Pastrana, Leyte
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Pastrana (IPA: ɐs'trana, officially the Municipality of Pastrana ( war, Bungto han Pastrana; tl, Bayan ng Pastrana), is a 5th class
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
in the
province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
of
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...
,
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 19,359 people.


History

Prior to incorporation as a separate municipality, Pastrana was part of the municipality of
Dagami Dagami (IPA: ɐ'gami, officially the Municipality of Dagami ( war, Bungto han Dagami; tl, Bayan ng Dagami), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 36,178 peop ...
. Before the coming of the Spaniards, the settlement was called "Pamagpagan" because of the way the native inhabitants left their hair in disarray. In 1891, Captain Wenceslao Nielo, with the aid of a Spanish Franciscan friar by the name of Fr. Eusebio Ibanez, organized the settlement into a town and was transferred from Guinbaya-an to its present site. Father Ibanez blessed it with a holy mass. As a token of gratitude, the inhabitants called the town "Pastrana" in honor of Fr. Ibanez who was a native of Pastrana, Spain. Shortly afterwards, parochial schools were established. At this time, the unit of local administration was the pueblo which embraced a number of barrios. The first gobernadorcillo was Captain Wenceslao Nielo. He was assisted in the administration of the pueblo by the "Guinhaupan," a group of men equivalent to the present councilors, by the "tenientes" and by the "Cabezas de barangay." When the Philippine revolution broke out in 1898, the people fled to the mountains and for a time, the local government then headed by Andres Villablanca, was temporarily suspended. It was at this moment in the history of the town that Jorge Capili, a guerrilla leader, burned the whole town. By the year 1901, Gregorio Marquez was appointed municipal president. The Americans who occupied the whole country, stationed a detachment at Dagami. They came once in a while to Pastrana to look after the affairs of the little town. In 1903, the town was reverted into a barrio of Dagami due to inadequate finances. Pastrana for a time remained a barrio of Dagami. In 1912, Agaton Villablanca worked for the establishment of the barrio to a municipality so that its former status was finally regained. In gratitude, the people appointed Agaton Villablanca president. After five years when the first municipal election was held, Agaton Villablanca retained his leadership of the municipal government. When the Japanese occupied Pastrana in 1942, the people secretly fled to the mountains. The incumbent mayor also evacuated and his elder brother took his place. The Japanese did not stay long. The guerillas burned down the buildings and for some time there were no Japanese in the town. But in 1943, the Japanese returned, this time for long, for the soldiers constructed a garrison. The Japanese invaders ordered the civilians to live in the town proper. For two long years, the town residents suffered severely under the Japanese oppression. In 1944 when the American liberation forces drove out the Japanese, Francisco Villablanca, who was the pre-war mayor, automatically resumed his position and under him, the town was restored to its former status as a peaceful community. At present, Pastrana is fast progressing in the agricultural field because of the biggest gravity irrigation system in eastern Visayas, located at Barrio Tingib, lacing the whole municipality with irrigation canals. A direct road to Palo as well as feeder roads have been constructed. The Binaha-an Dam provides an ideal picnic site with the stately Amandawing mountain in the background.


Geography

Sometimes referred to as the "land of the fairies," Pastrana is an interior town of the province. Geographically, it is in the southwestern part of Leyte, and about from
Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban ( war, Syudad han Tacloban; fil, Lungsod ng Tacloban), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. The city is autonomous from the province of Leyte, a ...
City. Its rice fields and coconut plantations are the main assets of the place. The climate is cool and the soil fertile. The water system at Tingib is designed to supply Tacloban and neighboring municipalities.


Barangays

Pastrana is politically subdivided into 29
barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...
s.


Climate


Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Pastrana, Leyte, was 19,359 people, with a density of .


Economy


References


External links

*
Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
br>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Leyte (province)