HISTORY AND OTHER BACKGROUND INFORMATION OF TACLOBAN

CITY

Pintados is the term used by Spanish colonists to describe indigenous

people with tattooed bodies residing in the islands of Leyte.

Tacloban City was formerly known as Kankabatok, named after the

first settler Kabatok who occupied the area around the present Sto. Nio
Church. Other inhabitants who came later were Gumoda, Haranging and
Huraw who settled then in nearby areas. The Kanhuraw Hill where the City
Hall is presently situated was formerly Huraws domain.
The whole
settlement area was called Kankabatok, meaning Kabatoks property.

Origin of the Name Tacloban

Kankabatok was renamed "Tarakluban" which means the place
where the inhabitants use the Taklub, a bamboo contraption, to catch
crabs, shrimps and fish. Later, the name of the place evolved from
"Tarakluban" to its present name, Tacloban.

Tacloban was officially proclaimed a municipality in 1770, after the

provinces in Leyte and Samar were separated in 1768. Since then Tacloban
became a trading point between the two provinces because of its strategic
location.

Before and During the War

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Heffron

Murray

Colonel Murray arrived in Tacloban in 1901 and became the first

Military Governor of Leyte. He opened the Tacloban port to world commerce,
especially for copra and abaca, which were exported in large quantities.
Before World War II, Tacloban was the center of commerce, education, social
and cultural activities in Leyte.

On May 25,
1942, Japanese
Forces landed in
Tacloban and
started a threeyear Japanese
occupation of
Leyte. The
Japanese forces
fortified Tacloban,
improved its
airfield and
established San
Pedro Bay as a port
of call and entry
for the Japanese
Imperial Naval
Forces.

During
the
Japanese
occupation, many guerilla forces
were organized and the most
famous was the group of Colonel
Ruperto Kangleon.

On October 20, 1944,

General Douglas MacArthur
and his troops landed on
the Tacloban-Palo beaches
(White Beach and Red
Beach) and the
neighboring town of Dulag
(Blue Beach) and liberated
Leyte from the Japanese
Forces. October 23, 1944,
General MacArthur,
accompanied by President
Sergio Osmea made
Tacloban the temporary
seat and temporary capital
of the Commonwealth
Government until final
liberation of the country.

Tacloban, Leyte Island,

Philippines, Feb, 21,
1946

Famous landmarks during the

liberation were the Joseph Price Mansion where General MacArthur set up
his headquarters and the Redoa Residence. It was when the provincial
government of Leyte and the municipal government of Tacloban were
re-established. Atty. Paulo Jaro was the Liberation Mayor of Tacloban and Mr.
Epifanio Aguirre became the first mayor upon the inauguration of the
Philippine Republic.

From a Municipality to a Component City

The Municipality of Tacloban was now a booming locality as it became
the center of trade and industry owing to its strategic location. Traders and
businessmen opened their respective businesses in the municipality as
Tacloban evolved to become an economic potential for commerce.

During the late 60's and the early

70's
Tacloban
City
was
gradually
changing from a less obvious to a
remarkable city. Government institutions
and cultural awareness were created and
established such as the National Maritime
Polytechnic, UP Tacloban, Sto. Nio Shrine
and the People's Center and Library and
others, were established in the City. All
these, in addition to the construction of
the San Juanico Bridge, the longest span
of bridge in the Philippines linking the
islands
of
Leyte
and
Samar.
Simultaneously, the construction of the
Maharlika Highway, the improvement of
the DZR Airport and the Tacloban Sea
Port and many other infrastructure
projects promoted Tacloban City to the
business sector and to the national and
foreign investors.

Aftermath of the EDSA

Revolution
In
1986,
after
Corazon
Aquino
was
placed
into
the
presidency by virtue of
the
EDSA
Revolution,
Mayor Cinco
was
replaced by Emmanuel K.
Veloso who stayed until
the elections of 1988.
This
time, another Mate was
elected as Mayor.
The
younger brother of former Mayor and Congressman Artemio E. Mate, Uldarico
E. Mate won the elections and became the first elected Mayor after the EDSA
Revolution.

Tacloban City in the Present

In the
the
Tacloban

mid

portion

of

90's,

City
worked out for the acquisition of 237 hectares of land for its Economic Zone,
which was finally realized and approved by the Philippine Economic Zone
Authority by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1210 on April 23, 1998.
The Eastern Visayas Agro-Industrial Growth Center (EVRGC) was then
officially registered as an Eco-Zone with the City Government of Tacloban as
the developer/operator.

On
June
30,
1998,
where the
last term of
Mayor Mate
ended,
it
began
for
Mayor
Alfredo
T.
Romualdez. June 12, 2003, was a golden day for Tacloban City as it
celebrated its Golden Anniversary with fitting rites and activities with Mayor
Alfredo T. Romualdez at its helm. Celebrating the 50 th anniversary of
Tacloban's cityhood showed the long trail of significant activities leading to
the present status of Tacloban by which economic, infrastructural and social
gains were achieved.

Tacloban City has now emerged from its dependency from the Province
of Leyte. From its modest beginnings, Tacloban City has grown to be the
premier city of Eastern Visayas, gateway of the region and the center of
commerce, trade and industry, education, and communication and
technology. Now, as the first HUC of Region VIII, economic opportunities
for its people and the nearby municipalities will eventually flow
unhampered.

Typhoon Yolanda

Even though we were it by the strongest typhoon. By the grace of the

Lord Almighty, Tacloban City will achieve more and will continue to grow in
terms of physical, economic and social upturn and will leave no stone
unturned to deliver the best service to its people and govern them in the
most practical, humane and equitable manner.

Tacloban City Today

As
growth
is
always accompanied by
pain, there is always the
gain
look

to

forward to and in the

process, it will always be
sweet in the end. Tacloban
will no longer be the same
and there is no looking back only forward stance towards a bright future for
the city and its people.