Palo, Leyte

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Palo
Municipality
Municipality of Palo
Palo Cathedral
Seal
Map of Leyte with Palo highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Palo Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 11°09′30″N 124°59′30″E / 11.1583°N 124.9917°E / 11.1583; 124.9917Coordinates: 11°09′30″N 124°59′30″E / 11.1583°N 124.9917°E / 11.1583; 124.9917
Country	Philippines
Region	Eastern Visayas
Province	Leyte
District	1st district
Founded	1596 (as a Jesuit mission) 1768 (as a town)
Barangays	33 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Frances Ann B. Petilla
• Vice Mayor	Ronnan Christian M. Reposar
• Representative	Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez
• Councilors	List • Jonathan P. Chiquillo • Chiqui Ruth C. Uy • Magdalena M. Torres • Gregorio P. Dolina • Aaron H. Roca • Imelda B. Parado • Felipe T. Ygrubay • Jon Jezreel S. Agner DILG Masterlist of Officials
• Electorate	42,949 voters (2019)
Area [2]
• Total	221.27 km2 (85.43 sq mi)
Elevation	14 m (46 ft)
Highest elevation	388 m (1,273 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 census) [3]
• Total	76,213
• Density	340/km2 (890/sq mi)
• Households	15,584
Economy
• Income class	3rd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	22.43% (2015)[4]
• Revenue	₱313,776,947.39 (2020)
• Assets	₱981,138,362.87 (2020)
• Expenditure	₱269,123,111.54 (2020)
• Liabilities	₱289,697,706.20 (2020)
Service provider
• Electricity	Leyte 2 Electric Cooperative (LEYECO 2)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	6501
PSGC	083739000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)53
Native languages	Waray Tagalog
Website	www.palo-leyte.gov.ph

Palo (IPA: [pɐ'loʔ]), officially the Municipality of Palo (Waray: Bungto han Palo; Tagalog: Bayan ng Palo), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 76,213 people. ^[3]

The municipality is the seat of most government departments, bureaus and regional offices of Region VIII, although some are situated at the neighboring city of Tacloban. The town is also home to the offices of the ecclesiastical government of the Archdiocese of Palo; the archbishop's residence; as well as the secondary, tertiary and theology seminaries of the archdiocese.

Geography[]

The municipality is located in the north-eastern part of the province of Leyte, 8 miles from the capital city of Tacloban.

Barangays[]

Palo is politically subdivided into 33 barangays. ^[5]

Climate[]

History[]

The first settlers of Palo were Panganuron, Kadampog, Manlangit, Kamagung, Kawaring, Kabalhin, Kumagang Maglain, Bilyo and Dilyo. They lived peacefully in a common home resembling the shape of a bridge in what is now Barrio Bunga (present-day San Joaquin) which spanned an area on both sides of the river bearing the same name. In the course of years, these people increased in number. However, tribal feud arose and the people dispersed as a result. Many died and of those who survived some went to settle in Payapay, others in Canpetik, with the bulk going to Kutay. Those who settled in Kutay were the people who later on built the town of Palo.

Origin of the name[]

According to existing records those who went to Kutay after the tribal war in Bunga were all equipped with palo, a sort of club for fighting or self-protection. Being the settlement of a tribe with palos, this is likely the reason why the community was known as "Palo".

However, the late Justice Norberto Romualdez, in an issue of Noli Me Tangere, a Tacloban-based newspaper of that time, asserted on June 9, 1909, that this town was named Palo because of its many carpenters sporting hammers (mazo or palo).

Menawhile, superstitious folk and people inclined to believe in the supernatural ascribe the origin of Palo's name to the fact that in pre-Spanish days the town was often visited by typhoons every eight (walo) days. They called that phenomenon walo-walo, hence walo-palo (eight-hammer).

Barangay and pueblo[]

The settlers in Kutay moved to Bangon river and there started the first barrio, Barangay de Palo, in 1521. Barangay de Palo then became Pueblo de Palo in the year 1768. Its first elected gobernadorcillo was Capitan Balasabas. The first Curate was R. P. Fray Matias Rosel, O.S.A., an Augustinian friar from Andalucia, Spain.

The Missions

In October 1596, the Jesuits, Fr. Cristobal Jimenez, S.J. and Fr. Francisco Encinas, S.J. who headed out from Dulag to Palo through traversing the eastern coasts and were accompanied by the leading principales, Don Alonso Ambuyao and four others. They found only two small houses which were used as living quarters of the two servants of the encomenderos. A few boys attended the mission schools in Dulag, welcomed the two priests and taught them the dialect. These missionaries opened the first school in Palo and taught the children to play the flute. Later when Fr. Encinas was called to Carigara, Fr. Jimenez carried on alone until Bro. Miguel Gomez arrived to help him.

When Fr. Jimenez had learned enough of the local language to be understood he began his rounds of his mission only to find all doors closed to him, with the exception of very few. The people probably suspected him of being a tax collector. For a long time the natives avoided him and resisted all his attempts at friendship. Nothing he did or offered to do for them seemed to breakdown their distrust him and he was distressed and worried at their antipathy.

In his rounds of the villages, he noticed that there were many sick of which the greater the number succumbed to diseases for lack of medical attention. This observation gave him an idea. At that time, medical service was very expensive and available only to families of means for they alone could afford to pay work animals, slaves, or the equivalent of the patient's ransom. if he were captured...

Palo is well known as the site of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's return to the Philippines together with Philippine and American military forces after a period of exile in 1944.^[7][8] Hill 522, a hill located near the town center, was the site of fierce fighting between Allied and Japanese forces during the Second World War. The metropolitan cathedral of the archdiocese, located right across Palo's municipal hall, was used as a hospital for wounded Filipino and American forces. A memorial now stands at the beach site where MacArthur and his troops landed, locally known as MacArthur Park. The first Gabaldon Building is also situated in Barangay San Joaquin, Palo, Leyte. It was inaugurated by President Sergio Osmeña.

Palo was also once the capital of Leyte. The town's Purissima Bridge was the first steel bridge built in the province.

In 1957, sitio Campitic was converted into a barrio,^[9] while barrio Baras-Candahug was divided into two: Baras and Candahug.^[10] Barrio Malirong was renamed as Libertad.^[11]

Typhoon Haiyan[]

On November 8, 2013, Palo was severely struck by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), which destroyed a large portion of Eastern Visayas and killed a number of residents in the town.^[12] On January 17, 2015, Pope Francis visited the town as part of his papal visit to the Philippines to meet with the surviving victims of the typhoon. He also blessed the Pope Francis Center for the Poor and met with priests, seminarians, other religious figures, and surviving victims of the typhoon at the Palo Cathedral before leaving Leyte.^[13]

Demographics[]

Population census of Palo

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1903 17,480 —     1918 20,518 +1.07% 1939 25,471 +1.04% 1948 27,253 +0.75% 1960 25,325 −0.61% 1980 31,124 +1.04% 1990 38,100 +2.04%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1995 43,095 +2.34% 2000 47,982 +2.33% 2007 56,781 +2.35% 2010 62,727 +3.69% 2015 70,052 +2.13% 2020 76,213 +1.67%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority  [14] [15] [16][17]

In the 2020 census, the population of Palo, Leyte, was 76,213 people, ^[3] with a density of 340 inhabitants per square kilometre or 880 inhabitants per square mile.

Literacy rate in Palo is 99.5%.

The town's native language is Waray-Waray, the major language and lingua franca in the Eastern Visayas region.

Religion[]

Palo is the seat of the ecclesiastical province, the Archdiocese, where the Roman Catholic Archbishop resides in Bukid Tabor. One can find the Metropolitan Cathedral in Palo. Also, the seedbed of vocations to the priesthood is found at the Sacred Heart Seminary and the St. John the Evangelist School of Theology. Two Paloan nuns were also Superior Generals in their respective congregations. To date, there are 158 ordained priests and 106 nuns from the town alone.

Economy[]

Poverty Incidence of Palo
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[18][19][20][21][22][23][24]

Palo is the seat of the 6.8-hectare Leyte Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Park and the 22-hectare Leyte Mikyu Economic Zone.^[25] The Leyte ICT Park hosts two BPOs while the Leyte Mikyu Ecozone is undergoing development.

The town's historic Municipal Building was the former Seat of the Provincial Government of Leyte.

Agriculture is the dominant industry. The area produced and ferments the local coconut wine "tuba".^[26][27]

Tourist attractions[]

• MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park
• Guinhangdan Hill, a destination of Holy Week pilgrims. The hill is now a forest reserve.
• Japanese Shrine in Barangay Caloogan
• Red Beach - The landmark that has brought Palo to the annals of world history is the Red Beach, in barangay Candahug, where Gen. Douglas MacArthur first landed to liberate the Philippines from the Japanese occupation on October 20, 1944.^[7]
• WW2 Memorial for the Filipino Soldiers
• Palo Metropolitan Cathedral
• Palo Binangalan coral reefs
• Palo Mangrove Reservation (open season for duck hunting whole year round)
• Palo Municipal Library and Heritage Museum
• Korean Park

Educational institutions[]

Private[]

• Saint Paul School of Professional Studies
• Sacred Heart Seminary
• St. John The Evangelist School of Theology
• Palo Angelicum
• St. Mary's Academy Of Palo, Inc.
• St Agustine College of Practical Nursing
• Bethel International School
• Zion Bible College
• AMA Computer College
• ELA English Language Academy
• Alpha-Omega Learning Center

Public[]

Notable people[]

• Francisco Alvarado - Waray-language poet and playwright^[28]
• Iluminado Lucente - Waray-language playwright
• Vicente I. de Veyra - Waray-language anthologist and poet
• Carmen Pedrosa - journalist and author
• Leopoldo Petilla - current governor of Leyte
• Ely Capacio - basketball player and coach
• Glenn Capacio - basketball player and coach

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Palo, Leyte.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Palo, Leyte.

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System