[5] The aboriginal name was later modified in 1859 to a more peaceful[neutrality is disputed] name—the presently known Naval.

The following year, on July 31, 1861, Romualdo Ximeno, Bishop of Cebu, officially declared Naval an independent parish.

In August 1861, Father Santos de Santa Juana took up formal residence as the first parish priest of Naval and served the town for twenty-one years until 1882.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 108.24 square kilometres (41.79 sq mi) [8] constituting 20.19% of the 536.01-square-kilometre- (206.95 sq mi) total area of Biliran, making it the largest municipality in the province.

Poverty Incidence of Naval Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] The mayors of Naval were Absalon Sablada who served from 1952 to 1955; Brigido Caneja Sr. from 1956 to 1971; Arturo Velasquez from 1972 to 1979; Niceto Limpiado from 1980 to 1986; Fortunato Casas from 1986 to 1987; Gorgonio Contredas and Francisca Bangcuyo in 1987; and Simeon Pitao from 1988 to 1997.