Hinunangan | ||
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Municipality | ||
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Nickname(s): Rice Granary of the Province | ||
Map of Southern Leyte showing the location of Hinunangan |
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Location within the Philippines | ||
Coordinates: 10°24′N 125°12′E / 10.400°N 125.200°ECoordinates: 10°24′N 125°12′E / 10.400°N 125.200°E | ||
Country | Philippines | |
Region | Eastern Visayas (Region VIII) | |
Province | Southern Leyte | |
District | Lone district of Southern Leyte | |
Barangays | 40 | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Sonny Fernandez | |
• Vice Mayor | Florentino Fernandez Jr. | |
Area | ||
• Total | 170.58 km2 (65.86 sq mi) | |
Population (2015 census) | ||
• Total | 29,976 | |
• Density | 180/km2 (460/sq mi) | |
Time zone | PST (UTC+8) | |
ZIP code | 6608 | |
IDD : area code | +63 (0)53 | |
Income class | 3rd municipal income class | |
086403000 | ||
Electorate | 18,535 voters as of 2016 |
Hinunangan is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Southern Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 29,976 people. It has a 5.21% population growth compared to the 2010 census.
Hinunangan is known as the "Rice Granary of the Province" for its vast plain land that is entirely planted with rice. Hinunangan has great potential for tourism because of its beautiful sand beaches and islands. The town is also a producer of rattan and wood-based furnitures, abaca handicrafts items, pineapple, vegetables, other forest products, and bamboo furnitures. It has a potential for mineral water and root crops processing and copper mining.
Hinunangan is also known as a major gateway in Leyte because of its near proximity to Tacloban City. The opening of Abuyog–Silago Road cuts travel time from Tacloban by half from the previous 6 hours to less than 3 hours. It is also the place in Southern Leyte with the most immigrants from Europe and North America.
It has a lot of touristic places, such as Tahusan, Talisay or the twin islands (known as Cabugan Grande and Cabugan Chico as Pigafetta stated in his account during their travel with Magellan).. There are also hotels, inns, a public market and beach resorts.
Hinunangan is home to the highest mountain in the province, Mount Nacolod, with an elevation of 948 metres (3,110 ft) above sea level.
Hinunangan is politically subdivided into 40 barangays, two of which are island barangays located at the east of the town. The twin islands are accessible by motorized boats through Barangay Canipa-an.
In 1521, Magellan recorded sighting Hunonganan (Hinunangan) during the voyage in Leyte Gulf. As far back in 1750, Hinunangan was a mid-way station of Boholanos trading in Eastern Leyte. They rested overnight at the mouth of Das-ay River where they moored their boats. A shelter was built for the crews and tenders known as "hononganan" or stopover. Hence the name. In 1822, a certain Boholano named Palonoy founded Hinunangan. At this time, Silago to the north and Hinundayan and Anahawan to the south were part of Hinunangan.