|
THE PROVINCE AT A
GLANCE
BRIEF HISTORY
During the early days of Spanish rule, Samar Island
was under the jurisdiction of the bishopric of Cebu. In 1735,
Samar and Leyte were merged to form one province. Three years
later, Samar was separated from Leyte, and Catbalogan became its
capital. At June 19, 1965 Samar Island was divided into three
provinces: Northern Samar, Eastern Samar and Western Samar. The
name of Western Samar was changed to Samar on June 21, 1969.
LANGUAGE/DIALECT
Waray
is the lingua franca here as in the rest of the province but
many people are conversant in English and a great deal of sign
language.
MAJOR INDUSTRIES
As an agriculture province, the most important
products are coconut, rice, corn and abaca. There are a few
large industries such mining, jellyfish processing and logging.
Samar Province has the largest marble reserves in the region.
Large-scale drying and salting of fish are done in Catbalogan
for consumers in upland areas and the Manila market. Cottage
industries include woodcraft, shell craft, basket-weaving and
abaca processing. |
Information
provided by
Department of Tourism. Government of Philippines.
