Alangalang, Leyte
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Alangalang (IPA: ”ÉlÉÅ‹'Ê”alÉÅ‹, officially the Municipality of Alangalang (; ; ), is a First Class
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 ...
of
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...
,
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 57,185 people. It is a landlocked town with an area of 151 km2. It is bounded on the north by Barugo and San Miguel, on the south by Pastrana, on the north-east by
Tacloban City Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city on Leyte island in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, Tacloban has a popu ...
, on the east by Santa Fe and on the west by Jaro. On the way to Carigara is a steel bridge spanning the Mainit River. There was a time when only footpaths existed and the river was far too wide for a leap and too deep to wade in, travelers were undecided what to do. Hence the name Alangalang was given to the town, from the vernacular word ''alang-alang'' which means "indecision". The strongest tropical
Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was an extremely powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone that is among List of the most intense tropical cyclones, the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. Upon ...
, more commonly known as Typhoon Yolanda impacted the town on November 8, 2013.


Etymology

The place got its name from the word ''Alang-alang'', a vernacular word for ''indecision''. There was a time when only footpaths existed in Mainit river going to Carigara which was too wide to leap and too narrow to wade in, so travelers were undecided on what to do.


History


Spanish Period

The town began to form from different ''" rancherías"'' and ''"
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"'' at about the year 1596, Fr. Cosme de Flores, a priest-engineer, made it into the fourth ''"doctrina."''Fr. Tomas de Montaya, a Manila college professor succeeded Fr. Flores who died at the early age of 29. Alangalang, with Dulag, was made a ''"cabecera"'' of nine towns with Fr. Mateo Sanchez as superior. In 1600, the town suffered from the Moro raids. A punitive force from
Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...
under Capitan Francisco de Pedraza was sent to suppress lawlessness. In 1611, a hurricane swept the whole town and floods became frequent. The 18 or 20 rancherias declined in importance and around December 1628, Alangalang became a ''"visita"'' of Barugo. The old town of Alangalang was founded in 1748 (referred to as "Alagalng" in the first Murillo-Velarde Map published more than a decade earlier in 1734) in a site located across the steel bridge at Binongto-an called ''Bukid Height''. This settlement was headed by Francisco Antonis, a courageous leader, together with Pongal, Manamot, Francisco Gariando, Hidalgo Pedrera and Solang Adlao. Antonis was famed for having eaten the liver of a Moro bandit whom he caught during one of the raids. Fr. Baysa, a Franciscan, was then their spiritual mentor. The objective of the Moro raids was the gold church bell. During every Moro attack, the inhabitants would take the gold bell with them to the hills. At one time, when the townsfolk were being pursued, they had to drop the gold bell in the Bangka River only to save it from the invaders, the bell has never been recovered since then. Alangalang was made into a parish in 1809 according to a historian named Cousin. Towards the end of the 18th century, the settlement in Bukid thrived that Fr. Jose Olmo, then Parish priest, transferred the town across the Mainit River where the provincial nursery is located up to this day. The government officials at that time were the ''gobernadorcillo'', ''teniente mayor'', ''teniente segundo'', ''cabeza de la barangay'' or ''guinhaopan'', ''delgado de las rentas'' and ''cuadrilleros''. Among the lay leaders were Eulogio Barrantes, Santo Pabilona, Eulogio Daroles and Esteban Pedero. A big flood leveled the town in 1883 and by November of the same year, the gobernadorcillo moved the town to its present site. By the middle of the 19th century, Alangalang had a rectory and six rural schools; the roads to Palo and Barugo were also opened. The town was noted for its abacá, copra, seeds of ''"kabalonga"'', wax, cocoa, tobacco and rice.


Spanish Overthrow / American Period

In 1892, when there was a rebellion in the country, Alangalang was in the middle of the fight. Leocardio Pabilona overthrew the Spanish rule in the town and became the ''jefe'' or ''capitán'' with a new set of ''guinhaopan''. When the
Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...
occupied the town upon orders from Pabilona, the inhabitants evacuated the place. The Americans, angered, set the town on fire. It was the hardship of mountain life which finally made the townsfolk yield to American authority. From then on, the town's growth was steady. Alangalang is a big producer of copra and rice and lies along the route of the busiest national highway of the province. The town has one of the biggest Spanish-made churches and shortly before the war had a new concrete municipal building with a swimming pool.


Burning of Alangalang during 1900

On May 17, 1900, the American forces stationed at Jaro burned the town. Town President Franciso Astorga sued the United States Government for $12,973 for his house and properties but was only reimbursed for $6,500 Mexican currency.


Consolidation of San Miguel into Alangalang

In 1903, the municipality of San Miguel was consolidated into Alangalang but was subsequently reversed by the Governor General in 1909 through Executive Order 81.


World War II

After the fall of
Corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...
in May 1942, the municipality became the emergency capital of the province. Provincial and national offices and government records were accordingly transferred there for safekeeping. On December 16, 1942,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese planes bombed the town. In August 1943, the town was attacked by the Japanese to weaken guerilla strength. Alangalang again became one of the bulwarks of the resistance movement with Filemon Pabilona and
Elias Macina Elias ( ; ) is the hellenized version for the name of Elijah (; ; , or ), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy books. Due to Elias' role in the scriptures and to many later associated tradi ...
as leaders. In 1944 to 1945, the Filipino forces of the 4th, 9th, 92nd, 93rd and 95th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army took in the town in Alangalang, Leyte fought the battles against the Japanese forces in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Mainit River Bridge Incident

On Oct 28, 1944, Lt. Col. Thomas E. Clifford Jr.'s troops made contact with the Japanese at the Mainit Bridge where he lost 5 men. The bridge was already fitted with explosives by the enemy but due to quick advance of the American troops, the enemy didn't have the chance to set it off.


Geography


Barangays

Alangalang is politically subdivided into 54
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 ...
. * Aslum * Astorga (Burabod) * Bato * Binongtoan * Binotong * Blumentrit (
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 ...
) * Bobonon * Borseth * Buenavista * Bugho * Buri * Cabadsan * Calaasan * Cambahanon * Cambolao * Canvertudes * Capiz * Cavite * Cogon * Dapdap * Divisoria * Ekiran * Hinapolon (Baras) * Holy Child I (
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 ...
) * Holy Child II (
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 ...
) * Hubang * Hupit * Langit * Lingayon * Lourdes * Lukay * Magsaysay * Milagrosa (
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 ...
) * Mudboron * P. Barrantes * Peñalosa * Pepita * Salvacion * Salvacion (
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 Antonio * San Antonio (
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 Diego * San Francisco East (Francia) * San Francisco West * San Isidro * San Pedro * San Roque (
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 Vicente * Santiago * Santo Niño (
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 ...
) * Santol * Tabangohay * Tombo * Veteranos


Climate


Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Alangalang, Leyte, was 57,185 people, with a density of .


Economy

The town was classified as a 3rd class municipality in 1950 then 2nd class in 1954 up to 2021. By 2025, it attained First Class status


Education

There are a total of 49 Elementary Schools, 9 High Schools and 1 University in Alangalang


Elementary/Grade School


High School/Secondary

* Alangalang National High School * Astorga National High School * Alangalang Night High School *Alangalang Agro Industrial School * Borseth National High School * Ana G. Yu National High School *Holy Trinity College * Mariano Salazar National High School *Trinidad Caidic National High School


College/Universities

* Visayas State University - Alangalang Campus


Alangalang during COVID-19 Pandemic

Like most parts of the world, Alangalang was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of the town was locked-down and the Mayor tested positivehttps://web.archive.org/web/20211203201522/https://www.philstar.com/nation/2021/06/18/2106357/leyte-town-mayor-gets-covid-19


See also

* List of reduplicated place names


References


External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationBarangay Pepita People's Learning Center

Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Leyte (province)