Cabiton-an is one of 58 rural barangays located in Daram, a 4th class municipality in the province of Samar

Samar

Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...

 in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

.

History

The present name, believed to have been adopted in the mid 1900s, was, according to many traditions, derived from a native tree called bituon which once grew abundantly in the area. A contending theory states that the name came from the native Waray word for Star, also bituon.

Geography

Cabiton-an is located at the northernmost point of the island municipality of Daram, which lies within the western part of Samar Sea

Samar Sea

The Samar Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, between the Eastern Visayas and Luzon.It is bordered by the islands of Samar to the east, Leyte to the south, Masbate to the west, and Luzon to the north...

 and the Zumarraga Channel. The north and western boundary is the Samar Sea

Samar Sea

The Samar Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, between the Eastern Visayas and Luzon.It is bordered by the islands of Samar to the east, Leyte to the south, Masbate to the west, and Luzon to the north...

; the eastern boundary is the Zumarraga Channel.

It can be reached by a 30-minute boat ride from the provincial capital of Catbalogan.

Government

Cabiton-an comprises three purok

Purok

Purok is a political subdivision of the barangay in the Philippines, especially in rural areas. Both barangay and SK councilors are in charge of leading their own respective puroks....

s (zones), Purok One, Purok Two and Purok Three respectively. Like all other barangays in the country, it is governed from the Barangay

Barangay

A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...

 Hall by a Barangay Captain, an elected official entitled for three-year term, who is aided by seven Sangguniang Barangay member

Barangay Kagawad

A Barangay Kagawad, abbreviated as "Kgwd.", is an elected government official who is a member of the Sangguniang Barangay of a particular barangay, the smallest political unit in the Philippines...

s (barangay kagawads or councilors), also elected. In 2008, it has a budgetary allocation of PHP 615,795 from the Philippine government.

Barangay Elected Officials (2007-2010)

Barangay Captain

• Marife C. Efsor

Barangay Councilors

• Alijandrena Casiano
• Bartolome Calzado
• Eflie Fiel
• Emma Efsor
• Jolito Lacaba
• Noel Casiano
• William Aranchado

Barangay Elected Officials (2010-2013)

Barangay Captain

• Renaldo Casiano

Barangay Councilors

• Alexander Aranchado
• Rodboy Casiano
• Nonito Efsor
• Aiko Fiel
• Rechardo Efsor
• Borja Lacaba
• Bethel Cebu

Population

According to the 2007 census, Cabiton-an has a population of 1,006 people in 160 households.

The native language of the majority in Cabiton-an is Samarnon-Waray-Waray (also known as Waraynon, Samarnon, or Samar-Leyte Visayan).

Livelihood

Being a coastal area, the main livelihood is fishing and agriculture. Seafood is a local speciality, in fact, many fish are sold in the markets of nearby Daram, Catbalogan and Tacloban.

The major fishing products caught in the seas around Cabiton-an are galonggong, alumahan, tamban, pompano

Pompano

Pompanos are marine fishes in the Trachinotus genus of the Carangidae family . Pompano may also refer to various other, similarly shaped members of Carangidae, or the order Perciformes. Their appearance is deep bodied and mackerel-like, typically silver and toothless with a forked tail and...

, bisugo (bream), lapu-lapu, rabbitfish

Rabbitfish

Rabbitfishes or spinefoots are perciform fishes in the family Siganidae. The 28 species are in a single genus, Siganus. In some now obsolete classifications, the species having prominent face stripes—colloquially called foxfaces–are in the genus Lo. Other species like the Masked...

, slipmouth and assorted. Other fish resources are seaweed

Seaweed

Seaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...

, mussels/oysters, crabs and shells.

Agricultural income is derived mostly from coconuts

COcOnuts

COcOnuts is the second album released by Jane, comprising Animal Collective member Panda Bear, and Scott Mou. It was originally self-released on CD-R's, but later became the first album released by Psych-o-path Records in 2005. The Psych-o-path version was remastered by Rusty Santos and Edik Kleyner....

, bananas, corn

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

 and other crops such as sweet potato

Sweet potato

The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...

, cassava

Cassava

Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...

, and legumes.

Infrastructure

Cabiton-an offers basic rural infrastructure that includes water-based transportation, a plentiful public water supply, power supply from SAMELCO II, cellular and cable communication facilities, sports and recreational facilities, tourist spots, and common service establishments.

Education

Cabiton-an has one primary school, Cabiton-an Public School, with 205 students attending grades one through six. Students desiring to attend grades beyond six must matriculate to nearby secondary schools in Parasan or Catbalogan.

Religion

Most of the inhabitants of Cabiton-an are Roman Catholics and a small number of Born again (Christianity). Because of the huge number of Catholics, like other places in Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, they also celebrate fiesta (festival

Festival

A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....

). Their patron saint is Saint Roch whose feast day is on January 22-23.