Basey

For the Welsh footballer, see Grant Basey.

Not to be confused with Basay, Negros Oriental, another municipality.

Basey, officially the Municipality of Basey (Waray: Bungto han Basey; Tagalog: Bayan ng Basey), is a municipality in the province of Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 56,685 people.^[3]

Basey
Municipality
Municipality of Basey
Aerial view from Guintolian Hill
Flag Seal
Map of Samar with Basey highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Basey Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 11°16′54″N 125°04′06″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Eastern Visayas
Province	Samar
District	2nd district
Founded	1591
Barangays	51 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Luz C. Ponferrada
• Vice Mayor	Honesto M. Zeta
• Representative	Reynolds Michael Tan
• Councilors	List • Pericles L. Cinco • Catalino S. Jadoc • Lilian D. Estorninos • Marilyn M. Homeres • Elnora C. Quebec • Mansueto M. Delovino • Aludia C. Duran • Vicente C. Labuac DILG Masterlist of Officials
• Electorate	40,965 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	513.01 km2 (198.07 sq mi)
Elevation	4.0 m (13.1 ft)
Highest elevation	81 m (266 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	56,685
• Density	110/km2 (290/sq mi)
• Households	13,694
Economy
• Income class	1st municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	28.55 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 352.7 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 1,007 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 251.9 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 276.6 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Samar 2 Electric Cooperative (SAMELCO 2)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	6720
PSGC	0806002000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)55
Native languages	Waray Tagalog

On 8 November 2013, Basey was one of the places heavily devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan, leaving more than 200 people dead.

Basey, strategically located across Tacloban, has become a satellite commercial and trade center in the southwestern area of Samar.

Etymology

The town's name is pronounced "Basai" or "Basay", not "basÉY". This mispronunciation was propagated by American soldiers in the early days of the American colonial period. There is no "ey" sound in the Waray-Waray language. Basay is from the Waray word mabaysay, meaning "beautiful".

Geography

Barangays

Basey is politically subdivided into 51 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

In 1957, the sitio of Cancoral was converted into the barrio of Roxas.^[5]

• Amandayehan
• Anglit
• Bacubac
• Baloog
• Basiao
• Buenavista
• Burgos
• Cambayan
• Can-abay
• Cancaiyas
• Canmanila
• Catadman
• Cogon
• Dolongan
• Guintigui-an
• Guirang
• Balante
• Iba
• Inuntan
• Loog
• Mabini
• Magallanes
• Manlilinab
• Del Pilar
• May-it
• Mongabong
• New San Agustin
• Nouvelas Occidental
• Old San Agustin
• Panugmonon
• Pelit
• Baybay (Poblacion)
• Buscada (Poblacion)
• Lawa-an (Poblacion)
• Loyo (Poblacion)
• Mercado (Poblacion)
• Palaypay (Poblacion)
• Sulod (Poblacion)
• Roxas
• Salvacion
• San Antonio
• San Fernando
• Sawa
• Serum
• Sugca
• Sugponon
• Tinaogan
• Tingib
• Villa Aurora
• Binongtu-an
• Bulao

Climate

Climate data for Basey, Samar
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	28 (82)	28 (82)	29 (84)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	29 (84)	30 (86)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	28 (82)	29 (84)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	22 (72)	22 (72)	22 (72)	23 (73)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (74)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	90 (3.5)	67 (2.6)	82 (3.2)	70 (2.8)	97 (3.8)	145 (5.7)	142 (5.6)	127 (5.0)	132 (5.2)	152 (6.0)	169 (6.7)	144 (5.7)	1,417 (55.8)
Average rainy days	17.0	13.5	16.0	16.5	20.6	24.3	26.0	25.4	25.2	26.4	23.0	21.0	254.9
Source: Meteoblue[6]

Demographics

Population census of Basey

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	13,504	—
1918	18,100	+1.97%
1939	28,296	+2.15%
1948	35,523	+2.56%
1960	29,680	−1.49%
1970	35,165	+1.71%
1975	37,890	+1.51%
1980	36,760	−0.60%
1990	39,137	+0.63%
1995	40,114	+0.46%
2000	43,809	+1.91%
2007	48,389	+1.38%
2010	50,423	+1.51%
2015	55,480	+1.84%
2020	56,685	+0.42%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[7][8][9][10]

Economy

Poverty incidence of Basey

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 2000 50.05 2003 67.10 2006 30.90 2009 39.07 2012 34.79 2015 36.59 2018 26.87 2021 28.55 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

Tourism

The town of Basey is famous for its beautiful Sohoton Caves, whose inner chamber features stalactites, stalagmites, and an underground river.^[19] The town is also known for artistically woven decorative mats called Banig. Tourists buy these mats as souvenir items.