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PROVINCIAL PROFILE OF BILIRAN
FAST FACTS
Capital : Naval
Area : 555 sq. km.
Population : 118,012
Cities : none
No. of Towns : 8
Click Here To View The
List Of Towns.
LOCATION
Biliran is an island province north of Leyte in Eastern Visayas.
It is
surrounded by the Visayan Sea on the north, the Samar Sea on the
east, the
Strait of Biliran on the west, and Carigara Bay on the south.
THE LAND
Biliran has narrow coastal areas and a mountainous interior. The
municipalities of Naval and Caibiran have wide plains and a
rolling terrain.
Steep volcanic peaks dominate the central part. Mount Suiro,
which has an
elevation of 1,300 m, rises on the south-eastern portion. Of the
province's
eight towns, the largest is Naval, the capital, while the
smallest is Maripipi, an
island municipality. The island does not experience a prolonged
dry season.
The most rain falls in April, but wet weather is also very
pronounced during
December.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Biliran Island was originally known as Panamao. It was once under
the
jurisdiction of Leyte. The present name was derived from a native
grass called
borobiliran which was once abundant on the island's plains. With
the passage
of time, the local folks shortened it to biliran when referring
to the island.
During Spanish rule, galleons were built on the island. Fr. Pedro
Chirino sailed
one such ship to Rome to personally report on the Jesuits'
missionary work in
Leyte. In 1768, the Jesuit missions in Leyte were assigned to the
Augustinians
until 1804 when some parishes were ceded to the secular clergy
and the rest
on the eastern coast (except Biliran which was given to the
diocesan clergy) to
the Franciscans.
During the Second World War, Biliran had its own guerrilla forces
under the
Leyte command of Colonel Ruperto Kangleon. The guerrilla
operation were
of invaluable assistance to the successful landing of the
American Liberation
Forces at Palo, Leyte, on October 20, 1944.
On April 8, 1959, Republic Act No. 2141 made Biliran a
sub-province of
Leyte. When Leyte was later divided into two provinces, Leyte and
Southern
Leyte, the sub-provinceof Biliran remained a part of Leyte. It
became an
independent province on May 11, 1992, pursuant to Republic Act
No. 7160.
THE PEOPLE
The ethnic origin of the Biliran population is a mixture of
Boholanos,
Samarenos, and Leytenos. The inhabitants in the western part
speak Cebuano
while those on the eastern side use Waray. Most people can speak
or
understand both dialects, as well as Pilipino (Tagalog) and
English.
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
The Province's combination of warm and cool zones accounts for a
wide
range of agricultural crops. The warm lowlands are conducive to
palay
production and other tropical crops. The cool highlands are
favorable to
high-value crops such as cutflowers and varieties of vegetable
traditionally
grown only in Baguio or Tagaytay City. Biliran thrives mainly on
fishing.
Most of its towns, especially Naval and Biliran, have excellent
port, there are
94.5 hectares of brackish water fishponds which produce prawns,
shrimps,
and milkfish. Another 30 hectares of seawater are suitable for
seawwd
farming and 10 more hectares for fishcage culture.
The people also engage in agriculture, hunting, lumber, and
manufacturing.
The principal raw material produced is copra. Processed products
include
ceramics (made of white clay), dried fish, raw gulaman, and
citronella oil.
Major manufacturing and processing plants are a feedmill and a
coconut oil
mill. There are abundant sulphur deposits and gypsum but these
have not
been tapped for commercial purposes. Geothermal steam has also
been
identified as another underground wealth of this island.
Information gathered from:
League of
Provinces
by:Roberto C. Arellano
This page last revised:February 01, 1999.
