Taft, Eastern Samar
Municipality in Eastern Samar, Philippines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Taft, officially the Municipality of Taft (Waray: Bungto han Taft; Tagalog: Bayan ng Taft), is a municipality in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 18,692 people.[5]
Taft
Tubig | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Taft | |
St. James the Greater Parish Church | |
 Flag | |
| Motto: Diri natumba, naluros nala | |
 Map of Eastern Samar with Taft highlighted | |
 Interactive map of Taft | |
.svg)  Taft Location within the Philippines | |
| Coordinates: 11°54′21″N 125°25′05″E | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Eastern Visayas |
| Province | Eastern Samar |
| District | Lone district |
| Named after | William Howard Taft |
| Barangays | 24 (see Barangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Bayan |
| • Mayor | Gina A. Ty |
| • Vice Mayor | Ma. Concepcion A. Hilario |
| • Representative | Maria Fe R. Abunda |
| • Councilors | List |
| • Electorate | 15,002 voters (2025) |
| Area | |
• Total | 231.27 km2 (89.29 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 22 m (72 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 129 m (423 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2024 census)[3] | |
• Total | 18,692 |
| • Density | 80.823/km2 (209.33/sq mi) |
| • Households | 4,764 |
| Economy | |
| • Income class | 4th municipal income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 38.71 |
| • Revenue | ₱ 159.2 million (2024) |
| • Assets | ₱ 388 million (2024) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 143.5 million (2024) |
| • Liabilities | ₱ 84.68 million (2024) |
| Service provider | |
| • Electricity | Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative (ESAMELCO) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ZIP code | 6816 |
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)55 |
| Native languages | Waray Tagalog |
| Website | taft-esamar |
It is bounded on the north by the town of Can-avid and on the south-southeast by the town of Sulat.
The municipality was named in honor of former United States President William Howard Taft, who served as Governor-General of the Philippines during the first decade of the 20th century.
History
Taft is one of the ancient pueblos in Samar situated in the eastern coast which was called Tubabao or Tubabaw in early times. This town was originally named after the river called Malinaw, but since the river causes heavy floods during rainy season, people began calling the place Tubig, which means water in Waray-Waray.[6]
Geography
Barangays
Taft is politically subdivided into 24 barangays. [7] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
- Batiawan
- Beto
- Binaloan
- Bongdo
- Dacul
- Danao
- Del Remedios
- Gayam
- Lomatud (Burak)
- Mabuhay
- Malinao
- Mantang
- Nato
- Pangabutan
- Poblacion Barangay 1
- Poblacion Barangay 2
- Poblacion Barangay 3
- Poblacion Barangay 4
- Poblacion Barangay 5
- Poblacion Barangay 6 (Bliss)
- Polangi
- San Luis
- San Pablo
- San Rafael
Climate
| Climate data for Taft, Eastern Samar | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 27 (81) |
27 (81) |
28 (82) |
29 (84) |
30 (86) |
30 (86) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
28 (82) |
28 (82) |
29 (83) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (74) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 97 (3.8) |
64 (2.5) |
69 (2.7) |
58 (2.3) |
98 (3.9) |
161 (6.3) |
167 (6.6) |
140 (5.5) |
158 (6.2) |
171 (6.7) |
169 (6.7) |
154 (6.1) |
1,506 (59.3) |
| Average rainy days | 17.1 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.2 | 21.1 | 25.2 | 26.8 | 25.4 | 25.5 | 26.5 | 23.0 | 20.3 | 254.3 |
| Source: Meteoblue[8] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1903 | 3,031 | — |
| 1918 | 3,866 | +1.64% |
| 1939 | 5,743 | +1.90% |
| 1948 | 7,078 | +2.35% |
| 1960 | 10,463 | +3.31% |
| 1970 | 11,296 | +0.77% |
| 1975 | 12,554 | +2.14% |
| 1980 | 14,545 | +2.99% |
| 1990 | 13,449 | −0.78% |
| 1995 | 16,613 | +4.04% |
| 2000 | 16,435 | −0.23% |
| 2007 | 16,362 | −0.06% |
| 2010 | 17,183 | +1.80% |
| 2015 | 18,915 | +1.85% |
| 2020 | 18,786 | −0.14% |
| 2024 | 18,692 | −0.12% |
| Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[9][10][11][12][13] | ||
The population of Taft, Eastern Samar, in the 2024 census was 18,692 people,[14] with a density of 81 inhabitants per square kilometre or 210 inhabitants per square mile.
Economy
Notable personalities
- Marcelino Libanan - Filipino politician
- Andres Pagaran - poet and songwriter[23]
