[Ian Williams]

Catarman, Northern Samar
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Municipality of Catarman Bungtó san Catarman
— Municipality —
Map of Northern Samar showing the location of Catarman.
Municipality of Catarman Location in the Philippines
Coordinates: 12°34′1″N 125°0′0″ECoordinates: 12°34′1″N 125°0′0″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Eastern Visayas (Region 8)
Province	Northern Samar
District	1st District of Northern Samar
Barangays	55
Government
• Mayor	Rolando F. Carpio, Jr.
• Vice Mayor	Christian Emmanuel W. Uy
Area
• Total	464.43 km2 (179.32 sq mi)
Population (2007)
• Total	81,067
• Density	170/km2 (450/sq mi)
Demonym	Catarmananon
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
ZIP code	6400
Dialing code	55
Income class	First

Catarman is a first class Municipality in the Philippines. It is the capital and largest town in terms of both land area and population in the province of Northern Samar. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 81,067 making it the second most populous municipality (more than the cities of Borongan and Maasin) in Eastern Visayas. It is the commercial, educational, financial, political, socio-cultural and government center of the province. It lies on the northern part of Samar Island and southeast of the Philippine capital, Manila. It is bounded to the east by Mondragon, to the west by Bobon, to the south by Lope de Vega, and to the north by the San Bernardino Strait. At present, there are 55 barangays, 22 of them in the poblacion.^[1] It is in the process of renewing its image as a poor and underdeveloped town in the 1980s.

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[edit] History
Before the coming of the Spaniards, Catarman was called Ibabao and was part of the extensive Maguindanao Kingdom, which extended from Mindanao to Bicol. Ibabao extended from the southernmost tip of Samar Island to the territories close to Bobon in the northernmost part of the island. The Spanish Conquistadores freely applied the name Ibabao to the island when it established its civil government. The similarities in the vocabularies and pronunciation of the dialects of these areas traces them to a common root as a people. The word Catarman is derived from the Turkish word attar (oil of the roses) and inman (holy men).

The town was one of the 13 pueblos established by the Spaniards in Samar Island and was one of the settlements in the northern parts of the island. The pueblo was named Calatman and was one of the pueblos in the Samar and Leyte islands, then collectively referred to as Islas de Pintados.


[edit] Topography
The municipality is skirt-shaped. On the Pacific coast are flat lowlands with the interior characterized by outlying low hills. Mt. Puyao in Barangay Liberty is the highest peak in the area. The Catarman River, a major provincial river, divides the eastern and the western parts of the town. It is fed by the Paticua, Hibulwangan, Mahangna, Tura, and Danao creeks together with lesser prominent estuaries.


[edit] Barangays
The Municipality of Catarman is politically subdivided into 55 barangays.

Acacia Airport Village Bangkerohan Baybay Calachuchi Casoy Cawayan Dalakit Ipil-ipil Jose Abad Santos Jose P. Rizal Lapu-lapu Mabolo Molave Narra Sampaguita Santol Talisay Yakal UEP Zone I UEP Zone II UEP Zone III

Aguinaldo Bocsol Cabayhan Cag-abaca Cal-igang Cervantes Cularima Daganas Doña Pulqueria Galutan Gebalagnan Gibulwangan Guba Hinatad Imelda Liberty Libjo Mabini Macagtas Malvar McKinley New Rizal

Old Rizal Paticua Polangi Quezon Salvacion San Julian San Pascual Somoge Tinowaran Trangue Washington

[edit] Transportation
There are three airline companies operating through the Catarman National Airport coming from and going to Manila. They are Cebu Pacific, Zest Airways and AirPhil Express. An average of 2 to 3 flights daily. Pedicabs, commonly known as "padyak" and tricycles are the main means of transportation within the town, while multicabs and jeepneys are the main means of transportation to neighboring and distant towns within the province. Several bus companies are also operating from the town going to Manila or to Tacloban City and vice-versa.


[edit] Education
Catarman is home to the University of Eastern Philippines, the largest university by size and curriculum in the Eastern Visayas region. The University has satellite campuses in the province, one in Laoang and the other in Catubig (officially known the Pedro Rebadulla Memorial Campus), and has several extension programs offered across satellite campuses in the region.

This post has been edited by Ian Williams: 21 March 2012 - 19:10