Leyte

Province of Leyte
Provincial seal of Leyte
Map of the Philippines with Leyte highlighted
Region	Eastern Visayas (Region VIII)
Capital	Tacloban City
Divisions
- Independent cities	2
- Component cities	0
- Municipalities	41
- Barangays	1,393 including independent cities: 1,641
- Congressional     districts	1st to 5th districts of Leyte (shared with Ormoc and Tacloban cities)
Population
- Total (2007)	1,544,251 (13th out of 80) including independent cities: 1,722,036 (14th out of 80)
- Density	261.7/km² (24th out of 80) including independent cities: 264.3/km² (27th out of 80)
Area
- Total	5,901.5 km² (13th out of 80) including independent cities: 6,515.1 km² (13th out of 80)
Founded	1543 and March 10, 1917
Spoken languages	Waray-Waray, Cebuano
Governor	Carlos Jericho Petilla (Lakas-CMD)

Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the island of Leyte. Leyte is located west of Samar, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran. To the west of Leyte across the Camotes Sea is the province of Cebu.

History

The explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, first came to the island in 1543 and named it Las Islas Felipinas.

The Battle of Leyte Gulf took place in the seas surrounding this island from 23 October to 26 October 1944. It was the largest naval battle in modern history, when at least 212 Allied ships clashed with the remnants of the Imperial Japanese Navy, some 60 ships, including the super battleships Yamato and Musashi.

The Battle of Leyte occurred on 20 October 1944. A successful Allied invasion of the island was the crucial element to the eventual Filipino and American victory in the Philippines.

People and culture

The people of Leyte are divided into two main groups, primarily by language. In the west and south are the Cebuanos, while in the north and east are the Waray-Waray.

The Cebuanos have ties with Cebu, the most populous province in the Visayas; the Warays are more tied to Leyte and Samar.

According to the Year 2000 census, 97% of Leyte's population are Roman Catholics, one of the highest percentage in the Visayas. While the remaining 3% are either adherents of other different Christian sects such as the indigenous Iglesia ni Cristo, Baptists, Evangelicals, Mennonites, and Mormons.

Economy

The economy of Leyte depends on agriculture. Rice is farmed in the lower flatter areas specifically those around Tacloban, while coconut farming, for coconut oil is the main cash crop of the more mountainous areas. Fishing is also a major source of livelihood among residents.

Although economically backward, the province is the site of the largest geothermal plant in Asia, making it one of the resource-rich provinces of the Philippines.

Political

Leyte is subdivided into 41 municipalities.

Ormoc City is an independent component city, while the capital Tacloban was declared a highly-urbanized city in 2008. Both cities govern themselves independently of the province and their residents do not vote for elective provincial officials. Baybay attained cityhood in 2007 but reverted to its municipal status when the Supreme Court declared its city charter unconstitutional in 2008.

Highly-urbanized city

• Tacloban City

Independent city

• Ormoc City

Municipalities

Gallery

Leyte Gallery

When Americans stormed ashore at Leyte, it fulfilled a promise made by Gen. Douglas MacArthur made in the dark days following the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese in 1942

Memorial of the Leyte Landing of the Allied Forces

Leyte Provincial Capitol - briefly became the seat of Philippine Commonwealth Government during the World War II era

Official Provincial Seal

The Official Seal of the Province of Leyte.

The upper portion is a perspective of the national Freedom Park commemorating the landing of General Douglas MacArthur and the American Liberation Forces in Leyte during World War II. The white cross represents the 2nd phase of Leyte's development when Magellan stopped here on his way to Cebu. The alphabet on the cross argent is the ancient Visayan paleographic syllabary of the letter L which stands for Leyte. The stars around the inner circle symbolize the forty-one (41) towns of Leyte and the everlasting flame symbolizes the soldiers who died during World War II.

See also

• Manuel Artigas
• Juan Ponce Sumuroy

External links

• Official Website of Leyte Province
• News source on Leyte
• Inquirer.net, Poor town has modern library
• Javieranon Global Network

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