Samboan is a 5th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines and one of the 15 towns that constitute the second congressional district. It is situated at the southwestern coast of the island, approximately 140 kilometers away from Cebu City.
The town lies near the tip of the island, bounded by the Municipality of Ginatilan on the north, by the Municipality of Santander on the south and by Municipality of Oslob on the east. On the west side is the clear view of the Tañon Strait.
Samboan is a small town with total land area of 6,414 hectares, subdivided into 15 barangays. These barangays are: Basak, Bonbon, Bulangsuran, Calatagan, Cambigong, Camburoy, Canorong, Colase, Dalahikan, Jumangpas, Monteverde, Poblacion, San Sebastian, Suba and Tangbo.
The town’s topography is characterized with high mountains scattered over the place. The climate falls on the third type in the Philippines, distinguished with short dry season lasting from one to three months and no pronounced maximum rain period.
The dwellers of the town engaged in different industries for livelihood. Fishing and agriculture are the basic sources of income but residents also engage in cottage industries (sinamay, weaving and nipa-roof shingles), handicrafts for exports and tourism.
How The Town Got Its Name?
“Sinamboang” was the word where the name of the town was derived. ”Samboang is an abbreviation of the word, which literally means a way of fishing commonly used by the fishermen in the village. Since then, the town was named Samboang until it evolved into its current name.
Like other legends of the etymology of the towns’ names in Cebu, Samboan has also its own explanation. The Spaniards and the natives, though living peacefully, did not understand each others’ languages. One time, some Spaniards came upon the village and happened to see a group of fishermen doing “sinamboang”. Curious about the name of the place, the Spaniards asked the natives about its name in their own language. The native failed to understand thought they were asking on what they are doing and they promptly answered, “Sinamboang”. Since the word is difficult in the Spanish tongue, it was shortened into “Samboan”.
History:
Samboan can be found on a hill. It used to be much bigger in terms of land area during the time. Oslob and Alegria were annexed to the town and governed under the same jurisdiction.
In fact, the people of Alegria were coerced to perform labor for the construction of the Samboan church. In the middle of 1880’s, the two towns were then separated from the main town and became independent political units.
On year 2009, the town celebrated the 229th year of the town as parish. So when calculated backwards, the parish was established around year 1780. The parishioners adopted St. Michael the Archangel as its patron saint and the protector of the town.
Every year, Samboan celebrates the Sak-Sak Festival every September 30, in respect to the feast day of its patron saint and angel, St. Michael the Archangel. The name “Sak-Sak” was derived from a kind of palm tree which grows abundantly in the locality and of great economic importance to the citizens.
To read more on its tourist attractions, Click Here
How To Get There:
Samboan is pretty far from the main city because it is located almost at the tip of the island on the opposite side. It can be reached by public bussed and hired vans from the main city at the Cebu South Terminal. You will arrive at your destination about 3-4 hours.
