Kananga (IPA: ɐ'naŋga, officially the Municipality of Kananga (; , ), is a First Income 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 ...

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 59,696 people. Majority of Kananga's economic activity has historically been concentrated in agriculture. Some are engaged in commerce and trade. The town is geographically close to the city of

Ormoc Ormoc (IPA: �oɾˈmok, officially the City of Ormoc (; ; ), is a independent component city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 230,998 inhabitants, making it the second mo ...

and coastal town of Palompon. The town's main crops are coconut ( niyog) and rice ( palay). Kananga, sometimes known as Asia's geothermal capital, is the richest municipality in Eastern Visayas.

History

Kananga was established on June 17, 1950 from the barrios of Lonoy, Kananga, Rizal, Tugbong, Montebello, Aguiting, Agayayan, Montealegre, Libungao, Naghalin, and Masarayao which all used to be part of

, by virtue of ''Republic Act No. 542''.

Geography

Barangays

Kananga is politically subdivided into 23

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 ...

. * Aguiting * Cacao * Kawayan * Hiluctogan * Libertad * Libongao * Lim-ao * Lonoy * Mahawan * Masarayao * Monte Alegre * Monte Bello (including Kananga Special Economic Zone) * Naghalin * Natubgan *

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 ...

* Rizal * San Ignacio * San Isidro * Santo Domingo * Santo Niño * Tagaytay * Tongonan * Tugbong

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Kananga, Leyte, was 59,696 people, with a density of .

Language

The municipality speaks both Cebuano and Waray, making it a bilingual municipality. The influx of Cebuano speaking settlers from

and other adjacent municipalities during the olden times is the reason why the

Cebuano language Cebuano ( )Cebuano
on Merriam-Webster.com is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken i ...

flourished in the area.

Economy

Infrastructure

Kananga is a bustling town, located along the highway, in close proximity to

Ormoc City Ormoc (IPA: Help:IPA/Tagalog, �oɾˈmok, officially the City of Ormoc (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, independent component city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, i ...

in the south. Energy Development Corporation's Tongonan Geothermal Powerplant, one of the largest geothermal powerplants in the

, is located in Kananga. Several bus companies including

Philtranco Philtranco Service Enterprises, Inc. (, ; Philippine Transportation Company) is a bus company in the Philippines, servicing routes to Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Caraga, Davao Region, and Northern Mindanao. It is the oldest bus operator in the Phi ...

and DLTBCo operate a bus depot in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

and in

, a few miles from Kananga. There are also jeepneys, van and buses from and to

and

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 ...

. Kananga and neighboring towns and cities in

are served by two commercial airports namely

Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport , also known as Tacloban City Airport, is an airport serving the general area of Tacloban, a highly urbanized city in the Leyte island of the Philippines. It is the main gateway from Manila and Cebu to Eastern Visayas ...

located in

, about 52 miles east of the town and local Ormoc Airport in neighboring

, which has a connecting

Cebu Pacific Cebu Air, Inc. (), operating as Cebu Pacific (stylized in lowercase), is a Philippine low-cost airline based in Pasay, Metro Manila. Founded in 1988, the airline was the first low-cost carrier in Asia and is also the largest airline in the Phi ...

commercial flights to and from Cebu via

Mactan–Cebu International Airport Mactan–Cebu International Airport (MCIA) is the main international airport serving Metro Cebu and is the main gateway to the Central Visayas region in the Philippines. Located on a site in Lapu-Lapu City on Mactan island, it is the secon ...

. Kananga can also be reached by sea through Ormoc City's major port where passenger ships and ferries such as Supercat Fast Ferry and OceanJet dock to and from

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

and

. Kananga has remained relatively free of commercial developments that are common in other towns of similar size in the country.

Culture

The local government celebrates the Kananga ''Kaanyag Festival'' which aims to commemorate the town's rich culture and traditions.

Education

Kananga is home to two different secondary schools, Kananga National High School (KNHS) and National Heroes Institute (NHI) as well as Kananga National High School- Kawayan Annex (Grade 7–10 in newly introduced K-12 program education in the Philippines situated on top of the picturesque view of the mountain in Sitio Estrada, where can easily walk through a newly cemented road by about a mile away from the main highway of Barangay Kawayan, which caters neighboring poor students from inland villages of San Isidro and Monteaglegre; and Kananga National High School - Libertad Annex, located in Barangay Libertad, which also caters neighboring students from inland villages. Another public high schools were open in Barangays Rizal and Montebello Annex- the land of Hideco Sugar milling company; the most competitive school among all annexes serving the locale of Barangay montebello, Aguiting, naghalin, masarayao, san ignacio, etc. They are very competitive in terms on sports and contests.

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Leyte (province)