| Leyte | |||
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| — Province — | |||
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| Map of the Philippines with Leyte highlighted | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Philippines | ||
| Region | Eastern Visayas (Region VIII) | ||
| Founded | 1543 and March 10, 1917 | ||
| Capital | Tacloban City | ||
| Government | |||
| • Governor | Carlos Jericho Petilla (Lakas-Kampi-CMD) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 5,901.5 km2 (2,278.6 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 13th out of 80 | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| • Total | 1,544,251 | ||
| • Rank | 13th out of 80 | ||
| • Density | 261.7/km2 (677.7/sq mi) | ||
| • Density rank | 24th out of 80 | ||
| Divisions | |||
| • Independent cities | 2 | ||
| • Component cities | 1 | ||
| • Municipalities | 41 | ||
| • Barangays | 1,393 including independent cities: 1,641 |
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| • Districts | 1st to 5th districts of Leyte (shared with Ormoc and Tacloban cities) | ||
| Time zone | PHT (UTC+8) | ||
| ZIP Code | |||
| Spoken languages | Waray-Waray, Cebuano, Tagalog, English | ||
Leyte (also Northern Leyte; Filipino: Hilagang 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 Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran. To the west of Leyte across the Camotes Sea is Cebu Province.
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The explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, first came to the island in 1543 and named it Las Islas Felipinas.
During World War II under the Japanese Occupation, the 9th and 92nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army was reestablished from 1942 to 1946 at the military general headquarters and military camps and garrisoned in Tacloban and Ormoc before the liberation of the Philippines was the military unit organization and started by the Anti-Japanese military operations in the province of Leyte from 1942 to 1945 to helping the local guerrilla groups under by Colonel Ruperto Kangleon and the American liberating forces and fought against the Japanese Imperial forces.
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 First 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.
The Japanese Imperial forces was they recaptured in Leyte on January 1945 after the post-first battle by the successfully to the Allies. When the Second Battle of Leyte occurred on January 1945. Many local Filipino troops of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, Philippine Constabulary units and U.S. Army 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment enters to the recaptured and they found liberated the province of Leyte and helped the U.S. & Australian troops and they attacking Japanese Imperial forces. The element to the eventual Allied victory in Leyte on August 1945 after the second battle.
In March 27, 1923, Act No. 3117 proposed to divide Leyte into Occidental Leyte and Oriental Leyte but was not proclaimed by the Governor-General of the Philippines.
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 is the Waray-Waray.
The Cebuanos in south-western, central and southern part of the province have ties with Cebu, the most populous province in the Visayas; the Warays in north and north-east are more tied to Samar. Cebuanos there speaks Boholano, a dialectal variant of Cebuano language, with some words from Waray-Waray like "luto" in place of "kan-on" (rice) and "bungto" in place of "lungsod" (town). Only few Warays have Cebuano as their second language, but majority of Cebuanos really cannot understand Waray-Waray (except from Cebuano dwellers in Tanauan who can now speak Waray-waray). But because of this, Cebuano tourists coming to Tacloban resorted to speak English or Tagalog or a combination of these.
There are also some Spanish mestizos and some natives of the province who can understand and speak Spanish due to the province's colonial history.
According to the Year 2000 census, 97% of Leyte's population is 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.
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.
The province is the site of the largest geothermal plant in Asia, making it one of the resource-rich provinces of the Philippines.
Leyte is subdivided into 41 municipalities and three cities. The municipalities are clustered into 6 congressional districts.
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; however, Baybay would regain its city status following the reversal of the Supreme Court decision dated December 22, 2009. But on August 2010 a resolution has been passed striking down the 16 cities, since Baybay is part of the cities,it is no more a city.But, on February 15, 2011 Baybay is a city once again. The Supreme Court reversed its decision once again and Baybay now is a city.[1]
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.
| Masbate / Samar Sea | Biliran | San Juanico Strait / Samar | ||
| Cebu / Camotes Sea | Leyte Gulf | |||
| Leyte | ||||
| Bohol / Camotes Sea | Southern Leyte |
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