SL History

SOUTHERN LEYTE HISTORY

Southern Leyte is the fifty fifth (55) province of the Republic of the Philippines and was used to be the third legislative district of Leyte prior to the enactment of Republic Act 2227 which created it as a separate province. The bill was signed into law by President Carlos P. Garcia on May 22, 1959. It was inaugurated as a province in July 1, 1960. It happened because of House Bill No. 1318, which was sponsored by the late Congressman Nicanor Yñiguez. The approval of the bill by the Congress later led to the declaration of Republic Act 2227, otherwise known as an “Act Creating the Province of Southern Leyte.”

In 1961, the province elected its first congressman in the person of Nicanor E. Yñiguez, Jr.

Today, it has the city of Maasin, as a capital, and 18 municipalities, which are Macrohon, Padre Burgos, Malitbog, Tomas Oppus, Bontoc, Sogod, Libagon, St. Bernard, San Juan, Anahawan, Hinundayan, Hinunangan, Silago, Liloan, San Francisco, Pintuyan, San Ricardo, and Limasawa.

Southern Leyte has a total land area of 173, 480 hectares or 734.8 sq. kilometers. It occupies the southern one-fourth of the island of Leyte. To the north, it is bounded by the province of Leyte; to the east, by the Surigao Strait; to the south, by the Bohol Sea, and to the west, by the Canigao Channel. The province is populated mostly in the coastal areas where the land is relatively flat. Toward the interior, the land becomes rugged and mountainous.

Based on a national data, the province has an overall 93 rivers. There are 18 major rivers. Among these are Amparo River in Macrohon, Canturing River in Maasin City, Das-ay and Pondol Rivers in Hinunangan, Divisoria River in Bontoc, Hitungao and Lawigan Rivers in San Juan, Maag River in Silago, and Subang Daku in Sogod which is the biggest of the 18. The province has an inland lake called Lake Danao located in the mountains of San Juan and Anahawan, towns in the eastern region.

Along with other mountain forms in the province, Mount Nacolod in Hinunangan town has the highest peak with an elevation of 948 meters above sea level. Young volcanic rocks are discovered in the terrain areas, which over the top of the southern mountain ranges of Mount Cabalian in the Pacific Area and Mount Nelangcapan in Panaon Area.

The language spoken in the province is Cebuano. The speech variety, however, has some Boholano influences because of Southern Leyte’s proximity to the island province of Bohol. Tagalog and Waray are widely spoken as a second language. The presence of private learning institutions like Saint Joseph College, The College of Maasin, Southern Leyte State University together with public schools ran by the government have contributed to relatively high literacy rate and the ability to speak English among Southern Leyteños.

Limasawa---the island municipality to the south of the mainland – holds a historic participation to the spread of Christianity in the Philippines. It was where Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer under the Spain’s orders, initiated the celebration of the First Easter Sunday Mass in the Far East on March 31, 2021.

Today, the Sinugdan festival, which means “the beginning” in English, takes place a day in every month of March. This time of the year marks the busy influx of visitors to the island and the colourful presentation of cultural dances that are part of the anniversary program.

Like any provinces in the Philippines, Southern Leyte has its own unique festivals that could charm both the passing travelers, tourist, and participating locals. Sinulog sa Malitbog --- the annual religious street dances I the town of Malitbog that pay homage to the town’s patron saint, the Holy Child Jesus – is attracting a growing reception among devotees from other towns. Other festivals held in the province to highlight events are Pagkamugna Festival and Pabulhon Festival in Tangkaan, Padre Burgos and Maha-on Festival in Macrohon.

Fiesta, a Spanish term which means festivity, is celebrated in the province with prayer, foods, drinks, dances, and music. Every barangay of each town in the province as well as the towns, have their own fiestas. The 15^th day of August creates a busy scene in the streets and houses in Maasin City as people flock to downtown upon the celebration of its feast day. When Hinunangan celebrated town fiesta on June 28, the celebration was made more special by the St. Peter and St. Paul Fluvial boat parade together with the performance of the kuratsa, which is a courtship dance drama that has become an occasion highlight.

In the way that people from Surigao Del Norte in Mindanao transport their goods to the North by passing through the Port of Liloan, Southern Leyte is able to perform an important inter-island transportation system that is crucial to the country’s economy.

Coconut and Abaca are two major products of Southern Leyte. The province is one of the producers of abaca fiber in the country along with other provinces. The high-quality Abaca fiber in the province gives livelihood opportunities especially to women ho venture into the production of abaca-based handicrafts. Aside from this, ceramics and handicraft items made from coconut and bamboo are also common livelihood sources in the province. And so are other income-generating activities that include farming, fishing, livestock and poultry raising.

Generally, rice is the stable food of the province also include corn. Folks living in the mountain areas, however, prefer root crops, which are abundant in their areas. Native delicacies of the province include “tres marias,” “bocarillo,” and “bibingka.”

There are six designated bus teminals in Southern Leyte: Maasin City, Liloan, Sogod, San Juan, Hinunangan and Silago. These terminals are open for spaces used by buses and vans as parking areas.The province has only one airport that is located in Panan-awan, Maasin City. This airport is considered a feeder airport with a total runway length of 1200 meters and width of 30 meters. Southern Leyte has a total of 12 seaports, two of which are declared national ports, the Maasin City and Liloan ports and the 10 are municipal ports.