Southern Leyte: History
=== Early history ===
The province, being part of Leyte island, is believed to be influenced by Datu Ete, ruler of the historic community of Mairete, meaning Land of Ete, which was centered in Tacloban. The area which is to be Southern Leyte is believed to have been occupied by animist Visayan ethnic groups from Bohol. There is no proof that the indigenous animist Warays of Samar, who at the time occupied northeast Leyte, ever occupied Southern Leyte.
As early as 1898 during the Spanish and American periods, there existed a "sub-province" consisting of the municipalities from Palompon to Hinunangan, with Maasin as the center. Some government offices had 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 the 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.
During the Spanish colonization, the province was sparsely populated. The continued raiding of Moro slaves discouraged the province from growing and developing. However, in the 19th century immigrants from adjacent provinces like Bohol and Cebu populated the area.
In 1942, Ruperto Kangleon held a conference in the town of Sogod, when the first meeting attempt in Malitbog, a town to the east, failed 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. …