HISTORY OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF LLORENTE

Julio Aballe Llorente (1863–1940), a Cebuano politician who was influential in the
formation of the American Government in Cebu, was given the municipality's name. In the
early 1900s, he was the first Governor of Cebu and later became Governor of Samar.
Llorente is politically subdivided into 33 barangays if you travel Llorente eastern samar to
tacloban it has 2 hr and 58mins (151.4km).

History of the Municipality of Llorente For over a hundred years, the municipality was
known as Lanang derived fromour dialect Tanang, which is translated as over-ripe and is
specially referred tobananas implying its abundance. The name Lanang was used for a
number of yearswhich up to the present date its people are called “Lanangnons”.

The humble beginning of the said municipality date as far back as the pre-Spanish
era. Oral tradition revealed that the first settlers of the place came from the town of
Borongan (about 40kms. North), who built a hut in a pace called locally as Lopok located in
the eastern side of the present Roman Catholic Church, south of themouth of Lanang River
(Llorente River) and directly facing the Pacific Ocean in the east. Then another group of
settlers came from Guiuan (a town about 70 kms. South) who while hunting wild pigs
discovered the place. The built a house along the bank near the mouth of the Tongkip River.
Later they transferred and established themselves near the first settlers since there was a
good spring called Bodyongan across the Lanang River.

In 1783, El Pueblo de Lanang was established with 3, 846 inhabitants. Catholic faith
was then inculcated to the natives of the Pueblo through the efforts of the parish priest of the
Pueblo de Borongan, Fray Roque de San Jose Osam. On May 14, 1851,the Governor
General, Don Antonio de Urbiztondo approved the independent status of Lanang with R.P.T.
Jose de Lilio as the first Parish priest, although ecclesiastical administration still depended
on the parish of the Pueblo de Borongan.

When the Americans came in 1898, Lanang was already a thriving community. It was
during this regime, the name Lanang was changed to Llorente, in honor of Julio Llorente, the
first governor of the island of Samar. Moreover, there was a need for a change in the name
for proper identification from Lanang, a municipality of the island having a close similarity in
spelling with Lanang.

With time, the inhabitants of the place gradually increase in number making it a
bigger and progressive community.

Geography, the municipality is located in the eastern part of Samar facing the Pacific
Ocean and surrounded in the west by rugged terrains and mountains which favors fishing
and farming as main occupations.

Presently, the municipality of Llorente is considered as fifth largest town of Eastern

Samar occupying a total land area of 600.3 square kilometers and projected population of
approximately 24, 000 inhabitants comprising 33 upland and low land barangays.

Lopok: is the vernacular term for ground amidst a generally plain tract of land.

Bodyongan: is a local for spring and this remained as the main source of drinking
water for the people in the Poblacion and Bo. Tabok until mid-1950’s.