Taft, Eastern Samar

Taft, officially the Municipality of Taft (Bungto han Taft; Bayan ng Taft), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 18,786 people.

It is bounded on the north by the town of Can-avid and on the south-southeast by the town of Sulat.

The municipality was named in honor of former United States President William Howard Taft, who served as Governor-General of the Philippines during the first decade of the 20th century.

History
Taft is one of the ancient pueblos in Samar situated in the eastern coast which was called Tubabao or Tubabaw in early times. This town was originally named after the river called Malinaw, but since the river causes heavy floods during rainy season, people began calling the place Tubig, which means water in Waray-Waray.

Barangays
Taft is politically subdivided into 24 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.


 * Batiawan
 * Beto
 * Binaloan
 * Bongdo
 * Dacul
 * Danao
 * Del Remedios
 * Gayam
 * Lomatud (Burak)
 * Mabuhay
 * Malinao
 * Mantang
 * Nato
 * Pangabutan
 * Poblacion Barangay 1
 * Poblacion Barangay 2
 * Poblacion Barangay 3
 * Poblacion Barangay 4
 * Poblacion Barangay 5
 * Poblacion Barangay 6 (Bliss)
 * Polangi
 * San Luis
 * San Pablo
 * San Rafael

Demographics
The population of Taft, Eastern Samar, in the 2020 census was 18,786 people, with a density of undefined PD/km2.

Notable personalities

 * Marcelino Libanan - Filipino politician
 * Andres Pagaran - poet and songwriter