List of historical markers of the Philippines in Eastern Visayas

Suluan quincentennial monument and historical marker, unveiled as part of the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations

This list of historical markers installed by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) in Eastern Visayas (Region VIII) is an annotated list of people, places, or events in the region that have been commemorated by cast-iron plaques issued by the said commission. The plaques themselves are permanent signs installed in publicly visible locations on buildings, monuments, or in special locations.

While many Cultural Properties have historical markers installed, not all places marked with historical markers are designated into one of the particular categories of Cultural Properties.

This article lists fifty-one (51) markers from the Eastern Visayas Region, including four that are part of the Quincentennial historical markers series, including nine (9) that are part of the Quincentennial historical markers series.

Biliran

This article lists one (1) marker from the Province of Biliran.

Marker title	English Translation	Category	Type	Description	Location	Language	Date Issued	Image
Bantayan ng Biliran	Biliran Watchtower	Structure	Watchtower	Church and watchtower built from 1765 to 1774. Made from coral and stones.	Brgy. San Roque, Biliran	Filipino	September 10, 2008

Leyte

This article lists twenty (20) markers from the Province of Leyte.

Marker title	English Translation	Category	Type	Description	Location	Language	Date Issued	Image
				Redoña House used as provisional seat of government of the Philippines. [1]	Tacloban City	English	1959
Baybay Ruta ng Ekspedisyong Magallanes - Elcano sa Pilipinas	Baybay Route of the Magallanes - Elcano Expedition in the Philippines			From the waters of Canigao, the expedition went to the waters of Baybay, April 5, 1521. [2]	Punta Church, Brgy. Punta, Baybay	Filipino	April 5, 2021 [3]
Canigao Ruta ng Ekspedisyong Magallanes - Elcano sa Pilipinas	Canigao Route of the Magallanes - Elcano Expedition in the Philippines			Antonio Pigafetta said that they went to the island of Canigao on their way to Cebu.	Canigao Island, Matalom	Filipino	April 5, 2021 [3]
Capitol Building of the Philippines, 1944-1945 [4]		Building	Government Center	Served as the capitol of the Philippines and where Sergio Osmeña was formally installed as president of the Commonwealth.	Leyte Provincial Capitol, Tacloban City	English	1950
The Cathedral of Palo	Palo Cathedral	Building	House of Worship	First church built by the Jesuits; used as a hospital by American Liberation Forces.	Palo Cathedral, Palo	English	1954
Church of Tanauan, Leyte		Building	House of Worship	First church built by the Jesuits in 1704. Withstood hurricane and tidal wave of 1897.	Tanauan	English	1949
Don Vicente Orestes Romualdez y Lopez (1885 - 1955)				Became a leader of the guerilla forces during the Japanese Occupation.	Tacloban City	Filipino	1985
Don Vicente Orestes Romualdez y Lopez (1885 - 1955)				Became a leader of the guerilla forces during the Japanese Occupation.	Daniel Z. Romualdez Memorial Elementary School, Tolosa	Filipino, English	July 1, 1985
Gatighan Ruta ng Ekspedisyong Magallanes - Elcano sa Pilipinas	Gatighan Route of the Magallanes - Elcano Expedition in the Philippines			Antonio Pigafetta noted local animals like bats and birds.	Himokilan Island, Hindang	Filipino	April 5, 2021 [3]
Jaime C. De Vera				Became first Filipino governor of Leyte from 1906 to 1907. Director of the National Language Institute from 1937 to 1941.	Tanauan	Filipino	November 4, 1973
Japanese Pillbox Whitebeach, San Jose, Tacloban City				Japanese fortification during WWII. Captured by allies and was used as shelter against Japanese air raids.	Patio Victoria Beach Resort, Tacloban City	English	1979
Labanan sa Look ng Ormoc	Battle of Ormoc Bay	Sites/Events	Site	Part of the Last Allied operations in Leyte that ended in December 25, 1944.	Ormoc City	Filipino	February 28, 2023
Leyte Landing				McArthur landing site on October 20, 1944, to drive the Japanese out of the Philippines.	MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park, Palo	English	1949
Norberto Romualdez 1875 - 1941				Became a Supreme Court magistrate and a delegate to the 1934 Constitutional Convention. Site of birthplace.	Ave. Maria cor. Santa Ana Sts., Burauen	Filipino	1975
Pagdaong sa Dulag, Leyte	Dulag, Leyte Landing	Site	Site	Site of landing of the US 24th and 10th corps on October 20, 1944.	Dulag	Filipino	2008
Paglunsad sa Leyte	Leyte Landing	Sites/Events	Site	McArthur landing site on October 20, 1944. He was with President Osmeña and other government officials.	MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park, Palo	Filipino, English	2004
Provisional Capitol		Building	House	Building was constructed in 1910. Served as provisional capitol 20–23 October 1944.	Price Mansion (CAP Building), Tacloban City	English	1950
Simbahan ng Hilongos	Hilongos Church			Started as a visita of Ormoc. First evangelization of the Jesuits in 1603.	Hilongos	Filipino	December 22, 1994
Walter William Marquardt (1878 - 1962)				Arrived in the Philippines in 1901. Principal of Philippine School of Arts and Trade.	Burauen North Central School, Burauen	Filipino, English	April 5, 1987
The Convent of Palo				Constructed by the Jesuits in 1596. Served as Leyte provincial capitol from February 1898 to March 1901.	Palo Convent, Tacloban City	English	1954

Eastern Samar

This article lists twelve (13) markers from the Province of Eastern Samar.

Marker title	English Translation	Category	Type	Description	Location	Language	Date Issued	Image
Balangiga Massacre		Event	Site	Site of the bloody massacre of the American forces in the span of six months.	Balangiga	Filipino	September 28, 1982
Ang Labanan sa Borongan (1899 Himagsikang Pilipino–Amerikano) [5]	The Battle of Borongan (1899 Philippine–American War)			Where revolutionary Filipinos won in Samar under Capt. Ramon Serrano.	City of Borongan	Filipino	November 14, 2012 [6]
Eugenio Daza y Salazar (1870–1954)				Revolutionary general and lawmaker. Became representative of the Third District of Samar on the Philippine First Assembly in 1907.	Real Street, Borongan poblacion	Filipino	1992
Eugenio Daza y Salazar (1870–1954)				Revolutionary general and lawmaker. Became representative of the Third District of Samar on the Philippine First Assembly in 1907.	Borongan–Guiuan Road, Borongan	Filipino	August 11, 1992
Homonhon				Where Ferdinand Magellan landed on March 17, 1521, on the feast of Saint Lazarus, which became the namesake of the Philippines.	Homonhon Island, Guiuan		1952
Homonhon				Place where Magellan first landed on March 17, 1521, and made contact with the natives the next day.	Barangay Pagbabangnan, Homonhon, Guiuan		March 18, 2022
Homonhon Ruta ng Ekspedisyong Magallanes - Elcano sa Pilipinas	Homonhon Route of the Magallanes - Elcano Expedition in the Philippines	Site	Site	Commemorates the 500th anniversary of the landing of the Magellan-Elcano expedition on the island on March 17, 1521.	Homonhon Island, Guiuan	Filipino	March 17, 2021 [7]
Katedral ng Borongan	Borongan Cathedral			Original stone church built in 1710. Became a cathedral in 1961.	Borongan	Filipino	September 7, 1998
Samar Ruta ng Ekspedisyong Magallanes - Elcano sa Pilipinas	Samar Route of the Magallanes - Elcano Expedition in the Philippines	Site	Site	Commemorates the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the Magellan-Elcano expedition in the area on March 16, 1521.	Calicoan Island, Guiuan	Filipino, Spanish	March 18, 2021 [8]
Simbahan ng Balangiga	Church of Balangiga		House of Worship	First built by the Jesuits in the 17th century within a fort. The bell was rung here on September 28, 1901, to signify Filipino uprising against the Americans.	Balangiga	Filipino	April 3, 1993
Simbahan ng Guiuan	Church of Guiuan		House of Worship	First built in 1718, declared a National Cultural Treasure in 2001, destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan in 2003, then restored by the National Museum.	Guiuan	Filipino	March 18, 2021
Suluan Ruta ng Ekspedisyong Magallanes - Elcano sa Pilipinas	Suluan Route of the Magallanes - Elcano Expedition in the Philippines	Site	Site	Commemorates the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the Magellan-Elcano expedition in the area on March 16, 1521.	Suluan Island, Guiuan	Filipino	March 16, 2021
United Nations Evacuation Center Tubabao, Guiuan, Silangang Samar [9]	United Nations Evacuation Center Tubabao, Guiuan, Eastern Samar	Site	Site	Where over 6,000 Russian refugees sought asylum in the 1950s. They were accepted by President Elpidio Quirino.	Tubabao Island, [10] Guiuan	Filipino	November 16, 2016

Northern Samar

This article lists seven (8) markers from the Province of Northern Samar.

Marker title	English Translation	Category	Type	Description	Location	Language	Date Issued	Image
Agustin Sumuroy [11]				Rebel leader against the Spaniards. Rebelled against forced labor and abuses against the natives.	Palapag	Filipino
Daungang Galyon ng Palapag, Samar	Galleon Port of Palapag, Samar	Site	Port	One of the official ports of galleons from Mexico before departing for Cavite.	Palapag	Filipino	August 10, 2015
Padre Francisco Ignacio Alcina, S.J. (1610–1674)				(Spanish Jesuit missionary. Published an extensive history of the Visayas.)	Palapag	Filipino	July 30, 2024 [12]
Labanan sa Catubig [11]	Battle of Catubig			One of the successful battles won by Filipinos during the Philippine-American War.	Catubig	Filipino	2007
Lumang Simbahan ng Palapag	Old Church of Palapag	Building	House of Worship	Ruins of the church built by the Jesuits. Established in 1605. Where the revolt of Sumuroy started.	Palapag	Filipino	March 16, 2010
Parola ng Capul	Capul Lughthouse			Built from 1893 to 1896. Serves as a guide for ships traversing the San Bernardino Strait.	Capul Island Lighthouse	Filipinp	October 24, 2018 [13]
Simbahan ng Capul	Capul Church	Building	House of Worship	Church first built by the Jesuits as a mission in 1856. Built under the patronage of Ignatius of Loyola.	Capul	Filipino	August 5, 2011
University of Eastern Philippines	Pamantasan ng Silangang Pilipinas	University	Institution	Formerly known as the Catarman Farm School.	Catarman	Filipino	September 12, 2014

Samar

This article lists two (2) markers from the Province of Samar.

Marker title	English Translation	Category	Type	Description	Location	Language	Date Issued	Image
Katedral ng Calbayog [14]	Calbayog Cathedral			Established by the Jesuits in 1599 as a parish of Capul. Current structure was constructed in 1840.	Calbayog Church, Calbayog City	Filipino	November 25, 2018
Simbahan ng Basey	Church of Basey			Old Jesuit parish in 1591. Transferred to the Augustinians in 1768.	Basey Church facade, Basey	Filipino	September 29, 1987

Southern Leyte

This article lists seven (7) markers from the Province of Southern Leyte.

Marker title	English Translation	Category	Type	Description	Location	Language	Date Issued	Image
First Mass in the Philippines		Sites/Events	Site	First mass celebrated on Easter Sunday March 31, 1521 by Magellan and his men.	Limasawa	English	1950
First Mass in the Philippines		Sites/Events	Site	First mass celebrated on Easter Sunday March 31, 1521 by Magellan and his men. (Replica of the marker at Limasawa.)	Padre Burgos	English	March 31, 1951
Hinunangan Ruta ng Ekspedisyong Magallanes - Elcano sa Pilipinas	Hinunangan Route of the Magallanes - Elcano Expedition in the Philippines			After getting necessities from Homonhon, the expedition went to Hinunangan, March 25, 1521. [15]	Hinunangan	Filipino	March 25, 2021 [16]
Katedral ng Maasin	Maasin Cathedral	Building	House of Worship	Built by the Jesuits in 1700. Became a cathedral on August 14, 1968, as seat of the Diocese of Maasin.	Maasin City	Filipino	1983
Leyte Ruta ng Ekspedisyong Magallanes - Elcano sa Pilipinas	Leyte Route of the Magallanes - Elcano Expedition in the Philippines			From Mazaua, the expedition went northwards to Leyte.	Brgy. Combado, Maasin	Filipino	April 4, 2021 [3]
Limasawa (Mazaua) Ruta ng Ekspedisyong Magallanes - Elcano sa Pilipinas	Limasawa (Mazaua) Route of the Magallanes - Elcano Expedition in the Philippines			Where the Magellan expedition realized that they have circled the world as Rajah Colambu and Enrique de Malacca have understood each other through the Malay language.	Limasawa	Filipino	March 31, 2021 [17]
Oppus Ancestral House				Declared a Heritage House on 6 October 2005.	Southern Leyte Provincial Library & Information Center, Agbao, R. Kangleon St., Maasin City	English	April 17, 2018

See also

• List of Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Eastern Visayas

References

Footnotes

1. "Redoña House marker". Retrato: Photo archive of the Filipinas Heritage Library. Archived from the original on 2014-10-25.
2. "National Quincentennial Committee, Republic of the Philippines - "The story of Baybay in the first circumnavigation of the world must be treated with utmost care. If you will read the account of Antonio Pigafetta, the chronicler of the Magellan-Elcano expedition, and the logbook of pilot Francisco Albo, Baybay was described as a separate island from Leyte. Pigafetta was not clear whether the expedition approached Baybay, but Albo observed how contiguous the land area was, with highlands seen from afar. "This kind of impression was not isolated to Baybay. Pigafetta, from which we rely upon much of our story in 1521, also mistakenly recorded that Hinunangan, a town in Southern Leyte province, was a separate island from mainland Leyte. Nonetheless, we cannot accuse Pigafetta or Albo of being erroneous for what they thought was true at that time for them. But how do we know? This can be answered by the science of History. "History details what actually happened based on credible sources like written accounts or recollections recorded straight from those who witnessed the event as it unfolded before their eyes. These materials known as primary sources need an expert to make sense out of them, on top of establishing their origin and understanding them, because Pigafetta's original accounts are in Italian and French, while Albo's logbook is in Spanish. Here, the expert, which we call historian, provides us a semblance of what actually happened: like when Pigafetta and Albo thought Baybay was a separate island from Leyte. But in processing what actually happened, History reminds us to be emphatic: that at that time, these people, like Magellan, had no idea of the islands of our ancestors primarily because these weren't yet included in the world map. So, here, we realize how fortunate we are to have precise Google Earth on our iPhones or Android phones. The fact of the time was that Magellan, Pigafetta, and Albo helped improved map-making in the last 500 years. It is tantamount to 500 years of understanding our home planet, and as a Filipino we will mark every place and site in the Philippines, like Baybay, to remind us and the whole world how we contributed to moving the human race forward. "On the other hand, History teaches us to think and feel like Filipino. In these quincentennial milestones, we struggle to locate ourselves in this global commemoration. Previously, when we hear Magellan and the year 1521, we always look down on ourselves as a people 'discovered' by the Europeans. This 2021, the National Quincentennial Committee aspired to enliven that Filipino in each and every one of us—that we already have culture, society, and history thousands of years before Magellan came. Our territory may be absent in the European maps, but that does not mean we are nothing. When Jose Rizal wrote Philippine History from our own lens and voice in 1889, he reminded us that "The first thing noticed by Pigafetta, who came with Magellan in 1521, on arriving [in] the Philippines... was the courtesy and kindness of the inhabitants and their commerce." Pigafetta recorded how our ancestors exhibited compassion and kindness to the starving, undernourished, dehydrated, and dying crew of Magellan during their first meeting in Homonhon. If they ignored these foreigners, maybe the Catholics have nothing to celebrate like the 500 Years of Christianity or even having this occasion in Baybay or as a nation, we cannot identify a towering event that partly inspired the founders of the Filipino nation in 1896-1899: the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan, or up until now, a lot of us still believe that the earth is flat, or global network and exchanges will not come into fruition. "Let me emphasize that we can still commemorate the achievement of humanity and science in circumnavigating the earth for the first time while celebrating the memory of our ancestors and educating our own people and the foreigners of our history and identity. - Usec. Anthony Gerard Gonzales Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas and Member, National Quincentennial Committee Message delivered during the unveiling of the quincentennial historical marker for Baybay, Baybay City, Leyte, 5 April 2021". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
3. Meniano, Sarwell; Amazona, Roel (6 April 2021). "More quincentennial markers unveiled in Leyte". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
4. "Provincial Capitol: Leyte". harrybalais.com. November 25, 2012. Archived from the original on 2015-04-03.
5. "Labanan Sa Borongan Marker". Facebook. 14 November 2012.^{[ user-generated source ]}
6. "Labanan Sa Borongan Marker". Facebook . Retrieved 27 December 2020.
7. "PH historical body unveils first-circumnavigation marker on Homonhon". ABS-CBN News. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
8. Morandante, Ace (18 March 2021). "Quincentennial marker unveiled on Calicoan island". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
9. Caspe, Mel (November 23, 2015). "Guiuan marker". The Standard. Archived from the original on 2015-11-25.
10. GMB (Guiuan Media Bureau) (25 November 2015). "Unveiling of Historical Markers sa Tubabao Island". Facebook. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
11. de la Cruz, Mio Gálit (2014). Northern Samar: Our Home. Quezon City: Write It Right. ISBN   978-9-719530-510.
12. https://www.facebook.com/nhcp1933/posts/pfbid029vwiiZYfCk8bXoKT8FqtB9ebCq9BqmP9TU3rTXz3B3fHxHyL7zPEB3pqyswuMTial ^{[ bare URL ]}
13. "Capul Tourism". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-10-24.^{[ dead link ]}
14. "Calbayog City Tourism Office". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
15. "Water Connects Us More Than Divides Us". 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
16. "NQC misubo sa 2 ka historical markers". Sunstar (in Cebuano). 28 March 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
17. "NQC unveils Limasawa Quincentennial historical marker". Philippine Information Agency. Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.

Bibliography

• National Historical Institute (1994). Historical Markers: Regions V-XIII. National Historical Institute.
• National Historical Institute (2008). Historical Markers (1992 - 2006). National Historical Institute.
• A list of sites and structures with historical markers, as of 16 January 2012
• A list of institutions with historical markers, as of 16 January 2012

External links

• A list of sites and structures with historical markers, as of 16 January 2012
• A list of institutions with historical markers, as of 16 January 2012
• National Registry of Historic Sites and Structures in the Philippines
• Policies on the Installation of Historical Markers