Tanauan (IPA: [tɐn'ʔaʊɐn]), officially the Municipality of Tanauan (; ), is a first-class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 60,212 people.

Tanauan is one of the oldest towns in Leyte, dating back to the year 1710. It is composed of 54 barangays. The town has also been known as the “Cradle of Intellectuals”, or the Bungto han Kamag-araman, since the Spanish colonial era. Tanauan is approximately 18 kilometers south of Tacloban City, the capital of the Eastern Visayas Region. It is bounded on the north by the municipality of Palo, Tolosa on the south, Dagami and Tabon-tabon on its west side and on the east by San Pedro Bay.

The town was heavily damaged by Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in November 2013. The town celebrates its fiesta annually on August 15.

History

Pre-Spanish and Spanish Colonial eras The town got its name from a towering molave tree which served as a look-out tower. “Tan-awan” or "taran-awan" means to "look out" in the Waray language. In Visayan and Mindanao history, a person who served as a lookout is there to watch for Moro pirates who would attack and plunder settlements along the coast.

The first known settlers of Tanauan were the family of Calanao with his wife and only daughter. In 1661, Juanillo Siengco's family joined the Calanao family in the settlement along the riverbanks of the Bukid River at the foot of Adil Hill. By the time their settlements were more developed, the plundering of the Moros along the coast intensified. Seeking for refuge, they built a stone-walled enclosure called cuta in the area of Buaya. Later, Juanillo's son, Josef, married Calanao's daughter, Sangod, and from the families of Juanillo Siengco and Calanao a tribe was formed, which gave Tanauan its first tribal leaders.

In 1710, during the Spanish reign in the Philippines, the first town officials were appointed by the Spanish authorities. From 1710 up to the end of the Spanish Colonial era in the 1900s and the start of the American occupation, 47 persons became chief executives of the municipality. The 1818 Spanish census recorded 2,153 native families in Tanauan and 29 Spanish-Filipino families living with them side-by-side.

Tolosa, an adjacent town to the south of Tanauan, was once part of the municipality. Through the efforts of Magdalino Vivero and Domingo Camacho, the Spanish government was petitioned to grant Tolosa autonomy from the municipality. The petition was granted in 1852.

American Colonial Period to the Japanese Occupation; World War II During the American regime in 1901 to 1943, a new set of municipal executives were assigned. When World War II broke out, Pedro A. Villegas was the incumbent mayor.

When the Japanese occupied the town, Mayor Villegas and his secretary, Janario Perez, refused to serve the Japanese authorities, and thus Rufo Cobacha was appointed mayor by the Japanese, followed by Pedro Bulik who was eventually killed by the local guerrillas.

During the Japanese occupation, the town was burned by the guerrillas in 1943. This unfortunate event destroyed the municipal building, including its records, and a lot of the big ancestral houses of Spanish architecture along Calle Real. When the US Allied Forces stormed the town during the liberation of Leyte, it resulted in further destruction of the municipal hall (Lian Chong Building) and the few remaining houses along Calle Real. However, few lives were lost during the assault as the town's people were warned beforehand and took refuge at the fortified parish church. Eugenio Avila Sr. was the incumbent mayor when the Filipino and American Liberation Forces occupied the town. The US Sixth Army initially established its headquarters in Tanauan before the construction of the airfield began in November 1944.

Tanauan Airfield and its logistical importance during the liberation of the Philippines The X and XXIV Corps from the United States Sixth Army took part in the liberation of Tanauan from the Japanese Occupation Forces immediately after the US and Allied Forces landed on the beaches of Leyte in October 1944. Shortly thereafter, the United States Sixth Army, under the command of Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, established its headquarters in Tanauan. On November 15, 1944, a meeting was held at the site of the Sixth Army headquarters by the commanders and staff members of the major units who participated in the Luzon Campaign.

When the US and Allied Forces captured the airstrip at Tacloban, the work to further develop it for US warplanes was handicapped due to the heavy concentration of troops, supplies, and equipment in the area during the early stages of the operation. It was further hampered by insufficient supply of corals for surfacing the runway. Works were also simultaneously done on the other two airstrips in Buri and San Pablo in the vicinity of Burauen, but these were halted in the latter part of November 1944, as it was deemed that a considerable amount of time and effort had been spent in the futile attempt to make these airfields usable. The inability of the Sixth Army to meet its construction dates on the airstrips prevented the US forces from stopping the flow of Japanese reinforcements and made it impossible for the Allied Forces to give sufficient land-based air support to the ground troops.

In a desperate move to have an operational airfield, Lieutenant General Krueger received permission from General Douglas MacArthur to construct an airfield in Tanauan. On November 28, 1944, the headquarters of the US Sixth Army was moved to Tolosa to start the construction of the airfield. The airfield site covers an area bounded on the north, south and west by Embarcadero River, and on the east by San Pedro Bay. The site was favorably chosen due to its generally flat terrain, good sandy surface, and satisfactory drainage, and was also proven to be an excellent location for an airfield. In December 1944, the field became operational. By December 25, 1944, one runway with mat surfacing, one overrun, 90,000 square feet of warm-up area, 120,000 square feet of alert apron, one parallel taxiway, and 26 large dispersal areas were completed. The control tower was code-named “Velvet Tower.”

All Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12) planes in Leyte, which played an important air support role for the Sixth Army, moved from Tacloban Airfield to Tanauan Airfield in December 1944. The airfield was used by the following units:

312th Bombardment Group (November 19, 1944 to February 10, 1945) 340th Fighter Squadron (December 15, 1944) 341st Fighter Squadron (December 14, 1944) 460th Fighter-Interceptor Training Squadron (December 12, 1944) 433rd Troop Carrier Group (January 19, 1945 to May 31, 1945) 348th FG 460th Fighter Squadron (P-47) 348th FG 340th Fighter Squadron (P-47) 348th FG 341st Fighter Squadron (P-47) 348th FG 342nd Fighter Squadron (P-47) 25th Liaison Squadron (UC-78 and L-5). The airfield was abandoned following the withdrawal of the Allied Forces after the war and was later on referred to as "landing" by the locals. Today, a small remnant of this airfield can still be found in an area called "Pawa", located in Barangay Santo Niño. Most of the remaining areas are now occupied by large business establishments such as the Pepsi Cola Tanauan Plant and New Leyte Edible Oil Manufacturing Corporation compound. The Tanauan Public Market, various commercial buildings and residential neighborhoods are also now in the area. The airfield covers the area of what is now known as Barangay San Roque and Barangay Santo Niño. Maharlika Highway (formerly known as Highway 1), which connects the Eastern Visayas Region with Luzon to the north and Mindanao to the south, traverses the former airfield site.

Post-World War II to the present During the liberation, Benito Saavedra was appointed mayor of the newly restored Philippine government, then succeeded by the following in the order of incumbencies: Rufo Cumpio -1945 Dioniso Boco - 1946 Pelagio O. Tecson – 1946-1947 After the liberation period, Dionisio Boco became the first mayor, then succeeded by Pelagio O. Tecson Sr. In 1950, Barrio Haclagan, the site of the former US Airfield, was renamed Santo Niño.

Pelagio Tecson, Sr. was the mayor during the period of martial law in the Philippines up to February 25, 1986, the date of the EDSA Revolution, when Felix Cortez was appointed Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Mayor by the new government. The local elections held on February 1, 1988, resulted in the election of Charles R. Avila. It was during his tenure that he was appointed as Administrator of the Philippine Coconut Authority in January 1991, and Vice Mayor Rodolfo Cinco succeeded him as mayor.

In the May 1992 synchronized elections for national and local officials, Roque Tiu won over five candidates for the mayoralty position. Tiu was the chief executive of the town until his second term ended in 1998. Mark Gimenez was elected mayor from 1998 to 2001. During the 2001 elections, Tiu ran again and won over Gimenez, making Tiu mayor of the town for three consecutive terms from 2001 to 2010. After Tiu completed his term, his vice mayor, Agapito Pagayanan Jr., ran for the mayoralty position during the 2010 general elections and won. His term started in 2010 and ended in 2013. During the 2013 mid-term elections, Pelagio Tecson, Jr. won over the incumbent mayor with only a small margin of votes.

Geography

Barangays Tanauan is politically subdivided into 54 barangays Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

Ada Amanluran Arado Atipolo Balud Bangon Bantagan Baras Binolo Binongto-an Bislig Buntay (Poblacion) Cabalagnan Cabarasan Guti Cabonga-an Cabuynan Cahumayhumayan Calogcog Calsadahay Camire Canbalisara Canramos (Poblacion) Catigbian Catmon Cogon Guindag-an Guingauan Hilagpad Lapay Licod (Poblacion) Limbuhan Daku Limbuhan Guti Linao Kiling Magay Maghulod Malaguicay Maribi Mohon Pago Pasil Picas Sacme San Miguel (Poblacion) Salvador San Isidro San Roque (Poblacion) San Victor Santa Cruz Santa Elena Santo Niño (Haclagan) (Poblacion) Solano Talolora Tugop

Climate

Demographics

In the 2024 census, the population of Tanauan was 60,212 people, with a density of .

Language Waray-waray is the language spoken by the people of Tanauan. It is the lingua franca or common language of the Eastern Visayas region. However, Tagalog is widely understood and spoken by the locals when talking to other people coming from Manila and other Philippine provinces. English remains the language used by the local government and schools on official correspondences and documents. Waray-waray is used as a medium of instruction in schools in the municipality from Kindergarten to Grade 3. Filipino and English languages are officially taught in schools as part of the primary and secondary education curriculum requirement.

Religion

Tanauan has a 100% Christian population. Almost 96-97% of the municipality's population are Roman Catholics. Every village has its own Roman Catholic chapel aside from the parish church in the town proper. There are also adherents of other Christian denominations and sects like the Iglesia ni Cristo, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), Seventh-day Adventists (Sabadistas), Evangelicals (Born-Again Christians), Jehovah's Witnesses (Mga Saksi ni Jehova) and many more.

The municipality's patron saint is Our Lady of the Assumption (Nuestra Señora de la Asunción).

Economy