Early history This place was used during the
Spanish occupation and the migration of the neighboring towns to settle in the more fertile plains of Ormoc. Much of the settlers in the town were the
Malayans. These people had a constant trading with the
Chinese,
Javans and
Indonesians. Their living, however, was always threatened by the attack of the
Moro pirates. As a result, The Malayan people in Ormoc developed "grapevine". a warning system communication used from people manning watch towers to inform and warn the people of the coming of these pirates.
Spanish Period July 16, 1595,
Pedro Cherino and the
Jesuit missionaries arrived in Leyte. On May 1597, a mission in Ormoc was established by these missionaries. That year, the locals were converted to Christianity. Years of peace was shortly disturbed when in year 1634, the sultan of
Sulu,
Raja Bungsu captured 300 natives after invading the town. The towns of
Sogod,
Kabalian,
Inopacan and
Baybay were also invaded and plundered. The locals of Ormoc fought Raja and his men but because they were outnumbered, they were massacred to the last man. In 1768. The Jesuits were replaced by
Augustinian missionaries. On February 26, 1834, Ormoc was separated into a municipality from Palompon.
Philippine Revolution Ormoc was a hotbed of revolutionaries seeking independence from Spanish rule. from which they would take part a few months after the outbreak of the
Philippine Revolution that occurred on August 1896. In which Leyte was in control from the
Revolutionary Government controlled by
Vicente Lukban.
Early American Period After the fall of the Revolution. A civil government was established on Leyte on April 22, 1901 when the Filipinos were under the authority of the Americans. from which the revolutionary leader
Faustino Ablen inspired locals to join the
Pulahan Movement. In 1903, the municipality of
Albuera was consolidated into Ormoc.
World War II After the
Japanese Occupation and a rule of
Second Philippine Republic. Ormoc is a garrison of small divisions of the
Imperial Japanese Army. With the Allies near the city. Japan began to reinforce the city and the
Battle of Ormoc Bay begins. The city is liberated afterwards.
Cityhood Ormoc became a city by virtue of
Republic Act No. 179 on October 20, 1947, becoming the fifteenth city in the Philippines and the first in the
Eastern Visayas region.
Kananga was created in 1950 from the barrios of Lonoy, Kananga, Rizal, Tugbong, Montebello, Aguiting, Tagaytay, Montealegre, Libungao, Naghalin, and Masarayao which all used to be part of Ormoc City.
1991 Flash Flood On the morning of November 5, 1991, the Ormoc region was inundated by
Tropical Storm Uring. The city government recorded 4,922 deaths, 3,000 missing persons, 14,000 destroyed houses and more than P600 million worth of damaged property. None of the 3,000 missing persons were ever found and are now presumed dead.
Illegal logging and
kaingin (slash-and-burn farming) were blamed as the reasons of the flood. It sits on top of the mass grave at the Ormoc City Public Cemetery where an estimated 4,900 victims are buried. The sculpture, entitled "Gift of Life", is an abstract depicting a life taken to heaven.
2022 plebiscite On January 19, 2021, the City Council enacted
Ordinance 52 Series of 2021 to merge the numbered
barangays (all in
Poblacion) and renaming them: • Barangays 1–8, 12, 13, 15, 17, 23 & 27 shall be merged to form a single unit to be named as Barangay
South; • Brgys. 9–11, 16, 18, 25 & 28 as Brgy.
East; • Brgys. 14, 19–22, 24 & 26 as Brgy.
West; and • Brgy. 29 will be renamed as Brgy.
North. The ordinance require a plebiscite and the determination of an affirmation will be based on the majority vote of the proposed administrative subdivision and not a majority vote per barangay. This is to avoid creation of
enclaves and
exclaves. Then mayor
Richard Gomez approved the ordinance on January 22, 2021. On June 22, 2022, the
Commission on Elections through
Resolution No. 10796 set the plebiscite on October 8. The plebiscite was held at the Ormoc City Central School, with 35 polling precincts, wherein 10,209 registered voters from 29 barangays were expected to participate. With a voter turnout of more than half, majority of them approved the reorganization. ==Geography==