Mayorga (IPA: [mɐ'jɔɾgɐ]), officially the Municipality of Mayorga, is a 5th class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 18,071 people.

Etymology

Originally the name was Mallorca, the name of the hometown of Fr. Victoriano Sela, a Franciscan friar who served as the parish priest of Dulag, which included Mayorga as a barrio. He suggested the name for the then-barrio. The name presumably suggests the presence of palm trees in the locality, as the island of Mallorca (IPA: [ma'ʝorka]) in Spain was famous for its luxurious growth of palms. However, the natives found some difficulty in pronouncing the name. Whether the natural evolution and popular usage corrupted the name "Mallorca" into the present "Mayorga," or whether the transformation was sanctioned by official decree motivated by phonetic convenience is not known. Nevertheless, the original "Mallorca" has evolved into its present name.

History

Mayorga at originally was a barrio under the municipality of Dulag. The name first appeared in the record of localities in 1865 when Capitan Lorenzo de Paz, gobernadorcillo of Dulag, created the barrio. The name was suggested by Fr. Victoriano Sela, a Franciscan friar and then-parish priest of Dulag. The town was created in 1954 from the barrios of Mayorga, Andres Bonifacio, Talisay, San Roque, Burgos, Liberty, Union, Ormocay, Wilson, and the southern portion of barrio of Cogon Bingcay which were then a part of Dulag. In 1957, the sitios of Picas, Guintulayan, and Bañgag were converted into barrios and renamed as Santa Cruz, General Antonio Luna, and Calipayan, respectively.

Geography

Barangays

Mayorga is politically subdivided into 16 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Mayorga, Leyte, was 18,071 people, with a density of undefined PD/km2.

Economy