Balangiga (IPA: �balaŋˈhɪga, officially the Municipality of Balangiga (; ), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

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

Eastern Samar Eastern Samar ( Waray-Waray: ''Sinirangan Samar''; ), officially the Province of Eastern Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Borongan, which is the most populous. Eastern Samar ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 14,341 people. Balangiga is the site of the Balangiga Encounter in 1901, which remains one of the longest-running and most controversial issues of the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

History

Balangiga Encounter and Bells

During the Philippine-American War, on September 28, 1901,

Eugenio Daza Don Eugenio Daza y Salazar (November 15, 1870 – December 16, 1954) was a Filipino '' principale'' (nobleman) recognized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) as the first ''maestro'' (teacher) in the Samar province. He ...

, Area Commander of Southeastern Samar and Valeriano Abanador, the Balangiga's

pulahan The Pulahan (literally "those wearing red" in Cebuano language, Cebuano; ), also known as dios-dios, were the members of a Christian revival, religious revival of Philippine mythology, Philippine beliefs that developed in the Visayas prior to t ...

chief, launched an attack on U.S. Army Company C 9th Infantry Regiment who were occupying Balangiga. With

Philippine Revolutionary Army The Philippine Revolutionary Army ( Spanish: ; ), later renamed Philippine Republican Army, was the army of the First Philippine Republic from its formation in March 1897 to its dissolution in November of 1899 in favor of guerrilla operation ...

forces and Balangiga villagers, killing 48 and wounding 22 of the 78 men of the unit, with only four escaping unhurt and four missing in action. The villagers captured about 100 rifles and 25,000 rounds of ammunition. An estimated 20 to 25 of them died in the fighting, with a similar number of wounded. Statue of Valeriano Abanador

In reprisal, General Jacob H. Smith ordered that Samar be turned into a "howling wilderness" and that they shoot any Filipino male above ten years of age who was capable of bearing arms. The American soldiers seized three church bells including Bangahon Church bell of old Gandara and from the town church Balangiga and moved them home to the United States as war trophies. The 9th Infantry Regiment maintained that the single bell in their possession was presented to the regiment by villagers when the unit left Balangiga on 9 April 1902. The bell had been actually given to them by the 11th Infantry Regiment, which had taken all three bells when they left Balangiga for

Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city on Leyte island in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, Tacloban has a popu ...

on 18 October 1901. Smith and his primary subordinate, Major

Littleton Waller Littleton Tazewell "Tony" Waller (September 26, 1856 – July 13, 1926) was a career officer in the United States Marine Corps, who served in the Spanish–American War, the Caribbean, and Asia. He was court-martialed and acquitted for his ...

of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

, were both

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

led for illegal vengeance against the civilian population of Samar. Waller was acquitted of the charges. Smith was found guilty, admonished and retired from service, but charges were dropped shortly after. He was later hailed as a war hero. The bells were returned on December 11, 2018.

Geography

Balangiga is located on the southern coast of the island of

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

facing

Leyte Gulf Leyte Gulf, also known simply as the Leyte, is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the ...

, and sits at the mouth of the Balangiga River. To the west lies the municipality of Lawaan, to the north is Llorente, and to the east are the municipalities of

Quinapondan Quinapondan (IPA: �kinɐˈpondan, officially the Municipality of Quinapondan (; ), is a municipality in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 14,507 people. Geography Barangays Quinap ...

and Giporlos.

Barangays

Balangiga is politically subdivided into 13

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. * Bacjao * Cag-olango * Cansumangcay * Guinmaayohan *

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

I * Poblacion II * Poblacion III * Poblacion IV * Poblacion V * Poblacion VI * San Miguel * Santa Rosa * Maybunga

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Balangiga, Eastern Samar, was 14,341 people, with a density of .

Economy

Transportation

Balangiga can be reached through public utility vans and buses from

City. Pedicabs (''potpot''), tricycles, and habal-habal by the means of inner town transportation.

Education

Balangiga has 9 public elementary schools, namely: * Balangiga Central Elementary School * Bacjao Elementary School * Bangon Elementary School * Cag-olango Elementary School * Cansumangkay Elementary School * Guinmaayohan Elementary School * Maybunga Elementary School * San Miguel Elementary School * Santa Rosa Elementary School Has 1 public secondary school: * Southern Samar National Comprehensive High School Has 1 private secondary school: * MSH Sisters Academy Balangiga Has 1 Public College: * Eastern Samar State University - Balangiga Campus

Daughter Towns

The municipalities of Lawaan, Giporlos, and

were former barangays of the municipality of Balangiga.

References

External links

Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) is a systematic classification and coding for geographic areas in the Philippines. It classifies areas based on the country's four levels of administrative divisions: regions, provinces, municipalities ...

Philippine Census Information

Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Eastern Samar