Leyte, officially the Province of Leyte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region occupying the northern three-quarters of Leyte Island. Its capital is the city of Tacloban, administered independently from the province. Leyte is thus north of Southern Leyte, south of Biliran, and west of Samar Island. To the west across the Camotes Sea is the province of Cebu.
Northern Samar, officially the Province of Northern Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catarman and is located at the northern portion of the island of Samar. Bordering the province to the south are the provinces of Samar and Eastern Samar. To the northwest, across the San Bernardino Strait is Sorsogon; to the east is the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean and to the west is Samar Sea.
Eastern Samar, officially the Province of Eastern Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Borongan. Eastern Samar occupies the eastern portion of the island of Samar. Bordering the province to the north is the province of Northern Samar and to the west is Samar province. To the east lies the Philippine Sea, part of the vast Pacific Ocean, while to the south lies Leyte Gulf.
Samar is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided into three provinces: Samar, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar. These three provinces, along with the provinces on the nearby islands of Leyte and Biliran, are part of the Eastern Visayas region.
Tacloban, officially the City of Tacloban, is highly urbanized city on Leyte island in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. The city is autonomous from the province of Leyte, although it serves as its provincial capital. According to the 2020 census, Tacloban has a population of 251,881, making it the most populous city in the Eastern Visayas. The city is located 360 miles (580 km) southeast from Manila.
Catarman, officially the Municipality of Catarman, is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Northern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 97,879 people.
Calbayog, officially the City of Calbayog, is a 1st class component city in the province of Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 186,960 people.
Pinabacdao, officially the Municipality of Pinabacdao, is a 4th class municipality in the province of Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 18,136 people.
Palapag, officially the Municipality of Palapag, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Northern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,034 people.
Borongan, officially the City of Borongan, is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 71,961 people.
Guiuan, officially the Municipality of Guiuan, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines. It constitutes the southeastern extremity of Samar Island and some adjacent islands, surrounded by Leyte Gulf and the Philippine Sea, two major bodies of water that makes the town the surfing capital of the Visayas. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,361 people, making it the most populous municipality in Eastern Samar and the second most populous administrative division in the entire province after the capital city Borongan.
Samar State University (SSU) is a public university in the Philippines located in the province of Samar. Its main campus is located in Barangay Guindaponan, Catbalogan. The university has three other external campuses: Mercedes Campus, Catbalogan; Paranas Campus, and Basey Campus.
Balitang Bisdak is a Philippine television news broadcasting show broadcast by GMA Cebu. Originally anchored by Bobby Nalzaro, it premiered on October 4, 1999. Alan Domingo currently serves as the anchor.
The Eastern Samar State University is a state university in the Philippines with main campus located in Borongan, Eastern Samar. It has a satellite campus in Salcedo, Maydolong, Guiuan and Can-avid.
Eastern Visayas is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region VIII. It consists of three main islands, Samar, Leyte and Biliran. The region has six provinces, one independent city and one highly urbanized city namely, Biliran, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Eastern Samar, Southern Leyte, Ormoc and Tacloban. The highly urbanized city of Tacloban is the sole regional center. These provinces and cities occupy the easternmost islands of the Visayas group of islands.
In Filipino cuisine, moron is a rice cake similar to suman. It is a native delicacy of the Waray people in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines, particularly in the area around Tacloban City in the province of Leyte and in Eastern Samar province. Other parts of the Philippines have their versions of it, however. In fact, the moron was adopted as one of Mambajao, Camiguin's locally produced products.
Don Eugenio Daza y Salazar is a Filipino principale (nobleman) recognized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) as the first maestro (teacher) in the Samar province. He was both an infantry major and procurement officer in the Philippine Republican Army during the Philippine-American War. He was area commander of General Lukbán's forces for Southeastern Samar and overall commander and tactician of the Battle of Balangiga.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Eastern Visayas is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus reached Eastern Visayas on March 23, 2020, when the first case of the disease was confirmed in Northern Samar.
Typhoon Vongfong, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Ambo, was a strong tropical cyclone that impacted the Philippines in May 2020. Beginning as a tropical depression on May 10 east of Mindanao, Vongfong was the first storm of the 2020 Pacific typhoon season. It gradually organized as it took a slow northward course, strengthening into a tropical storm on May 12 and curving west thereafter. The next day, Vongfong entered a period of rapid intensification, becoming a typhoon and attaining 10-minute maximum sustained winds of 150 km/h (93 mph). The storm made landfall at this intensity near San Policarpo, Eastern Samar, at 04:15 UTC on May 14. The system tracked across Visayas and Luzon, making a total of seven landfalls. Persistent land interaction weakened Vongfong, leading to its degeneration into a tropical depression over the Luzon Strait on May 17.
Maria Fe Romerica Abunda is a Filipino politician. She is currently a member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the Eastern Samar's Lone District since 2019. She served as the mayor of Borongan from 2013 to 2019. She became the first woman to be elected as Eastern Samar representative. She is the sister of television host Boy Abunda.
