Coron, officially the Municipality of Coron ( tgl, Bayan ng Coron), is a 1st class

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in t ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 65,855 people. The main population center of the municipality is composed of

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippine city or municipality, which may take up the ...

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

s 1 to 6, where the Municipal Building, the Municipal Legislative Building, and the Judicial Hall of the Municipal Circuit Trial Court are located. Its fiesta is held annually on August 28 in honor of Saint Augustine. It is the commercial capital of the

Calamian Islands The Calamian Islands or the Calamianes is a group of islands in the province of Palawan, Philippines. It includes: * Busuanga Island * Coron Island * Culion Island * Calauit Island * Malcapuya Island * Banana Island * Pass Island * Calumbuyan Isl ...

. The municipality is home to the Coron Island Natural Biotic Area, which is listed in the natural category of the

UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

History

The Calamianes Islands were originally inhabited by the Tagbanuas, Calmiananen, and Cuyonon tribes. Oral history tells that the Datu Macanas ruled the entire Busuanga Island where present-day Coron town lies. Early on Spanish exploration of the islands, Fray de la Concepcion took note of the friendliness of the people of Busuanga Island and the ferocity of the Tagbanua tribe living in Coron Island. In this area of the Calamianes, the first permanent Spanish settlement was Culion. Coron was a mere visita of Culion at that time. A fort and church were built in Libis, Culion around 1670 by the Spaniards as part of the defenses (along with Cuyo, Taytay, and Linapacan) against the Muslim raids. This became a settlement for migrants to the Calamianes. Don Nicolas Manlavi a Cuyonon served several years in Spanish Galleons, and an Ilonggo from Jaro, Ilo-ilo named Claudio Sandoval later wed Nicolas' only daughter Evarista. The Sandoval clan of the Calamianes came from this union. It was Don Nicolas Manlavi who established the first settlement in Coron which was initially at Banuang Lague (old town) in present-day Banuang Daan in Coron Island. The town center was then again moved to present-day Maquinit and later on, it was finally established in present-day Bancuang in Barangay 5 where a good water source was found. Late in the 1890s, an American naturalist, Dean Worcester, journeyed through the Calamianes collecting specimens and stayed briefly in Culion. At the turn of the century, he was appointed part of the First

Philippine Commission The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines. The first Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by Presi ...

, becoming the Secretary of the Interior. He recommended Culion as the Philippine Leper Colony. This act forced the transfer of the Sandoval clan in 1900 to the various barrios of what is now Coron and Busuanga. The Coron town was settled by the family of Claudio Sandoval, and the other Sandovals settled in what is now Bintuan, Salvacion, Concepcion, and Old Busuanga. In 1950, the town of

Busuanga Busuanga, officially the Municipality of Busuanga ( tgl, Bayan ng Busuanga), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,617 people. History Oral tradition has it ...

was created from the barrios of Concepcion, Salvacion, Busuanga, New Busuanga, Buluang, Quezon, Calawit, and Cheey which used to belong to Coron. In 1954, the islands of Linapacan, Cabunlaoan, Niangalao, Decabayotot, Calibanbangan, Pical, and Barangonan were separated from Coron to form the town of

Linapacan Linapacan, officially the Municipality of Linapacan ( tgl, Bayan ng Linapacan), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 16,424 people. History When the Spaniards ...

Geography

The municipality of

comprises the western part of

Busuanga Island Busuanga, is the largest island in the Calamian Group of islands in the province of Palawan in the Philippines. Busuanga Island is the second largest island in the province after Palawan island itself. The island is located halfway between the i ...

, while Coron comprises the eastern part of Busuanga Island, all of

Coron Island Coron is the third-largest island in the Calamian Islands in northern Palawan in the Philippines. The island is part of the larger municipality of the same name. It is about southwest of Manila and is known for several Japanese shipwrecks of W ...

and about 50 other minor islets stretching as far as Tara Island in the north-east and Canipo Island in the south. All these islands are part of the Calamian Archipelago in northern Palawan that separates the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

from the Sulu Sea.

Barangays

Coron is politically subdivided into 23

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Coron, Palawan, was 65,855 people, with a density of .

Economy

The main industries of Coron are

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. Former industries include

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

mining at Singay Mines in Barangay San Nicolas during the Japanese Occupation period. This was followed by the fishing industry boom during the 1970s up to the 1990s which gradually dwindled due to illegal

blast Blast or The Blast may refer to: *Explosion, a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner *Detonation, an exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front Film * ''Blast'' (1997 film), ...

and sodium

cyanide fishing In respect of fishing techniques, cyanide fishing is a specific method of collecting live fish, mainly for use in aquariums, which involves spraying a sodium cyanide mixture into the desired fish's habitat in order to incapacitate the fish. This ...

. The rattan and basket-weaving industry which also gradually declined during the same period due to the ensuing depletion of raw materials. Currently tourism is the top industry in Coron due to local beaches, dive sites, and other natural tourist spots. A dozen sunken Japanese warships at depths between off Coron Island is a

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

destination, listed in ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

Traveler Magazine’s'' top 10 best

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

sites in the world. A description of the diving highlights in 2021 is provided by Dive the World.

Transportation

The Francisco B. Reyes Airport serves the town.

Gallery

Coron church(코론 시내의 교회) - panoramio.jpg, Church in Coron Isola di coron, baia nei pressi del lago kayangan 06.jpg,

File:Coron - Kayangan Lake.jpg, The lagoon going to Kayangan Lake File:Waling-Waling Island.jpg, Waling Waling Island, Coron, Palawan

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Local Governance Performance Management SystemPhilippine Department of Tourism official site
{{Authority control Municipalities of Palawan Port cities and towns in the Philippines Beaches of the Philippines Underwater diving sites in the Philippines