Villaba

Villaba
Brief History:
● From “HAMINDANGON”
Spaniards renamed the place to Villa
Alba in honor of the wife of the
Manila Governor, Doňa Pia Alba.
Villa Alba was then shortened to
Villaba and retained the same name
when the town was officially
established on June 10, 1910.

● Likewise the name Villaba is a

combination of Villa and Alba which
bears an English translation of
“house of flowers”.
Villaba
Facts & Figures:
 ● It is located in the northwestern part of Leyte
and approximately 115 kms. from Tacloban City.
It is a third class municipality
 ● According to the 2015 census, it has a
population of 41,891. It has a total land area of
150.31 sq. km.
 ● There are 35 barangays that comprised the
town. It is bounded on the East by the towns of
Matag-ob and Kananga, in the North by Leyte
and Tabango and the Visayan Sea in the West and
Palompon in the south.
 ● This September 6th the Villaba Parish will
commemorate its 133rd Anniversary as Parish.
Buga-buga Hill
during World War II

 - The name Buga-buga was derived from

sound of the water at the creek located at the
foot of the hill which makes a spitting blow
sound or “bugwak” or “buga” in Cebuano.


 - It is 335 meters above sea level.

 - The hill is well known as the last

stronghold of General Sosaku Suzuki, the
commander of Japanese operations in Leyte.
Buga-buga Hill
during World War II
- On December 19, 1944, General Yamashita
informed Japanese commanders in Leyte
that they could no longer expect to
received reinforcements and supplies.

-General Sosaku Suzuki, commander of the

Leyte forces, devised a scheme to
occupy high plateaus southeast of Villaba

-On December 25, 1944, Gen. Suzuki and

about 10,000 of his troops concentrated at
Mt. Canquipot (now known as Buga-buga
Hill) and made it as natural fortress.

-On 20 January 1945, with humors that rescue

had docked in Balite area, Lt. Tomochika and others
waited on the beach for a boat that never came and they were plunged into the depths of despair.
Buga-buga Hill
during World War II

- On February 11, 1945, the 96th Filipino

Regiments joined the 164th American
Regiments on their push to the sea south of
the hill and killing over 50 Japanese.

- On Febraury 16, 1945, they reached the

sea at Abijao and immediately established a
perimeter on high grounds around.

- February 17, 1945, some Japanese did

succeed in infiltrating its lines but lost 37 of men

- On 21 February 1945, American forces ran into heavy fires

from small mortars and machine guns causing the Japanese to
lose 64 men, and the Americans with 9.
Buga-buga Hill
during World War II
- On the night of 23-24, February 1945,
30 Japanese trying to infiltrate the perimeter
between Company E and G. The fight killed
another 5 Japanese and 1 American.

- Evening of March 17, 1945 two Japanese

vessels appeared.

- March 18, around 12:30AM, Gen. Suzuki

and some of his troops boarded the vessels
leaving at least 3,000 other troops.

- The remaining troops continued fighting for

several days hoping that they will be rescued
but none came. Many of them died from
starvation and illness.
Buga-buga Hill
during World War II
- March 24, 1945, the 164th Regiment had an
actual count they killed 2,010 Japanese,
unestimated number of wounded,
and taken 18 POWs

- On the evening of April 26, the vessel bearing

General Suzuki was bombed by American
aircraft off the coast of Negros island and
Gen. Suzuki was killed.

- The Liberation of Leyte had been

accomplished at no slight cost.

- The total U.S. casualties from the Leyte

campaign was over 15,500 which includes
3,500 killed, nearly 12,000 wounded.

- The Japanese historians of the Leyte operations estimated the total strength of their men was more 70,000 and
59,400 lost their lives approximately 1/5 of their forces in the Philippine islands.
Filipino-Japanese World War 2
Veterans Memorial Shrine
Constructed in the year 1995, this memorial shrine stands near the coast of barangay Balite
and marks the spot where the combined Filipino and American forces who fought the Japanese
Imperial Army.
Peace and Friendship Monument
Erected by a Japanese Citizen alongside the road of Barangay Cabunga-an
Thank you