Taft, Eastern Samar

Taft Tubig
Municipality
Municipality of Taft
St. James the Greater Parish Church
Flag
Motto:  Diri natumba, naluros nala
Map of Eastern Samar with Taft highlighted
Interactive map of Taft
Taft Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 11°54′21″N125°25′05″E / 11.9058°N 125.4181°E / 11.9058; 125.4181
Country	Philippines
Region	Eastern Visayas
Province	Eastern Samar
District	Lone district
Named after	William Howard Taft
Barangays	24 (see Barangays)
Government   [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
•  Mayor	Gina A. Ty
•  Vice Mayor	Ma. Concepcion A. Hilario
•  Representative	Maria Fe R. Abunda
• Councilors	List • Rosjane T. White • Aldwin Matthew S. Ty • Myra S. Sudario • Ma. Alma D. Balibag • Salvador C. Araya • Pascual A. Docena • Marvin Paul C. Lim • Norma A. Dacuyan DILG Masterlist of Officials
•  Electorate	15,002 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	231.27 km2 (89.29 sq mi)
Elevation	22 m (72 ft)
Highest elevation	129 m (423 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2024 census) [3]
• Total	18,692
• Density	80.823/km2 (209.33/sq mi)
•  Households	4,764
Economy
•  Income class	4th municipal income class
•  Poverty incidence	38.71 % (2021) [4]
•  Revenue	₱ 175.2 million (2022)
•  Assets	₱ 299.4 million (2022)
•  Expenditure	₱ 128.9 million (2022)
•  Liabilities	₱ 81.69 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative (ESAMELCO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	6816
PSGC	0802623000
IDD  :  area code	+63 (0)55
Native languages	Waray Tagalog
Website	taft-esamar.gov.ph

Taft, officially the Municipality of Taft (Waray : Bungto han Taft; Tagalog : Bayan ng Taft), is a municipality in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 18,692 people. ^[5]

It is bounded on the north by the town of Can-avid and on the south-southeast by the town of Sulat.

The municipality was named in honor of former United States President William Howard Taft, who served as Governor-General of the Philippines during the first decade of the 20th century.

History

Taft is one of the ancient pueblos in Samar situated in the eastern coast which was called Tubabao or Tubabaw in early times. This town was originally named after the river called Malinaw, but since the river causes heavy floods during rainy season, people began calling the place Tubig, which means water in Waray-Waray. ^[6]

Geography

Barangays

Taft is politically subdivided into 24 barangays.  ^[7] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Batiawan
• Beto
• Binaloan
• Bongdo
• Dacul
• Danao
• Del Remedios
• Gayam
• Lomatud (Burak)
• Mabuhay
• Malinao
• Mantang
• Nato
• Pangabutan
• Poblacion Barangay 1
• Poblacion Barangay 2
• Poblacion Barangay 3
• Poblacion Barangay 4
• Poblacion Barangay 5
• Poblacion Barangay 6 (Bliss)
• Polangi
• San Luis
• San Pablo
• San Rafael

Climate

Climate data for Taft, Eastern Samar
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	27 (81)	27 (81)	28 (82)	29 (84)	30 (86)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	28 (82)	28 (82)	29 (83)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	22 (72)	22 (72)	22 (72)	23 (73)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (74)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	97 (3.8)	64 (2.5)	69 (2.7)	58 (2.3)	98 (3.9)	161 (6.3)	167 (6.6)	140 (5.5)	158 (6.2)	171 (6.7)	169 (6.7)	154 (6.1)	1,506 (59.3)
Average rainy days	17.1	13.4	14.8	15.2	21.1	25.2	26.8	25.4	25.5	26.5	23.0	20.3	254.3
Source: Meteoblue [8]

Demographics

Population census of Taft

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	3,031	—
1918	3,866	+1.64%
1939	5,743	+1.90%
1948	7,078	+2.35%
1960	10,463	+3.31%
1970	11,296	+0.77%
1975	12,554	+2.14%
1980	14,545	+2.99%
1990	13,449	−0.78%
1995	16,613	+4.04%
2000	16,435	−0.23%
2007	16,362	−0.06%
2010	17,183	+1.80%
2015	18,915	+1.85%
2020	18,786	−0.14%
2024	18,692	−0.12%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

The population of Taft, Eastern Samar, in the 2024 census was 18,692 people, ^[14] with a density of 81 inhabitants per square kilometre or 210 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy

Poverty incidence of Taft

10

20

30

40

50

2000
39.86

2003
27.14

2006
34.90

2009
42.16

2012
39.38

2015
41.89

2018
47.61

2021
38.71

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority ^{[15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]}

Notable personalities

• Marcelino Libanan - Filipino politician
• Andres Pagaran - poet and songwriter ^[23]

References

1.   Municipality of Taft | (DILG)
2. "2015 Census of Population, Report No. 3 – Population, Land Area, and Population Density" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. Quezon City, Philippines. August 2016. ISSN   0117-1453. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
3. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
4. "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
5. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
6. Kobak, Cantius (2002). Historical Sketches of the Pueblos of Samar and Leyte: 1580-1900. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Unpublished. p. 724 - 760.
7. "Province:". PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority . Retrieved 25 August 2025.
8. "Taft, Eastern Samar : Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
9. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
10. Census of Population (2015). "Region VIII (Eastern Visayas)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority . Retrieved 20 June 2016.
11. Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region VIII (Eastern Visayas)" (PDF). Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. National Statistics Office . Retrieved 29 June 2016.
12. Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region VIII (Eastern Visayas)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. National Statistics Office.
13. "Province of". Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
14. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
15. "Poverty incidence (PI):". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
16. "Estimation of Local Poverty in the Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 29 November 2005.
17. "2003 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 23 March 2009.
18. "City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates; 2006 and 2009" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 3 August 2012.
19. "2012 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 31 May 2016.
20. "Municipal and City Level Small Area Poverty Estimates; 2009, 2012 and 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. 10 July 2019.
21. "PSA Releases the 2018 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
22. "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
23. Sugbo, Victor, ed. (1995). Tinipigan: An Anthology of Waray Literature. Manila, Philippines: National Commission for Culture and the Arts. p. 272. OCLC   645852700 . Retrieved 27 September 2019.

External links

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine