Babatngon

Babatngon (IPA: [bɐbɐt'ŋon]), officially the Municipality of Babatngon (Waray: Bungto han Babatngon; Tagalog: Bayan ng Babatngon), is a municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 28,823 people.^[5]

The place got its name from the word batong, a large trap made of abaca fibers used for hunting by the early Boholano settlers. Later on named as "Babatngon," which means hunting ground with the use of a net.

Babatngon is located in the northern part of the island of Leyte, along the shore of Carigara Bay. It is situated on a small plain set in a semicircle of mountain ranges and nestles in the northern mouth of the San Juanico Strait, which separates Samar from Leyte. Boats coming in or going out of Tacloban have to pass by it through the pilot station of Canaway, one of the islets along the strait. It is 33 kilometres (21 mi) north-west of Tacloban and about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of the town of San Miguel. Small coconut covered islets fringe its coast along San Juanico Strait, the most important of which are Rizal, Magsaigad, Tabigue, almost all of which extend from east to west.

Babatngon is politically subdivided into 25 barangays. ^[6] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

In 1957, sitios Biasong, Lube, Ubayan, Calcagan, Cancamaoy, and Opong were constituted into barrio Biasong while sitio Nababoy was converted into barrio San Ricardo.^[7]

In the 2024 census, the population of Babatngon was 29,587 people,^[14] with a density of 260 inhabitants per square kilometre or 670 inhabitants per square mile.

Poverty incidence of Babatngon

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]}

Babatngon is known for Busay Falls, a three-tiered cataract which is an attraction for picnickers who flock to Babatngon during the summer months. A massive bowl of solid, moss-covered rock catches the cool waters of the third fall.

There are 11 barrios linked to the town proper with "vecinal" roads. These are provided with artesian wells. Barrio Bagahupi has been made a pilot barrio in the study of schistosomiasis as the area has been suspected of being positive for the parasite.

Although some of the buildings burned down during the war have not been reconstructed, several pre-fabricated buildings have taken care of the needs of the children.

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System