In the 1940s, Halabangbaybay became a sitio of the barrio Alegria in Cataingan. Soon after, it was converted into a barrio named Esperanza as a barangay of Placer in 1948 (the year the barrio Placer was separated from Cataingan and constituted as its own municipality) and Pablo M. Conag served as the “teniente del Barrio”. The name Esperanza means "Hope" in reference to the first group of migrants in 1915 who hoped for a better life by settling on the present day area of Esperanza.