Catarman, officially the Municipality of Catarman (Waray [Ninorte Samarnon]: Bungto san Catarman; Tagalog: Bayan ng Catarman), is a municipality and capital of the province of Northern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 97,879 people. It is the commercial, educational, financial, and political center of the province. It is the most populous municipality in Eastern Visayas.
Before the coming of the Spaniards, Catarman (also known as Calatman or Cataruman) was a settlement by the mouth of the river of the same name in the region called Ibabao. The Spanish Conquistadors applied the term Ibabao to the northern part of Samar 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 town was one of the 13 villages and settlements and adopted as pueblos 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 Visayan islands, then collectively referred to as Islas de Pintados [Island of the Painted Ones].
In 1974, Catarman was made the center of the episcopal see of the then newly established Roman Catholic Diocese of Catarman comprising the Northern Samar province, with the Our Lady of the Annunciation Parish Church as the designated cathedral.
Catarman lies on the northern part of Samar Island, bounded to the east by Mondragon, to the west by Bobon, to the south by Lope de Vega, to the southwest by Calbayog City, and to the north by the Philippine Sea.
On the Pacific coast are flat lowlands with the interior characterized by outlying low hills. Mount 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 less prominent estuaries.
Catarman is politically subdivided into 55 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
- Acacia (pob.)
- Aguinaldo
- Airport Village (pob.)
- Bangkerohan
- Baybay (pob.)
- Bocsol
- Cabayhan
- Cag-abaca
- Cal-igang
- Calachuchi (pob.)
- Casoy (pob.)
- Cawayan
- Cervantes
- Cularima
- Daganas
- Dalakit
- Doña Pulqueria
- Galutan
- Gebalagnan
- Gibulwangan
- Guba
- Hinatad
- Imelda
- Ipil-ipil (pob.)
- Jose Abad Santos (pob.)
- Jose P. Rizal (pob.)
- Lapu-lapu (pob.)
- Liberty
- Libjo
- Mabini
- Mabolo (pob.)
- Macagtas
- Malvar
- McKinley
- Molave (pob.)
- Narra (pob.)
- New Rizal
- Old Rizal
- Paticua
- Polangi
- Quezon
- Salvacion
- Sampaguita (pob.)
- San Julian
- San Pascual
- Santol (pob.)
- Somoge
- Talisay (pob.)
- Tinowaran
- Trangue
- UEP Zone I
- UEP Zone II
- UEP Zone III
- Washington
- Yakal (pob.)
Poverty incidence of Catarman
PAL Express is the only airline operating through the Catarman National Airport, with flights between Manila and Catarman four times weekly. Flights are frequently booked well in advance due to ticket costs. Pedicabs and motorized tricycles are the means of transportation within the town. Jeepneys, vans, and buses are the means of transportation between Catarman and neighboring towns. Several vans and bus companies also operate to serve travelers between the town and Manila.
Catarman is home to the University of Eastern Philippines, the first state university in the Visayas and the largest university by student population and curriculum in Eastern Visayas. 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.
Other prominent public and private educational institutions:
Elementary:
- Catarman Chinese Chamber Elementary School
- Catarman II Central School
- Catarman III Central School
- Baybay Elementary School
- Catarman SpEd Center
- Cawayan Integrated School
- Colegio de San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila
- Northern Samar Colleges
- University of Eastern Philippines Laboratory Elementary School
High School:
College/Vocational:
Notable personalities
edit- Narciso Abuke - Lt. Col. and Area Commander of Northern Samar during the Philippine-American War. Killed Pulahan leader Pedro de la Cruz in 1906. Mayor of Catarman 1912–1916
- Pablo Rebadulla - lawyer and Waray-language poet and musician
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