The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the amphibious invasion of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American forces and Filipino guerrillas under the overall command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fought against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines led by General Tomoyuki Yamashita. The operation, codenamed King Two, launched the Philippines campaign of 1944–45 for the recapture and liberation of the entire Philippine Archipelago and to end almost three years of Japanese occupation.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf is considered to have been the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fought in waters near the Philippine islands of Leyte, Samar, and Luzon, from 23 to 26 October 1944, between combined American and Australian forces and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), as part of the invasion of Leyte, which aimed to isolate Japan from the countries it had occupied in Southeast Asia which were a vital source of industrial and oil supplies.
Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Leyte is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region, occupying the northern three-quarters of Leyte Island. Its capital is the city of Tacloban, administered independently from the province. Leyte is situated west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran. To the west across the Camotes Sea is the province of Cebu.
Southern Leyte is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Maasin. Southern Leyte comprised the third congressional district Leyte until it was made into an independent province in 1959. Southern Leyte includes Limasawa, an island to the south where the first Roman Catholic Mass in Philippine soil is believed to have taken place and thus considered to be the birthplace of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines.
USS Abercrombie (DE-343) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort in the service of the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was finally sunk as a target in 1968.
USS Halford (DD-480), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Lieutenant William Halford (1841–1919), a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
Maasin, officially the City of Maasin, is a 4th class component city and capital of the province of Southern Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 87,446 people.
Hinunangan, officially the Municipality of Hinunangan, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Southern Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 29,149 people.
Sogod, officially the Municipality of Sogod, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Southern Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 47,552 people.
USS Bryant (DD-665) was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for Rear Admiral Samuel W. Bryant (1877–1938).
The legislative districts of Leyte are the representations of the province of Leyte, the independent component city of Ormoc, and highly urbanized city of Tacloban in the various national legislatures of the Philippines. The province, together with the independent cities are currently represented in the lower house of the Congress of the Philippines through their first, second, third, fourth, and fifth congressional districts.
The legislative districts of Southern Leyte are the representations of the province of Southern Leyte in the various national legislatures of the Philippines. The province is currently represented in the lower house of the Congress of the Philippines through its lone congressional district, but will start to elect two representatives beginning in 2022.
Balitang Bisdak is a Philippine television news broadcasting show broadcast by GMA Cebu. Originally anchored by Bobby Nalzaro and Atty. Rose Versoza, it premiered on October 4, 1999. Nalzaro, Cecille Quibod-Castro and Alan Domingo currently serve as the anchors.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Maasin is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, comprising the civil province of Southern Leyte and six municipalities from the fifth legislative district of Leyte. Erected in 1968, the diocese was erected from the Archdiocese of Palo. At present, the diocese has experienced no jurisdictional changes, and is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cebu. The current bishop is Most Reverend Precioso D. Cantillas, SDB, DD, appointed in 1998.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palo is a large administrative diocese of the Catholic Church in the town of Palo in Leyte province, Philippines. It was formed as a diocese on the 28th of November, 1937, and became an archdiocese in 1982, with Calbayog, Borongan, Catarman and Naval Diocese serving as suffragan to it. The archdiocese encompasses 4,620 km2 (1,780 sq mi) and an overwhelmingly Catholic population of 1,165,565. The archdiocese has two districts, Eastern and Western, which are divided among the languages Waray and Cebuano. The Eastern District has seven vicariates of 34 parishes. 13 parishes are in the Western District, with one chaplaincy. The archdiocese contains two seminaries. The elder of these is the Sacred Heart Seminary, which was founded in 1944. Founded in 1988, the St. John Evangelist School of Theology serves additional dioceses. Jose S. Palma, a priest from the Archdiocese of Jaro and Bishop of the Diocese of Calbayog, Samar was the Archbishop of Palo until he was appointed as Archbishop of Cebu following the retirement of the late Archbishop Cardinal Ricardo Vidal.
The Southern Leyte Provincial Board is the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of the Philippine province of Southern Leyte.
Waray is an Austronesian language and the fifth-most-spoken native regional language of the Philippines, native to Eastern Visayas. It is the native language of the Waray people and second language of the Abaknon people of Capul, Northern Samar, and some Cebuano-speaking peoples of western and southern parts of Leyte island. It is the third most spoken language among the Bisayan languages, only behind Cebuano and Hiligaynon.
Eastern Visayas is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region VIII. It consists of three main islands, Samar, Leyte and Biliran. The region has six provinces, one independent city and one highly urbanized city namely, Biliran, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Eastern Samar, Southern Leyte, Ormoc and Tacloban. The highly urbanized city of Tacloban is the sole regional center. These provinces and cities occupy the easternmost islands of the Visayas group of islands.
Damian Mercado is a Filipino politician from the province of Southern Leyte in the Philippines. He currently serves as a Governor of Southern Leyte. He was first elected as Governor of the province in 2016 and was re-elected in 2019.
