Tacloban City, Leyte Province, Region VIII, Philippines

History

     In the closing years of the 16th century, Tacloban, formerly named 
Kankabatok, comprised a part of Basey Parish in Samar which was under the 
political administration of Palo, then a thriving settlement southwest of 
Kankabatok.

     In the year 1770, Kankabatok became a town.  In 1813, it took its 
official name of Tacloban which was derived from the Leneyte-Samarnon word, 
"tarakloban", meaning a place where the natives catch fish using 
bamboo traps locally called "taklob".  This linguistic origin indicated 
the importance of fishing as a major livelihood for Tacloban's early 
settlers.

     On February 26, 1830, Tacloban was officially designated the capital 
of Leyte.  There were two significant factors which led the Spanish 
Administration to choose Tacloban as the capital of Leyte, and later on to 
proclaim it as an open port.  First was the ideal location of the Tacloban 
port area on the Pacific Coast, open to ocean-going vessels, and second was 
its active local government.

     During the post liberation period, the national historical prominence 
of Tacloban was put to record.  The Allied Forces on February 27, 1945 made 
Tacloban the temporary seat of the newly restored Commonwealth Government 
under President Sergio Osmeņa, Jr.

     On June 12, 1952, Tacloban was proclaimed one of the chartered citites 
in the Philippines because of its growing political as well as economic 
importance in the province of Leyte.  Lately, it became the regional center
of Eastern Visayas.

Topography

     The elevation of Tacloban City is 3.05 meters above sea level.  
The rolling terrains at the western vicinity of the city are evenly 
distributed throughout the north-western potion of its territory.  On the 
south-western part lies the Naga-nage mountain which has a height of 1,300 
feet.  This range serves as the Tacloban-Palo and Tacloban-Alang-alang 
boundary.  Likewise, on the northeastern portion of the city proper is the 
Kanhuraw Hill overlooking the Cancabato Bay which presently serves as the 
City Government Center.

Location

     Tacloabn City is located in the northeastern part of the province 
of Leyte.  Leyte is one of the islands of the Eastern Visayas Region.  
Tacloban lies at 110 14'36" north latitude and about 125 east longitude and 
is situated about 360 miles southwest of Manila.  It is surrounded by 
San Pedro Bay where many species of marine products are found in abundance.

Climate

     The city's climate is classified by Tacloban PAG-ASA as falling between
Type II and Type IV - no dry season with a very pronounced maximum rainfall
from November to January and that rainfall is more or less evenly 
distributed throughout the year.
     The highest registered rainfall is in the month of December which is 
508.9mm.  This is followed by the month of Januaryy, registering 284.3mm.  
On the other hand, the driest month is February with a registered rainfall 
reading of 68.8mm.

Political Profile

     The local government is made up of twenty one (21) different offices
and departments under the administrative and executive management of the
City Mayor.  Policy making is exercised by the Sangguniang Panlungsod with
ten (10) elected members, Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) President, 
Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation President, and the presiding officer in 
the person of the City Vice-Mayor.
     The City Development Council (CDC) acts as the planning body of the 
City Government.  The City Planning and Development Office acts as its 
Technical Secretariat.  The CDC is composed of the City Mayor as Chairman, 
and the Committee Chairman on Finance, ABC President, representatives from 
private sectors or non-government organizations and one representative of
the Congressman, as members.

Physical Characteristics

     The original land area of Tacloban was 10,297.29 hectares as taken
from the then Bureau of Lands.  A survey in 1977 by the Bureau of Lands 
disclosed that certain portions of the Municipalities of Babatngon and 
San Miguel were actually part of Tacloban.  Hence, Barangay Sta. Elena 
of Tacloban, which is adjacent to these two towns, increased its area 
by 556 hectares, hence, increasing the total land area to 10,853.29 
hectares.

Population

     Based on the 1995 Census of Population and Housing, the city has a 
total population of 167,310 as of September 1, 1995.  Far beyond the 1990 
Census of Population and Housing of 136,891 with a growing rate of 3%, and 
the projected 1994 Census of 154,754 which indicates an increment of 3,705 
persons annually.
     The population of Tacloban now is 12 times its size in 1903, the year 
when the first population census was conducted.

All the info on this page originated from this URL
04/24/99