Tolosa, Leyte

According to popular beliefs, Tolosa derived its name from a legend about three chieftains (datus) who united their chiefdoms^{[citation needed]}. According to the legend, the area that is now Tolosa was ruled by three great datus: the datu of fishing, the datu of harvest and the datu of hunting. Typical of chiefdoms in those times, the three datus regard each other with hostility. One time a great battle broke out among the three of them. Their people fought valiantly in defense of each datu. But the three datus were strong they could not defeat each other. Accidentally they were hit by their own swords and they died. Their blood spilt everywhere. Then came a great earthquake followed by a tsunami. When the floodwaters subsided, three promontories rose on three sides of the three datus' lands, as if acting as defensive walls of the contiguous land. Survivors of the great battle realized that the three hills were their great datus who were now united in protecting them from outside dangers. From three (tolo) they became one (usa).

Tolosa was once part of the nearby municipality of Tanauan. Magdaleno Vivero and Domingo Camacho petitioned the Spanish colonial government to grant Tolosa autonomy from Tanauan, and this was approved in 1852, Residents continued to call the nearby promontory of Inapusong after the town's old name, and Spanish officials named the town after Tolosa in the Basque Country of Spain, which itself was named after the Occitan city of Toulouse in southern France. The town was formally founded in 1861 and became a parish on February 12, 1863, with the first parish priest being Gerónimo Asenjo, a Spaniard. The first Filipino parish priest was Quintín Bautista. In 1910, a plan to abolish the municipality worried its inhabitants. Brígido Lauzon became the first civilian Mayor of Tolosa during American Military Government in 1901. Owing to the efforts of Captain Daniel Romuáldez, grandfather of the late Speaker Daniel Z. Romuáldez, the plan to return Tolosa to control of Tanauan was averted.

During the Liberation of the Philippines in the Second World War, Tolosa and neighboring towns to the northeast were spared from bombardment by the United States and Philippine Commonwealth forces when Eagle Scout Valeriano Abello of Barrio San Roque, including two other identified scouts braved Japanese sniper fire and directed US and Filipino fire to the exact location of Japanese batteries along Leyte's northeastern coast. Abello's act saved the lives of thousands of Leyteños and enabled Allied troops unhampered landing on the coast. This unhampered attack dealt the blow that broke Japanese resistance in Leyte, and ultimately the Philippines.

A few days after the return of General Douglas MacArthur and Allied forces to Leyte, Tolosa became the base of the U.S. Navy, as well as the 6th and 13th Air Force. Tolosa was geographically within Leyte-Samar Naval Base. It was in Barrio Tanghas where American composer Irving Berlin first presented "Heaven Watch the Philippines" before an audience including then-President Sergio Osmeña and Carlos P. Rómulo.

Until the 1970s, the beaches of Tolosa were black due to ann abundance of the mineral magnetite, a naturally magnetized iron which is a prime raw material for making high quality steel. INCO (Iron, Nickel & Copper Ore), a mining company based in Barrio Opong, stripped the town's beaches of vegetation to extract the mineral, and rendering it vulnerable to coastal erosion.

Then-First Lady Imelda Marcos developed an area between the sea and Mt. Inapusong, and built a large compound where she entertained Miss Universe candidates during the pageant held in Manila.

In the 2024 census, the population of Tolosa was 22,016 people,^[11] with a density of 890 inhabitants per square kilometre or 2,300 inhabitants per square mile.

Poverty incidence of Tolosa (%)

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]}

The Municipality of Tolosa, is a Fourth - class Local Government Unit. it is headed by the Municipal Mayor which elected at - large every three years. The Vice Mayor serves as the presiding officer of the Sangguniang Bayan, with the eight (8) regular Sangguniang Bayan members. The President of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) and the President of the Pamabayang Pederasyon ng mga Sangguniang Kabataan (PPSK) serves part of the Sangguniang Bayan as Ex - Officio Members.

In 1900, Juan Catindoy was appointed as Presidente Munisipal. In 1901, the First Local Elections was held that put Brigido Lauzon in the Mayoralty. Since then, it was succeeded by various known personalities, including the Late House Speaker Daniel Z. Romualdez's Father, Miguel Romualdez who served as Mayor from 1904 - 1908.

As of 2025, Erwin Cinco Ocaña is the Incumbent Municipal Mayor, while Engr. Elizabeth Saito Eracho is the incumbent Vice - Mayor.

Below are the list of the Municipal Mayors of Tolosa since 1900.

• Karisyuhan Festival & Tribu Bungkaras of San Roque, Tolosa Leyte
• Kalipayan or Olot Mansion
• Romualdez Mausoleum
• Sacred Heart Shrine on top of the bulwark of Mt. Inapusong
• Miramar Beach, former U.S Navy base
• Bil-At Beach Resort
• St. Michael Parish Church
• Statue of late Speaker Daniel Z. Romualdez
• Monument of Eagle Scout Valeriano Abello, one of the three hero scouts of the Philippines during World War II.
• The steep rocky slopes of Mt. Inapusong
• Pacific-borne waves for surfing