history of pintuyan
Before the Spaniards came, the place now known as Pintuyan was where settlers would boil (laga) seawater to make salt. As such, it was called “Laga-an” or the place for boiling water.
Barrio Pintuyan was originally under the Municipality of San Ricardo, the latter being the seat of government in that part of Panaon Island. During the southwest monsoon season (Habagat), the waves in San Ricardo can get very big making boat landing difficult. This being the case, traders on boats coming from Cebu, Manila, and other Tagalog Provinces, would instead land and take shelter in Barrio Pintuyan. The lagoon-like side of the barrio had been a place of refuge for sailors also during the strong north-easterly monsoon (Amihan) season from late September to early February.
It was also the traders who changed the original name from “Laga-an” to “Pinto-an” or doorway as it became the gateway to Mindanao Provinces and other islands in the Pacific side of Leyte and Mindanao. “Pinto-an” eventually became Pintuyan.
In one of his visits to Panaon Island, the Provincial Governor of Leyte and his party commented to then San Ricardo Municipal President-elect Perfecto Vasquez that Pintuyan is more suitable as a seat of government because it is easier to dock in Pintuyan even when the waves are big. In the absence of roads, the easiest means of transportation going to and from Panaon Island at that time is via the sea. The suggestion was considered and Pintuyan was temporarily made the seat of the municipal government of San Ricardo.
On April 10, 1907, Public Law No. 1616 was issued “…changing the name of the municipality of San Ricardo in the said province to that of Pintuyan, and transferring the seat of its municipal government to the present barrio of Pintuyan.” The law officially relegated San Ricardo to a barrio of Pintuyan until 1972, when it was established as a separate municipality from Pintuyan.
