Ormoc

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Ormoc
Independent Component City
View of Ormoc from Ormoc Bay

Seal
Map of Leyte showing the location of Ormoc City
Ormoc
Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 11°00′18″N 124°36′32″E / 11.00500°N 124.60889°E / 11.00500; 124.60889Coordinates: 11°00′18″N 124°36′32″E / 11.00500°N 124.60889°E / 11.00500; 124.60889
Country  Philippines
Region Eastern Visayas (Region VIII)
Province Leyte
District 4th district of Leyte
Founded February 26, 1834
Cityhood June 21, 1947
Barangays 110
Government[1]
 • Mayor Eric C. Codilla
Area[2]
 • Total 613.60 km2 (236.91 sq mi)
Population (2010)[3]
 • Total 191,200
 • Density 310/km2 (810/sq mi)
Time zone PHT (UTC+8)
ZIP code 6541
Dialing code 53
Income class 1st class city
Website www.ormoc.gov.ph

Ormoc is a first class city in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 191,200 people.[3] Ormoc is the economic, cultural, commercial and transportation hub of western Leyte. Ormoc City is an independent component city, not subject to regulation from the Provincial Government of Leyte. However, the city is part of the IV Congressional District of Leyte together with Albuera, Kanaga, Merida, and Isabel.On 8 November 2013, the city was largely destroyed by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), having previously suffered similar destruction and loss of life in 1991 during typhoon Thelma

Contents

The city's name is derived from ogmok, an old Visayan term for "lowland" or "depressed plain".

Geography

Ormoc City is a port city and is the largest city in Leyte by land area and the second largest in Eastern Visayas after Calbayog City in Samar. At the head of Ormoc Bay, the city's terrain is mostly of gently rolling plains. It is bounded on the northwest by the towns of Matag-ob and Merida, in the north by Kananga, in the northeast by the towns of Jaro, Pastrana and Dagami, and in the south by the town of Albuera.

High mountain ranges separate Ormoc from the eastern portion of Leyte. Numerous rivers and streams traverse Ormoc. Among them are the Bao River in the north, Pagsangahan River in the west, the Bagong-bong River in the south, the Panilahan River also in the south and the Anilao and Malbasag Rivers which border the eastern and western flanks of Ormoc City Proper.

Barangays

Ormoc City is politically subdivided into 110 barangays.[2]

  • Airport
  • Alegria
  • Alta Vista
  • Bagong
  • Bagong Buhay
  • Bantigue
  • Barangay 1 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 2 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 3 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 4 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 5 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 6 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 7 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 8 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 9 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 10 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 11 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 12 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 13 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 14 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 15 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 16 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 17 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 18 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 19 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 20 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 21 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 22 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 23 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 24 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 25 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 26 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 27 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 28 (Pob.)
  • Barangay 29 (Pob.)
  • Batuan
  • Bayog
  • Biliboy
  • Borok
  • Cabaon-an
  • Cabintan
  • Cabulihan
  • Cagbuhangin
  • Camp Downes
  • Can-adieng
  • Can-untog
  • Can-alo
  • Catmon
  • Cogon Combado
  • Concepcion
  • Curva
  • Danao
  • Danhug
  • Dayhagan
  • Dolores
  • Domonar
  • Don Felipe Larrazabal
  • Don Potenciano Larrazabal
  • Doña Feliza Z. Mejia
  • Donghol
  • Esperansa
  • Gaas
  • Green Valley
  • Guintigui-an
  • Hibunawon
  • Hugpa
  • Ipil
  • Juaton
  • Kadaohan
  • Labrador (Balion)
  • Lao
  • Leondoni
  • Libertad
  • Liberty
  • Licuma
  • Liloan
  • Linao
  • Luna
  • Mabato
  • Mabini
  • Macabug
  • Magaswi
  • Mahayag
  • Mahayahay
  • Manlilinao
  • Margen
  • Mas-in
  • Matica-a
  • Milagro
  • Monterico
  • Nasunogan
  • Naungan
  • Nueva Sociedad
  • Nueva Vista
  • Patag
  • Punta
  • Quezon, Jr.
  • Rufina M. Tan
  • Sabang Bao
  • Salvacion
  • San Antonio
  • San Isidro
  • San Jose
  • San Juan
  • San Vicente
  • Santo Niño
  • San Pablo (Simangan)
  • Sumangga
  • Tambulilid
  • Tongonan
  • Valencia

History

Kananga was created in 1950 from the barrios of Lonoy, Kananga, Rizal, Tugbong, Montebello, Aguiting, Tagaytay, Montealegre, Libungao, Naghalin, and Masarayao which all used to be part of Ormoc City.[4]

1991 Flash Flood

On the morning of November 5, 1991, the Ormoc region was inundated by Tropical Storm Uring. The city government recorded 4,922 deaths, 3,000 missing persons, 14,000 destroyed houses and more than P600 million worth of damaged property.[5] None of the 3,000 missing persons were ever found and are now presumed dead.[6]

Illegal logging and kaingin (slash-and-burn farming) were blamed as the reasons of the flood.[5] Heavy rainfall caused water to collect upstream the Anilao and Malbasag rivers until it poured to the lowlands in Ormoc, particularly District 26, also known as Isla Verde.[5]

On November 5, 2011, a monument by national artist Francis Cinco commemorating the 20th anniversary of the event was inaugurated.[7] It sits on top of the mass grave at the Ormoc City Public Cemetery where an estimated 4,900 victims are buried.[8] The sculpture, entitled "Gift of Life", is an abstract depicting a life taken to heaven.[5][7]

Demographics

Population census of Ormoc
Year Pop.  ±% p.a.  
1990 129,456—    
1995 143,186+2.04%
2000 154,297+1.51%
2007 177,524+2.02%
2010 191,200+2.50%
Source: National Statistics Office[3]

The natives of this city are called Ormocanons, with most being Cebuano speakers (or Kana, as Cebuano-speakers in Leyte and Southern Leyte are often called by the Waray people) together with the whole western and southern parts of Leyte island. The people relate more to neighboring towns and Cebu than to eastern Leyte itself (Waray-speaking areas). Ormoc boasts of being a Cebuano city.

Like most Filipinos, Ormocanons are predominantly Roman Catholic, and the city celebrate its annual fiesta in honour of the patron saints Saint Peter and Saint Paul on June 28 and 29. Other main Catholic holy days, including the local fiestas of barangays, are observed throughout the year. There is also a visible Muslim minority within the city and all over the island, evidenced by the occasional mosque in the cityscape, and most of them are Maranaos from Mindanao.

Economy

Ormoc pier

Ormoc City's economic base is a good mix of agriculture, aquaculture, industry, tourism, and commercial services. Sugar cane, rice and pineapple are the bulk produce of the agricultural sector.

The city enjoys economic growth because it supplies a large part of the country's power needs with its abundant geothermal power resources in Tongonan and neighbouring Kananga town. Ormoc is also the gateway to the Leyte Industrial Development Estate in the nearby town of Isabel, home of the Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Plant, the largest fertilizer factory in Asia, and the Philippine Associated Smelter and Refining Company, the country's biggest copper processing plant, among other industries.

Education

Ormoc is the educational center for western Leyte. It has a range of primary and secondary schools, both public and private. Tertiary education was originally offered by St. Peter's College of Ormoc, a Benedictine-run Catholic college and the oldest, followed by Western Leyte College,[9] a private non-sectarian college. In the 1990s, the city saw the establishment of Sto. Niño College and the STI computer college. In the 2000s, tertiary institutions founded were AMA Computer Learning Center, Ormoc City School of Arts and Trades, San Lorenzo Ruiz College, SYNTACS Computer College, Ormoc City Institute of Technology (OCIT) and the Ormoc campus of the Eastern Visayas State University.

Ormoc also has their own Chinese school which is Ormoc Se San School.

Attractions

Tourism highlights include:

  • Lake Danao is a violin shaped lake 3 km long at an elevation of 2,100 feet (640 m) above sea level. There are floating cottages, and boats are available for hire and a future zipline
  • Tongonan Hotsprings National Park is a valley of geothermal power source that can supply electricity to the whole region. The first geothermal plant to operate in the Philippines.
  • Leyte Golf and Country Club is a golfing resort covering more than 80 hectares of semi-rolling terrain, located 7 km from the heart of Ormoc City.
  • Pineapple Plantation lies in 210 hectares in rolling terrain located north of the city Brgy. Hibunawon. Ormoc's Queen Pineapple is famous for its sweetness, a favourite pasalubong, and the unofficial icon of the city.
  • Centennial Park, located in the city, is a leisure and picnic ground for the young and old alike.

Infrastructure

Transport

Bus transport in Ormoc

FastCrafts:

  • 2GO : Ormoc to Cebu and vice versa
  • Weesam Express : Ormoc to Cebu and vice versa
  • Ocean Jet : Ormoc to Cebu and vice versa

Ferry boats:

  • 2GO : Ormoc to Cebu and vice versa
  • Roble Shipping Inc. : Ormoc to Cebu and vice versa
  • Lite Shipping : Ormoc to Cebu and vice versa
  • Super Shuttle Ferry : Ormoc to Cebu and vice versa

Energy

Ormoc City boasts the biggest geothermal powerplant in Southeast Asia - the Tongonan Geothermal Power in Barangay Tongonan which supplies electricity not only in the Eastern Visayas Region but power demand in Luzon as well.

Awards

Ormoc City is a consistent winner of the Cleanest and Greenest City program of the DILG from 1995 to the present. The Asian Institute of Management's study titled The Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project 2005 ranked the city first in 'infrastructure' and tenth in 'dynamism of local economy' among small cities of the Philippines. The city also garnered the 2005 Most Business-Friendly City award in the Visayas by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

References

  1. ↑ "Cities". Quezon City, Philippines: Department of the Interior and Local Government. Retrieved 19 June 2013. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Province: Leyte". PSGC Interactive. Makati City, Philippines: National Statistical Coordination Board. Retrieved 19 June 2013. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay: as of May 1, 2010". 2010 Census of Population and Housing. National Statistics Office. Retrieved 19 June 2013. 
  4. ↑ "An act creating the municipality of Kananga, Leyte, in the province of Leyte". LawPH.com. Retrieved 2011-04-09. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Ormoc rises from flash flood tragedy". Inquirer.net. Retrieved 2013-05-20. 
  6. ↑ "Tortured by Typhoons". Retrieved 2013-05-20. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Monument marks 20th year of Ormoc flashflood tragedy". Inquirer.net. Retrieved 2013-05-20. 
  8. ↑ "Mass Grave". Fran-Con Viaje International. Retrieved 2013-05-20. 
  9. ↑ http://www.wlc-ormoc.org

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ormoc City.
Matag-ob Kananga / Carigara Jaro
Merida Pastrana
Dagami
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Ormoc Bay Albuera / Burauen
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