| F |
ilipinos
stake a large claim
on hospitality,
just sort of making
it a national treasure
and the Leyteńos
from the |
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Fast
Facts |
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Capital:
Maasin
Location:
N
- Province
of Leyte
E -
Pacific
Ocean
W -
Camotes
Sea
S -
Sogod
Bay
Land
Area:
1,734.8
sq.
kms.
No.
of Towns:
19
(nineteen)
Cities:
Tacloban
& Ormoc
Population:
3,366,917
(as
of 1995
census)
Climate:
Generally,
the
province
has
no dry
season
with
rainfall
more
or less
evenly
distributed
throughout
the
year.
It has
a pronounced
maximum
rainfall
occurring
from
July
to Dec-ember.
Topography:
The
province
is characterized
by relatively
flat
lands
along
the
coastal
areas
where
population
centers
lay,
but
rugged
and
mountainous
towards
the
interior.
Southern
Leyte
has
numerous
small
rivers
in addition
to at
least
eleven
(11)
major
rivers.
Dialects:
Cebuano
Assistance
Office:
Provincial
Tourism
Office
Province
of Southern
Leyte
Provincial
Capitol
Maasin,
Southern
Leyte
Tel.
No.
(053)
381-2274
Fax.
No.
(053)
570-9018
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small province of
Southern Leyte are
no different. There
is a warmth that
begins with the
lilt and caress
of welcoming voices.
Most of the locals,
you see, speak Cebuano,
a dialect that seems
naturally nurturing.
Even the land is
naturally welcoming
the lights that
beckon from homes
that hug the coast
and the waving fronds
of coconut palms.
Southern Leyte may
be reached by land
via the Pan Philippine
Highway or as most
prefer, by sea.
Either way, one
finds oneself in
Maasin, the provincial
capital. Maasin
is hardly your idea
of a bustling town;
it has maintained
a pace that is welcome
after the hurly-burly
of city life. It
is also blessedly
situated between
sea and forest.
One provides virtually
untouched beaches
waiting to be discovered
and the other, virgin
growth still unexplored.
Brief History
As
early as 1898 during
the Spanish and
American periods,
some government
offices have already
been established
in Maasin on the
southwestern part
of Leyte.
Due
to distance and
difficulty in managing
the affairs of government
in Tacloban, local
leaders proposed
a bill in Congress
to divide Leyte
into two provinces.
After several unsuccessful
attempts to pass
the bill, President
Carlos P. Garcia
signed the bill
into law on May
22, 1959 by virtue
of Republic Act
2227 otherwise known
as an “Act Creating
the Province of
Southern Leyte”.
On July 1, 1960,
Southern Leyte was
inaugurated as a
province with sixteen
municipalities:
Maasin, as the capital
town and seat of
the provincial government.
The
"discovery" of the
Philippines took
place on March 28,
1521, the day Ferdinand
Magellan, a Portuguese
navigator in the
service of the Spanish
crown, landed on
Limasawa, a 5- square-mile
island at the southern
tip of Leyte mainland.
Here Magellan met
the native ruler,
Rajah Kolambu, and
his brother, Rajah
Siagu, chieftain
of Butu (in Mindanao).
In this little island,
the first recorded
blood compact or
treaty of friendship
between Magellan
and Rajah Kolambu
took place. The
first mass was celebrated,
and Magellan, after
planting a cross
on a hilltop, took
possession of the
territory in the
name of Spain.
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