About Biliran Province, Philippines

Biliran
is one of the smallest provinces in the Philippines and it is located in the Eastern Visayas region. An island province, Biliran lies just a few kilometers north of the island of Leyte. Its capital is Naval and for a time, Biliran was part of the province of Leyte until it became independent in 1992.

BRIEF PROFILE
Capital:	Naval
Land Area:	536.01 km²
Population:	161,760 ⁽²⁰¹⁰⁾
Cities:	-
Munacipalities:	8
Barangays:	132
Districts:	Lone district of Biliran
Languages:	Cebuano, Waray-Waray, English

The People______________________________

The inhabitants of Biliran primarily speak Cebuano and Waray. Cebuano, spoken by 57.79% of the population is found mainly on the western area of the island, nearest Cebu, while Waray-Waray spoken by 40.80% can be found on the eastern portion. Majority of the residents also speak and understand Tagalog and English.

Getting There and Away_____________________

The stepping stone into the Philippines is Manila, so no matter where you want to go in the Philippines the hub is Manila. You have a couple of options from Manila which is roughly 700 kilometres north west of Samar.

By Plane
By Bus
Combination of both

Origin__________________________________

During the early Spanish era, what is now called Biliran Island was known as Isla de Panamao. The term refers to an ethnic fishing net. The present name, believed to be adopted sometime between the late 1600s and the early 1700s, was, according to many publications, derived from a native grass called borobiliran which once grew abundantly on the island's plains. A contending theory states that the name came from the word bilir, which was defined in an old Visayan dictionary to be the “corner or edge of a boat, vase or anything protruding, like veins, or the furrow made by the plow.” The dictionary also gives biliran as an alternate spelling for bilir. This theory is supported by the fact that Biliran was site of the first large-scale shipyard, built in the 1600s. Galleons were built to support the Galleon trade between Manila and Acapulco in Mexico.

The first town, named Biliran, was founded in 1712. During this time, the island was a part of the province of Cebu. Biliran, together with the islands of Samar and Leyte were constituted into a separate province in 1735. Later when Samar and Leyte were split into two provinces in 1768, Biliran became part of Leyte.