SOUTHERN LEYTE PHILIPPINES
Southern Leyte PHILIPPINES
(Filipino:Timog Leyte) is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Maasin City is the capital of the province. Southern Leyte was once a sub-province of Leyte before it was divided from the latter. Limasawa, an island to the south is part of the province where the first Christian Mass was held and is said to be the birthplace of Christianity in the Philippines. Southern Leyte's geological features created several issues in the province after the flooding of Subangdaku River and the awful mudslide in Guinsaugon. Organizations warned the province as susceptible to natural occurrences like landslides and floodings. Southern Leyte contributes to the economy of the country. It 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. The province is well known for its quality abaca products and the country's major producer of abaca fiber.
As early as 1898 during the Spanish and American periods, there had already been existing as "sub-province" consisting of the municipalities from Palompon to Hinunangan, with Maasin as the center. Some government offices have already been established in Maasin on the southwestern part of Leyte to govern the area. Historically, the governing city was the depository of cedula tax collections from Palompon to Hinunangan. This was administered by the office of the Administrado de Hacienda, equivalent to the Provincial Treasurer, a position under Secretario de Hacienda.
There was also established in Maasin a Court of First Instance, then known as the Promoter Fiscal, where all minor administrative and other cases from Palompon to Hinunangan were heard and disposed of. During the Spanish colonization, the province was sparsely populated. The continued raiding of Moro slaves discouraged the province to grow and develop. However, on 19th century, immigrants from near provinces like Bohol and Cebu populated the area. In 1942, Ruperto Kangleon held a conference in the town of Sogod, when the first attempt in Malitbog, a town to the east, failed to succeed due to many leaders staying away. He was trying to unify all guerrillas helping the Philippine Commonwealth troops during World War II. From 1944 to 1945, the Allied Philippine Commonwealth Army soldiers and Filipino guerrillas attacked the Japanese Imperial forces in an effort to liberate Southern Leyte, and American troops landed on Leyte on October 20, 1944.
Independent province
Due to change of sovereign powers, all the offices in Maasin except the Fiscal’s Office were abolished and reverted to Tacloban, the capital of Leyte. This created a major problem because of the dearth of transportation, the difficulty in managing the affairs of government in Tacloban and the language barrier between the Cebuano-speaking South-westerners and the Waray Easterners. The difficulty of managing the entire island from the main city suggested the need to separate the island into two provinces. At first there was a general movement for a Western Leyte and soon after, many prominent men and leaders rallied behind the movement. Six attempts to pass a law for the division of Leyte were made. On the sixth attempt, then Congressman Nicanor Yñiguez introduced into the House a division law similar in substance to that of the Kangleon Bill, but recognizing the impossibility of creating an East-West Division, he instead opted to make his own district a province. Abandoning the first bill, Congressman Nicanor Yñiguez presented House Bill No. 1318 proposing a new province of Southern Leyte comprising Third Congressional District of Leyte to include sixteen municipalities, from Maasin to Silago in the mainland, and in the Panaon Island. The bill became Republic Act 2227 otherwise known as an "Act Creating the Province of Southern Leyte" and was signed into Law by President Carlos P. Garcia on May 22, 1959. On July 1, 1960, Southern Leyte was inaugurated as a province with sixteen municipalities and Maasin as the capital town. Thus the third District of Leyte became the province of Southern Leyte and Lone District of Southern Leyte.
People
While ethnicity of the province is widely Bisaya, most people of the province are farmers and fisherfolks. In Panaon, an island situated in the southernmost part of the province, a certain aboriginal folks are found locally known as Kongking or variously called Mamanwa which means mountain people. They were believed to be migrants from Mindanao, inhabiting the portions of Agusan, after their migration from the island to evade militarization and the logging/mining corporations’ intrusion to their ancestral domains in the early 1980s. Literally, their physical attributes are dark complexion, curly-haired and short in height. Hunting and gathering, mat weaving and rattan craft are among the main economic activities of the Mamanwas, so they prefer to inhabit the forested areas in the newfound Southern Leyte mountain. However, they were again displaced by threats of the recent incidents of landslides in the province. Generally, rice is the staple food of the province and also includes corn. Mountain living folks, however, prefer root crops which is abundant in the place. Native delicacies of the province includes "tres marias," "bocarillo," "salvaro," "bibingka," and "starhoy." They also have their own "kinilaw."
Language
The native language is Cebuano; Waray-waray is spoken as a second language and by those who came from Samar provinces and Tacloban city. The speech used by natives has Boholano influences because of its proximity with the province Bohol. Natives also understand foreign languages such as English and Spanish.
Religion
A detail of Carlos V. Francisco's First Mass in the Philippines painting
Limasawa, an island municipality to the south is believed to be the site of the first Christian mass and the birthplace of Christendom in the Philippines, when Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese navigator and explorer landed on March 28, 1521. The first Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was held on March 31, 1521 led by Friar Pedro de Valderrama, the chaplain of Magellan during the expedition, and the start of the Christianity propagation. People in the province are generally Roman Catholics in religion. Generally, 87.28 percent of which adheres to Roman Catholic Church but traditional folks still influence the people in the province. Aglipayan ranks second with 4.51 percent affiliates and Evangelicals with 2.03. Other religious affiliations include Iglesia ni Cristo, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church among others.
Our Lady of Assumption Cathedral in Maasin City
A Spanish-era church can be found in the City of Maasin. The church is embellished with an ornate altar and images of saints believed to be the testament of continuing religiosity of the people in the province.
Traditions/Beliefs
Although most people are Christians, a very few who live in remote villages of the province hold on to pre-Hispanic influences and make offerings and sacrifices before planting their crops. Farmers ritually sacrifice chickens and pigs to ensure that the spirits or elementals which they believe to be the cause of good harvest will grant them one.
Religious events
Fiesta, a Spanish term which means festivity, is celebrated in the province with prayer, food/drinking dance and music. Every barangay of every town in the province has its own celebration date. For instance, Hinunangan celebrated town fiesta on every 29 June when they highlight their celebration with the St. Peter and St. Paul Fluvial boat parade the day before. The kuratsa — a courtship dance drama — highlights every occasion and hinugsay festival .
The province also held its unique festivals. Sinulog sa malitbog is an annual religious street pageant in Malitbog to pay homage to the Holy Child Jesus (Santo Niño) who is their town's patron saint. Its reception has grown steadily, with devotees from other places flocking to the town. Similarly, the historic and religious coming of the Spaniards is commemorated every March 31 in Limasawa with a cultural presentation and anniversary program dubbed as Sinugdan, meaning "beginning." Other festivals held in the province to highlight events are Pagkamugna Festival and Pabulhon Festival in Maasin City, Karomata Festival in Beunavista, Pintuyan, Tangka-tangka Festival in Tangkaan, Padre Burgos and Manha-on Festival in Macrohon.