Basey, officially the Municipality of Basey (; ), 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 ...

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, 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 56,685 people. On 8 November 2013, Basey was one of the places heavily devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan, leaving more than 200 people dead. Basey, strategically located across Tacloban, has become a satellite commercial and trade center in the southwestern area of Samar.

Etymology

The town's name is pronounced "Basai" or "Basay", not "basÉY". This mispronunciation was propagated by American soldiers in the early days of the American colonial period. There is no "ey" sound in the Waray-Waray language. Basay is from the Waray word ''mabaysay'', meaning "beautiful".

Geography

Barangays

Basey is politically subdivided into 51

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 ...

. In 1957, the sitio of Cancoral was converted into the barrio of Roxas. * Amandayehan * Anglit * Bacubac * Baloog * Basiao * Buenavista * Burgos * Cambayan * Can-abay * Cancaiyas * Canmanila * Catadman * Cogon * Dolongan * Guintigui-an * Guirang * Balante * Iba * Inuntan * Loog * Mabini * Magallanes * Manlilinab * Del Pilar * May-it * Mongabong * New San Agustin * Nouvelas Occidental * Old San Agustin * Panugmonon * Pelit * Baybay (

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 ...

) * Buscada (

) * Lawa-an (

) * Loyo (

) * Mercado (

) * Palaypay (

) * Sulod (

) * Roxas * Salvacion * San Antonio * San Fernando * Sawa * Serum * Sugca * Sugponon * Tinaogan * Tingib * Villa Aurora * Binongtu-an * Bulao

Climate

Demographics

Economy

Tourism

The town of Basey is famous for its beautiful Sohoton Caves, whose inner chamber features stalactites, stalagmites, and an underground river. The town is also known for artistically woven decorative mats called '' Banig''. Tourists buy these mats as souvenir items.

References

External links

Basey Profile at PhilAtlas.com
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code
Philippine Census Information

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