Ormoc (IPA:[ʔoɾˈmok]), officially theCity of Ormoc (Cebuano:Dakbayan sa Ormoc;Waray:Syudad han Ormoc;Filipino:Lungsod ng Ormoc), is anindependent component city in theEastern Visayas region of thePhilippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 238,545 inhabitants,[5] making it the second most-populous city in theprovince of Leyte after the provincial capital ofTacloban. Ormoc City is the economic, cultural, commercial and transportation hub of western Leyte.
The city's name is derived fromogmok, anarchaic Visayan term for "lowland" or "depressed plain".[7] The city also celebrates an annual thanksgiving festival called thePiña Festival in honor of the saints Peter and Paul in thanks for the bountiful pineapple harvest.[8]
This place was used during theSpanish occupation and the migration of the neighboring towns to settle in the more fertile plains of Ormoc. Much of the settlers in the town were theMalayans. These people had a constant trading with theChinese,Javans andIndonesians. Their living, however, was always threatened by the attack of theMoro pirates. As a result, The Malayan people in Ormoc developed "grapevine". a warning system communication used from people manning watch towers to inform and warn the people of the coming of these pirates.[9]
July 16, 1595,Pedro Cherino and theJesuit missionaries arrived in Leyte. On May 1597, a mission in Ormoc was established by these missionaries. That year, the locals were converted to Christianity. Years of peace was shortly disturbed when in year 1634, the sultan ofSulu,Raja Bungsu captured 300 natives after invading the town. The towns ofSogod,Kabalian,Inopacan andBaybay were also invaded and plundered. The locals of Ormoc fought Raja and his men but because they were outnumbered, they were massacred to the last man.
In 1768. The Jesuits were replaced byAugustinian missionaries. On February 26, 1834, Ormoc was separated into a municipality from Palompon.[10]
Ormoc was a hotbed of revolutionaries seeking independence from Spanish rule. from which they would take part a few months after the outbreak of thePhilippine Revolution that occurred on August 1896. In which Leyte was in control from theRevolutionary Government controlled byVicente Lukban.[11][12]
After the fall of the Revolution. A civil government was established on Leyte on April 22, 1901 when the Filipinos were under the authority of the Americans. from which the revolutionary leaderFaustino Ablen inspired locals to join thePulahan Movement. In 1903, the municipality ofAlbuera was consolidated into Ormoc.[13]
Ormoc became a city by virtue ofRepublic Act No. 179 on October 20, 1947, becoming the fifteenth city in the Philippines and the first in theEastern Visayas region.[14]
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.[15]
On the morning of November 5, 1991, the Ormoc region was inundated byTropical 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.[16] None of the 3,000 missing persons were ever found and are now presumed dead.[17]Illegal logging andkaingin (slash-and-burn farming) were blamed as the reasons of the flood.[16] 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.[16]
On November 5, 2011, a monument by national artist Francis Cinco commemorating the 20th anniversary of the event was inaugurated.[18] It sits on top of the mass grave at the Ormoc City Public Cemetery where an estimated 4,900 victims are buried.[19] The sculpture, entitled "Gift of Life", is an abstract depicting a life taken to heaven.[16][18]
On November 7, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerfultropical cyclones ever recorded, made a landfall in the Philippines. While it killed far fewer people as Tropical Storm Uring, it left widespread devastation to the city with destruction and damages in 90% of its structures.[20]
On January 19, 2021, the City Council enactedOrdinance 52 Series of 2021 to merge the numberedbarangays (all inPoblacion) and renaming them:
Barangays 1–8, 12, 13, 15, 17, 23 & 27 shall be merged to form a single unit to be named as BarangaySouth;
Brgys. 9–11, 16, 18, 25 & 28 as Brgy.East;
Brgys. 14, 19–22, 24 & 26 as Brgy.West; and
Brgy. 29 will be renamed as Brgy.North.
The ordinance require a plebiscite and the determination of an affirmation will be based on the majority vote of the proposed administrative subdivision and not a majority vote per barangay. This is to avoid creation ofenclaves andexclaves. Then mayorRichard Gomez approved the ordinance on January 22, 2021. On June 22, 2022, theCommission on Elections throughResolution No. 10796 set the plebiscite on October 8.[21][22][23][24][25]
The plebiscite was held at the Ormoc City Central School, with 35 polling precincts, wherein 10,209 registered voters from 29 barangays were expected to participate. With a voter turnout of more than half, majority of them approved the reorganization.[26][27][28]
Ormoc City is a port city and is the largest city in Leyte by land area and the second-largest in Eastern Visayas afterCalbayog in Samar. At the head ofOrmoc Bay, the city's terrain is mostly of gently rolling plains. It is bounded on the northwest by the towns ofMatag-ob andMerida, in the north byKananga andCarigara, in the northeast by the towns ofJaro,Pastrana andDagami, and in the south by the town ofAlbuera. 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.[29]
The natives of this city arecalled Ormocanons, with most beingCebuano speakers, as with the whole western and southern parts of the island of Leyte. A definite number ofWaray speakers is also present within the city.
Like most Filipinos, Ormocanons are predominantlyRoman Catholic, and the city celebrates itsannual fiesta in honour of the patron saintsSaint Peter andSaint 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 visibleMuslim minority within the city and all over the island, evidenced by the mosques within the cityscape and most of them areMaranaos from the twin provinces ofLanao del Norte andLanao del Sur in Mindanao.[citation needed]
Ormoc's economic base is a mix of agriculture, aquaculture, industry, tourism, and commercial services. Sugar cane, rice and pineapple are the major agricultural production.
The city enjoys economic growth because it supplies a large part of the country's power needs with its abundantgeothermal power resources from the Tongonan Geothermal Power Plant in Barangay Tongonan and the neighbouringKananga town. Ormoc is also the gateway to the Leyte Industrial Development Estate in the nearby town ofIsabel, 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.[citation needed]
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. Lake Danao was formerly called as Lake Imelda. On February 3, 1998, it was renamed and declared as Lake Danao National Park and is protected by the National Integrated Protected Area System Act of 1992.[44]
Tongonan Hotsprings National Park is located at an elevation of 2,000 ft. amid densely forested hills. It is a 272-hectare park at the west end of the Leyte Mountain Trail, 18 km. northeast of Ormoc City. It also has a cool climate, lush tropical vegetation and underbrush, a warm medicinal pool, a cavernous hillside geyser that spouts boiling water and steam hourly and formations exuding sulfuric vapors. It is a valley of geothermal power source that can supply electricity to the whole region. The first geothermal plant to operate in the Philippines.
Pineapple Plantation lies in 210 hectares in rolling terrain located north of the city Barangay Hibunawon. Ormoc's Queen Pineapple is famous for its sweetness, a favouritepasalubong, and the unofficial icon of the city. The plantation is owned by the Locsins (family of the city vice mayor). Ormoc is known for its famous “Queen Pineapple."[45]
Centennial Park The Veteran's Park was constructed in early 1990s in honor of the Filipino soldiers who fought for the liberation of Leyte and the Philippines. The Centennial Marker was erected in 1998 to commemorate the 100th year of Philippine independence. The park is located in the city, it is a leisure and picnic ground for the young and old alike.[46]
Lake Kasudsuran is just one of the three beautiful lakes of Ormoc. It is located at Barangay Gaas, Ormoc City in Leyte. The 5-hectare Lake Kasudsuran is located 27 km (a 45-hr. drive) northeast of Ormoc City on the virgin forest of Barangay Ga-as and Mt. Janagdan, a plateau 1,000 m above sea level. The lake is only accessible by foot. Lake Kasudsuran is also a place to explore in Ormoc City.
Alto Peak is known as the highest mountain in Eastern Visayas(Region VIII). The domain is also a home to farming communities that has vegetable plantations, etc.[47] It is also known as Mt. Amindueuen and is technically part of the Municipality ofJaro, Leyte but its jump off is in Barangay Cabintan, Ormoc City.
Sayahan Falls The Sayahan Falls is a newly discovered spot that is located at Sitio Maglahug, Barangay Gaas, Ormoc City. The Sayahan Falls started gaining attention when a local tourist uploaded pictures of it in social media and was widely shared.[48]
Puente dela Reina is known as the oldest bridge in the city. Its cobblestones still intact, relic of an age long gone. It was built in the early 1800s but was completed in 1861. In Spanish era, the bridge was used as docking area for sailboats, vintas of Chinese, Javans and Indonesians who frequented the island to sell their produce. The bridge is still in use to this day.[49]
Western Leyte Guerrilla Warfare Forces Monument The Monument commemorates the Filipino resistance fighters who fought in the guerilla war against the Japanese occupiers in the Second World War[50]
Ruins of Cong. Dominador Tan Residence The Tan Mansion Ruins was built during the 1930s. In World War II, the mansion became a Japanese garrison in Leyte. It was destroyed during the bombing of Ormoc before liberation day, known as the “Battle of Ormoc Bay.”The Tan Mansion Ruins is like a memorial to the Japanese that visits the place. Treated like a shrine as it has a significant part of history of both countries—Japan and Philippines. It serves as a monument representing not only Dominador's young love but also as witness to Ormoc's history.[51]
The Port of Ormoc serves as the seaport of the city. For air transport,Ormoc Airport serves the city, although no regular commercial flights fly to this airport.Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport inTacloban is the closest airport with commercial flights.
Ormoc hosts the biggest power plant in Southeast Asia - the Tongonan Geothermal Power in Barangay Tongonan which supplies electricity not only in theEastern Visayas Region but power demand inLuzon andMindanao as well.[citation needed]
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 Saint Peter's College of Ormoc, aBenedictine-run Catholic college and the oldest, followed by Western Leyte College of Ormoc City, Inc.,[53] a private non-sectarian college. In the 1980s-1990s, the city saw the establishment of Santo Niño College of Ormoc,Saint Paul's School of Ormoc Foundation, Inc. and theSTI College - Ormoc. In the 2000s, tertiary institutions founded wereACLC College of Ormoc, San Lorenzo Ruiz College of Ormoc,Ormoc City Institute of Technology (OCIT) and the Ormoc campus of theEastern Visayas State University.
Ormoc also has their own Chinese school which is Ormoc Se San School.
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