List of people from Leyte

The following is a list of notable people who were either born in, lived in, are current residents of, or are closely associated with the province of Leyte, Philippines (including from Tacloban and Ormoc, both independent cities):

Entertainment

• Monica Cuenco - singer, theater actress (Ormoc)
• Richard Gomez - actor, Former Ormoc City mayor, current Congressman of 4th District, Leyte (Ormoc)
• Lucy Torres-Gomez - actress, Former Congresswoman of 4th District, Leyte, Ormoc City mayor (Ormoc)
• Analyn Barro - Actress (Ormoc)
• Kim Chiu - Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition winner; television and movie star (having roots from Tacloban but currently lives in Cebu City)
• Karla Estrada - actress and singer (Tacloban)
• Jose Mari Gonzales - actor, father of former mayor Cristina Gonzales-Romualdez (Tacloban)
• Carlo Francisco Manatad - filmmaker and film editor (Tacloban)
• Rudy Robles - actor (Tacloban)
• Cristina Romualdez - former actress, former mayor of Tacloban City (Tacloban)

Music

• Danny Javier, OPM singer and musician from APO Hiking Society (Abuyog)
• Mike Hanopol - musician, singer-songwriter (Carigara)
• Bullet Dumas - indie and contemporary folk singer-songwriter (Tacloban)
• Ruby Ibarra - Filipina-American rapper (Tacloban)
• Jean-Paul Verona - award-winning producer and recording engineer best known for his work on Ben&Ben's Limasawa Street and Pebble House, Vol. 1: Kuwaderno albums and the band version of SB19's "Mapa" single (Tacloban)

Politics

• Lolita Javier, incumbent representative for Leyte's 2nd congressional district (Javier, Jaro)
• Leopoldo Petilla - former governor of Leyte (Palo)
• Benjamin Romualdez - former governor of Leyte; former ambassador to the US, China and Saudi Arabia (Tacloban)
• Ferdinand Martin Romualdez - Representative of the 1st District of Leyte; incumbent Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines (Tacloban)
• Imelda Romualdez-Marcos - former First Lady and former Representative for Leyte's 1st District (Tacloban)
• Nimfa C. Vilches - judge and Supreme Court deputy administrator (Tacloban)
• Ted Failon - news anchor, TV and radio personality, former Representative of the 1st District of Leyte (Tacloban, Jaro)
• Jaime C. de Veyra - Resident Commissioner to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Philippine Islands from 1917 to 1923 and the 1st Governor of Leyte (Tanauan)

Sports

• John Riel Casimero - Professional Boxing World Champion (Mérida)
• Johnriel Casimero - professional boxer (Ormoc)
• Rey Evangelista - former professional basketball player (Ormoc)
• Chico Lanete and Garvo Lanete - professional basketball players (Ormoc)
• Robert Bolick - Professional basketball player (Ormoc)
• Ely Capacio - basketball player and coach (Palo)
• Glenn Capacio - basketball player and coach (Palo)
• Toni Rose Basas - professional volleyball player for the Cignal HD Spikers (Tacloban)
• Dennis Daa - professional basketball player (Tacloban)
• Dino Daa - professional basketball player (Tacloban)
• Xyza Gula - volleyball player for the UST Golden Tigresses (Tacloban)
• Lou Salvador - basketball player (Tacloban)
• Mark Swainston - footballer (Tacloban)
• Aira Villegas - flyweight boxer and Olympic bronze medalist (Tacloban)

Literature

• Eduardo Makabenta Sr. - Waray-language poet and translator (Carigara)^[1]
• Francisco Alvarado - Waray-language poet and playwright (Palo)^[2]
• Vicente I. de Veyra - Waray-language poet, anthologist, orthographer and phonetician (Palo)
• Iluminado Lucente - Waray-language playwright (Palo)
• Carmen Pedrosa - journalist and author (Palo)
• Merlie Alunan - poet and instructor (Tacloban)
• Gina Apostol - writer (Tacloban)
• Louis Bulaong - writer (Tacloban)
• Vicente I. de Veyra - Waray-language poet, anthologist, orthographer and phonetician (Tanauan)

Others

• Bishop Oscar Jaime Florencio - current auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu and apostolic administrator of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines (Capoocan)
• Zenaida Monsada - chemist, Department of Energy Officer-in-Charge Secretary (Ormoc)
• Norberto Castillo - 91st Rector Magnificus of the University of Santo Tomas (Tacloban)
• Andres Centino - 57th Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Tacloban)
• Nieves Fernandez - World War II guerrilla fighter (Tacloban)
• Iluminado Lucente - the "grand old man of Waray letters"; poet, playwright, and mayor of Tacloban (Tacloban)^[3]
• Dan Palami - businessman, former manager of the Philippines national football team (Tacloban)
• Joel Porlares – 14th Supreme Bishop of the Philippine Independent Church (Tacloban)
• Charles R. Avila - former Administrator of the Philippine Coconut Authority (Tanauan)