City of Calbayog : (Waray: Syudad san Calbayog; Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Calbayog; Filipino: Lungsod ng Calbayog) and often referred to as Calbayog City, is a city in the province of Samar, Philippines. It lies along the coastal region of the province stretching about 60 miles (97 km) from the northern tip of the island and 180 miles (290 km) from southern boundaries. It is the third largest city in terms of land and water areas in the Philippines. The first crowned city of Samar and the nineteenth city of the Philippines. According to the 2015 census, Calbayog has a population of 183,851[3] in 37,395 households, making it the third most populated city in Eastern Visayas region and the most populated city on Samar island, the city alone makes up for 23.5% of the population of the province of Samar. Calbayog is one of the commercial trade centers in Eastern Visayas. Calbayog is subdivided into three major districts: Calbayog, Tinambacan and Oquendo.
Geography : The city has a total area of 90,300 hectares (223,000 acres) which is 0.301% of the archipelago's total land area, 4.21% of the regional land area, 6.724% of the island of Samar and 16.10% of the Samar province area. Forty percent of the city's land area are plain and hilly terrains with elevation ranging from 5 to 20 meters (16 to 66 ft) above sea level. The rest are rugged mountain ranges with elevations from 300 to 700 meters (980 to 2,300 ft) above sea level. Flooding is minimized because of many rivers, brooks, streams and natural water conveyors that flow towards the sea. History Calbayog's early history has been associated with the introduction and spread of Catholicism in the country. Calbayog started as one of the small settlements in the Island of Samar, an area assigned to the Jesuit missionaries. Jesuit chroniclers, as early as the 17th century, notably Fr. Ignacio Alcina, wrote many accounts about it and its people. Jesuit records and reports referred to the settlement initially as Ibatan and Jibatang (Hibatang). In the annual report of 1739 the name Calbayog appeared for the first time. Fr. de Huerta, a 19th-century Franciscan writer, noted in his work Estado Geografico that in earlier times, Calbayog was called Tiayban for having been founded near a river of the same name. Then it was transferred due to a flood to the shore of the Hibatang River, whose name it took. Then again the settlers transferred to the place that they permanently occupied and took the name Calbayog. Hibatang had already been a small settlement at the beginning of the 17th century. It slowly occupied a prominent place among the several small settlements. It became a visita (a large barrio with a chapel, similar to a chapelry in Britain) of Capul under the jurisdiction of the Parish priest of that town. The church of Calbayog were built from a scree formation near Malajog, shortest distance is now the Malabungto bridge. After the expulsion of the Jesuit missionaries from the Philippines in the 18th century, the administration of the parishes in Samar was handled over to the Franciscan friars. Calbayog as a town and parish during the Spanish period was composed of several villages, the most populated of which are called visitas. Calbayog grew from visita size and became a pueblo (town). It was created a separate parish in 1785. Separated from the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the parish priest of Capul, it was later given its own minister, becoming a religious center. Its parish priests cared for the spiritual needs of the people living in what are now Calbayog City, the municipalities of Sta. Margarita, Sto. Niño and Almagro. By the late 19th century a number of visitas became the poblaciones when new towns were created from Calbayog. They were Caybago (later called Oquendo), Sta. Margarita, Weyler (later called Tinambacan) and Sto. Niño. During the American Era, Calbayog rose to political as well as religious prominence. Prominent political and religious figures in Samar and Leyte emerged from it, particularly those who studied in the Colegio-Seminario de San Vicente de Paul (now Christ the King College and St. Vincent de Paul Seminary) which was established in 1905 and La Milagrosa Academy which was established in 1910. Both schools were run by religious Catholic citizens of Calbayog City. On April 10, 1910, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calbayog was created by virtue of the Papal Bull of Pope Pius X, comprising the islands of Samar and Leyte. Calbayog became the episcopal see of the diocese. In 1942, the Japanese occupation forces entered in Calbayog city, in 1945, the liberated in Calbayog city by the Philippine Commonwealth troops and recognized guerrillas against the Japanese forces in World War II. It was only much later that the other dioceses in the region were created. Republic Act No. 328, otherwise known as the City charter of Calbayog was signed into law on July 15, 1948 by then President Elpidio Quirino who became president after president Manuel A. Roxas died in April 15, 1948 due to cardiac arrest. The first set of city officials, incumbent municipal officials of the place, were sworn in on October 16, 1948 much later than the signing of the law that created Calbayog City (Republic Act 328) as the municipal officials waited. Legally, therefore, Calbayog was founded as a city on July 15, 1948 as it was on this date that its charter was signed into law. The city comprises the territorial jurisdiction of the former Municipalities of Calbayog, Oquendo and Tinambacan.[citation needed]
