Southern Leyte

Southern Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Maasin City and occupies the southern one-fourth of the island of Leyte. Leyte is bounded by the province of Leyte to the north, by Surigao Strait to the east, Bohol Sea to the south, and Canigao Channel, across from Bohol, to the west.

Southern Leyte forms an important part of the inter-island transportation system of the country, with ferries transporting people and goods between Liloan and Surigao del Norte in Mindanao.

For a time, Southern Leyte was a part of Leyte province. The difficulty of managing the entire island from Tacloban, the capital of Leyte, suggested the need to separate the island into two provinces. A law was passed forming the province of Southern Leyte in 1959 and the province was inaugurated in 1960.

Limasawa, an island municipality to the south is believed to be the site of the first Christian mass in the far east, when Ferdinand Magellan landed there in 1521.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

Province of Southern Leyte

Region: Eastern Visayas (Region VIII)

Capital: May 22, 1959

Population:

2000 census—360,160 (18th smallest).

Density—208 per km² (42nd highest).

Area: 1,734.8 km² (16th smallest)

Divisions:

Component Cities—1.
Municipalities—18.
Barangays—500.

Congressional districts—1.

Languages: Cebuano