EASTERN VISAYAS
Enviromental Network
THE EASTERN VISAYAS REGION
REGION 8
WHERE IT'S FOUND
Eastern Visayas is one of the 17 regions in the Philippines. It is also known as Region 8 (VIII). It has two main islands, Samar and Leyte, connected by the famous San Juanico Bridge. It is made up of 6 main provinces, namely: Eastern Samar, Western Samar (also known as Samar), Northern Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, and Biliran provinces. It has the cities of Baybay, Borongan, Calbayog, Catbalogan, Maasin, Ormoc, and Tacloban.
TOTAL LAND AREA: 2,156,285 hectares (ha), or 7.2% of the country’s total land area.
52% of its total land are classified as forest land and 48% as alienable and disposable land.
POPULATION: 4,101,322 people, as of 2010.
The Eastern Visayan people mostly use the language Waray-Waray. It is currently an agricultural region, with rice, corn, coconut, sugarcane and banana as its major crops.
Eastern Visayas lies on the east central part of the Philippine archipelago. On its east is the Philippine Sea, and on its north is San Bernardo Strait. This strait separates the Samar island from Southeastern Luzon. On its west, we have Camotes sea and Visayas sea. In its south is Surigao Strait, separating Leyte island from northwestern Mindanao. Eastern Visayas directly faces the Pacific Ocean.
Eastern Visayas is the HOT PINK part of the Philippine archipelago. (on the picture on the right, you can click on the green circle to zoom in on the reqion of Eastern Visayas)
A map of Eastern Visayas, or Region 8
Eastern Visayas in comparison with the whole Philippines
THE 6 PROVINCES OF REGION 8
The Island of Samar
The Samar island is the third largest island in the Philippine archipelago. When Republic Act No. 4221 was created, the whole island of Samar was divided into 3 independent provinces namely; Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, and Western Samar (also called Samar).
EASTERN SAMAR
Eastern Samar is one of the provinces the island of Samar was divided into. With its capital as Borongan, it is a province that is deeply involved in history, such as Magellan’s story of coming here. Eastern Samar has a total land area of 4,339.60 square kilometers, or 433,960 ha. It contains one of the countries largest unfragmented tracts of lowland rainforest.
A map of Eastern Samar
NORTHERN SAMAR
A map of Northern Samar
Northern Samar is one of the 3 provinces Samar was divided into. It has a land area of 3,498 sq. km, or 349,800 ha. Its capital is Caterman. It is also the 37th largest in size among the 80 provinces of the Philippines. It accounts to 1.2% of the total land area of the country. About 52% of the land area is covered in forests and another 42% is alienable and disposable.
WESTERN SAMAR (Province of Samar)
The Samar Province is one of the islands that Samar Island got divided into. It is also called Western Samar, but more known as Samar. It has an overall area of 1,342,863 hectares (ha), or 13,428.63 sq. km. It is the largest area, taking up 559,100 ha of 42% of the island's total land area. Its capital is Catbalogan city. It has rich history, like the arrival of the first missionaries Jesuits.
A map of Western Samar
The Island of Leyte
The island of Leyte is politically divided into 2 provinces, the province of Leyte and Southern Leyte. Leyte is most famous for its role in the reconquest of the Philippines in World War II. Here, Douglas MacArthur returned, thus the Battle of Leyte Gulf against the Japanese happened.
A map of Leyte
LEYTE
Leyte is one of the bigger islands in the Philippines. It is three-quarters of the island of Leyte. Tacloban, in the northeast, is its provincial capital and the biggest city of Leyte. Ormoc City is more of a typical regional town situated in the west, with features of modern and traditional services. About 73% of Leyte’s land resources are alienable and disposable, while 27% is classified as forest land. Its land area is 6,268.3 sq. km, or 626,830 ha.
SOUTHERN LEYTE
Southern Leyte covers about 1/4 of the island of Leyte, with a total land area of 173,480 ha, or 1,734.8 sq. km. This is equivalent to 8.1% of the total land area of Eastern Visayas. Its capital is Maasin City. It was the sub-province of Leyte, before it was divided from the latter. You can find Limasawa in Southern Leyte, which is considered the birth place of Catholicismint the Philippines. It also ranks the second least populated in the region, with was population of 399,137 people.
BILIRAN
A map of Southern Leyte
A map of Biliran
The Biliran province is situated at the heart of the Philippines. It has a total land area of 55,542 hectares, or 555.42 sq. km. It is one of the country’s newest provinces, as it was formerly Leyte’s sub-province, like Southern Leyte. It became independent in 1992. Its capital is Municipality of Naval, on the western coast of the island. It is the fourth smallest province in the Philippines.