Romblon, Romblon

Romblon
Municipality
Municipality of Romblon
Romblon poblacion and Romblon Bay
Flag Seal
Map of Romblon with Romblon highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Romblon Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 12°34′44″N 122°16′29″E / 12.578869°N 122.274656°E / 12.578869; 122.274656
Country	Philippines
Region	Mimaropa
Province	Romblon
District	Lone district
Founded	1571 (as encomienda)
Incorporated	1631 (as pueblo)
Barangays	31 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Gerard S. Montojo
• Vice Mayor	Mariano "Anoy" M. Mateo
• Representative	Eleandro Jesus F. Madrona
• Electorate	26,229 voters (2022)
Area [2]
• Total	86.87 km2 (33.54 sq mi)
Highest elevation (Mount Lagting)	464 m (1,522 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	40,554
• Density	470/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
• Households	10,406
Economy
• Income class	3rd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	38.61 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 144.1 million (2020), 66.69 million (2012), 71.5 million (2013), 81.19 million (2014), 101.6 million (2015), 109.4 million (2016), 111.9 million (2017), 120.5 million (2018), 107.1 million (2019), 153.6 million (2021), 203 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 231.8 million (2020), 59.71 million (2012), 54.34 million (2013), 63.45 million (2014), 77.76 million (2015), 107 million (2016), 155.9 million (2017), 200.9 million (2018), 223.8 million (2019), 275.8 million (2021), 325.7 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 106 million (2020), 61.35 million (2012), 58.25 million (2013), 65.16 million (2014), 86.04 million (2015), 92.56 million (2016), 95.35 million (2017), 107.9 million (2018), 103.6 million (2019), 112.3 million (2021), 140.6 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 32.13 million (2020), 39.08 million (2012), 31.21 million (2013), 27.51 million (2014), 32.98 million (2015), 50.06 million (2016), 56.06 million (2017), 54.9 million (2018), 62.84 million (2019), 239.8 million (2021), 23.04 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Romblon Electric Cooperative (ROMELCO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	5500
PSGC	1705910000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)42
Native languages	Romblomanon Tagalog
Website	www.romblon.gov.ph

Romblon, officially the Municipality of Romblon, is a 3rd class municipality and capital of the province of Romblon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 40,554 people.^[3] The archipelagic municipality is the capital of the province of Romblon and the seat of its provincial government. It includes Romblon Island as well as the nearby islands of Lugbon, Alad and Cobrador.

Romblon island is one of the three major islands of the province, aside from Sibuyan Island and Tablas Island. As the capital of the province, its natives mostly speak Romblomanon or Ini language. Romblon is known for its local marble industry and is the second biggest producer of the mineral in the country. It is also a tourist destination because of its unspoiled beaches and Spanish-era twin forts.

The first inhabitants of Romblon were the Negritos tribes of Panay and the Mindoro-Mangyan tribes. The discovery of hanging coffins and artistic material in the caves of Banton Island demonstrates the existence of a rich and ancient civilization and aboriginal culture.^[5]

The islands were first visited by Spanish conquistador Martin de Goiti in late 1569, and were thereafter organized by the Spanish into encomiendas. The encomienda of Donblon (Romblon^[a]), established on April 24, 1571, was granted to Don Gonzalo Riquel. In the first census done by Spanish navigator Miguel de Loarca in 1582, Romblon Island was shown to have 240 residents engaged in wax gathering.^[6] At this time, Miguel de Loarca recorded the island's name as "Lomlon" or "Doblon".^[7] In the local Visayan dialect, the word means a bird warming an egg in its nest. It was also known as Domblon before the present name was adopted.^[5]

In 1631, during the term of Spanish Governor-General Juan Niño de Tabora, Romblon was established as a pueblo, making it one of the two oldest settlements in the province, the other being Banton located in the north of the province.^[6] In 1635, the island of Romblon was evangelized by Spanish Recollect fathers and became a dependency of the Captaincy General of the Philippines. Their fortified church is the present cathedral of Romblon. It received its first Spanish missionaries in the 17th century. During the 17th and 18th centuries, it was often ravaged by Moros.^[8] Two forts were erected by the Spanish, San Andrés and Santiago.^[9]

It was organized into a Comandancia (a province or district under military control) by the Spanish in 1853.

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In 1898, at the conclusion of the Spanish–American War, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States. In 1901, the Americans established a civilian government in Romblon Province.^[10][11] Ten new barrios were created, while three existing barrios were also abolished. These include Aglomiom, which was merged with Sablayan due to its small population, Embarcacion, which was attached again to El Pueblo or Poblacion, and the inland barrio of Cogon, which was reorganized and split into the five barrios of Tambac, Ilauran, Macalas, Lamao, and Agbaluto (referred to collectively as TIMLA, from their initial letters), while barrio Alfonso XIII was renamed Li-o.

The 10 additional barrios were Bagacay, Agbudia, Agtongo, Embarcacion, Maria Cristina (renamed as Sawang) and the five TIMLA barrios. Agtongo was created into a separate barrio in 1916, taken from Cajimos. In 1918, those engaged in the maritime industry were designated separately as a distinct barrio known as Embarcacion, which was annexed again to barrio Poblacion or El Pueblo in 1939. Agbudia was the last barrio to be created after being taken from Guimpingan in 1939. Meanwhile, the two barrios Majabangbaybay and Sogod, located in Tablas island, were returned to Badajoz (now San Agustin), and were abolished as independent barrios and attached as sitios of barrio Guinpuc-an (Carmen) in 1901.

During World War II, Japanese forces occupied the island from 1942 to 1945.^[12] An American force landed on the island on March 11, 1945, and liberated it from the occupying Japanese forces. By March 18, the entire province was liberated from the Japanese. A monument located near the beach in Sawang commemorates this.

The Republic of the Philippines became an independent sovereign nation on July 4, 1946. The island barrio of Nagoso was renamed Cobrador in 1960 and the urban barangay of Poblacion was split into four separate barangays, named simply as Barangays 1, 2, 3, and 4 in 1975.^[13]

On March 25, 2018, the Sandiganbayan, a special appellate collegial court that tries graft and corruption cases, affirmed its ruling sentencing Romblon mayor Mariano Mateo, former mayor Leo Mérida and eight other former local officials to 10 years in prison. The ruling was in connection with the alleged anomalous procurement of a heavy equipment. The case, which was filed in 2010, stemmed from the municipal government's purchase of a backhoe amounting to P13.95 million in November 2005 without public bidding. At the time, Mérida was the mayor and Mateo was a councilor. The court said witnesses testified that the backhoe was not used for the purpose for which it was purchased.^[14]

Romblon Island

Romblon island satellite image captured by Sentinel-2 in 2016
Geography
Archipelago	Romblon Group of Islands
Adjacent to	Sibuyan Sea
Administration
Philippines
Region	Mimaropa
Province	Romblon
Municipality	Romblon
Largest settlement	Romblon (pop. 38,758)
Demographics
Population	38,758 (2015)

The municipality consists primarily of Romblon Island, as well as the smaller Alad, Cobrador, and Logbon islands, to the northwest, each of which are their own barangays. The municipality proper is situated along the coast of Romblon Bay, a natural harbor and safe haven for ships passing in the area during inclement weather. The highest peak is Mount Lagting in barangay Sablayan with a height of 444 metres (1,457 ft).

Romblon is politically subdivided into 31 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Romblon falls under Type III of the Corona climatic classification system which was devised in 1920. It is characterized by no pronounced wet and dry seasons. Generally, the wet season is from June to November and sometimes extends up to December when the southwest monsoon is predominant. The dry season is from January to May but is sometimes interrupted by erratic rainfall. The annual mean temperature is 27 °C (81 °F), with February as the coldest month with temperatures dropping to 20 °C (68 °F), and May as the warmest month with temperatures reaching up to 35 °C (95 °F). Habagat monsoon winds pass through the province from June to October while northeasterly winds or Amihan blows through the islands from December to February.

Romblomanons are the indigenous inhabitants of Romblon. They are part of the wider Visayan ethnolinguistic group, who constitute the largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group. In 2015, there were 38,758 people living in Romblon. Most Romblomanons speak Ini, one of the three languages in the province after Asi and Onhan.

Poverty incidence of Romblon

Marble wares from Romblon

Marble plant workers working in a quarry

Romblon's economy relies much on the local marble industry. Marble is the most significant mineral deposit of Romblon and is the most renowned product of the province. The province is the second biggest provincial marble producer of the country next to Bulacan. Romblon marble is of very high quality and comes in shades of white, green, pink, red and black. The Mines and Geosciences Bureau has estimated that Romblon is endowed with about 150 million metric tons of marble. At current rates of extraction, the supply may last for three more centuries. Tablas Island is also believed to have vast reserves of marble.

Marble quarrying and processing are major activities in Romblon. Among the most common marble products are categorized into the following: novelty items (gifts, ashtray, table bars), furniture (dining tables, baptismal fonts) and construction materials (tiles, balusters, marble chips). Aside from marble quarrying and processing, tourism, fishing and coconut farming are also basic livelihood sources in the island.

The Port of Romblon serves the island of Romblon including the town of the same name.

The Romblon National High School host the first and only artificial football pitch in Mimaropa in 2024.^[29]

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The capital town of Romblon has a number of tourist places, which include:

• St. Joseph's Cathedral and Belfry: One of the oldest Roman Catholic Church is located in barrio Poblacion. It was constructed for the Recollect Fathers between 1640 and 1726 by talented local artisans using coral blocks and bricks.
• Fuente de Belen: Located across the municipal hall, Fuente de Belen is a water fountain erected in 1864 by Eduardo Asuero. It is the source of fresh water for Romblon during the Spanish colonial period. Atop the fountain is an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
• Old Municipal Building: Built out of coral limestone during the Spanish colonial era, it housed the cuartel or headquarters of the local Guardia Civil. Retaining the old architecture of the building, the municipal hall is still used to house government offices and the municipal jail.^[30]
• Bishop's Palace or Villa del Mar: Located in barangay Lonos, it serves as the official residence of the Bishop of Romblon. It was constructed out of clay bricks by the first bishop of Romblon, Msgr. Nicolas Mondejar
• Talipasak Beach Resort: It is located 13 kilometers from town in barangay Ginablan. Activities include swimming, snorkeling, beach combing, and island hopping.
• Tiamban Beach: Located some 5 kilometers from the town proper, this fine white sand beach in barangay Lonos stretches to about 250 meters.
• Forts San Andres and Santiago: Twin Spanish forts constructed out of coral blocks and bricks between 1644 and 1573, which overlook the whole town and harbor at 156 feet above sea level. These served as a bastion to protect the people against Muslim raiders and Dutch pirates.
• Marble Beach Resort: Located in Barangay Ginablan.
• Bonbon Beach: Located five kilometers away from town proper this shoreline in Barangay Lonos is covered with fine white sand and features a gradually sloping ocean floor free of sea grass and sharp stones.
• Simbahan Cave: Located in barangay Cobrador, it is the largest natural cave in the islands and believed to be an ancient burial ground as manifested by pottery and ancient works of arts found inside.
• Cobrador Beach: This beach is located in the eastern side of the islet and has fine white sand and crushed corals.
• Romblon Harbor: It has offered shelter for sea vessels since Spanish colonial period. Lying off the bay is a sunken galleon and the wreck of a Japanese battleship.
• Buena Suerte Resort: A nature resort with a swimming pool located in Barangay Tambac.
• Marble quarries and factories: Romblon's marble comes in a spectrum of shades ranging from white to black with a gamut of in-between tints like mottled white, tiger white, onyx and jade.

Barangay Capaclan in the municipality hosts the Romblon Provincial Capitol Complex, where the governor, the vice governor, and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan hold office. The municipal government is seated in Barangay II.

Pursuant to Chapter II, Title II, Book III of Republic Act 7160, the Local Government Code of 1991,^[31] the municipal government is composed of a mayor (alkalde), a vice mayor (bise alkalde) and members (kagawad) of the legislative branch Sangguniang Bayan alongside a secretary to the said legislature, all of which are elected to a three-year term and are eligible to run for three consecutive terms. The incumbent mayor is Gerard Montojo and the vice mayor is Mariano "Anoy" Mateo.^[32]

Barangays are also headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain, Barangay Council, whose members are called Barangay Councilors. The barangays have SK federation which represents the barangay, headed by SK chairperson and whose members are called SK councilors. All officials are also elected every three years.

^a Died in office.
^b Served in acting capacity.
^c Resigned.

Romblon, as a municipality and provincial capital, belongs to the lone district of the province of Romblon. Currently, the town is represented by Rep. Eleandro Jesus F. Madrona in the house of representatives.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Romblon, Romblon.

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Romblon, Romblon Profile - Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System
• Tourist Attractions - Romblon, Romblon Provincial Government of Romblon website. Retrieved on April 1, 2013
• Romblon Island at OpenStreetMap