An Act Creating the Province of Southern Leyte

May 22, 1959

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 2227

AN ACT CREATING THE PROVINCE OF SOUTHERN LEYTE

SECTION 1. The municipalities comprised in the Third Representative District of Leyte, namely, Maasin, Macrohon, Padre Burgos, Malitbog, Bontoc, Sogod, Libagon, Liloan, Pintuyan, San Francisco, Saint Bernard, Cabalian, Anahaw, Hinundayan, Hinunangan and Silago are hereby segregated from the said province and constituted into a separate province to be known as Southern Leyte. The present Province of Leyte minus the territory comprising the municipalities above-mentioned shall continue to be known as Leyte. cd

SECTION 2. Except as otherwise herein provided, all provisions of law now or hereafter applicable to regularly organized provinces shall be applicable to the Province of Southern Leyte.

SECTION 3. The provincial capital of Southern Leyte shall be the town of Maasin.

SECTION 4. The first provincial governor and members of the Provincial Board of Southern Leyte shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments and shall hold office until their successors shall have been elected in the regular election next following the effectivity of this Act and shall have qualified. The officers and employees needed to organize the government personnel of Southern Leyte shall be appointed as provided by law.

SECTION 5. The Province of Southern Leyte shall have one Representative, and the Province of Leyte shall have four, in the House of Representatives. The incumbent Representatives from the present Province of Leyte shall, until the expiration of their respective terms of office, continue to represent the districts for which they were elected.

SECTION 6. Effective on the date of the regular election for Members of the House of Representatives next following the approval of this Act. the Fourth, Fifth, First and Second Representative Districts of the present Province of Leyte shall be known as the First, Second, Third and Fourth Representative Districts of Leyte, respectively.

SECTION 7. Upon the effectivity of this Act, the obligations, funds, assets and other properties of the present Province of Leyte shall be divide proportionately between the Province of Leyte and the Province of Southern Leyte by the President of the Philippines upon the recommendation of the Auditor General.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect on the first day of July, Nineteen Hundred Sixty.

Approved: May 22, 1959. casia

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 55, No. 28, p. 5176 on July 13, 1959