Villaba was discovered in about the last quarter of the sixteenth century by
Boholano traders. These traders landed on the western coast and found fertile plains along the river and forest. The sea coast also proved to be good fishing ground. The settlers built their houses along the banks of the river and banded into groups to protect themselves from the ''moro'' pirates and wild animals. Along the banks of the river were "''
Hindang
Hindang (IPA: ɪn'daŋ, officially the Municipality of Hindang ( ceb, Lungsod sa Hindang; war, Bungto han Hindang; tl, Bayan ng Hindang), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a ...
''" trees which grew in abundance so they called the new settlement ''Hamindangon'' (full of ''
hindang
Hindang (IPA: ɪn'daŋ, officially the Municipality of Hindang ( ceb, Lungsod sa Hindang; war, Bungto han Hindang; tl, Bayan ng Hindang), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a ...
'' trees).
As the years passed, more settlers migrated from
Bohol and
Cebu. These new inhabitants likewise settled on the plains along the ''Hamindangon'' River.
Spanish Period
During the expedition of the entire
Eastern Visayas
Eastern Visayas ( war, Sinirangan Kabisay-an; ceb, Sidlakang Kabisay-an; tl, Silangang Kabisayaan or ''Silangang Visayas'') is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region VIII. It consists of three main islands, Samar, ...
by Spanish ''
conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
'' in 1593, a group of Spaniards, led by the General-Governor's son,
Luis Pérez Dasmariñas landed on the shores of ''Hamindangon'' and the named the place ''Nueva Galicia'' in honor of his father, the
Governor-General of the Philippines,
Gomez Perez Dasmariñas who is from
Galicia
Galicia may refer to:
Geographic regions
* Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain
** Gallaecia, a Roman province
** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia
** The medieval King ...
,
Spain.
The governor set sail from
Cavite for
Pintado province in October 1593, to join the part of the fleet under Luis Pérez who is already at the Visayas. Before he proceeded to
Moluccas, Luis Pérez introduced the ''
barrio
''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...
'' of ''Nueva Galicia'' to the whole fleet. But the Governor-General renamed the place to
Vilalba (from the Spanish town in
Galicia
Galicia may refer to:
Geographic regions
* Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain
** Gallaecia, a Roman province
** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia
** The medieval King ...
region) in order not to confused with other
Nueva Galicia town that is located in
Mexico.
Over the years, the natives of the ''barrio'' had problem of Spanish unaccented digraphs, mispronouncing Vilalba (
Spanish pronunciation: ">iˈʎalβa with Villaba (
IPA:
">ɪ'ÊŽabÉ, and perhaps, it is easier to pronounce the later name and thus retained it when the town was officially established in June 1910.
American Period
The Spanish was defeated by the Americans who started their occupation of the Philippines on August 13, 1898. The following year, there was a popular revolt in the Visayas particularly in Samar and Leyte called the
''Pulahanes'' movement. One consequence of that revolution against the Americans was that the town of Villaba was reduced to a barrio and became part of the municipality of
San Isidro, Leyte.
During that period, Villaba was then ran by local executives known as ''
cabeza de barangay''. For want of official records however, to provide a complete list and their specific terms of office, the following have served in the said capacity:
1. Andres Gervacio
2. Antonio Dejillo
3. Fortunato Cabilar
4. Hermogenes Tumamak
5. Casimiro Tumamak
7. Tomas Tumamak
8. Luciano Domael
In June 1910, the Provincial Board of Leyte passed and approved a resolution creating the Municipality of Villaba. Since then, there was a continuous change of Chief Executives in the municipality up to the present.
1. Juan Burgos - 1910 to 1912
2. Flaviano Domael - 1913 to 1915
3. Carmelino Rubillos - 1916 to 1918
4. Flaviano Domael - 1919 to 1921
5. Paulino Dejillo - 1922 to 1924
6. Flaviano Domael - 1925 to 1927
7. Damian Perez - 1928 to 1930
8. Bartolome Esmas - 1931 to 1939
9. Vicente Veloso - 1940 to 1945
10. Eusebio Gaviola - 1945 to 1946
11. Fermin Tumamak - 1946 to 1950
12. Francisco Burgos - 1951 to 1959
13. Alberto Veloso - 1960 to 1963
14. Bartolome Esmas - Oct 1963 to Dec 1963
15. Sofronio Ramirez - 1964 to 1967
16. Aurelio Veloso - 1968 to Apr 1980
17. Antonio Villamor - May 1980 to Apr 20,1986
18. Faustino Tumamak - (OIC) Apr 21, 1986
19. Roman Omega - (OIC) Dec 4, 1987 - Feb 1988
20. Faustino Tumamak, Jr. - Feb 1988 to Mar 1992
21. Leonora Rosal - Mar 1992 to Jun 1992
22. Jorge V. Veloso - Jul 1,1992 to 1998
23. Atty. Faustino Tumamak Jr.- 1998 to 2004
24. Claudio Martin Larrazabal - 2004 to 2013
25. Jorge V. Veloso - 2013 to 2016
26. Juliet A. Larrazabal - 2016 to 2019
27. Jorge V. Veloso - 2019 to June 2022
28. Carlos G. Veloso - July 2022 to present
Barangays
Villaba is politically subdivided into 35
barangays. Each barangay consists of
purok
A ''purok'' ( en, district or zone) is a 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 ...
s and some have
sitios.
* Abijao
* Balite
* Bugabuga
* Cabungahan
* Cabunga-an
* Cagnocot
* Cahigan
* Calbugos
* Camporog
* Capinyahan
* Casili-on
* Catagbacan
* Fatima (
Poblacion)
* Hibulangan
* Hinabuyan
* Iligay
* Jalas
* Jordan
* Libagong
* New Balanac
* Payao
*
Poblacion Norte
* Poblacion Sur
* Sambulawan
* San Francisco
* Silad
* Sulpa
* Tabunok
* Tagbubunga
* Tinghub
* Bangkal
* Canquiason
* San Vicente
* Santa Cruz
* Suba
Climate
Demographics
In the 2020 census, the population of Villaba was 42,859 people, with a density of .
Economy
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 ...
br>
Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Leyte (province)