Leyte: Island of Beauty and Adventure

Leyte is among the country’s most historic provinces, proud of its rich and significant past. It was the site not only of a major uprising against the Spaniards but also of the famous landing of US forces during World War II, marking its place in history as the point of entry for the American forces of liberation.

This historical consciousness is reflected on Leyte’s provincial seal. The stars symbolize the 49 towns of the province. The alphabet on the cross indicates its second phase of development, when Magellan passed through the province en route to Cebu. And the upper portion commemorates the landing of General Douglas MacArthur, through a perspective of the National Freedom Park.

Leyte is traversed by many low mountain ranges just like the Samar and Visayan islands. From the northwestern section to the southeastern extremities extends a very rugged, almost impassable ridge. There are also many extinct volcanoes, the most important of which is Mahagnao.

Its capital city, Tacloban, is the most important seaport on the eastern coast while Ormoc City is the primary outlet on the western coast.

Geography
Comprising a total land area of 5,712.8 sq. km., Leyte is bounded on the north by Carigara Bay, on the east by the San Juanico Strait and Leyte Gulf, on the west by the Visayan Sea and Ormoc Sea, and on the south by Southern Leyte.

The terrain of the province is relatively flat to gently rolling and becoming mountainous and rough towards the center where a mountain range begins.

Language/Dialect
Waray-waray and Cebuano are the major dialects spoken. Tagalog and English are also used.

Political Subdivision
The province is composed of 49 towns and two cities, namely, Tacloban, the capital city, and Ormoc.

Climate
Heavy rains occur between November and February while March to April and August to September are the driest months.


Brief History

In 1595, the Jesuits established the first mission in Leyte. At this time, there were only 19 pueblos with 70,000 people whom the missionaries converted to Christianity, easing the settlement of the province by Spanish conquestadores. The Jesuit mission was abandoned when the Order was expelled from the Philippines in 1768.

Politically, Leyte seems to have existed as early as 1622. The simple structure of government by encomenderos gave way to alcalde mayores, corregidores, and tenientes. In 1735, Leyte was a politico-military province with jurisdiction over Samar. The two provinces were politically separated in 1768 by the Royal Decree of July 31, 1860, which ordered the reorganization of the provincial governments of the Visayas.

The capital site of Leyte changed several times before Tacloban City became the permanent capital in 1787. The first capital was Carigara, then successively, Palo and Tanauan.

The civil government under the Americans was organized on April 22, 1901. The second World War hit the Philippines in 1941; the Japanese occupation followed. In 1944, Leyte became world-famous as the point of entry for the American forces of liberation. Leyte, specifically Tacloban, assumed historical significance as the temporary seat of the Philippine Commonwealth from October 23, 1944 to February 27, 1945.

My beloved province of Leyte is truly rich in culture and history.

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