Capoocan (IPA: ɐpo'ʔɔkan, officially the Municipality of Capoocan ( war, Bungto han Capoocan; tl, Bayan ng Capoocan), is a 4th 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 go ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

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 33,721 people.

History

The name Capoocan comes from the dialect term ''mapu-uk'' which means obstructed or ''"obstaculizado"'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

. It lies along the shores of

Carigara Bay Carigara Bay (; ), is a large bay in the northern part of Leyte in the Philippines. The bay is bounded by Leyte to its western, southern and eastern parts and the island of Biliran to the northwest. It is named after the municipality of Carigar ...

- its people drawing sustenance both from the waters which give an abundant harvest of fish that find their way in the markets of

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 ...

and

Carigara Carigara (), officially the Municipality of Carigara ( war, Bungto han Carigara; tl, Bayan ng Carigara), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 54,656 people. The ...

, as well as in the fertile lands that end at the foot of Mount Minoro. Expansion efforts have been limited by the presence of Mount Minoro. The mountain obstructs and contains the town in its present site - forbidding further growth but protecting the town from the strong typhoons that have battered neighboring towns. In 1904, the town earned its independence from its mother municipality, Carigara. Apparently too young for such a difficult undertaking, Capoocan willingly returned to barrio status after a few years of determined but unsuccessful attempts at independence. On January 1, 1928, when it finally gathered strength and gained experience, Capoocan was granted municipal status again. It was ranked as a fifth class municipality at first but later on ascended to fourth class category. Its first town executive was Brigido Merelos. In 1931, Jose Pagar was elected president but his term was short since he was appointed municipal judge of Pastrana. It was Perfecto Pilapil who succeeded him to serve the un-expired term. In 1935, Solos M. Hernandez was elected mayor. He was re-elected in 1939 but he died at the outbreak of World War II. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, after the official surrender of the American-Filipino forces, the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

troops, ranging from 2000 to 5000, landed on the town on May 25, 1942. A column proceeded to the east coast, capturing Tacloban and the other to the west to the port of

Ormoc Ormoc (IPA: �oɾˈmok, officially the City of Ormoc ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Ormoc; war, Syudad han Ormoc; fil, Lungsod ng Ormoc), is a 1st class independent component city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 ce ...

. From 1867 when Capoocan was a ''"visita"'' of Carigara, the town has shown remarkable increase in population. After 38 years on its own as a town, Capoocan has grown into its present site - 17 barrios stretching to as far as 30 kilometers from the town proper and a ''"población"'' that shows promise.

Geography

Barangays

Capoocan is politically subdivided into 21

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 metropolitan ...

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Capoocan, Leyte, was 33,721 people, with a density of .

Education

There are a total of 20 Elementary Schools and 4 secondary Schools in Capoocan

Grade School/ Elementary School

Secondary/ High School

{{columns-list, colwidth=20em, * Asuncion S. Melgar National High School (Zone II Poblacion, Capoocan, Leyte) * Don Mariano Salvacion Memorial National High School ( Lemon, Capoocan, Leyte) * Libertad National High School (Libertad, Capoocan, Leyte) * Pinamopoan National High School (Pinamopoan, Capoocan, Leyte)

Notable personalities

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Oscar Jaime Florencio - current auxiliary bishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu The Archdiocese of Cebu (more formally the Archdiocese of the Most Holy Name of Jesus in Cebu; ; ; ; ) is a Roman Rite archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and one of the ecclesiastical provinces of the Catholic Church in the cou ...

and

apostolic administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the

Military Ordinariate of the Philippines The Military Ordinariate of the Philippines is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or military ordinariate of the Catholic Church in the Philippines serving the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, and the Phil ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

* {NSCB detail Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
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, South =

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, West =

{{Leyte {{Authority control Municipalities of Leyte (province)