Alangalang, Leyte
| Alangalang | ||
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| Municipality | ||
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 Map of Leyte with Alangalang highlighted |
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.svg)
 Alangalang
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| Coordinates: 11°12′N 124°51′E / 11.200°N 124.850°ECoordinates: 11°12′N 124°51′E / 11.200°N 124.850°E | ||
| Country |
 Philippines
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| Region | Eastern Visayas (Region VIII) | |
| Province | Leyte | |
| District | 1st District of Leyte | |
| Barangays | 54 | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Reynaldo B. Capon Sr. | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 150.54 km2 (58.12 sq mi) | |
| Population (2015 census) | ||
| • Total | 55,235 | |
| • Density | 370/km2 (950/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+8) | |
| ZIP code | 6517 | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)53 | |
| Income class | 2nd municipal income class | |
| 083702000 | ||
| Electorate | 32,456 voters as of 2016 | |
| Website | www |
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Alangalang is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 55,235 people.
It is a landlocked town with an area of 151 km². It is bounded on the north by Barugo and San Miguel, on the south by Pastrana, on the north-east by Tacloban City, on the east by Santa Fe and on the west by Jaro.
On the way to Carigara is a steel bridge spanning the Mainit River. Soon after it is a smaller bridge. There was a time when only footpaths existed and when this river was too wide for a leap and too narrow to wade in, the traveler was undecided what to do. Hence the name Alangalang was given to the town, from the vernacular word alang-alang which means "indecision".
Alangalang is politically subdivided into 54 barangays.
When the beginnings of this town were still "rancherias" and barangays in about the year 1596, Fr. Cosme de Flores, a priest-engineer, made it into the fourth "Doctrina." Fr. Tomas de Montaya, a Manila college professor succeeded Fr. Flores who died at the early age of 29. Alangalang, with Dulag, was made a "cabicera" of nine towns with Fr. Mateo Sanchez as superior.
In 1600, the town suffered from the moros raids. A punitive force from Cebu under Capitan Francisco de Pedraza was sent to suppress lawlessness. In 1611, a hurricane swept the whole town and floods became frequent. The 18 or 20 rancherias declined in importance and around December 1628, Alangalang became a "visita" of Barugo.
The old town of Alangalang was founded in 1748 in a site located across the steel bridge at Binongto-an called Bukid Height. This settlement was headed by Francisco Antonis, a courageous leader, together with Pongal, Manamot, Francisco Gariando, Hidalgo Pedrera and Solang Adlao. Antonis was famed for having eaten the liver of a Moro bandit whom he caught during one of the raids. Fr. Baysa, a Franciscan, was at the time their spiritual mentor. The objective of the frequent Moro raids was the gold church bell. During every Moro attack, the inhabitants would take the gold bell with them to the hills. At one time, when the townsfolk were being pursued, they had to drop the gold bell in the Bangka River if only to save it from the invaders but up to now the bell has never been recovered.
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Wikipedia