Villaba (IPA: [vɪ'ʎabɐ]), officially the Municipality of Villaba (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Villaba; Waray: Bungto han Villaba; Tagalog: Bayan ng Villaba), is a municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 42,859 people.[3]
Villaba is a coastal municipality in the province of Leyte. The municipality covers a land area of 150.31 square kilometers (58.04 square miles), accounting for 2.37% of Leyte's total area. According to the 2020 Census,[5] its population was 42,859, representing 2.41% of Leyte's total population and 0.94% of the entire Eastern Visayas region. This results in a population density of 285 inhabitants per square kilometer (738 inhabitants per square mile).
History
Pre-Spanish history
The existence of the place now known as Villaba was discovered in about the last quarter of the sixteenth century by Boholano traders. These traders landed on the western coast and found fertile plains along the river and forest. The sea coast also proved to be good fishing ground. The settlers built their houses along the banks of the river and banded into groups to protect themselves from the moro pirates and wild animals. Along the banks of the river were "Hindang" trees which grew in abundance so they called the new settlement Hamindangon (full of hindang trees).
As the years passed, more settlers migrated from Bohol and Cebu. These new inhabitants likewise settled on the plains along the Hamindangon River.
The governor set sail from Cavite for Pintado province in October 1593, to join the part of the fleet under Luis Pérez who is already at the Visayas. Before he proceeded to Moluccas, Luis Pérez introduced the barrio of Nueva Galicia to the whole fleet. But the Governor-General renamed the place to Vilalba (from the Spanish town in Galicia region) in order not to confused with other Nueva Galicia town that is located in Mexico.
Over the years, the natives of the barrio had problem of Spanish accented digraphs, mispronouncing Vilalba (Spanish pronunciation: [biˈʎalβa]) with Villaba (IPA: [vɪ'ʎabɐ]), and perhaps, it is easier to pronounce the later name and thus retained it when the town was officially established in June 1910.[6][circular reference]
American period
The Spanish was defeated by the Americans who started their occupation of the Philippines on August 13, 1898. The following year, there was a popular revolt in the Visayas particularly in Samar and Leyte called the Pulahanes movement. One consequence of that revolution against the Americans was that the town of Villaba was reduced to a barrio and became part of the municipality of San Isidro, Leyte.
During that period, Villaba was then ran by local executives known as cabeza de barangay. For want of official records however, to provide a complete list and their specific terms of office, the following have served in the said capacity:
Andres Gervacio
Antonio Dejillo
Fortunato Cabilar
Hermogenes Tumamak
Casimiro Tumamak
Tomas Tumamak
Luciano Domael
The Villaba Town
In June 1910, the Provincial Board of Leyte passed and approved a resolution creating the Municipality of Villaba. Since then, there was a continuous change of Chief Executives in the municipality up to the present.
No.
Portrait
Name
Term
1
Juan Burgos
1910 - 1912
2
Flaviano Domael
1913 – 1915,
1919 – 1921,
1925 - 1927
3
Carmelino Rubillos
1916 - 1918
4
Paulino Dejillo
1922 - 1924
5
Damian Perez
1928 - 1930
6
Bartolome Esmas
1931 - 1939,
October 1963 - December 1963
7
Vicente Veloso
1940 - 1945
8
Eusebio Gaviola
1945 - 1946
9
Fermin Tumamak
1946 - 1950
10
Francisco Burgos
1951 - 1959
11
Alberto Veloso
1960 - 1963
12
Sofronio Ramirez
1964 - 1967
13
Aurelio Veloso
1968 - April 1980
14
Antonio Villamor
May 1980 - April 20, 1986
15
Faustino Tumamak
April 21, 1986 - December 3, 1987 (OIC)
16
Roman Omega
December 4, 1987 - February 1988 (OIC)
17
Faustino Tumamak Jr.
February 1988 - March 1992,
1998 - 2004,
18
Leonora Rosal
March 1992 - June 1992
19
Jorge Vallar Veloso
June 1992 - 1998,
2013 - 2016,
2019 - June 2022
20
Claudio Martin Larrazabal
2004 - 2013
21
Juliet Aquino Larrazabal
2016 - 2019
22
Carlos Gonzalez Veloso
July 2022 – present
Barangays
The Mt. Buga-buga
Villaba is politically subdivided into 35 barangays.
In the 2020 census, the population of Villaba was 42,859 people,[3] with a density of 290 inhabitants per square kilometre or 750 inhabitants per square mile.
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