Catbalogan City is a 5th class city in the province of Samar, Philippines. It is the capital city of Samar. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 84,180 people in 16,100 households.
The original name of the city was KATBALAUGAN or KABALAUGAN. The two syllables of the name are compounds of the prefix KAT or KA and the substantive noun BALAUG of the Samar-Leyte Visayan language. “Katbalaugan or Kabalaugan” means “a place where seafarers, fishermen or sailors take shelter or cover and are detained.” The old fishing village of Katbalaugan or Kabalaugan was the refuge of people riding in small boats and sailboats when the Northwest and Southwest monsoons blew during the months of July, August, and September.
As early as 1960, Catbalogan already agitated to become a city. In 1969, the bill creating Catbalogan into a city was being deliberated in the Philippine Senate, but the conflagration of 1969 unfortunately caused it to be shelved.
On March 15, 2007, Catbalogan finally attained its cityhood status. Senator Manny Villar (President of the Senate), Jose De Venecia, Jr. (Speaker of the House of Representatives), Oscar G. Yabes (Secretary of the Senate), Roberto P. Nazareno (Secretary General, House of Representatives) and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (President of the Philippines) were among its signatories. The residents of Catbalogan overwhelmingly ratified this change in a plebiscite held on June 16, 2007.
The soils of Catbalogan City are of two types, namely, the Catbalogan clay loam and faraon clay. The clay loam, which is the predominant one, is the primary soil developed from shales and sandstones. The faraon clay, on the other hand, is a residual from Caroline limestone and is fair with organic matter contents. Limestone rocks are sometimes found on the surface. The clay loam is a type of soil suited for agriculture particularly for rootcrops.