Dolores (IPA: �doˈlorɛs, officially the Municipality of Dolores (; ), 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 44,626 people. Dolores is a coastal town bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean in the

Eastern Visayas Eastern Visayas (; ; ; ) is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region VIII. It consists of three main islands: Samar, Leyte, and Biliran. The region has six provinces: Biliran, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Easte ...

region of the Philippines. It has many beaches and small islands. Most of the populace speak and understand English.

History

In 1948, the

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

s of Can-avid, Carolina, Barok, Cansangaya, Mabuhay, Camantang, Canilay, Pandol and Balagon, formerly part of this town, were separated into the municipality of Can-avid,

, by virtue of Republic Act No. 264.

Geography

Barangays

Dolores is politically subdivided into 46

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 ...

. * Aroganga * Bonghon * Buenavista * Cabago-an * Caglao-an * Cagtabon * Dampigan * Dapdap * Del Pilar * Denigpian * Gap-ang * Japitan * Jicontol * Hilabaan * Hinolaso * Libertad * Magongbong * Magsaysay * Malaintos * Malobago * Osmeña * Barangay 1 (

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 ...

) * Barangay 2 (

) * Barangay 3 (

) * Barangay 4 (

) * Barangay 5 (

) * Barangay 6 (

) * Barangay 7 (

) * Barangay 8 (

) * Barangay 9 (

) * Barangay 10 (

) * Barangay 11 (

) * Barangay 12 (

) * Barangay 13 (

) * Barangay 14 (

) * Barangay 15 (

) * Rizal * San Isidro (Malabag) * San Pascual * San Roque * San Vicente * Santa Cruz * Santo Niño * Tanauan * Villahermosa * Tikling

Climate

Demographics

The population of Dolores in the 2020 census was 44,626 people, with a density of .

Language

The languages spoken are Waray-Waray, and Cebuano, locals are also literate in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and Filipino.

Religion

Most of the people are predominantly

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 ...

, and some belonging to other Christian denominations as well as minority religious sects.

Economy

Major sources of livelihood in Dolores include

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

, according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (

DILG The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG; ) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for promoting peace and order, ensuring public safety and strengthening local government capability aimed towards t ...

) Region VIII.

Transportation

Pedicabs The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bikecab, cyclo, be ...

and

tricycles A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes, ...

are the means of transportation within the town, while multi-cabs,

jeepney A jeepney (), or simply a jeep (), is a type of Public transport, public utility vehicle (PUV) that serves as the most popular means of Transportation in the Philippines, public transportation in the Philippines. Known for its crowded seating ...

s, and vans are the means of transportation to neighboring and distant towns within the province. Several bus companies are also operating from the town going to

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 ...

Tacloban City 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 ...

and vice versa. Dolores has an airfield where the abandoned Picardo Airport is located. The airport has an unusable short runway.

Education

Dolores has 32 public elementary schools, 4 public high schools with 1 Tech-Voc (Technical and Vocational) high school, and 1 private college.

Elementary schools

* Dolores Central Elementary School * Aroganga Elementary School * Magongbong Elementary School * Buenavista Elementary School * Cabago-an Elementary School * Caglao-an Elementary School * Cagtabon Elementary School * Dampigan Elementary School * Dapdap Central Elementary School * Del Pilar Elementary School * Denigpian Elementary School * Gap-ang Elementary School * Japitan Elementary School * Jicontol Elementary School * Hilabaan Elementary School * Hinolaso Elementary School * Libertad Elementary School * Magasaysay Elementary School * Malabago Elementary School * Osmeña Elementary School * Rizal Elementary School * San Isidro (Malabag) Elementary School * San Pascual Elementary School * San Roque Elementary School * San Vicente Elementary School * Santa Cruz Elementary School * Santo Niño Elementary School * Tanauan Elementary School * Villahermosa Elementary School * Bonghon Elementary School * Malaintos Elementary School * Tikling Elementary School

Secondary schools

* Dolores National High School * Hilabaan National High School * Hinolaso National High School * Caglao-an National High School * Dapdap National Technical and Vocational High School

Colleges/Universities

* Mater Divinae Gratiae College

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

Department of the Interior and Local Government
{{Authority control Municipalities of Eastern Samar Dolores, Eastern Samar