Flag of Southern Leyte

Southern Leyte

Use	State flag
Proportion	13:25[1]
Adopted	ca. 1970s[1]

The Flag of Southern Leyte is the provincial flag of Southern Leyte, Philippines. It is a green field with thin white horizontal and vertical stripes meeting within the upper hoist quarter of the flag to form an offset cross; upon this cross is a wreath composed of an abaca (Manila hemp) leaf and a palm frond, while four "Star of Leyte" orchid flowers are set in a descending diagonal line from the cross intersection to the lower fly.

The flag was adopted sometime in the mid-1970s to early 1980s, when Ferdinand Marcos was promoting his "Bagong Lipunan" (New Society) vision.^[1] It is one of the few provincial flags of the Philippines which deviate from the common design, i.e., a plain field with the provincial seal in the center.^[2]

• The green field represents agriculture, the primary industry of the province.^[3]
• The golden fringe represents hope and prayer for bountiful harvests in the midst of unpredictable natural events.^[3]
• The cross alludes to the province's most significant historical event: the first Catholic mass in the Philippines, which is widely thought to have been celebrated in Limasawa.^[3]
• The coconut palm frond and abaca leaf represent the province's most important agricultural products.
• The four Phalaenopsis x intermedia ("Star of Leyte") orchid flowers, which are endemic to the province, represent the four major geographical divisions of the province:
  • Maasin—Macrohon—Padre Burgos area (also includes Limasawa, which was part of Padre Burgos until 1989^[4])
  • Sogod Bay area — Bontoc, Libagon, Malitbog, Sogod and Tomas Oppus
  • Pacific area — Anahawan, Hinunangan, Hinundayan, Saint Bernard, San Juan and Silago
  • Panaon area — Liloan, Pintuyan, San Francisco and San Ricardo

• Southern Leyte
• Flags of the Philippine provinces