Biliran, officially the Province of Biliran ( Waray-Waray: ''Probinsya han Biliran''; ; ), is an island province in the

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 ...

located in the Eastern Visayas

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

(Region VIII). Biliran is one of the country's smallest and newest

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

. Formerly a sub-province 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 been ...

, it became an independent province in 1992. Biliran lies less than a kilometer north of the island of

. A

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

fixed link over Poro Island in the gateway town of

Biliran Biliran, officially the Province of Biliran (Waray language, Waray-Waray: ''Probinsya han Biliran''; ; ), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region (Region VIII). Biliran is one of ...

connects the province to Leyte. Its capital is the municipality of

Naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...

on the western coast of the island which is the most populous in the province. Biliran is sometimes called "The Singapore of Eastern Visayas" by locals, due to it having a causeway that is similar to that of

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

's, and also because of its small size and its strategic position in the Visayas Archipelago wherein it is a busy trade route with multiple

ships A ship is a large vessel that travels the world's oceans and other navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished from boats, ...

passing everyday, thus creating rapid economic growth for Biliran, particularly in the town of

. It also has a similar history with

, since it was kicked out by

in 1992, just like

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

kicked out

in 1965. Biliran was poor when it became a province, but as of 2025 Biliran has the lowest poverty rate out of the 6

of the region, just like

became one of the richest

countries A country is a distinct part of the Earth, world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, List of states with limited r ...

in the world, hence the province being called "The Singapore of Eastern Visayas" due to geographical advantages and similar histories.

Etymology

During the early Spanish era, what is now called Biliran was known as ''Isla de Panamao''. The present name, believed to be adopted sometime between the late 17th century and the early 18th century, was, according to many publications, derived from a native grass called ''borobiliran'' which once grew abundantly on the island's plains. A contending theory states that the name came from the word ''bilir'', which was defined in an old Visayan dictionary to be the "corner or edge of a boat, vase or anything protruding, like veins, or the furrow made by the plow." The dictionary also gives ''biliran'' as an alternate spelling for ''bilir''. This theory is supported by the fact that Biliran was site of the first large-scale shipyard, built in the 17th century.

Galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...

s were built to support the Galleon trade between

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

and

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

.Borrinaga, Rolando O
"History of Biliran"
Biliran Island Undiscovered Paradise. Retrieved on 2013-11-06.

History

Spanish colonial period

The first town, named

, was founded in 1712 after petitioning for a municipality and

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

status. During this time, the island was a part of

Cebu Province Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

. Biliran, together with the islands 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 ...

and

, were constituted into a separate province in 1735. Later when Samar and Leyte were split into two provinces in 1768, Biliran became part of Leyte Province as its sub-province. The first parish priest, Gaspar Ignacio de Guevara, was assigned in 1765, but its parish status was apparently withdrawn because of Padre Gaspar's

apostasy Apostasy (; ) is the formal religious disaffiliation, disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous re ...

. The parish was re-established on February 22, 1782.

Moro raids

In May 1735, representative inhabitants of Leyte petitioned

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Fernando Valdes y Tamon to allow them to resettle Biliran Island. They claimed it had been abandoned for the past 50 years and was presently inhabited by ''bagamundo''s (vagabonds) due to the frequent Moro raids. On May 26, 1754, Moros destroyed Biliran and the town of Catbalogan in

. Panamao was reportedly razed to the ground and only the ''gobernadorcillo'' (mayor) of Biliran town escaped capture by the raiders. The old settlements of Caybiran, Mapuyo and Maripipi were also destroyed by the Moros. The Moros staged their attack by marching inland along the Anas River for a distance of 1.5-2 leguas (leagues). Having covered part of the interior around a mountain, they managed to capture the inhabitants, with the exception of the ''gobernadorcillo'' who escaped. The houses and property of the natives were burned or destroyed. The church building suffered the same fate and its valuables were taken away by the raiders.

Post-Muslim raids

When the Muslim raiders were diminished in the early 19th century, Leytenians organized new towns in the present geography of Biliran Province. In 1828, Caibiran on the east became an independent municipality and parish, the second to be created on Biliran Island.

became the third town, carved out of the territory of Biliran town. It first became a separate parish in 1860. The Spanish colonial government officially recognized its municipality status on September 23, 1869, following the petition submitted around 1861. Almeria became a separate town in 1886 and was named after the city of

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

in Spain. Maripipi used to be a barrio of Naval. It was officially inaugurated as a town in 1867, two years ahead of its mother town, then folded up and was reduced into a barrio of Almeria, and then became a town again in 1899. Maripipi and the new towns of San Clemente (later Kawayan), Culaba and Esperanza (later Cabucgayan) were created around 1899 by the revolutionary government under President

Emilio Aguinaldo Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who became the first List of presidents of the Philippines, president of the Philippines (1899–1901), and the first pre ...

Japanese occupation era

During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Biliran had its own

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

forces under the Leyte command of Colonel Ruperto Kangleon. The guerrilla operation was of invaluable assistance to the successful landing of the American liberation forces at Palo,

, on October 20, 1944, just before the

Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf () 23–26 October 1944, was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. By late 1944, Japan possessed fewer capital sh ...

. In 1945, Biliran was liberated by the Philippine Commonwealth forces of the 9th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army who landed in Biliran. Aided by the local guerrilla forces, they attacked the Japanese troops on the island during the Battle of Biliran during

Philippine independence

Provincehood

On April 8, 1959, ''

Republic Act This article contains a partial list of Philippine laws. Sources of Philippine laws ;Notes : *Customs may be considered as supplementary source of law, however, customs which are contrary to law, public order or public policy shall not ...

No. 2141'' was signed into law effectively making Biliran a sub-province of Leyte. The island became an independent province on May 11, 1992, through ''Republic Act No. 7160'', making it one of the newest provinces in the country.

Geography

Biliran has a total land area of , making it the fourth smallest province in the Philippines. The island lies off the northern coast of

island across Biliran Strait. To the southeast is Carigara Bay, to the northeast is the Samar Sea, and across this sea is

. To the west is the

Visayan Sea The Visayan Sea is a sea in the Philippines surrounded by the islands of the Visayas. It is bounded by the islands Masbate to the north, Panay to the west, Leyte to the east, and Cebu and Negros to the south. The sea is connected to severa ...

and

Masbate Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate (Masbateño language, Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; ), is an island Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provi ...

lies to the northwest. The province is composed of two major

volcanic island Geologically, a volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term high island can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

s: the main island also named Biliran and Maripipi, a smaller island to the northwest. Other smaller islands include Higatangan and Dalutan.

Topography

The main volcanic island of Biliran features mountainous interiors with very narrow coastal areas. Only the municipalities of

and Caibiran have wide plains extending about from the coast suitable for agriculture. Mount Suiro, an inactive volcano, is the highest point on Biliran with an elevation of . The only known historical volcanic activity at

was a phreatic eruption and possible debris avalanche at a thermal area on September 26, 1939. Ashfalls were reported at Caibiran and adjoining areas with maximum deposits at thick."Biliran"
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Retrieved on 2013-11-13. There are five active solfatara fields on the island. The solfatara on the west side of Mt. Giron contained more than 400 tones of

sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...

in 1880. Maripipi is a volcanic island with the Maripipi Volcano located in the center and the Municipality of Maripipi surrounding its shores and lower slopes. The volcano is classified as potentially active but has had no historical eruptions.

Climate

Biliran has a combination of warm and cool climatic zones, thus the prevailing climate is ideal for the cultivation of a wide range of agricultural crops. There is no distinct dry season but the heavy wet season generally occurs in December.

Administrative divisions

Biliran is subdivided into 8

municipalities 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' ...

, with a total of 132 barangays. All municipalities are located on Biliran Island, with the exception of Maripipi, which is an island municipality located to the northwest. The largest among the towns in terms of land area is the provincial capital

, while the smallest is Maripipi. Ph fil biliran

Demographics

The population of Biliran in the 2020 census was 179,312 people, with a density of . Based on the May 2000 census, the province had a total population of 140,274, which made it the fifth least populous province in the country, and the smallest in the region. There were 27,907 households in the province with an average size of 5.02 persons, slightly higher than the national average of 4.99. 87.05% of the population was

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Languages

Waray-Waray and Cebuano are the languages spoken by the majority of the people in Biliran Province. The latter is primarily spoken in

, Almeria and Kawayan. Whereas Waray-waray is spoken in the towns of Caibiran, Culaba, Cabucgayan,

and Maripipi. Both are Visayan languages. The majority of the residents also speak and understand English and Filipino.

Economy

The economy of Biliran is largely based on fishing. Most of its towns, especially

and

, have excellent

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

s. There are of

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuary ...

fish ponds which produce

prawn Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the intern ...

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

s and milkfish. Another of seawater are suitable for seaweed farming and 10 more hectares for fishcage culture. Being mountainous, Biliran can support various agricultural crops. The warm lowlands are conducive to

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

(''palay'') production and other tropical crops. The cool highlands are favorable to high-value crops such as

cut flowers Cut flowers are flowers and flower buds (often with some Plant stem, stem and leaf) that have been cut from the plant bearing it. It is removed from the plant for decorative use. Cut greens are leaves with or without stems added to the cut flow ...

and varieties of upland vegetables. The inhabitants also engage in

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

, and manufacturing. The principal raw material produced is

copra Copra (from ; ; ; ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted ...

and

coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut fat) is an edible oil derived from the kernels, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat below around , and a clear thin liquid oil at higher temperatures. Unrefined varieties have a disti ...

. Processed goods include white clay

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

s, dried fish, raw gulaman, and

citronella oil Citronella oilCitronella oil is an essential oil obtained from the leaves and stems of different species of '' Cymbopogon'' (lemongrass). The oil is used extensively as a source of perfumery chemicals such as citronellal, citronellol, and geran ...

. The untapped natural resources of the island include

geothermal power Geothermal power is electricity generation, electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation i ...

and the abundant

and

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

deposits. Major industries includes fashion bags, Romblon bags,

basket A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff Fiber, fibers, and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, Stolon, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials ...

s, shellcrafts,

placemat A placemat or table mat is a covering or pad designating an individual place setting, unlike the larger tablecloth that covers the entire surface. Placemats are made from many different materials, depending on their purpose: to protect, decorat ...

s, hot pads, beverage coasters and trays. Biliran has been eyed as an emerging destination for mountaineers, bikers, canyoneers, hikers, and other adventure seekers. For example, Sampao River in the municipality of Almeria has been developed into a canyoning venue.

Points of interest

* Bagongbong Falls ::It is also called Bagumbong falls, in a forested area of Almeria town. * Ulan-ulan Falls ::Derived from the Visayan dialect which means "rain," the falls' cascading waters form a catch basin with water sufficient for swimming. * Recoletos Falls ::The waterfall which is approximately 15 meters high, has a wide pool with deep water. * Kasabangan Falls ::There are 13 layers of this waterfall from its highest level up in the mountain. * Tingkasan Bat Cave * Iyusan Rice Terraces ::A manmade agricultural landform and tourist attraction found in Barangay Iyusan, Almeria, Biliran.