Romblon, Mimaropa, Philippines

🇵🇭 Romblon, officially the Municipality of Romblon, is a 3rd class municipality and capital of the province of Romblon, Philippines. 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.

History 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.

Spanish colonial era 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), 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. At this time, Miguel de Loarca recorded the island's name as "Lomlon" or "Doblon". 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.

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. 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. Two forts were erected by the Spanish, San Andrés and Santiago.

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

Philippine–American War era 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. 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.

Japanese occupation era During World War II, Japanese forces occupied the island from 1942 to 1945. 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.

Philippine independence 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.

Corruption 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.

Cityhood In the 18th Congress of the Philippines, house bills were filed by various representatives which sought Romblon and other capital towns of provinces with no current component cities, independent component cities or highly urbanized cities to automatically convert into cities. House Bill No. 5535 to this effect was referred to the House Committee on Local Government on November 25, 2019.

Geography The municipality consists primarily of Romblon Island, as well as the smaller Alad, Cobrador, and Logbon islands, to the north-west, 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).

Geography: Barangays Romblon is politically subdivided into 31 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios. • Agbaluto • Agpanabat • Agbudia • Agnaga • Agnay • Agnipa • Agtongo • Alad (island barangay) • Bagacay • Cajimos • Calabogo • Capaclan • Ginablan • Guimpingan • Ilauran • Lamao • Li-o • Logbon (island barangay) • Lunas • Lonos • Macalas • Mapula • Cobrador (Naguso; island barangay) • Palje • Barangay I (Poblacion) • Barangay II (Poblacion) • Barangay III (Poblacion) • Barangay IV (Poblacion) • Sablayan • Sawang • Tambac.

Demographics 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.

Economy 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.

Transportation : Sea The port of Romblon, one of the major ports of the Philippines, is located in Romblon, Romblon. Schedules and routes vary, buthe main transportation link to Romblon is through RORO vessels operated by Montenegro Lines, 2GO Travel, Starhorse Shipping, Starlite Ferries, Navios Shipping and/or others that dock at Romblon port from the ports of Batangas or Lucena on Luzon island or from other Philippine port cities. Travel time from Luzon usually takes about ten to twelve hours. RORO vessels also travel directly from Batangas to Odiongan on nearby Tablas island, and from there, travelers can ride a jeepney to the port of San Agustin where they can catch a ferry or motorized outrigger boat to Romblon.

Some shipping lines also operate between Romblon and Roxas, Capiz on Panay island. Travel connections are generally available between either Roxas or Odiongan and Boracay and with other Philippine tourism destinations.

By air The closest airport with active airline service is Tugdan Airport in the town of Alcantara in the neighboring island of Tablas. From Alcantara, Romblon can be reached in 3–4 hours by jeepney and an hour by motorized boats or 40 minutes by ferry from San Agustin.

Going around The island municipality is connected through the circumferential Romblon-Cogon-Sablayan Road as well as through a network of shorter roads. Modes of transportation available throughout the island include jeepneys and tricycles.

Economy: Tourist Industry 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. • 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 km from town in barangay Ginablan. Activities include swimming, snorkeling, beach combing, and island hopping. • Tiamban Beach: Located some 5 km 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 km 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.