Sulat, Eastern Samar

Municipal Hall of Sulat

One of the most important element or aspect of a town is its history. The origin of the place should be known and recognized in order for the residents to be informed about the chronicle or the root of their town. They should be informed for them to be able to narrates to their children the ancestry of their place.

As a resident of Sulat in Eastern Samar, I had the difficulty in knowing the origin or history of our town. I only known the history of our town through the stories and folklore of my grandparents, but these stories were passed and transferred from one generation to another, so there are many lapses, additions, and inconsistencies. Also, documents or historical data about Sulat is insufficient, hence I can’t conclude if the stories by my grandparents were true or not.

Location of Sulat

According to the document given to me by the municipal tourism officer, Sulat was derived from the word “sulat” or “suslatan” which means passage and passageway respectively. And yes, this given data was true, because Sulat is located beside the Banajao river, which is called Sulat River nowadays, it is where the sea water and the water coming from the river meet. The term Sulat was also derived from the Spanish verb “to write”. According to the historian, Sulatnon, or the people of Sulat, were literate at that time, at least their datus and principales. This etymology of “Sulat” was also agreed by Lope Coles Robredillo, SThd, who wrote the blog “A History of Sulat (Eastern Samar), 1575-1898.” The etymology of Sulat was stated in the 1660 manuscript. It is also stated in his blog that Sulat was the “cabecerilla” of Tubig (now Taft) and Borongan, and was even larger than the two, for a period of years. This statement on his blog was agreed and supported by the document from the Municipal Tourism.

As to the stories of my grandparents, Sulat in the ancient time was just like a sitio, wherein there are only not more than 5 houses scattered all over the place. They also said that the Sulatnon were afraid to plunge into the Banajao River because of the crocodiles were around the area. They also narrated that the canyon displayed in the activity area of the town were first located inside the compound of the St. Ignatius of Loyola church, and those canyons were intended for the intruder that attempts to attack Sulat. And I do believe that those stories were valid and true, because it was also mentioned in the two documents that I retrieved from the Municipal Tourism and the Internet.

Sulat is composed of 18 barangays, having 6 inner barangay and 12 outer barangay. Those barangays were A-et, Abucay, Baybay, Del Remedio (Candaracol), Kandalakit, Loyola Heights, Tabi, Mabini, Maglipay, Maramara, Riverside, San Fransisco, San Isidro (Maytigbao), San Juan, San Vicente (Puro), Santo Nino, and Santo Tomas (Pagnas).According to 2015 census, the municipality of Sulat has a population of 15, 377, and that is having a density of 91 inhabitants per square kilometre.

Podpod of Sulat, Eastern Samar

Sulat is famous of their islands and white beaches. Their are also famous because of their proud product, the "Podpod" or fish cake. Podpod is a traditional Waray fishcake dish prevalent in Brgy. Santa Vicente. The fishcake is made by first boiling fish with water and salt. Once cooked, the fish meat is separated from the stock and its bones. The meat is then squeezed so take out the liquid. Afterwards, the fish meat is packed into bamboo shapers until the fish meat is flat and in circular shape. The fishmeat is then taken out from the mold and smoked. The podpod can be eaten as it is or used in the odong, a traditional Waray soup and noodle dish.

Today, Sulat is one of the progressing Municipalities in Eastern Samar, that is being governed by Mayor Virginia Requillo Zacate.