Naval, Biliran


', officially the ', is a of the Philippines| and capital of the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.

History

The town of Naval was once named Bagazumbol, which was perceived by natives as being too warlike a description. The aboriginal name was later modified in 1859 to a more peaceful name—the presently known Naval.
On May 26, 1860, Naval was separated from Biliran, but it became an independent parish only in September later that year. The following year, on July 31, 1861, Romualdo Ximeno, Bishop of Cebu, officially declared Naval an independent parish. In August 1861, Father Santos de Santa Juana took up formal residence as the first parish priest of Naval and served the town for twenty-one years until 1882.
On September 26, 1869, Naval was officially established and recognized as an independent pueblo.
In 1957, the barrio of Higatangan was abolished, and its sitios of Libertad and Mabini were converted into barrios.
As of today, Naval pushes itself on its way to cityhood.

Geography

Hinatangan Island is under jurisdiction of Naval Municipality.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the has a land area of constituting of the total area of Biliran, making it the largest municipality in the province.

Barangays

Naval is politically subdivided into 26 barangays.

Climate

Demographics

In the, had a population of. The population density was.

Government

The mayors of Naval were Brigido Caneja, Sr., who served from 1956 to 1971; Arturo Velasquez from 1972 to 1979; Niceto Limpiado from 1980 to 1986; Fortunato Casas from 1986 to 1987; Gorgonio Contredas and Francisca Bangcuyo in 1987; and Simeon Pitao from 1988 to 1997. Gerardo J. Espina, Jr. from 1998 to 2004, and Gerardo S. Espina, Sr. from 2004 to 2006. Presently, the town is headed by Gerard Roger Espina.

Transportation

The main campus of Biliran Province State University is located in Naval.
Naval has the following health facilities: