MacArthur, Philippines

History

The name MacArthur can be traced back to the liberation of the Philippines from the hands of the Japanese forces. As an expression of gratitude, six years after American general Douglas MacArthur landed at the Leyte Beach, the Leyteños named the town after the American general. This occurred after the lobbying efforts of Daniel Romualdez, then Congressman of the First District of Leyte.

In the latter part of 19th century, MacArthur was a flourishing village called Bagacay, named after a bamboo species, because of the abundance of the plant in the locality. Its first inhabitants were the families of Gabion, Matol, Echavez, Moquia, Jervoso and Galo who came from the neighboring towns of Abuyog, Tolosa, Tanauan and Burauen. Abuyog was its mother town.

The name Bagacay was then changed to Tarragona by a parish priest of Abuyog, Friar Bernardo Tapiol, who choose the name in honor of his native city in Spain. Sometime in 1898, Tarragona became an independent town with Anastacio Jervoso as Captain, the chief executive. That was when the Spanish government changed hands with the short-lived Philippine Republic. Leyte was then under the governorship of Gen. Mojica, Military Governor of Leyte. The local government, however, ended with the short-lived Philippine Republic, returning to its former status as a barrio.

From the History section of MacArthur, Leyte on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.