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| San Juanico Bridge (Photo courtesy of Veck Deloria) |
The Municipality of Basey, is a first class
municipality located in the Southwestern part of the Province of Samar and is
practically near the commercial/industrial center of Region VIII, the City of
Tacloban. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 50,423. It was founded in 1591 and created by virtue of a Royal Spanish Proclamation. Basey has a land area of 51,301 hectares. It has 26,216 registered voters as of 2010.
The city of Tacloban was once a barrio of Basey and has an approximate distance of 28 kilometers, through the Maharlika Highway and San Juanico Bridge, and 20 minutes pump-boat ride, from the municipality. The municipality is known for its natural beauty for it is home to some of the world’s wondrous caverns, subterranean rivers, waterfalls, and unique limestone formations. It is likewise famous for its intricately woven mats or banig.
The population of Poblacion Basey (composed of 7 barangays) is 7,970. The biggest barangay in terms of population is Palaypay with 2,653; and the smallest barangay is Baloog with 142. The top 20 biggest barangays (in terms of population) are:
1. Palaypay - 2,653
2. San Antonio - 2,584
3. Mabini - 2,429
4. Guirang/Rawis - 2,374
5. Can-abay - 1,834
6. Old San Agustin - 1,760
7. San Fernando -1,541
8. Salvacion - 1,502
9. Loog - 1,402
10. Canmanila - 1,377
11. Loyo - 1,369
12. Roxas - 1,320
13. Tinaogan - 1,270
14. Balud - 1,238
15. Dolongan - 1,221
16. Cogon - 1,212
17. Basiao - 1,209
18. Buscada - 1,129
19. Bulao - 1,099
20. Tingib - 1,069
The city of Tacloban was once a barrio of Basey and has an approximate distance of 28 kilometers, through the Maharlika Highway and San Juanico Bridge, and 20 minutes pump-boat ride, from the municipality. The municipality is known for its natural beauty for it is home to some of the world’s wondrous caverns, subterranean rivers, waterfalls, and unique limestone formations. It is likewise famous for its intricately woven mats or banig.
The population of Poblacion Basey (composed of 7 barangays) is 7,970. The biggest barangay in terms of population is Palaypay with 2,653; and the smallest barangay is Baloog with 142. The top 20 biggest barangays (in terms of population) are:
1. Palaypay - 2,653
2. San Antonio - 2,584
3. Mabini - 2,429
4. Guirang/Rawis - 2,374
5. Can-abay - 1,834
6. Old San Agustin - 1,760
7. San Fernando -1,541
8. Salvacion - 1,502
9. Loog - 1,402
10. Canmanila - 1,377
11. Loyo - 1,369
12. Roxas - 1,320
13. Tinaogan - 1,270
14. Balud - 1,238
15. Dolongan - 1,221
16. Cogon - 1,212
17. Basiao - 1,209
18. Buscada - 1,129
19. Bulao - 1,099
20. Tingib - 1,069
The
municipality is composed of fifty-one (51) barangays,
as follows (with their history and population, as of May, 2010):
1. Amandayehan (995 pop.)
People
in the area relate that the original settlers of the place were a couple by the
name of Amanda and Ehan. When the Spaniards arrived and inquired, they recorded
that the place was that of “Amanda Y Ehan.” During WW II because of natural
deep waters near the shore, the place was a beehive of naval activities.
2. Anglit (497 pop.)
Anglit
is the local name for a little pot. A time when surveyors were sent to survey
the place, they rested in the house of the new couple. They asked permission to
cook lunch. The wife lent their only pot, an anglit, and said that they have to
cook again as the pot was good only for 2 persons. The surveyors put down on
their record the name of the place as Anglit and that was the name of the place
when it became a sitio then barrio.
3. Bacubac (973 pop.)
The
place was commonly named as “lero” and “bacubac.” Lero because of a body of
water inside the then forested area. Bacubac is a corruption of a local dialect
“pagbakbak.” The latter was popular among the inhabitants and so was made its
official name. During the Second World War, the place was used by the Japanese
as hideout by constructing big fox holes called by the native as “pac-sol.”
When liberation came, some G.I. lived in Bacubac and taught people how to read
and write.
4. Baloog (142 pop.)
Balo-og
is the name of the river in the northern part of the barangay. The river
provides them water for life sustenance and for planting.
5. Basiao (1,209 pop.)
The name is derived from the local
word “basiyo” which means empty. At the outskirts of the then growing community
was a cave called “Saob” which can accommodate 100 persons. At the end of the
cave was a deep well-like formation called by the people “Bito.” The story goes
that during a drought when all wells outside the cave were drying. Bito’s water
level never changed inspite of the numerous people fetching water. The common
expression then was “bito dire nababasiyohan.” A popular joker trying to
empress people with his newly learned English expressed this as “bito no basiyo
basiyo.” The expression stuck that when naming of their place came up, it was
Basiyo and when written by an American came up as Basiao.
6. Buenavista (706 pop.)
The
other name of the place is Hinorawan, a waray term to signify “deprived of
rain.” Buenavista is from Spanish words “buena” meaning good/beautiful; “vista”
means sight or view.
7. Burgos (900 pop.)
Dawa
is its common name. Dawa originated from the name of a delicious edible grain
brought in by a migrant during one of the difficult period of the place. The
grain was successfully cultivated and propagated by the local inhabitants so
the place became known for it. Burgos was the first to be made a barrio in
Basey.
8. Cambayan (429 pop.)
The story of a beautiful lady named Campasi
and a dashing gentleman known for his strength, Maganbayan from Cebu. The two
eventually got married. The couple was known for their efforts in preventing
the exploitation of the forest in the area noted for hard woods. When the
Spaniards came, one of the things they did was chronicle their domain. When
they asked what was the name of the place, they were told was that of Campasi
and Maganbayan. Later, it was shortened to Cam..bayan.
9. Can-abay (1,834 pop.)
“Bay” is the term a Cebuano calls a guy when
he is a close acquaintance, if in doubt or does not know the guy’s name, and if
a guy is popular. “Can” is a waray term for “from.” “Can Bay” means “from Bay.”
A cebuano named Modesto migrated to this place. He became an entrepreneur,
where he traded meat, poultry and grain. As a sign of respect, be became known
as “Bay.” As he became well-known, neighbors and customers referred to his
wares and goods as “can-bay.” This evolved into Can-abay.
10. Cancaiyas (567 pop.)
It
is named after a farmer, Mang Iyas, who was the first to develop the area.
11. Canmanila (1,377 pop.)
No
history on record
12. Catadman (621 pop.)
No history on record
13. Cogon (1,212 pop.)
“Cogon”
is a kind of grass, sturdy and prolific. Cogon was a sitio of the New San
Agustin before it became an independent barangay.
14. Dolongan (1,221 pop.)
“Dol-ong”
is a waray word that stands for “to send.” Dol-ongan is a place where a person
or commodity is sent or delivered. Later it was named Dolongan.
15. Guintigui-an (394 pop.)
The name is
derived from “guintitig” a word from the local dialect meaning “to endure
harships/sacrifices/difficulties.” This barangay was a sitio of Brgy. Roxas.
16. Guirang/Rawis (2,374 pop.)
Guirang
is derived from two female names Magui and Durang. After moro raids
devastated the settlement of Binongtu-an, other settlers went upstream the
Golden river in a very sharp curve to give way to a “pointed land” locally
known as “rawis.” A group of families settled on both side of the river. One of
these families had two daughters name Magui and Durang. One day after incessant
rains that lasted for weeks, the two headed for the bank of the river to wash
soiled clothes of the family and relatives. On that day the rain came down from
up mountains in one swoosh, carrying the two maidens downriver never to be seen
again.
17. Balante (555 pop.)
The name was
taken from a tree whose flowers are very white – Balante tree. The creation of
Basey National Agricultural School (BNAS) which is near Balante afforded the
young to be enrolled in the Elementary and High School.
18. Iba (551 pop.)
Iba
is the name of a tree and its fruits. During World War II the place has no name
but the area has plenty of trees bearing the same name, not planted but growing
on its own. As the story goes, a Japanese soldier came to the place and asked
for its name. An old man thinking the soldier was asking the name of the trees
and their fruits answered Iba.
19. Inuntan (664)
The
barangay got its name from the nearby brook called Inongotan.
20. Loog (1,402 pop.)
It’s
name is derived from Loob, a man’s name. Under the Panlalawagan Falls is a cave
where once upon a time a man named Loob lives. He was strong, big and very
kind. He earned his living by catching wild pigs and deers which abound the
area. Early settlers survived because of the meat supplied by Loob. When the
settlement grew and the time to name the place, the people chose Loob in honor
of the man who had been helping them. Loob became Loog due to error in verbal
communication.
21. Mabini (2,429 pop.)
Formerly,
the name of the place was Pinugahan (meaning escaped from) Mabini, to honor our
sublime paralytic hero. The place was named so because the area was where some
Pulahans fighting the Americans escaped from their captors.
22. Magallanes (565 pop.)
The
common name is Guibaysayi (most beautiful woman). Its name came from the name
of Ferdinand Magellan. Guibaysayi was originally given to Bungansakit, the name
of the beautiful woman whereby the legend of the name Basey is entwined. When
naming time came for the barrio that emerged, the honor for the “discoverer” of
the Philippines overshadowed the memory of Bungansakit.
23. Manlilinab (231 pop.)
No
story on how the name came to be.
24. Del Pilar (893 pop.)
The
original name of the barangay was Quinabunglan. The word stemmed from the
reaction of the early settlers ignoring the summons given by the leaders of the
other bigger Barangay Dawa to be with them. The condition of being deaf in the local
dialect, called “quinabunglan.” Later, the place was named Del Pilar in honor
of our national hero, Gregorio del Pilar.
25. May-it (515 pop.)
Its
name was derived from the name of Ama-it tree. The place became a sitio of San
Antonio.
26. Mongabong (317 pop.)
The
original settlers in the area built their homes on the banks of Mongabong
River. In the local dialect “mongabong” is the name of the topmost portion of
the roof of a house.
27. New San Agustin (468 pop.)
Kanhuway
is the common name. Kanhuway (“resting place”) because traveling people usually
rest on this place. The place was first called “Guinkasang-an” or crossroad for
a river goes to Bariwon and another river goes to Tunga and Cogon. As there
were no fast boats then, the people either traveled by banca or by walking.
Those who usually travel to Bariwon or Tunga rest at the place so it was called
“Parahuwayan” and later shortened to Kanhuway.
28. Balud (Nouvelas
Occidental)(1,238 pop.)
The
common name is Balud. It is taken from the name of a native bird. The barangay
was also called “unat” from the long streets and “garden of flowers” for its
beautiful blossoms everywhere. The place was also known for its beautiful
people living in it. One day, a Spaniard came by and asked the pretty maidens
the name of the place. As a girl heard the sound of a native bird, she answered
Balud. So the name stuck and the people like it.
29. San Fernando (Nouvelas Oriental) (1,541 pop.)
The former name is Nouvelas
Oriental. San Fernando was taken from the name of its Patron Saint. The area
then was heavily forested. One of the places “Capitan Pandoy” (Mayor Fernando
Macasaet) and his officials visited was Balud then they moved onward to the
forest and rested at a house besides the Himbangan River. They saw a beautiful
woman named Sisa. Capitan Pandoy courted the lady and they got married. He
convinced the people in that area to move in one community. They built a chapel
and brought a priest from Basey who in turn brought the image of San Fernando.
The place was called Nouvelas in honor of the priest, Fr. Nicolas Nouvelas. But
later changed it to Nouvelas Oriental, and to San Fernando.
30. Old San Agustin (Bariwon) (1,760 pop.)
Bariwon is the
common name of the barangay. It derived from the word “bariw” a name of a
long-leafed grass woven into mats. Bariwon in waray denotes plenty of bariw.
St. Agustin is the saint one prays to when enmeshed in the evil ways of life,
repented and would want to enter the kingdom of heaven.
31. Panugmonon (627 pop.)
The
name came from the waray term “dugmon” meaning a spot where an animal gave
birth. “Panugmonan” is a place where animals (mostly wild) usually give birth.
When the Americans came and made records, the place became Panugmonon.
32. Pelit (627 pop.)
The
barangay got its name from the local term “pelit” or “malagkit” rice which are
produced in the area and the fact that the area become very sticky during rainy
days.
33. Baybay (Pob.) (782 pop.)
The place got
its name from the word seashore in the local dialect is “baybayon” or “ha may
baybay.” So when Kapitan Badok, the first known leader of Basey divided the
town into districts, the one by the sea was named Baybay. Barangay Baybay is
the commercial center of the town.
34. Buscada (Pob.) (1,129 pop.)
Its
name comes from the Spanish word “bosque” meaning forest or ‘busca” which means
to look for or to search. The word “buscada” is a derivative of the latter and
means looked or has found. As the original settlement of Basey was Binongtu-an,
the early settlers ravaged by the “moro” looked for a place which can provide a
living and they found Buscada. The place is proud of its century-old cemetery,
a place where early Basaynons were buried.
35. Lawa-an (Pob.) (850 pop.)
Many
years ago this place was a forested area, predominant of which is the Lawa-an
tree. The area was cleared by people
living there and became known as “taga lawa-an.”
36. Loyo (Pob.) (1,369 pop.)
According
to oral history, Loyo gots its name from the people in what was before the main
settlement, Buscada. One of the main livelihood of the settlers was fishing.
The sea was just over the hill, the other side (loyo) of Buscada. So whenever
one villager is asking for the whereabouts of another, he receives a reply of
“a-adto ha loyo” meaning the other side of the hill. Loyo then became the name
of the place. The landmark of Loyo is the Guintolian Hill, which served as the
look-out to warn people of moro raiders.
37. Mercado (Pob.) (411 pop.)
Mercado
is the Spanish word for market – the trading center of the town before. During
the early years there was a hill that separated the villages of Baybay and
Loyo. This hill extends to the sea. When the Spaniards came and built the town
church, the hill was leveled. Some vegetations mostly “lambayan” grew in the
leveled area, and name “Plaza del Mar.” Soon settlers began to appear. They
built berths for their boats to facilitate docking. The place became known as
the embarkation point. Not long after, it became the trading area and a formal
market was constructed. The name Mercado was thus formalized.
38. Palaypay (Pob.) (2,653 pop.)
The
name was taken from the palaypay plants that abound the area before it was
populated. Palaypay is the name of the plants that thrived in the swamp-like
places constantly under water by the new road. These are vine-like plants that
cling to Pagatpat trees.
39. Sulod (Pob.) (776 pop.)
In local dialect
the term “sulod” mean “place inside or inner portion. The story goes that a
newly-wed couple, Juana and Mamerto felt that their original home in Baybay was
not safe for moro raiders. So, they intended to stay in-land from the shores to
the forested area now known as Sulod.
40. Roxas (1,320 pop.)
The
place is commonly called Somerock. Earlier, it was called Cancoral because of
the abundance of coral rocks used in road construction. Somerock is the crude
translation of the name into English. The barangay produces the best “marundon”
gabi because of fertile soil which are deep black soft loam.
41. Salvacion (1,502 pop.)
The
common name is Hinamok or Jinamoc. The name Salvacion comes from the barangay’s
Patroness, Nuestra Sra. De la Salvacion. Hinamok comes from the combined name
of a couple name Hina and Amok. JINAMOC, is an acronym, which used to be the US
Joint Intelligence Naval and Military Operation Center during World War II.
42. San Antonio (2,584)
Long
time ago the place was called “Binatac.” It was the custom of early settlers to
throw stones to whoever passes or visits the place (binabatac). So the people
began calling the area as the place where they were “binatac.” During the
Filipino-American War people living in the place decided to build a church.
They chose San Antonio de Padua as their patron saint and the barangay began to
be called San Antonio. The barangay was code named Camp 104 during the Second
World War it became a recreation area for liberation forces. A trading post was
established in the area where Americans and native barter goods. San Antonio is
the biggest Barangay in Basey in terms of land area and population.
43. Sawa (986 pop.)
The
name was taken from the local term used for a python – sawa.
44. Serum (945 pop.)
Serum
in the local dialect means “dark; “serung” means under or beneath.
45. Sugca (251 pop.)
In the native dialect "sagka" means to get off or climb to a higher level; Sugca is a corruption of the workd "sagka."
In the native dialect "sagka" means to get off or climb to a higher level; Sugca is a corruption of the workd "sagka."
46. Sugponon (250 pop.)
The word is the
local term for a condition normally occurring at the mouth of the river where
it meets; during high tides the the current is opposite the flow of water from
the river. The place is where the Golden River meets the San Pedro Bay.
47. Tinaogan (1,270 pop.)
Tinaogan
is derived from the dialect “tinawagan.” Along the coast of San Juanico strait
and at the foot of Mt. Danglay, a couple lived with two children as among the
early settlers. There were no means of transportation except sailboat from
other barangays which passes now and then. If the residents would like to go to
Kankabato (now Tacloban) they would yell and call the sail boats for a ride.
The sailboat people refer to the spot as the “place where they were called” or
“tinatawagan” in waray. Later on it became Tinaogan.
48. Tingib (1,069 pop.)
The term is derived from the dialect “tinigib” or
chiseled out. Barangay Tingib is between the two mountain ranges. Viewed from
the sea, Tingib appears to be chiseled out of a long mountain range at its mid
portion. The original settlers who came through the sea called the place
“tinigib” out. Later, it became Tingib.
49. Villa Aurora (932 pop.)
The
other name of the place is Balilit, a name given a forest and/or a tree. Villa
refers to a country house and Aurora is the rising light of morning or dawn.
The place was named Villa Aurora to honor the rising sun which showers the
village with warmth and vigor.
50. Binongtu-an (411 pop.)
It
was called “bongto” because this place was the early settlement of Basaynon.
The early people of Basey started in this Barangay.
51. Bulao (1,099 pop.)
Bulao
was the name of a beautiful lady. Bulao was formerly Balilit, a sitio of Old San
Agustin. The place was surrounded with ricefields and during harvests the
people observe a tradition called “San Isidro Festival.” A couple there had a
beautiful daughter with long brown hair. Numerous people came just to admire
her beauty. People would often hear the young men say “let us go to Bulao.”
From that, the name became Bulao.
Source: www.nscb.gov.ph
Source: www.nscb.gov.ph
