About the province and the office

In the coming of the Spaniards in 1596, Samar Island was called by different names (Samal, Ibabao/Cibabao, Tandaya, etc.). Legend says that when the Spaniards arrived in Homonhon Island, they met a wounded man and asked the name of the place. He replied “samad”, which implies what had happened to him, for he did not understand Spanish. So the word “samad” was adopted with an alteration in the last letter (from d to r). The name Samar was derived from the local dialect “Samad”, meaning wound or cut, which aptly describes the rough physical features of the island, rugged and deeply dissected by streams and rivers that cross the island in various directions like criss-crossing wounds.

In the early days of Spanish occupation, Samar and Leyte islands were under the jurisdiction of Cebu. In 1735, Samar and Leyte were separated from Cebu and declared into one province with Carigara, Leyte as the capital. Consequently, during the Spanish-American colonial period, Samar was separated from Leyte and declared as a province in 1768 with Catbalogan as the provincial capital.

On June 19, 1965, RA 4221 was passed by Congress dividing Samar Island into three (3) provinces: Northern Samar with Catarman as capital, Eastern Samar with Borongan as capital, and Western Samar with Catbalogan as capital. A subsequent legislation passed on June 21, 1969 (RA 5650) changed the title “Western Samar” to simply Samar.

Samar Island lies southeast of Luzon. It occupies the northernmost section of Eastern Visayas Region VIII. The province of Samar (western) occupies the southwestern part of Samar Island. It has the largest land area (559,100 has.) among the three provinces, which constitute 42% of the island’s total land area and 26% of Region VIII. The San Juanico Bridge connects Samar to the province of Leyte on the southeast across the San Juanico Strait. It is bounded on the north by Northern Samar, on the east by Eastern Samar, on the south by Leyte Gulf and on the west by the Samar Sea. Catbalogan, the provincial capital, is 107 kilometers from Tacloban City, the regional capital of Eastern Visayas.