Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

From Philippines
Jump to navigation Jump to search
→ → Go back HOME to Zamboanga: the Portal to the Philippines.

List of the 17 Regions in the Philippines
National - Capital Region I - Ilocos II - Cagayan III - C. Luzon IV-A - Calabarzon IV-B - Mimaropa V - Bicol VI - W. Visayas VII - C. Visayas VIII - E. Visayas IX - Zamboanga X - N. Mindanao XI - Davao XII - Soccsksargen XIII - Caraga XIV - CAR XV - BARMM

Within these 17 regions in the Philippines, there are 42,027 barangays, 1486 municipalities, 148 cities, 82 provinces. It has a democratic form of government and the freedom of speech is upheld by law. English is the "lingua franca" and is the mode of instruction in all high schools, colleges and universities. Laws and contracts are written in English.


Barangays of Balangiga in the Eastern Samar province within Region VIII-Eastern Visayas of the Republic of The Philippines
BacjaoBarangay Poblacion IBarangay Poblacion IIBarangay Poblacion IIIBarangay Poblacion IVBarangay Poblacion VBarangay Poblacion VICag-olangoCansumangcayGuinmaayohanMaybungaSan MiguelSanta Rosa


The Philippines has been a "decentralized" form of government since 1991, contrary to what most Filipinos think. Ever since the creation of Republic Act 7160, each LGU is responsible for its own domain. Even the smallest LGU the barangay creates its own Budget. It is not dependent on handouts from the city, municipality or province. "IMPERIAL MANILA IS A MYTH!", it does not exist anymore. The Philippine budget formulation system is not centralized. "Budgetary planning has been DECENTRALIZED since 1991". It is the responsibility of each LGU to submit their budgetary needs for review. Failure to submit is the problem.


Glowstar.gifAdopt this webpage. Help your community get more exposure to TOURISTS and INVESTORS. Help us improve this webpage.Glowstar.gif

List of Municipalities in the Eastern Samar province within Region VIII-Eastern Visayas in the Republic of The Philippines
Arteche | Balangiga | Balangkayan | Can-Avid | Dolores | General Macarthur | Giporlos | Guiuan | Hernani | Jipapad | Lawaan | Llorente | Maslog | Maydolong | Mercedes | Oras | Quinapondan | Salcedo | San Julian | San Policarpo | Sulat | Taft
Cities in Eastern Samar: Borongan City (Capital)


A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Create Name's page

Regions | Philippine Provinces | Philippine Cities | Municipalities | Barangays | High School Reunions


Balangiga, Eastern Samar Photo Gallery
Balangiga, Eastern Samar Realty
Philippine News Headlines

Dietary supplement is a product that contains vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, and/or other ingredients intended to supplement the diet. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has special labeling requirements for dietary supplements and treats them as foods, not drugs.



Manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements and dietary ingredients are prohibited from marketing products that are adulterated or misbranded. That means that these firms are responsible for evaluating the safety and labeling of their products before marketing to ensure that they meet all the requirements of DSHEA and FDA regulations.

Nophoto.gif
Seal of Balangiga, Eastern Samar
Please Upload Picture
Interactive Google Satellite Map of the Province of Eastern Samar
Ph locator eastern samar balangiga.png
Balangiga within Eastern Samar Province
Eastern samar.PNG
Eastern Samar Province within The Philippines

Herbal Medicine, Heals Naturally and Maintains good health! Allows us to live Long and Prosper! We are one with Flora. Throughout time humans and the animal kingdom have relied on the healing power of herbs. We used them in several ways: we have ingested them, rubbed them on our bodies, bathed in them, even used them in our cooking to flavor our foods.Herbal Medicine, Heals Naturally and Maintains good health! Allows us to live Long and Prosper!



We are one with Flora. Throughout time humans and the animal kingdom have relied on the healing power of herbs. We used them in several ways: we have ingested them, rubbed them on our bodies, bathed in them, even used them in our cooking to flavor our foods.

Nophoto.gif
Balangiga, Eastern Samar Municipality Hall
Please Upload Picture

Wars of ancient history were about possessions, territory, power, control, family, betrayal, lover's quarrel, politics and sometimes religion.

But we are in the Modern era and supposedly more educated and enlightened .

Think about this. Don't just brush off these questions.

  • Why is RELIGION still involved in WARS? Isn't religion supposed to be about PEACE?
  • Ask yourself; What religion always campaign to have its religious laws be accepted as government laws, always involved in wars and consistently causing WARS, yet insists that it's a religion of peace?

WHY??

There are only two kinds of people who teach tolerance:
  1. The Bullies. They want you to tolerate them so they can continue to maliciously deprive you. Do not believe these bullies teaching tolerance, saying that it’s the path to prevent hatred and prejudice.
  2. The victims who are waiting for the right moment to retaliate. They can’t win yet, so they tolerate.
Balangiga church.jpg
Church of Balangiga
  • "The church bell ding-donged crazily.....The doors of the church burst open and out streamed the mob of bolomen who had been waiting inside. The native laborers working about the town plaza suddenly turned on the soldiers and began chopping at them with bolos, picks and shovels."
The Americans took with them as war booty the three Balangiga church bells, including the smaller one that was used to signal the attack, when they left the Philippines.
Currently, there is an ongoing campaign led by Balangiga Mayor Catalina Camenforte for the return of the 104-year-old bells to the Balangiga church. She believes the return of the bells would complete the healing and end the conflict that has strained US-Philippine relations.
Two of the bells are kept at the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming while the third one, the smaller bell, remains in the possession of the 9th Infantry Regiment at their base in Camp Red Cloud, South Korea.

Balangiga,
Province of Eastern Samar, Philippines

  • Balangiga has a total of 13 barangays.
  • Registered Voters of Balangiga as of (2010) = 7,579
  • Balangiga is in the "LONE" Voting Congressional District of Eastern Samar.
  • Population of Balangiga (as of Aug 1, 2007) = 12,428
  • Land Area of Balangiga (as of 2007, in hectares) = 19,005
  • Balangiga is a 4th class Municipality and Partially Urban.
  • Balangiga is in the Eastern Samar province and within Region VIII in the eastern part of the Visayan Islands

Geography of Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

  • Land Area of Balangiga (as of 2007, in hectares) = 19,005

Location of Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

History of Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

This article is from the Eastern Samar LGU

The Balangiga Massacre: Getting Even - September 29, 1901
by Victor Nebrida

The Philippine-American War started on February 4, 1899 and was officially proclaimed by President Roosevelt to have ended on July 4, 1902. Although General Aguinaldo was captured on March 25, 1901, there followed no mass surrender of other Filipino revolutionary generals. Fighting went on in Batangas, Pampanga, Tarlac, the Ilocos, and the Visayas. In Samar, General Lukban's control had been set and was holding firm.

Company C, Ninth U.S. Infantry sailed into Balangiga on August 11, 1901. Company C consisted of seventy-four veterans, most of whom had seen service not only in China but also in Cuba and Northern Luzon. It was led by Captain Thomas Connell and his second in command, Lt. E. C. Bumpus. This was in response to the town mayor's petition for an American garrison to protect the town from Muslim and rebel raids. The townsfolk needed relief and the policy of benevolent assimilation had apparently come to Balangiga.

For weeks, the outfit engaged in routine duties including the cleanup of garbage by a hundred male conscripts. Later, eighty additional natives from the nearby hills were added to the work force on recommendation of the town mayor. The Americans found them unusually industrious but they happened to be Lukban's best bolomen.

Then the Balangiga Massacre happened. This is how Joseph Schott describes it in his book, The Ordeal of Samar:

On the night of September 27, the American sentries on the guard posts were surprised by the unusual number of women hurrying to church. They were all heavily clothed, which was unusual, and many carried small coffins. A sergeant, vaguely suspicious, stopped one woman and pried open her coffin with his bayonet. Inside he found the body of a child. The woman hysterically cried, "El Colera!" The sergeant nailed the coffin again and let the woman pass. He concluded that the cholera and fever were in epidemic stage and carrying off children in great numbers. But it was strange that no news of any such epidemic had reached the garrison. If the sergeant had been less abashed and had searched beneath the child's body, he would have found the keen blades of cane cutting bolo knives. All the coffins were loaded with them.

At 6:20 that morning, Pedro Sanchez, the native chief of police, lined up around 80 native laborers to start their daily cleanup of the town. The entire Company C, comprising of seventy one men and three officers, was already awake, having breakfast at the mess tents.

There were now only three armed Americans out in the town- the sentries walking their posts. In the church, scores of bolomen quietly honed their gleaming blades and awaited a signal.

Pedro Sanchez walked behind a sentry and with casual swiftness, he grabbed the sentry's rifle and brought the butt down in a smashing blow on his head. Then Sanchez fired the rifle, yelled out a signal and all hell broke loose.

The church bell ding-donged crazily and conch shell whistles blew shrilly from the edge of the jungle. The doors of the church burst open and out streamed the mob of bolomen who had been waiting inside. The native laborers working about the town plaza suddenly turned on the soldiers and began chopping at them with bolos, picks and shovels.

The mess tents, filled with soldiers peacefully at breakfast, had been one of the prime targets of the bolomen. They burst in screaming and slashing. A bolo swished through the air, made a sodden chunking sound against the back of a sergeant's neck, severing his head.

As the soldiers rose up and began fighting with chairs and kitchen utensils, the Filipinos outside cut the tent ropes, causing the tents to collapse on the struggling men. The Filipinos then ran in all directions to slash with bolos and axes at the forms struggling under the canvas.

Surprised and outnumbered, Company C was nearly wiped out during the first few terrible minutes. But a small group of American soldiers, a number of them wounded, were able to secure their rifles and fight back, killing some 250 Filipinos. Of the company's original complement, 48 were killed or unaccounted for, 22 were wounded, and only 4 were unharmed. The survivors managed to escape to the American garrison in Basey.

Captain Bookmiller, the commander in Basey, sailed immediately for Balangiga with a force of volunteers in a gunboat. They quickly dispatched some bolomen on the shore with a gattling gun and executed twenty more they found hiding in a nearby forest. As the American soldiers were buried, Captain Bookmiller quoted from the Book of Hosea, "They have sown the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind."

Thus ended the short-lived policy of benevolent assimilation in Balangiga.

The U.S. Army: Krags and Schoolbooks?

The American military was in the Philippines to quell an "insurrection," a rebellion by the native Filipinos opposing American occupation. They were not there to fight a people defending their homeland. This was the basic tenet taught to the American soldier sent to fight in the islands.

When hostilities started in 1899 and 3,000 Filipino corpses littered the streets of Manila, the Chicago Tribune, a journal close to the McKinley administration opined, "The slaughter at Manila was necessary, but not glorious. The entire American population justifies the conduct of its army at Manila because only by a crushing repulse of the Filipinos could our position be made secure. We are the trustees of civilization and peace throughout the islands."

American historian John Gates, in his book Schoolbooks and Krags: The United States Army in the Philippines, 1898-1902, proudly pointed out that American commanders did not rely on military operations alone to pacify the Filipinos. U.S. soldiers established schools, reorganized municipal governments, and improved sanitary conditions in an effort to convince Filipinos of American benevolence.

But Gates overstated his case. The U.S commanders' commitment and their subordinates' execution of such policies did not, after all, guarantee that Filipinos would swear allegiance. In the province of Batangas, for example, the schools established by the military authorities were poorly attended. In the late August 1900, seven months after American troops had occupied the province, the town of Lipa, with a population of approximately 40,000, had only three schools with an enrollment of 190 pupils. In Bauan, with a population close to Lipa's, exactly 100 children were enrolled in schools.

Nor would the establishment of municipal governments insure local support. By day, the officials of the municipal governments organized by the U.S. Army in Batangas enforced sanitary regulations and dutifully performed other tasks. By night, they cooperated with the local guerrillas in any way they could.

Moreover, Gates gave insufficient attention to the brutality of the U.S. military effort in the Philippines. U.S soldiers frequently burned entire barrios, beat up noncombatants, administered "water cure", and otherwise abused them. They committed major atrocities in Samar, Batangas, and other provinces. If American "benevolence" played a role in pacifying the Filipinos, it was, at best, a minor role.

Guerilla Warfare: Atrocities Increase

The American soldier was used to the classic battle mode of standing your ground and shooting, or charging the enemy and fighting hand-to-hand. His frustration and anger intensified when the Filipinos shifted to guerrilla warfare. Hearing a correspondent remark that "Filipinos are brave," General Wheaton thumped his table and roared: "Brave! Brave! Damn 'em, they won't stand up to be shot!"

On December 20, 1900, General Arthur MacArthur declared in an official proclamation that since guerrilla warfare was contrary to "the customs and usages of war," those engaged in it "divest themselves of the character of soldiers, and if captured are not entitled to the privileges of prisoners of war." Less self-disciplined men found in the proclamation authorization for identifying Filipino fighters as outlaws and dealing with them accordingly.

Arthur Minkler, of the Kansas Regiment, wrote in a letter back home, "We take no prisoners. At least the Twentieth Kansas do not."

The most damning evidence that the enemy wounded were being killed, or murdered, came from the official reports of Otis and his successor, General Arthur MacArthur, which claimed fifteen Filipinos killed for every one wounded. In the American Civil War, the ratio had been five wounded for every soldier killed, which is close to historical norm. Otis attempted to explain this anomaly by the superior marksmanship of rural southerners and westerners who had hunted all their lives.

MacArthur added a racial twist, asserting that Anglo-Saxons do not succumb to wounds as easily as do men of "inferior races."

Richard E. Welch, Jr., a professor of history at Lafayette College, wrote that the Filipinos' use of guerrilla tactics was the result of his inferior mind and his lowly race.

According to Welch, "the American soldier viewed his Filipino enemies with contempt because of their short stature and color. Contempt was also occasioned by the refusal of the Filipino 'to fight fair'- to stand his ground and be shot down like a man. When the Filipino adopted guerrilla tactics, it was because he was by his very nature half-savage and half-bandit. His practice of fighting with a bolo on one day and assuming the guise of a peaceful villager on the next proved his depravity."

One of the more insightful contemporary analyses of the response of the American soldier in the Philippines was that of H.L. Wells, a correspondent for New York Evening Post. He believed there had been no widespread outrageous acts committed by U.S. troops, but he had no doubt about their savage contempt for the enemy:

There is no question that our men do 'shoot niggers' somewhat in the sporting spirit, but that is because war and their environments have rubbed off the thin veneer of civilization… Undoubtedly, they do not regard the shooting of Filipinos just as they would the shooting of white troops. This is partly because they are "only niggers," and partly because they despise them for their treacherous servility… The soldiers feel they are fighting with savages, not with soldiers…

The accuracy of that analysis is substantiated by scores of letters that have been collected and filed in the archives of the U.S. Army Military History Research Collection at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Equally important is a pamphlet compiled by the Anti-Imperialist League published in 1899, entitled, Soldiers' Letters: Being Materials for the History of a War of Criminal Aggression, available in the Syracuse University Archives. Excerpts are available from a website on the Internet.

One cannot read them without being convinced that the contempt felt by the American soldier for the Filipino enemy made probable, if not inevitable, individual acts of brutality. For the most part, they were very young men, poorly educated and conditioned by the racism and provincialism of their upbringing. They were determined to prove their manhood by shooting "niggers."

Removed from the inhibitions of small-town America, they celebrated by burning barrios of nipa huts; stimulated with the instant authority granted by a uniform and a rifle, they saw short, brown civilians, "sometimes half naked," as inferior and less than human.

Richard Welch continues, "In many letters there is an eerie contrast between the writers' disregard for the slaughter of Filipino goo-goos and their concern for the health of their parents and friends. William Eggenberger described with boyish glee an incident in which he and a fellow private had terrorized the inhabitants of a nipa hut by sticking their bayonets through the side of the house. He then concluded his letter with the request: "Don't you and the old man work so hard all the time… hoping these lines will find you all in the best of health, a kiss for you all."

In the diaries of other soldiers are descriptions of the destruction of rice crops and the slaughter of domestic animals followed by homely accounts of kindness received from fellow troopers and surprise reunions with former neighbors from back home. Claude F. Line, a young private, described not only his love of home and family, but also his delight at terrifying two Filipino civilians. "They were the first goo-goos I ever saw turn white."

The newspaper Call polled veterans in the summer of 1900 as they passed through San Francisco about the war against the "asiatics." Its editor remarked, "ask the volunteers who stood the first brunt of the fighting in the Philippines if they want the Filipinos as fellow citizens, and their practically unanimous decision is against it."

Almost to a man these veterans despised the natives. There were exceptions, but sympathy for the Filipinos and their cause expressed early on in a soldier's tour gave way to contempt for the natives the longer he remained in the Philippines.

The Aftermath of the Balangiga Encounter

General Jake "Hell-Roaring" Smith's campaign was poorly planned and faulty in its execution. Convinced that he could make Filipinos submit to American control by making "war hell," he sought to substitute "fire and sword" for the benevolent and humane policy that had preceded his campaign.

General Smith instructed Major Littleton Waller, the commanding officer of the Marines assigned to cleanup the island of Samar, of the methods he was to employ: "I want no prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn; the more you kill and burn the better it will please me." He directed that Samar be converted into a "howling wilderness." All persons who have not surrendered and were capable of carrying arms were to be shot. Who was capable? Anyone over ten years of age, according to Smith. At this point he became better known as Jake "Howling" Smith.

What followed was a sustained and widespread killing of Filipino civilians.

The basic elements of his policy were few. Food and trade to Samar were to be ended to starve the revolutionaries into submission. He instructed his officers to regard all Filipinos as enemies and treat them accordingly until they showed conclusively that they were friendly by specific actions such as revealing information about the location of revolutionaries or arms, working successfully as guides or spies, or trying actively to obtain the surrender of the guerrillas in the field. He gave his subordinates carte blanche authority in the application of General Order 100. (Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 General Orders No. 100, in brief, authorized the shooting on sight of all persons not in uniform acting as soldiers and those committing, or seeking to commit, sabotage.)

General Smith's "grand strategy" on Samar involved the use of widespread destruction to force the inhabitants to cease supporting the guerrillas and turn to the Americans from fear and starvation. He used his troops in sweeps of the interior in search for guerrilla bands and in attempts to capture Lukban, but did nothing to prevent contact between the guerrilla and the townspeople. American columns marched all over the island destroying habitations and draft animals.

Major Waller, for example, reported that in an eleven-day span his men burned 255 dwellings, slaughtered 13 carabaos and killed 39 people. Other officers reported similar activity.

The orders issued by the general and his emotional statements at the beginning of the campaign had encouraged such unproductive acts. As the Judge Advocate General of the army observed, only the good sense and restraint of the majority of Smith's subordinates prevented a complete reign of terror in Samar. Still, the abuses were sufficient to cause outrage in the United States when they became known near the end of March 1902.

After receiving his orders from General Smith, Major Waller issued his own written orders with regards to his men's conduct, what they were to seize and destroy, and other matters of similar nature. Towards the end, he wrote, " We have also to avenge our late comrades in North China, the murdered men of the Ninth U.S. Infantry." This added more to the rage. The Chinese and the Filipinos were, it seems, of the same nature, and stock, and even ideology. There was no difference among "asiatics."

Waller was later accused of ordering the execution of eleven native guides because during a long march, they had found edible roots and had allegedly conspired to keep this knowledge from the famished American troops.

Prologue

America soon got tired of the conflict. Because of public outcry, the Secretary of War investigated the reported atrocities and brought court martial proceedings against General Smith and Major Waller.

First to be tried was Major Waller for the execution of the eleven native guides. He was acquitted. His defense was that he was simply following orders, a defense that was not allowed when the U.S. Army tried enemies decades later in Nuremberg.

General Smith was then tried on the charge of conduct to prejudice of good order and military discipline and that he had given orders to Waller to take no prisoners and that the "interior of Samar be made a howling wilderness." He was convicted and sentenced to be admonished by a reviewing authority. He soon retired from active service.

One historian says he was disgraced. However, another says that he was a hero among the military. Soldiers lined the dock in San Francisco on August, 1902, to cheer General Smith as he came ashore from the Philippines. For the next few days, Smith granted interviews to fellow officers who came to pay tribute to their hero.

Smith's medical officer spoke to the press in San Francisco and said:

"It makes me sick to see what has been said about him (Smith). If people knew what a thieving, treacherous, worthless bunch of scoundrels those Filipinos are, they would think differently than they do now. You can't treat them the way you do civilized folks. I do not believe that there are half a dozen men in the U.S. army that don't think Smith is all right."

Virtually every member of America's high command in the Philippines had spent most of his career chasing Apaches, Comanches, Kiowas, and Sioux. Some of them had taken part in the massacre at Wounded Knee. According to historian Stuart Creighton Miller, it was easy for these commanders to order similar tactics in the Philippines when faced with the frustrations of guerrilla warfare. Easy, because that warfare was waged against an enemy belonging to an inferior race. That, too, explains why today the Balangiga Massacre still means in American history books the killing of forty-eight Americans, not the killing of tens of thousands of Filipino civilians.

Editor's note: of this article

As quoted verbatim

"At 6:20 that morning, Pedro Sanchez, the native chief of police, lined up around 80 native laborers to start their daily cleanup of the town. The entire Company C, comprising of seventy one men and three officers, was already awake, having breakfast at the mess tents.
There were now only three armed Americans out in the town- the sentries walking their posts. In the church, scores of bolomen quietly honed their gleaming blades and awaited a signal.
Pedro Sanchez walked behind a sentry and with casual swiftness, he grabbed the sentry's rifle and brought the butt down in a smashing blow on his head. Then Sanchez fired the rifle, yelled out a signal and all hell broke loose.
The church bell ding-donged crazily and conch shell whistles blew shrilly from the edge of the jungle. The doors of the church burst open and out streamed the mob of bolomen who had been waiting inside. The native laborers working about the town plaza suddenly turned on the soldiers and began chopping at them with bolos, picks and shovels.
The mess tents, filled with soldiers peacefully at breakfast, had been one of the prime targets of the bolomen. They burst in screaming and slashing. A bolo swished through the air, made a sodden chunking sound against the back of a sergeant's neck, severing his head.
As the soldiers rose up and began fighting with chairs and kitchen utensils, the Filipinos outside cut the tent ropes, causing the tents to collapse on the struggling men. The Filipinos then ran in all directions to slash with bolos and axes at the forms struggling under the canvas."

The Filipinos drew first blood. The villagers killed 54 American soldiers using bolos. What happened after the massacre done by the Filipinos was the massacre done by the Americans in retaliation which killed about 270 Filipinos. Yet historians only focus on what the Americans did. The brutality was first created by the Filipinos. To the teachers and historians, I say this, teach history so that children will learn to be better and not bitter.

The Filipinos initiated a conflict they were unable to resolve. Instead of exercising prudence, they opted for violence, consequently facing a disastrous and tragic outcome.

People of Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

  • Population of BALANGIGA, EASTERN SAMAR as of 2020 census: 14,341
  • Population of Balingaga as of 2015 census: 14,085
  • Population of Balingaga as of 2010 census: 12,756
  • Population of Balingaga (as of Aug 1, 2007 census)= 12,428

  • Registered Voters per COMELEC (2010)= 7,987

Sports News of Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

Every community has its sports hero. Who is the sports hero of Balangiga? Are there any basketball courts, tennis courts, volleyball courts, baseball fields, softball fields, or any type of sports area or arena in Balangiga? Go ahead and list any upcoming sports events in Balangiga.

Sports News: updated 11/10/21

Kaya Iloilo sweeps Group B in Copa '21

MANILA – Kaya Iloilo pipped Mendiola with a 6-0 beating on Wednesday night to complete a sweep of Group B action in the Copa Paulino Alcantara at the PFF National Training Centre in Carmona.

A Jovin Bedic brace in the first half set the tone for the inaugural tournament champ even as the club netted three goals in each of the two halves to seal the top seed in its group ahead of the semifinals next week.

Bedic capitalized on an erroneous Mendiola attempt to keep the ball out of his reach and quickly raced inside the penalty box to open the scoring for Kaya Iloilo in the 11th minute.
PNA

News and Events

Updated: February 5, 2024

Unity and Progress: Philippine City Mayors Advocate for Collective Advancement

In a compelling call to action, the head of the Philippines’ 149-member city mayor’s association emphasized the critical need for unity to foster continued national progress, peace, and prosperity. Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, serving as the national president of the League of Cities of the Philippines, voiced the association’s support for the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s vision of a harmonious country, one that maintains its trajectory of achievements in vital societal areas.

>>> READ MORE


Local Government Unit LGU of Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

The Sangguniang Panlungsod is composed of the City (Municipality) Vice-Mayor as Presiding Officer, regular Sanggunian members (Councilors), the President of the Association of Barangay Captains and the President of the Sangguniang Kabataan.

They shall exercise and perform the legislative powers and duties as provided for under Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991. Shall consider and conduct thorough study all matters brought to their attention and consequently pass resolutions, enact ordinances and to introduce recommendations.

Budget of Municipalities and Cities: The Philippine budget formulation system is not centralized. It has been decentralized since 1991. It is the responsibility of each LGU to submit their budgetary needs for review. Failure to submit is the problem. "IMPERIAL MANILA IS A MYTH!".


Elected officials of Balangiga for the term of 2019-2022
  • Municipal Mayor: Randy Duran Graza
  • Municipal Vice-Mayor: Samuel Abing Enciso
  • Councilors of Balangiga:
  1. Nestor A. Alvarina
  2. Tommy B. Elacion
  3. Danny Virgil Balasbas Ablay
  4. Simeon D. Adula
  5. Proceso D. Gayda
  6. Evangeline D. Congzon
  7. Richel Abud Gacho
  8. Victorio Edejer Inciso

Elected officials of Balangiga for the term of 2016-2019
  • Mayor of Balangiga: Randy Graza
  • Vice-Mayor of Balangiga: Sammy Enciso
  • Councilors of Balangiga:
  1. Tommy Elacion
  2. Michel Alvarina
  3. Proceso Gayda
  4. Gina Congzon
  5. Michael Calicoy
  6. Boy Biong
  7. Danny Virgil Ablay
  8. Simeon Adula Jr.

Elected officials of Balangiga for the term of 2013-2016
  • Mayor of Balangiga: GRAZA, RANDY (NP) NACIONALISTA PARTY
  • Vice-Mayor of Balangiga: ENCISO, SAMUEL (NP) NACIONALISTA PARTY
  • Councilors of Balangiga:
  1. ELACION, TOMMY (LP) LIBERAL PARTY 2227 7.87%
  2. VALDENOR, RANDY (NP) NACIONALISTA PARTY 2063 7.29%
  3. ANISTOSO, BETH (LP) LIBERAL PARTY 2016 7.12%
  4. ADULA, SIMEON JR. (NP) NACIONALISTA PARTY 1946 6.87%
  5. CONGZON, GINA (NP) NACIONALISTA PARTY 1902 6.72%
  6. GAYDA, PROCESO (LP) LIBERAL PARTY 1829 6.46%
  7. BIONG, MAXIMO JR. (NP) NACIONALISTA PARTY 1648 5.82%
  8. INCISO, VICTORIO JR. (NP) NACIONALISTA PARTY 1532 5.41%

Elected officials of Balangiga for the term of 2010-2013

Barangay's power and authority: A must read for all barangay officials

Gavel.jpg

This is the "Barangay Code of the Philippines".

Barangay anim 4500.gif
A Barangay Clearance is NEEDED in order to get a Business License.
So why is the barangay name not in most business addresses?
Ask your Barangay Captain/Chairman to create a Resolution to make it mandatory to put the barangay name in all Business addresses.
Every Government Unit in the Philippines is within a Barangay. The municipal hall, city hall, the provincial capitol building, and even the Malacañang Palace where the president resides is within a Barangay.

The barangay has power and authority over its domain. The improvement of the barangay rests on the barangay officials. The barangay chairman, the barangay council and the local businessmen forge the prosperity of the barangay. Not the president of the Philippines, senate, nor congress. Not the governor of the province, not the mayor nor council of the municipality or city. Poor barangays stay poor because of weak and/or ignorant(uninformed) barangay leaders.

When roads or any infrastructure need to be built, improved or repaired, all the barangay officials have to do is make a resolution and present it to the city or municipality council. The resolution will force the city/municipal council or responsible government office to hear the legitimate demands. "The squeaky wheel gets the grease."

Each city or municipality is represented by the "barangay association or federation". The elected president of the Association of Barangay Council and the President of Kabataan (SK) association each have a seat in the City/Municipality council. Their powers are the same and equal to the elected city/municipality councilors. They are there to help lobby the demands of the barangays. They are not there just to collect a big salary and rub elbows with the regular elected city/municipality council, but to also represent the needs of the barangays.
The duties of the barangay officials are specifically written in Chapter III(Punong Barangay) and Chapter IV (The Sangguniang Barangay). Read it..

Practically anything that has to do with the barangay, the barangay officials have a say on it and most likely the authority over it. The majority of the barangay officials are not aware of their duties and power. They depend on the city council or mayor. The elected barangay officials are afraid of the mayor and city/municipality's "Sangguniang Panlungsod". They are in fear of being ousted or removed from office. The truth is, the "Sangguniang Panlungsod" does not have the power to remove or suspend any elected barangay officials from office. Only the COURT OF LAW can do this (judicial branch of the government). Elected public officials can't be suspended by the DILG or the office of the president unless an official complaint has been filed, there must be proof and there must be due process. Republic Act 7160 chapter 4, Section 60. Information is power. Be informed. Do not be intimidated by the president, senator, congressman, governor, mayor, vice-mayor, or councilors. Do your job.

The control of traffic is not up to the city council or chief of police. It is controlled by the barangay. If the barangay needs traffic enforcers, the barangay can make a resolution to demand it from the city or municipality council. When the electric coop or the water district do not maintain their lines, the barangay can directly demand for the maintenance from the utility companies. No need to wait for city council.

The citizens also has the power to make demands to the barangay officials. In case the officials get blinded. Simply file an official complaint with the barangay secretary naming the Punong barangay as the respondent representing the barangay.

If the power lines are sagging, don't go to the power company, go to the barangay office. Ask the barangay for a DEMAND resolution against the power company.
If the water lines are busted, don't wait for the water company, go to the barangay office. Ask the barangay for a DEMAND resolution against the water company.
If the potholes in the road are not fixed, don't wait for the The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), go to the barangay office. Ask the barangay for a DEMAND resolution against the DPWH.
Are you beginning to get the point?

Cleaning the shorelines, drainage systems, streets, rivers, and parks within your barangay is YOUR responsibility. You are accountable for this. It is not the responsibility of the City/Municipality officials. The citizens and officials of the barangay are responsible. Stop blaming others.

  • BUDGET: As far as the preparation for the budget expenditures, it starts at the barangay level, then moves on to cities, municipalities, provinces and regions. The barangays need to exercise their authority. They need to put their yearly budget together for their administration and future projects. The majority of the barangays leave this job to the municipality and city. This is so wrong. Then when the budget doesn't come or is lacking, they complain.
  • The budget for the barangays does go to the City or Municipality, but simply for holding and later distribution. The city or municipality DOES NOT approve the budget. It was already approved by congress. The city or municipality simply "distributes" the approved budget.
  • The bureau of internal revenue is in cahoots to subdue the barangays, municipalities and provinces. They call the rightful shares to the taxes collected as "Internal Revenue Allotment Dependency". It is not a dependency. It is the lawful and rightful share of the LGU as specified in "TITLE III, SHARES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS IN THE PROCEEDS OF NATIONAL TAXES, CHAPTER I, Allotment of Internal Revenue Taxes, Section 284."
  • "IMPERIAL MANILA IS A MYTH!", it does not exist anymore. The Philippine budget formulation system is not centralized. "Budgetary planning has been DECENTRALIZED since 1991". It is the responsibility of each LGU to submit their budgetary needs for review. Failure to submit is the problem.
  • DURING ELECTIONS: Where do City and Municipality politicians go to campaign? They seek the support of the Barangay officials. They plead to the barangay folks for the votes. Even the candidate for president. But after the election they ignore you. Do not ever forget the power of the barangay.

Ignorance keeps the pinoys thinking that Manila rules. Be informed, be educated and make your barangay prosper.

  • Absolutely NO need for FEDERALISM. It is a ploy to give the Bangsamoro an Islamic State where the religion of Islam is financed by the Philippine government. Bangsamoro will be a HOMELAND not for all Filipinos but for only the Muslim Filipinos. It violates the constitution's "separation of church and state". Religion is always good for the people but it should never be embraced or financed by government. Tax exemption is not tantamount to financing. Every non-profit organization is tax-exempt.

Businesses in Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

How to Improve Your Business and Livelihood

The Philippine Livelihood Program: The Philippine government provides several programs to enhance the livelihood of the Filipino people. The department of Science and Technology through its Technology Research Center (TRC) regurlarly conducts various types of hands-on and personalized training programs.

  • DOST - Website
  • UPLiFT stands for Urban Program for Livelihood Finance and Training. - Website
  • DSWD Pro-poor and Livelihood Programs - Website

Take a picture of your Business (from a Sari-Sari Store to a Mega Mall). Upload that picture here in zamboanga.com and that picture can immediately be your business webpage. It is that easy. Here are two examples of how a picture becomes the webpage of the business: FHM Garden Grill and Catering and ABC Shopping Center

  • Give your business a good description. Add your address and contact number if available.
Possible Businesses
  • Auto, Trucks, Motorcycle and Bicycle dealers
  • Banks, Lending Firms, Pawnshops, and Financial Institutions
  • Clinics, Veterinary Clinics and Hospitals
  • Pharmacies, Drug Stores, Agri-Vets
  • Convenient Stores, Hardware and Supplies, General Stores, Sari-Sari Stores, Internet-Cafes
  • Department Stores and Appliance Stores
  • Supermarket, wet market, Fish Markets
  • Hotels, Motels, Pension Houses, Boarding houses and Resorts
  • Repair Shops: Shoe repair, Cellphone, Bikes (bicycles), motorcycles etc...
  • Restaurants, Carenderias, Coffee Shops, and Bakeries (Bakeshops)
  • Salons, Spas, Beauty Shops and Barber Shops
  • Gas Stations, Water Stations, Propane Stations

Real Estate or Properties for Sale or lease in Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

  • If you have real estate property, whether its commercial, residential, farm land, or just an empty lot in Balangiga, you can list that property for free.
  • Click to VIEW, EDIT or ADD Realty Listings in Zamboanga-Realty.
  • You can list your House and lot or farm land for sale or lease for free.
  • If you are a real estate developer, you can list your subdivision, condominiums, high rises, apartment complexes, shopping strips or malls, open market developments here in Z-wiki for Free.

Churches, Mosques, or Places of Worship in Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

The name of your church, mosque, or place of worship can be listed in this community page. Take a picture of the facade of your church or place of worship and it can be posted here. We can even provide you with a free webpage. You can enter the data (story about your place of worship) here yourself, email the information or pictures to (franklin_maletsky@yahoo.com) or via Facebook.


  • FILIPINOS WAKE UP! THE TAXES YOU PAID ARE USED BY THE GOVERNMENT TO EXCLUSIVELY FINANCE THE RELIGION OF ISLAM.
    Freedom of religion, yes. Equality, yes. But no favoritism.

Schools in Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

  • Take a picture of your school building(s) and send your pictures via email to (franklin_maletsky@yahoo.com) or message me via Facebook. I will then post the pictures in this page.

Due to Covid19: Pursuant to the instructions of President Roa Duterte, and as recommended by the DepEd, classes for the year 2021-2022 will be opened but will be monitored.

  • List of schools: >>> click

PUBLIC NOTICE: Why pretend that the National language of the Philippines is Tagalog? It should be English. To be a Teacher, doctor, lawyer, engineer, architect, nurse, computer technician; what books do you learn from? English books of course. All your tests are in English. The constitution of the Philippines is written in English. All the laws and new laws introduced by congress are in English. For that matter, you can't be a teacher in a school system unless you know English. The "Licensure Exam for Teachers" is in ENGLISH! Who are these people forcing Tagalog down our throats? Tagalog is simply one of the many dialects of the Philippines. Keep your dialects but learn and be fluent and proficient in ENGLISH.


The name of your school in Balangiga can be listed here. You can list it like this:

  • Name of School. Private or Public. It can be an elementary school, high school, college.
    • Address of your school
    • Telephone Number
    • Principal of the school

You can also create a webpage for your school. We can help you.

Economy of Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

  • If you have an article that talks about the improvement of the economy of Balangiga you can post that article here. If you come across any news items that talk about the economy of Balangiga, you may post it here. Of course you have to reference the writer of the article. Any improvement to transportation, power and service usually improves the economy of the community, so go ahead and report that too.

Natural Resources of Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

Protect the environment

It is sad but true that as of the year 2012 the rivers of the Philippines continue to be the #1 Sewer Systems of the Philippines.

Protect & Save the Rivers. Do not let your sewer drain into the river. Your community can be the first to initiate this project.
Build your riverbank protection with a built-in gutter system. Reforest within Ten Years - Guaranteed!


Let us plant more trees in every barangay in the entire Philippines. It does not make any difference if the barangay is urban, partially urban or rural; we need more trees. Trees will prevent erosion, provide oxygen, prevent green house effect, and even a place of business for the shade tree mechanic.

The Philippines is a tropical country and practically anything will grow. The DENR has the planting trees project that goes on every year. Lots of picture taking for the media. Planting trees one by one is the "human" way of doing it. This individual planting of trees is good if done to "line" the roads and highways with trees or along fences or property divisions, or if you have a plantation.

To reforest the nation of the Philippines we have to plant trees the "mother nature" way. Sow the seeds during the rainy season. Go deep into "bald" forests and plant trees by sowing seeds. If there's not enough volunteers to do this, use the military helicopters to fly over the designated areas and sow the seeds.

Guaranteed within a few years, The Philippines will be lush again. >>Read More


We are using our rivers as our sewer system. If you ask a Filipino, "Are the Filipinos a clean people?" The answer is an automatic, "Yes!". However, the Filipinos are suffering from the same disease or attitude as most people do, and that is the "NIMBY" disease or "NIMBY" attitude. (NIMBY) Not In My Back Yard. So it is OK to dump my garbage and sewer there. Not mine! Someone else will take care of it.

This attitude is killing our rivers. Your great-grandparents, grandparents or parents were once proud to tell the stories of how they enjoyed swimming in the river behind your house or nearby. However, you can't say the same or tell the same stories to your kids or grand kids. Why? Because your generation is killing the river.

Contact:

  • Secretary Roy Cimatu - since May 8, 2017
  • Department of Environment and Natural Resources
  • Visayas Avenue, Diliman, 1100 Quezon City, Philippines
  • +63-2-929-6626
  • osec@denr.gov.ph

We have so much water in the Philippines and yet very little to drink.


Instead of relying too much on Diesel fuel and Coal to generate the majority of Philippine's Electrical energy Supply, we can concentrate more on renewable and sustainable source of energy such as: Hydro Power, Solar Power, and Wind Power and thermal energy conversion. We have too many black outs.

Tourists Attractions of Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

  • Help us add some of the tourist attractions of Balangiga in Z-wiki. This will help boost the local economy of Balangiga. Anything that is unique or anything that stands out in your community may be a tourist attraction.
  • Landmarks are usually photographed a lot by visitors. Post the Balangiga landmarks here.

Festivals, Fiestas and Traditions of Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

In the Philippines a fiesta is usually celebrated in barrios or barangays. It is the official holiday of the LGU, the barangay. Filipinos love fiestas. It is a time for joy and celebration. A fiesta is of Spanish origin and is usually commemorated in association with a christian patron saint. Most barangays whose population have been clustered by Muslims(Moros) and their population is more than that of the Christians, the celebration of the fiesta have been cancelled and replaced with the Hari Raya or Eid al-Fitr.

The cities or municipalities usually have yearly festivals where all the barangays participate. The cities or municipalities hold contests for the best floats in parades.

Your Story about Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

Create you own personal page about the barangay in the municipality or City you live in. Title it like so for specificity: "Mybarangay, MyCityMunicipality, Myprovince, Philippines by MyFirstname Mylastname". You can update and edit this page anytime and anyway you want. It does not have to follow the standard format of the main wiki. It is your page. A link to your page will be inserted in this main barangay page. Here is an example page.

If you want the tittle to be more generic then do this: "Philippines by Your name". You can insert your picture of anywhere in the Philippines in this page. This will be your personal WIKI social media page.

You can talk about your personal experiences, your advocacies, the environmental conditions of your barangay, municipality, city or province.


The oldest man or woman in Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines

Do you know who the oldest man or woman is in your community of Balangiga? Zamboanga.com is starting this inquiry in order to honor the older generation of the Philippines. Please provide the full name and date of birth of the elder living in Balangiga. We will then post your entry in the Oldest Man or Woman in the Philippines page.

Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines supports Philippine Cycling

Philippine Cycling is about cycling in the Philippnes. Philippine Cycling helps promote bike races, cycling clubs, bicycle tours, and the development of bicycle trails. Activities are coordinated with bike shops and cycling clubs throughout the Philippines to promote the fun of riding bikes. Philippine Cycling will be coordinating events with tour of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Road biking and mountain bikings will be promoted by Philippine Cycling.
Cycling Activity to Participate In

Your cycling activity can be posted here and it will be shown in all the Provincial, City, Municipal and Barangay pages. Your 2015 Cycling Race or Activity can be Posted here.

  • ILOILO CITY, April 27-May 2, 2015 (PNA) – Some 5,000 bikers are expected to join the second Iloilo Bike Festival slated April 27-May 2, 2015 as the city continues to aspire to become a bike-able walkable metropolis. The activity that supported by the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU) and Megaworld Iloilo aims to promote Iloilo as a safe and bike friendly city, promote the share-a-road movement encourage Ilonggos to commute via biking and raise Ilonggos awareness on the benefits of biking on health, safety and environment concerns. Read More....
  • CYCLING Le Tour de Filipinas 2015 set as country celebrates 60 years of top-caliber cycling Feb 1 to Feb 4 2015 - View the result of the race: A four stage race. Stage 1 starts in Balanga and back to Balanga for a 126K race Feb 1, 2015 (Sunday); stage 2 starts in Balanga, Bataan to Iba, Zambales for a 154.7 K race Feb 2, 2015 (Monday); stage 3 starts in Iba, Zambales to Lingayen, Pangasinan for a 150.1K race Feb 3, 2015 (Tuesday); stage 4 starts in Lingayen, Pangasinan to Baguio City, Benguet for a 101.7K race Feb 4, 2015 (Wednesday). For a total distance of 532.5 Kms. Read More >>>
  • Ronda Pilipinas: Feb 8 - 27 2015:>> Discovering young riders for the national team will be the main objective of the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 2015 when the country’s premiere cycling race hits the road on Feb. 8 in Butuan City. Ronda Pilipinas executive project director Moe Chulani said the international multistage bikathon, which ends on Feb. 27, will have two qualifying legs of four stages each in Mindanao and the Visayas where the top riders will advance to face a tough foreign challenge in the six-stage Luzon finale. Read More>>>

Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines Photo Gallery

  • Do the following so your photo upload will be properly categorized for Balangiga.
  • Copy and paste the code below in "GREEN" to the body or "Summary" of the image file that you are uploading.

{{zadheader pictures}}
[[Category:Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines Photo Gallery]]
[[Category:Eastern Samar, Philippines Photo Gallery]]
=[[Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines]]=

Disclaimer

Most of the contents in this site are from registered user collaborations. Information has also been taken from the Department of Tourism, Comelec, National Statistical Coordination Board, DILG: Department of the Interior and Local Government, (LGU) government sites, online news, and other content sites about the specific community. This page does not serve as the official website of the community but rather compliments and helps the community to promote tourism and attract investors.

This is an interactive and collaborative webpage, meant to help promote this community and showcase it to the world via the internet.

This wiki page follows a format. The editor of this wiki page reserves the right to change formats, edit, or delete entries that may be considered as offensive, vulgar or not for the betterment of this wiki page.