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Romblon ( , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines located in the
Mimaropa Mimaropa (usually capitalized in official government documents), formally known as the Southwestern Tagalog Region, is an administrative region in the Philippines. It was also formerly but still colloquially designated as Region IV-B until 2016 ...
region. Its main islands include Tablas, the largest, which covers nine municipalities;
Sibuyan Sibuyan is a crescent-shaped island, the second largest in an archipelago comprising Romblon Province, Philippines. Located in the namesake Sibuyan Sea, it has an area of and has a total population of 62,815 as of 2020 census. The island has t ...
with its three towns; as well as the smaller island municipalities of Corcuera, Banton, Concepcion, San Jose, and the municipality of the same name (which also serves as the provincial capital). The province lies south of
Marinduque Marinduque (; ), officially the Province of Marinduque, is an island province in the Philippines located in Southwestern Tagalog Region or Mimaropa, formerly designated as Region IV-B. Its capital is the municipality of Boac. Marinduque lies be ...
and Quezon, east of Oriental Mindoro, north of Aklan and Capiz, and west of Masbate. According to the 2020 census, it has a total population of 308,985. Romblon has been inhabited by aboriginal Filipinos prior to the arrival of the Spanish in 1569. Archaeological artifacts recovered by the
National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...
in 1936 indicate that the aborigines of Romblon already have a rich and advanced culture. During the Spanish colonial rule, Romblon was initially administered under the province of Arevalo (Iloilo) until 1716, when it was transferred to the jurisdiction of the newly created province of Capiz. With arrival of the Americans in 1901, Romblon was declared a province and placed under civilian rule. It lost its provincial status for a short while between 1907 and 1945, but regained it in 1946, just after World War II. The inhabitants of Romblon are divided into three ethnolinguistic groups: Romblomanon, Onhan and Asi. These groups occupy specific islands in the province and have their own language and customs. Romblomanon is mainly spoken in the town of Romblon, in all of three towns of Sibuyan Island, and the town of San Agustin in Tablas. Onhan is mainly spoken in the municipalities in the southern part of Tablas (
Alcantara Alcantara, Alcântara (Portuguese), Alcántara (Spanish), Alcàntara, Alcàntera, El-Qantarah and (El) Kantara are all transliterations of the Arabic word ''al qantara'' (القنطرة), meaning "the bridge". Alcantara may refer to: People * A ...
, Looc,
Ferrol Ferrol may refer to: Places * Ferrol (comarca), a coastal region in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain * Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia, Spain ** Racing de Ferrol, an association football club * Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in ...
, Santa Fe, San Andres, and Santa Maria), as well as in the island municipality of San Jose. The northwestern part of Tablas Island (in Odiongan and Calatrava, as well as the islands municipalities of Corcuera, Banton, and Concepcion), speaks the Asi language. Currently, the province relies on agriculture, particularly rice and copra farming as well as fishing, for its livelihood. It also has a lucrative marble industry due to an abundance of Italian-quality marble, hence, its moniker as the "Marble Capital of the Philippines." In recent years, the province has also become an ecotourism destination, with several white sand beaches, diving spots, mountains and rainforests that tourists visit annually.


Etymology

According to legend, the name "Romblon" was derived from the Romblomanon word ''Nagalumyom'', which pertains to a chicken in the act of sitting on its eggs on a nest.Local historian Francis Ray Prado details the legend, saying that when the Spanish, led by
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
Martin de Goiti, arrived in Romblon in 1569, they wandered along the island's beaches searching for food and water. One of the men encountered a hut with a hen's nest on top of a post near its window. The man asked the house's occupant, a young woman, if he could have the hen for free, but the woman, unable to understand Spanish, answered, "''Nagalumyom!''" which in the local language means "the hen was brooding eggs."
This eventually evolved to ''Lomlom'', and later on to ''Donblon'', the name reported by Spanish chronicler Miguel de Loarca in his book ''Relacion de las Islas Filipinas'' in 1582, before finally evolving to Romblon. Meanwhile, local historians Roland Madeja and Evelyn Reyes relate the origin of the name "Romblon" to the shape of Romblon Island. Madeja claims that the name was derived from the Spanish word ''ronblon'', another term for ''tornillo'', meaning " screw." According to him, the Spanish claimed to have observed the screw-like shape of Romblon Island. Meanwhile, Reyes claims Romblon originated from " doubloon", which refers to the Spanish coin used by Moro pirates in paying dowries for their brides-to-be. The Spanish might have named the island after the shape of the coin.


History


Early history

Romblon's aboriginal inhabitants were the Negritos from
Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City o ...
and Mangyans from Mindoro, who settled in the islands during the precolonial period. Ancient wooden coffins discovered in the Guyangan Cave System of Banton Island in 1936 signify a rich ancient civilization and culture in the province before the arrival of the Spaniards in 1569. These artifacts are currently on display at the National Museum in Manila.Brief History of Banton
The Official Website of Banton, Romblon. Retrieved on 2013-03-30
Remnants of Negrito and Mangyan aborigines now live in the mountains of Tablas and
Sibuyan Sibuyan is a crescent-shaped island, the second largest in an archipelago comprising Romblon Province, Philippines. Located in the namesake Sibuyan Sea, it has an area of and has a total population of 62,815 as of 2020 census. The island has t ...
after they were displaced by the influx of Hiligaynon, Aklanon,
Bicolano Bikol or Bicol usually refers to: *Bicol Region, the administrative region in the Philippines Bikol or Bicol may also refer to: Languages and people *Bikol languages, the languages spoken in the Bicol region in the Philippines **Albay Bikol lang ...
and Tagalog migrants as early as 1870.


Spanish period

According to historians
Emma Helen Blair Emma Helen Blair (September 12, 1851 – September 25, 1911) was a United States historian, journalist and editor, whose most notable work was a documentary history of the Philippines. Biography Emma Helen Blair was born on September 12, 1851, ...
and
James Alexander Robertson James Alexander Robertson (August 19, 1873 – March 20, 1939) was an American academic historian, archivist, translator and bibliographer. He is most noted for his contributions to the history and historiography of the Philippines and other ...
, the Spanish arrived in Romblon in 1569 led by
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
Martin de Goiti who was dispatched by
Miguel López de Legazpi Miguel López de Legazpi (12 June 1502 – 20 August 1572), also known as '' El Adelantado'' and ''El Viejo'' (The Elder), was a Spaniard who, from the age of 26, lived and built a career in Mexico (then the Viceroyalty of New Spain) and, i ...
to explore the western and northern portion of the Visayas region including Romblon and Mindoro. The islands were later organized into three ''
encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...
s'' and were administered from Arevalo. De Loarca visited Romblon in 1582 and conducted the first census of the islands. In 1635, Augustinian Recollect missionaries arrived in Romblon to establish Catholic missions and settlements. They helped the Spanish authorities establish peace and order in the islands. In 1868, they established seven missionary centers at Romblon, Badajoz (San Agustin), Cajidiocan, Banton, Looc, Odiongan and Magallanes (Magdiwang). They also built massive forts, churches and watchtowers in the province, such as Fort San Jose in Banton and Fort San Andres in Romblon, following a Dutch attack in 1646 which destroyed the capital town and to repulse recurring Moro raids. Romblon was separated from the jurisdiction of Arevalo and annexed to Capiz, when the province was created in 1716. More than a century later in 1850, the inhabitants of the province began using Spanish family names after governor-general Narciso Clavería decreed on 21 November 1849 the use of surnames from the ''
Catálogo alfabético de apellidos The Catálogo alfabético de apellidos ( en, Alphabetical Catalogue of Surnames; fil, Alpabetikong Katalogo ng mga apelyido) is a book of surnames in the Philippines and other islands of Spanish East Indies published in the mid-19th century. Th ...
''. Asi-speaking natives were assigned the letter F, Romblomanon speakers were assigned the letter M, speakers of the Sibuyanon style of Romblomanon were assigned the letter R, while Onhan-speaking natives were assigned the letter G. In 1853, the islands were organized into a politico-military ''comandancia'' ("sub-province" in English) administered from Capiz and continued to be so until the end of the Spanish rule in 1898. As a sub-province, Romblon was under an army officer with the rank of captain. The town of Romblon was its capital and the other municipalities were Azagra, Badajos (now San Agustin), Banton, Cajidiocan, Corcuera, Looc, Magallanes (now Magdiwang), Odiongan, Despujols (now San Andres) and Santa Fe.


Revolutionary period

In 1898, amid the Philippine Revolution, Katipunan leader
Emilio Aguinaldo Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and is recognized as the first president of the Philippine ...
sent his generals to several provinces in the Visayas to expand the recognition of his revolutionary government in the central and southern Philippines. The Katipunan general Mariano Riego de Dios and his forces liberated Romblon, while generals Ananias Diocno and Leandro Fullon proceeded to Panay. On 25 July the same year, Riego de Dios took the Romblon capital and captured Spanish officials. Four days later, the Spanish politico-military governor Don Carlos Mendoza formally signed the surrender of Romblon's district government, ending more than three hundred years of Spanish rule in the archipelagic province. Later, Don Wenceslao Molo, a local from Romblon town, was appointed governor and became responsible for the collection of a total amount of , Romblon's share to the war expenditures of the Revolutionary Government from 31 May 1898 to 28 February 1899. A local election was also held in Romblon town for its ministers of justice and barrio officials. However, Molo's term was a brief transition to another era as the Americans arrived in the province a few months later.


American period

Upon the restoration of peace and order in the province following the
Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...
, the Americans established civilian government in the islands on 16 March 1901. Romblon was created as a regular province in the same year but due to insufficient income, it became a sub-province of Capiz again in 1907 until 7 December 1917 when Act No. 2724 reestablished the province. Under Commonwealth Act No. 581, enacted without executive approval on 8 June 1940, the province was reorganized with four towns or municipalities, namely: Tablas (composed of Odiongan, Looc, and Badajoz), Romblon (including the islands of Logbon, Cobrador and Alad), Maghali (comprising Banton, Corcuera, and Concepcion), and Sibuyan (composed of the towns of
Cajidiocan Cajidiocan, officially the Municipality of Cajidiocan, is a 4th class municipality in the province of Romblon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 23,259 people. The municipality is located on Sibuyan Island, which ...
, Magdiwang and
San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...
).


Japanese period

During World War II, the
Japanese Imperial Forces The Imperial Japanese Armed Forces (IJAF) were the combined military forces of the Japanese Empire. Formed during the Meiji Restoration in 1868,"One can date the 'restoration' of imperial rule from the edict of 3 January 1868." p. 334. they ...
established a garrison in Romblon on 21 March 1942 which they maintained until the end of the war. The islands became one of the centers of resistance movement against the Japanese. The movement was led by the Free Panay Guerilla Forces composed of members from the 6th Military District under the direction of Col. Macario Peralta, Jr. One of the major naval engagements during the
Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fou ...
, the
Battle of Sibuyan Sea The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fo ...
, happened off the waters of Romblon on 23–24 October 1944 between Japanese
Admiral Kurita was a vice admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Kurita commanded 2nd Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy), IJN 2nd Fleet, the main Japanese attack force during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history. ...
’s fleet from Singapore and
Admiral Halsey Admiral Halsey may refer to: *U.S. Fleet Admiral William Halsey Jr., (1882–1959) **The Paul McCartney song "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is a song by Paul and Linda McCartney from the album ''Ram''. Released in the ...
's carrier planes from the
US Third Fleet The United States Third Fleet is one of the numbered fleets in the United States Navy. Third Fleet's area of responsibility includes approximately fifty million square miles of the eastern and northern Pacific Ocean areas including the Bering ...
then stationed east of the Philippines. Units from Company C of the 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division landed on Sawang, Romblon on the night 11 March 1945. By 18 March, the province was liberated from Japanese forces.


Modern period

On 1 October 1946, Congress passed Republic Act No. 38, sponsored by Cong. Modesto Formilleza, which abolished the four special municipalities and restored Romblon and its municipalities to its pre-war status. In the decades that followed, the province saw the creation of new municipalities, such as Alcantara (1961) from Looc, Calatrava (1969) from San Agustin, Ferrol (1978) from Odiongan, and Santa Maria (1984) from San Agustin.


Geography

Romblon is strategically situated at the center of the Philippine archipelago. Geographically part of the Visayas, it is composed of three major islands (Tablas, Sibuyan and Romblon) and 17 smaller islands. It is surrounded by deep waters, and is bounded by Masbate in the east, Mindoro in the west,
Marinduque Marinduque (; ), officially the Province of Marinduque, is an island province in the Philippines located in Southwestern Tagalog Region or Mimaropa, formerly designated as Region IV-B. Its capital is the municipality of Boac. Marinduque lies be ...
in the north and Panay in the south. It is approximately and south of Manila. The islands are dispersed and accessible only via sea transportation except for Tablas Island where a domestic airport is located in the municipality of Alcantara.


Topography

The province has a total land area of approximately representing about 5.3 percent of the total land area of Region IV-B
Mimaropa Mimaropa (usually capitalized in official government documents), formally known as the Southwestern Tagalog Region, is an administrative region in the Philippines. It was also formerly but still colloquially designated as Region IV-B until 2016 ...
. It is generally mountainous with about 40 percent of its land area having an inclination of more than 50 percent. Only four percent of the total area has an inclination of three to eight percent, while a sparse 10 percent has an inclination of three to zero percent. Narrow strips of coastal lowlands, low hills and plains typify the topography of some of the islands. Romblon Island is hilly with a maximum elevation of about above sea level. Tablas Island shows varied relief characteristics. The western coastal areas are level to undulating while the eastern coastal areas are rough to rugged. The southern section covering Santa Fe and the mid-western portion may be described as having rolling to rough terrain. Extremely rugged areas can be found in the central section of the island. The highest elevation is almost above sea level. Sibuyan Island is a thickly forested mountain mass. The western portion of the island may be characterized as extensively rugged, having ascents of 60 percent or more while the eastern section is relatively undulating to rolling. The highest elevation, the peak of Mt. Guiting-Guiting, reaches about 2,058 meters (6,750 feet) above sea level. The major areas that are highly productive and buildable are basically in Tablas and Sibuyan. These include Odiongan, San Andres, Looc and Santa Fe in Tablas Island. All three municipalities in Sibuyan Island, on the other hand, have substantial level to gently sloping lands. Overall, good developable lands represent about 13 percent of the province's total area.


Flora and fauna

Romblon, particularly Sibuyan Island, is among the few places in the Philippines with a well-preserved natural environment. Uninterrupted rainforest covers 75 percent of the island. It is also home to the country's cleanest inland body of water, the Cantigas River, as well as 34 waterfalls. Sibuyan is commonly known the country as the " Galapagos of Asia" because of its many endemic plant and animal species, some of which have just been discovered recently. Among these endemic species are nine mammals, seven lizards, two amphibians, three birds and 112 vascular plants, such as the '' Nepenthes argentii'', '' Nepenthes sibuyanensis'', '' Nepenthes armin'',
Sibuyan striped shrew rat Sibuyan striped shrew rat (''Chrotomys sibuyanensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. The holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ra ...
,
Sibuyan shrew The Sibuyan shrew (''Crocidura ninoyi'') is a species of shrew from the Philippines. References

Crocidura, ninoyi Mammals of the Philippines Mammals described in 2010 Endemic fauna of the Philippines Fauna of Romblon {{whitetoothed-shre ...
,
Philippine tube-nosed fruit bat The Philippine tube-nosed fruit bat (''Nyctimene rabori'') locally known in Tagalog as ''Bayakan'' is a species of bat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to the Philippines and known from the islands of Cebu, Negros and Sibuyan. It occur ...
,
indigo-banded kingfisher The Indigo-banded kingfisher (''Ceyx cyanopectus'') is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is endemic to the Philippines, where it is generally uncommon but locally widespread in the northern and central islands. Taxonomy There are t ...
, and the
Romblon hawk-owl The Romblon boobook or Romblon hawk-owl (''Ninox spilonotus''), is a species of owl in the family Strigidae that is endemic to the Philippines. It is only found on the islands of Tablas, Sibuyan and Romblon. It was previously known as a subspeci ...
. In Tablas Island, at least two endemic bird species can be found: the
Tablas drongo The Tablas drongo (''Dicrurus menagei'') is an Asian bird of the family Dicruridae. It was formerly considered conspecific with the hair-crested drongo. It is endemic to Tablas Island in the Philippines. It is noted by its jet black plumage wi ...
and
Tablas fantail The Tablas fantail (''Rhipidura sauli'') is a fantail endemic to the Philippines on Tablas Island. Until recently, it was considered conspecific with the blue-headed fantail and Visayan fantail. It is threatened by habitat loss. Description E ...
.


Administrative divisions

Romblon comprises 17 municipalities. Of these, nine are located in Tablas Island (San Agustin, Calatrava, San Andres, Odiongan, Ferrol, Santa Fe, Looc, Alcantara and Santa Maria), three in Sibuyan Island (Magdiwang, Cajidiocan and San Fernando) and five (Romblon, San Jose, Banton, Concepcion and Corcuera) are island municipalities.


Climate

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 , with February as the coldest month with temperatures dropping to , and May as the warmest month with temperatures reaching up to . ''
Habagat A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
'' monsoon winds pass through the province from June to October while northeasterly winds or ''
Amihan In the Philippines, ''Amihan'' refers to the season dominated by the trade winds, which are experienced in the Philippines as a ''cool northeast wind''. It is characterized by moderate temperatures, little or no rainfall in the central and west ...
'' blows through the islands from December to February.


Demographics

The population of Romblon in the 2020 census was 308,985 people, with a density of , ranking it fourth among the five provinces of Mimaropa in terms of population with 9.9 percent of the region's population. San Jose and Romblon are the two most-densely populated municipalities in the province at 490/km2 and 450/km2, respectively. Cajidiocan is the least densely populated municipality at 110/km2. Males outnumber females in the province with a sex ratio of 102:100 according to the 2010 census. Of the province's 283,482 household population, males accounted for 144,091 or 50.8 percent while females made up 139,391 or 49.2 percent. The voting-age population (18 years old and over) accounted for 56.6 percent of the household population of the province in 2010, up from 52.7 percent in 2000. There were more females (50.2 percent) than males (49.8 percent) among the voting age population.


Language

The languages of Romblon, as well as all languages native to the Philippines, belong to the Austronesian language family, the second largest language family in the world with 1,257 known languages, second only to the Niger–Congo family's 1,538 languages. All of the languages of the Philippines, except Samalan, are classified as Philippine languages under the Western Malayo-Polynesian branch of Austronesian. The Philippine language group has three main branches:
Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...
,
Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...
and
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
, the latter of which is composed of the Bisayan, Bikol and Tagalog languages. Unlike other islands or provinces in the Philippines where all local languages are classifiable under the same subgroup of languages, each of the three languages of Romblon — Romblomanon, Onhan and Asi — actually belongs to a different subgroup of the Visayan language group. Romblomanon belongs to the Central Visayan subgroup, which spans from Waray-Waray in Samar and Leyte, through Masbatenyo and Sorsoganon, and as far west as Hiligaynon and
Capiznon Capiznon or Capiceño () is an Austronesian regional language spoken in Western Visayas in the Philippines. Capiznon is concentrated in the province of Capiz in the northeast of Panay Island. It is a member of the Bisayan language family and th ...
on
Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City o ...
. It is spoken in Romblon and Sibuyan Islands, as well as in the municipality of San Agustin in Tablas Island. Onhan, on the other hand, belongs to the Western Visayan subgroup, which includes Kinaray-a and Aklanon, as well as several minor languages spoken on Mindoro, Palawan, and some small islands in between. Its speakers are mainly from the southern portion of Tablas Island, in the municipalities of San Andres, Santa Maria, Alcantara, Ferrol, Looc, and Santa Fe, as well as in the municipality of San Jose in Carabao Island. Finally, Asi is not classified under any specific subgroup of Visayan, and instead makes up its own immediate branch of Visayan. David Paul Zorc, a linguist from the Australian National University whose expertise is on Philippine languages, notes that Asi speakers may have been the first Visayan speakers in the region. He also suggests that Asi may have a Cebuano
substratum In linguistics, a stratum (Latin for "layer") or strate is a language that influences or is influenced by another through contact. A substratum or substrate is a language that has lower power or prestige than another, while a superstratum or sup ...
and that many of its words may have been influenced by the later influx of other languages such as Romblomanon.Zorc, R. David Paul. (1977) It is spoken in the island municipalities of Banton, Corcuera and Concepcion, as well as in Odiongan and Calatrava in Tablas. Hiligaynon is spoken in municipalities near Capiz and Aklan. As Romblon is part of Mimaropa which is also known as Southwestern Tagalog Region, provincial settlers speak Tagalog/ Filipino as ''lingua franca'' between different Visayan languages.


Religion

The people of the province are predominantly Roman Catholic. In 2012, the
UP School of Economics The University of the Philippines School of Economics is a degree-granting unit of the University of the Philippines Diliman (U.P.), where it occupies the buildings of the Philippine Center for Economic Development (PCED). The school offers two Ba ...
reported that in recent years, 69 percent were
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, 30 percent belong to Iglesia Filipina Independiente while five percent to
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s, and around three percent belonged to Iglesia ni Cristo.
Mainline Protestant The mainline Protestant churches (also called mainstream Protestant and sometimes oldline Protestant) are a group of Protestant denominations in the United States that contrast in history and practice with evangelical, fundamentalist, and charis ...
s and
Evangelicals Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
then formed a significant minority of up to 8% of the population.


Economy

Romblon used to be one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines until 2015 when it recorded lower poverty incidence of 38.63 percent, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. Poverty incidence in the province further declined to 28.28 percent in 2018. The provincial economy is heavily reliant on agriculture, tourism and mineral extraction which can be greatly affected by typhoons the frequently pass through the province yearly.


Agriculture

Agriculture is the main industry in Romblon.
Coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
is the most cultivated crop with a total planted area of . San Agustin has the most extensive area with coconut plants followed by Romblon and Cajidiocan. Rice is the next crop, cultivated particularly in Odiongan, Looc, Cajidiocan and Santa Fe. Other crops grown include root crops, vegetables and fruits. Odiongan, Banton and Magdiwang have the greatest areas planted with root crops and correspondingly, have the highest volume of production. Vegetable production is mostly for home consumption and grown in small scale. Livestock development and poultry production is a viable small scale enterprise for farmers in the province. The provincial government maintains breeding facilities in strategic locations province-wide to encourage farmers to engage in livestock and poultry production to augment their income. Livestock and poultry management training and seminars is provided to interested clients. Due to the geographical condition of the province, crops and livestock production is generally deficient as compared to the food requirements of Romblon population. To meet the rice requirements, Romblon relies on imports from the neighboring provinces while vegetables, poultry meat, vegetables and fruits are supplied mostly by Luzon.


Marine resources

Fishing industry is a major enterprise as Romblon is surrounded by water on all sides. The fishing grounds of Romblon are a migratory path of fish from
Sulu Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Wilāya sin Lupa' Sūg''; tl, Lalawigan ng Sulu), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago and part of the Bangsamoro, Bangsamor ...
and
Visayan Sea The Visayan Sea is a sea in the Philippines surrounded by the islands of the Visayas. It is bounded by the islands Masbate to the north, Panay to the west, Leyte to the east, and Cebu and Negros to the south. The sea is connected to several bod ...
s passing
Tablas Strait Tablas Strait ( fil, Kipot ng Tablas), also Tabuas Strait, is a strait in the Philippines separating Mindoro Island from Panay and Romblon islands. The approximate depth of the strait is . The strait is known for being the place where the Sulp ...
, Sibuyan Sea and Romblon Pass. The waters also abound with
demersal fish Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 They occ ...
due to the coral reefs surrounding the islands. Because the province has a great potential for aqua-marine development, the province implemented a coastal and resource management program. Each municipality established a fish sanctuary and passed laws on fishery. The use of
air compressors An air compressor is a pneumatic device that converts power (using an electric motor, diesel or gasoline engine, etc.) into potential energy stored in pressurized air (i.e., compressed air). By one of several methods, an air compressor forces mor ...
in the municipal waters was regulated and banned altogether in some municipalities.


Mineral resources

Marble is the most significant mineral deposit of Romblon and is the most renowned product of the province. Based on statistics, Romblon 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 The Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB) is a government agency of the Philippines under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The MGB is responsible for the conservation, management, development and use of the country's mi ...
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). Other mineral resources with considerable quantity include nickel ore and gold mostly to be found in Sibuyan Island.
Gold panning Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts especi ...
and small-scale mining is a lucrative undertaking in Magdiwang.


Tourism


Natural attractions

Being an archipelago, Romblon has numerous beaches and dive sites. Among its best white sand beaches are Bonbon, Cobrador and Tiamban Beach in Romblon, Macat-ang, Tabunan and Tambak Beach in Banton, Lunas and Bignay Beach in San Jose, and Cresta del Gallo in San Fernando. The sea surrounding Cresta del Gallo is a famous diving site teeming with marine life. Romblon is also home to the only known blue hole in the Philippines in the town of San Agustin. The entrance to the blue hole is a wide volcanic chimney, which drops for before opening up into the massive chamber below with a total depth of . Mount Guiting-Guiting in Sibuyan, the province's tallest mountain, is considered one of the most difficult climbs in the Philippines, and is thus a major destination of local mountain climbers because of its steep and jagged summit. Another a suitable place for hiking and trekking is Mount Payaopao is Tablas. Meanwhile, Banton's Guyangan Cave System, an Important Cultural Treasure, is where the Banton Cloth — the earliest known warp '' ikat'' textile in Southeast Asia — was found in 1936.


Heritage sites

Aside from the precolonial Guyangan Cave System in Banton, the province also has several heritage sites built during the Spanish colonial period. In Romblon town, the forts of San Andres and Santiago served as fortifications against Muslim pirates in the 17th century, while the St. Joseph Cathedral and Belfry houses a centuries-old image of the Santo Niño de Cebú or the Holy Child. Both heritage sites were declared National Cultural Treasures by the National Museum. The town also has colonial-era bridges that were declared Important Cultural Treasures. A similar fort in Banton, the centuries-old Fort San Jose and
Banton Church The Saint Nicholas of Tolentino Parish Church, commonly known as Banton Church, is a Roman Catholic church in the municipality of Banton, Romblon, Banton in Romblon province in the Philippines. It is allegedly one of the oldest churches in the ...
, were built in the 1600s and was also used as defenses against Muslim pirates.


Festivals

Every second week of January, Romblon town celebrates the feast of the Santo Niño de Cebú, also known as the Biniray Festival. In that week, a fluvial parade featuring the image of the Santo Niño goes around Romblon Bay in order to bring good luck to the villages. A
mardi gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...
is also held in the town with various street dancing, food, drinks and music. A similar Biniray Festival also occurs in Banton every 10 September in commemoration of the island's patron,
San Nicolas de Tolentino Nicholas of Tolentino ( la, S. Nicolaus de Tolentino, (c. 1246September 10, 1305), known as the ''Patron of Holy Souls'', was an Italian saint and mystic. He is particularly invoked as an advocate for the souls in Purgatory, especially during ...
. Other festivals include the Saginyogan Festival in Alcantara, the Sanrokan Festival in Banton, and Looc's
Talabukon Festival {{story, date=October 2012 Talabukon Festival is a religious celebration in the municipality of Looc, Romblon province, Philippines, held during the 3rd week of April. It is held both to honor St. Joseph and to celebrate a genie who once saved the ...
, which honors the giant genie-like epic hero, Talabukon, who saved the people from pirates.


Scuba diving

In recent years Romblon Island has attracted more scuba divers. It has pristine and untouched reefs with almost undisturbed hard and soft corals around the islands of Romblon, Logbon, Alad and Cobrador. With multiple marine sanctuaries and private associations most of the marine life around Romblon is protected. In addition to the reefs, Romblon has been becoming famous for its rare and unique macro habitat, such as the ''
Melibe ''Melibe'' is a genus of sea slugs, nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Tethydidae. Most nudibranchs are carnivores, but their prey is usually sessile or slow-moving animals such as sponges or bryozoans. In contrast, ''Melibe ...
colemani'', the '' Cyerce nigra'' and the ''Cyerce bourbonica''.


Government


Executive

Just like any other province in the Philippines, Romblon's chief executive and head is the provincial governor. Elected to a term of three years and limited to three consecutive terms, he or she appoints the directors of each provincial department, which include the office of administration, engineering office, information office, legal office, and treasury office. As of 30 June 2019, the incumbent governor of Romblon is Jose "Otik" Riano, from the PDPLBN. He was elected in 2013 as vice-governor and reelected in 2016. The provincial vice governor performs duties as acting governor in the absence of the provincial governor. He or she also automatically succeeds as governor upon the death of the provincial governor. The provincial vice governor also convenes the
Provincial Board Sangguniang Panlalawigan (abbreviated as SP; ), commonly known as the Provincial Board, are the legislatures in Provinces of the Philippines, Philippine provinces. They are the legislative branches of the provinces, and their powers and responsibi ...
or ''
Sangguniang Panlalawigan Sangguniang Panlalawigan (abbreviated as SP; ), commonly known as the Provincial Board, are the legislatures in Philippine provinces. They are the legislative branches of the provinces, and their powers and responsibilities are defined by the Loca ...
'', the provincial legislative body. The incumbent provincial vice governor of Romblon is Felix Ylagan from the LAKAS. He is a grandson of the late governor of the same province, Perpetuo Ylagan.


Legislative

The province, which is a lone congressional district, is represented in the Philippine House of Representatives by longtime Representative Eleandro Jesus "Budoy" Madrona from the
Nacionalista Party The Nacionalista Party (Filipino and Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; ) is the oldest political party in both the Philippines and in Southeast Asia in general. It is responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the 20th ce ...
. He first assumed office from 1992 to 2001, serving three terms. Following two terms wherein Perpetuo Ylagan and Eduardo Firmalo respectively represented the district in Congress, Madrona ran and won again in 2007. His third and last term will expire in 2016. Within the province, the Provincial Board or ''Sangguniang Panlalawigan'' crafts all provincial ordinances, performs appropriation of provincial funds, issues franchises and permits, impose fees on provincial services, and exercise other duties and powers as stipulated by the Local Government Code of 1991. Romblon, being a third-class province in terms of income, is entitled to a Provincial Board composed of eight members, four each from the province's two board districts. , the incumbent board members from the province's two districts are: (First District) Samuel Romero, Anthony Rugas, Abner Perez, Nelson Lim ; (Second District) Felix Ylagan, Juliet Fiel, Venizar Maravilla, and Andres Fondevilla.


Provincial seal

Romblon's provincial sea is composed of two concentric circles: A smaller blue circle over a larger white circle. The white circle forms a band, with the words ''Lalawigan ng Romblon'' (Province of Romblon) on top and ''Pilipinas'' (Philippines) on the bottom each written in semi-circular fashion. The blue circle symbolizes Romblon's geography as an archipelago surrounded by sea. On the middle of the blue circle is the province's designated five-sided white shield. At the center of the shield are 17 green human figures that appear to be linking arms. These symbolize the 17 municipalities that make up the province. Its green color represents the island's ecological and agricultural resources. The human figures form a circle surrounding five figures: A marble craftsman and a marble '' almirez'' (mortar and pestle), representing the province's marble industry. On its left side is the image of a fish, representing the province's fishing industry, and on its right side is a coconut, representing the province's copra industry. Behind the craftsman is a green outline of a mountain, representing Mount Guiting-Guiting National Park, a protected nature reserve where the province's tallest mountain is located. Behind the mountain is a rising sun, similar to the sun found on the
Philippine flag The national flag of the Philippines ( tgl, Pambansang watawat ng Pilipinas; ilo, Nailian a bandera ti Filipinas; ceb, Nasudnong bandila ng Pilipinas; es, Bandera Nacional de Filipinas) is a horizontal List of flags by design#Bicolour, bicol ...
, representing the Divine Providence of abundant natural resources.


Infrastructure


Transportation

Romblon province is connected by a network of national and provincial roads. National roads form much of this network, with a total length of . Provincial roads, meanwhile, total in length. Municipal and barangay roads in far-flung villages and island municipalities are not part of these figures. The primary modes of land transportation in the province are jeepneys, passenger motorcycles, minibuses and tricycles that serve inter-municipal movements and linkages. Sea transportation is the primary mode of transportation linking Romblon with Luzon and islands in the Visayas. Inter-island ferries, RORO, and cargo ships from Manila, the southern Luzon ports of Batangas City,
Lucena City Lucena, officially the City of Lucena ( fil, Lungsod ng Lucena), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines. It is the capital city of the province of Quezon where it is geographically situated but, in t ...
in Quezon province, Roxas, Oriental Mindoro, and
Roxas City Roxas City, officially the City of Roxas (Capiznon language, Capiznon/ hil, Dakbanwa sang Roxas; fil, Lungsod ng Roxas), is a 3rd class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippi ...
in Capiz province are the primary modes of transportation linking the province to the rest of the country.
Montenegro Lines Montenegro Shipping Lines, Inc. (MSLI) is a Philippine domestic shipping line based at the Batangas International Port in Batangas City, Philippines. It operates passenger, cargo and RORO vessels to various destinations in the Philippines under t ...
,
2GO 2GO or 2GO Sea Solutions, also known as 2GO Travel, is a passenger ferry company based in Manila, Philippines, the shipping and passenger ferry arm of 2GO Group, and the only remaining Manila-based major interisland passenger ferry company, w ...
, and Romblon Shipping Lines all have ferry service from Manila to the main ports of entry of Odiongan and the capital town of Romblon and vice versa. From Romblon, Montenegro also serves Magdiwang in Sibuyan, while Romblon Shipping Lines also serves
Cajidiocan Cajidiocan, officially the Municipality of Cajidiocan, is a 4th class municipality in the province of Romblon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 23,259 people. The municipality is located on Sibuyan Island, which ...
. Pump boats and wooden launches also link the province to the towns of Buenavista, Marinduque and Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro. These pump boats are also used in going to barangays where there are no existing road networks or between municipalities in the province that do not have existing ferry service.
Tugdan Airport Tugdan Airport (Filipino: ''Paliparan ng Tugdan'', Romblomanon (Onhan): ''Paluparan it Tugdan'') is an airport located in the province of Romblon in the Philippines. It is the only airport in the province of Romblon. The airport is located in Ba ...
in Alcantara is the only airport in the province and is less than an hour away from Metro Manila. Philippine Airlines, the country's flag carrier, used to fly thrice a week (Sunday, Wednesday and Friday) to the airport via its budget carrier, PAL Express, but has ceased as of 1 September 2016 due to transfer of some of its flights to Clark International Airport in Pampanga. Currently, only Cebu Pacific has flights to the airport, with four flights weekly from Manila. At Barangay Azagra, San Fernando in Sibuyan Island, there is also a small airstrip that caters to tourism and general aviation.


Electricity

Power supply in Romblon is generated by the National Power Corporation (NPC) and serviced by two electric cooperatives. Tablas Island Electric Cooperative (TIELCO) serves the power needs of Tablas Island including San Jose. It operates a 5.070 MW diesel power plant in Odiongan and 1.740 MW power barge in San Agustin. The electric cooperative serves a total of 21,097 house connections. In 2013, TIELCO has entered into a 15-year power supply agreement with Sunwest Water and Electric Company (SUWECO) to fill the island's energy needs. In 2015, SUWECO opened a diesel power plant in Barangay Batiano, Odiongan, which supplies TIELCO with 8.8 MW of electricity. In 2019, TIELCO and SUWECO inaugurated the 7.5 MW peak Tumingad Solar Power Plant in Odiongan. The two power plants supply electricity to the towns of Odiongan, San Andres, Calatrava, San Agustin, Santa Maria, Santa Fe, Alcantara, Looc, and Ferrol in Tablas. Likewise, TIELCO supplies electricity to San Jose and has recently held the bidding for the competitive selection process (CSP) for a new power provider to the island municipality. Romblon Electric Cooperative (ROMELCO) supplies electricity to the capital town of Romblon through a 1.720 MW diesel power plant and a 1.30 MW power barge. It also serves Sibuyan Island using a 3.006 MW diesel power plant in San Fernando. ROMELCO has 5,288 house connections in Romblon and 5,150 house connections in the three municipalities located in Sibuyan Island or a total of 10,438 house connections in their franchise area. Additionally, ROMELCO installed in 2010 a mini hydro power plant in Cantigas, San Fernando, producing 900 kW of power. In 2019, ROMELCO also inaugurated the
Romblon Wind Farm Romblon Wind Farm is a wind farm in Romblon, Romblon, Philippines. The wind farm uses three units of high Komaihaltec KWT300 wind turbines erected on the hills of Barangays Agnay, Bagacay and Lonos in Romblon, Romblon. The wind farm is a project ...
composed of three 300-kW wind turbines in Barangays Agnay, Bagacay and Lonos in Romblon, Romblon with a combined capacity to generate 2,000,100 kilowatt hours of green energy, or equivalent to 25 percent of the total annual energy requirement of the island. The 42-meter tall wind turbines were manufactured by Japanese company Komaihaltec Inc. and supported by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan. An additional 900-kW wind turbines will be installed in 2020. ROMELCO also provides 24-hour electricity to the island municipalities of Banton, Concepcion and Corcuera through diesel power plants operated by the NPC.


Water supply

Out of 17 municipalities, 14 have Level III water supply systems serving 18,590 households or about 32.57 percent of the total provincial households. Level III has a reservoir with house-to-house connections. 5,252 households were serviced by Level II water systems and 24,700 households by Level I water system. Level I category is a common facility where the community members get their water supply from deep wells and
shallow wells A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
, while Level II has a reservoir with communal faucet. Based on the report from the Provincial Health Office in 2007, a total of 48,542 households out of the 57,079 or 85.04 percent have access to safe drinking water.


Healthcare

There are eight government-owned hospitals in Romblon that serve the local population's healthcare needs. Four of these hospitals are located in Tablas Island: the 75-bed, Romblon Provincial Hospital in Odiongan, the 25-bed Tablas Island District Hospital in San Agustin, the 25-bed Don Modesto Formilleza Sr. District Hospital in Looc, and the six-bed San Andres District Hospital in San Andres. Of these hospitals, only Romblon Provincial Hospital is a Level 1 hospital, which has an
emergency room An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...
and intensive care unit. Two privately owned hospitals, the Tablas Doctors' Hospital and ISIAH Hospital and Medical Center, also operates in Odiongan. In Romblon, the 35-bed Romblon District Hospital provides the healthcare needs of residents in the capitol. It is the only other Level 1 hospital in the province after Romblon Provincial Hospital. In Sibuyan, the 25-bed Sibuyan District Hospital provides basic healthcare for the residents of the island's three municipalities. It opened in 1958 with the enactment of Republic Act No. 2400 by congressman Jose Moreno. There is also the 10-bed San Jose District Hospital in Carabao Island and the 10-bed Malipayon District Hospital in the town of Corcuera in Simara Island. Municipalities that do not have a district hospital or a Level 1 hospital are served by their respective rural health units.


Telecommunications

The province has several operating telecommunication exchanges, namely Kayumanggi, Romblontel, Odiongan Telephone Corporation (OTELCO), the Telecommunication Office (TELOF), telegram system, Liberty Telecom, public calling stations under the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Provincial Communication System (PCS) radio transceivers and receivers.
Smart Communications Smart Communications Inc., commonly referred to as Smart (and officially stylized/ self-styled as SMART), is a wholly owned wireless communications and digital services subsidiary of PLDT Inc., a telecommunications and digital services provid ...
,
Sun Cellular Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc., doing business as Sun Cellular (or simply known as Sun), was a wholly owned subsidiary of Digital Telecommunications Philippines (Digitel), which in turn was owned by PLDT and is one of the Philippines’ large ...
and Globe Telecom already have relay stations in Romblon, Odiongan and Cajidiocan, enabling most areas province-wide connected through cellphones, except on some area where the signal is weak or non-existent because of mountains that block the signal. The Triple Peak in Santa Maria has a relay station for PLDT and Liberty Telecom.


Media

There are four radio stations in the province, two of which are operated by the Radyo Natin Network and the other, 95.7 FMR Romblon owned by the
Philippine Collective Media Corporation Philippine Collective Media Corporation (PCMC; officially known in their documents as Philippine CollectiveMedia Corporation) is a Philippine broadcast media company. Its headquarters are located in Makati, with offices in Fairview, Quezon Ci ...
, GM FM 100.5 MHz owned by the Polytechnic Foundation of Cotabato and Asia and Radyo Natin Network operates the call sign DWMM at 104.5 MHz on
FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...
from Looc, as well as the call sign DZVG 101.3 MHz on
FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...
from Odiongan owned by
Manila Broadcasting Company Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC) is a radio and television network in the Philippines. MBC is currently owned by the FJE Group of Companies of Fred J. Elizalde, which also operates hotels and Pasay-based amusement park Star City. Its AM fla ...
. As for print media, ''Romblon Text'' and ''Romblon Sun'' are the two major newspapers circulating in the province, aside from broadsheet and tabloid newspapers from Manila. ''Romblon News'', meanwhile, provides provincial and national news and information via the web and social media. A relay station for GMA Network and Romblon Community TV (affiliate of People's Television Network) in Santa Maria allows the province to access television shows broadcast by the network from Manila. There are also existing cable providers and local cable stations operating in several municipalities in the province, namely Romblon Cable Corporation (Romblon), Accutronics System Inc. (Odiongan), San Agustin Cable Antenna Corp. (San Agustin), Countryside Satellite Television System Inc. (Looc and Romblon), Gateway Cable TV Network (Calatrava), San Andres CATV Service Coop. (San Andres), Josefa J. Martinez CATV Services (Alcantara), Magdiwang Cable Television (Magdiwang), and Sibuyan Cable TV (San Fernando and Cajidiocan). Aside from these cable stations, there are also distributors of direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV such as
Cignal Digital TV Cignal (pronounced as ''signal'') is a Philippine satellite television and IPTV provider, owned by Cignal TV Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the MediaQuest Holdings Inc. under the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund. Cignal's prepaid electronic ...
,
Dream Satellite TV Dream Satellite TV was the first all-digital Direct-To-Home (DTH) television broadcasting service via satellite in the Philippines. Broadcasting from the Dream Broadcast Center located at the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga. Content is rec ...
, G Sat, and Sky Direct who provide television services for its subscribers.


Education

The Division of Romblon of the Department of Education (DepEd) supervises and oversees the delivery of education and operations of public schools in the province. It is composed of 13 districts, where there are 228 elementary schools, 216 of which are public and 12 are private. Of the 216 public elementary schools, 162 offer preschool education, while 20 of the private schools have the same offering. There are also 10 private preschools offering pre-elementary. For secondary level, a total of 44 schools offer secondary education, of which 37 are public schools and seven are private institutions. The
Virginia Centurione Bracelli School Virginia Centurione Bracelli School (abbrv. VCBS) is a private school, private, Roman Catholic school located in Poctoy, Odiongan, Romblon. It is part of the worldwide network of :it:Figlie di Nostra Signora al Monte Calvario, Figlie di Nostra Sig ...
offers both primary and secondary education. There are 13 vocational schools in the province, while tertiary education is offered by privately owned Romblon College and the
Romblon State University Romblon State University is a public higher education institution in Romblon, Philippines. It has eight satellite campuses and its main campus is located in Odiongan, Romblon. History 1914: Tracing its roots back in November 1914, during the dis ...
(RSU), one of the oldest state universities in the Philippines. RSU, which was founded in 1915, is the oldest agricultural university in the Philippines and has campuses in Romblon, Odiongan, Cajidiocan, Calatrava, San Agustin, San Andres, San Fernando, Santa Fe, and Santa Maria.


Notable people

*
Fitch Arboleda Fitch Johnson Daviz Barace Arboleda (born 4 January 1993) is a Filipino footballer who plays as a midfielder for Philippines Football League (PFL) club Kaya–Iloilo and the Philippines national team. International career Arboleda scored a hat ...
, Filipino footballer who plays for
Stallion FC Stallion Laguna Football Club is a Filipino professional football club based in Biñan, Laguna. The club competes in the Philippines Football League, the top tier of football in the Philippines. In 2002, the club was founded as Stallion Foo ...
and the Philippines national football team. *
Florante Condes Florante Condes, Jr. (born May 20, 1980 in Looc, Romblon, Philippines), is a Filipino retired professional boxer and a former IBF Minimumweight World Champion. Boxing career Condes turned professional in 2002. On July 7, 2007, Condes won the ...
, Filipino professional
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...
and a former
IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
Minimumweight World Champion. *
Jose Dalisay, Jr. Jose Y. Dalisay Jr. (born January 15, 1954) is a Filipino writer. He has won numerous awards and prizes for fiction, poetry, drama, non-fiction and screenwriting, including 16 Palanca Awards. Early life and education Dalisay was born in Romblon ...
, writer, poet, playwright and screenwriter who won 16 Palanca Awards. He is a recipient of 1993 Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) award. *
Gabriel Fabella Gabriel Fabrero Fabella (March 18, 1898 – January 29, 1982) was a prominent Filipino historian during the 20th century. He is primarily known as the historian behind Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal's decision to issue Proclamation No ...
, co-founder and first president of the
Philippine Historical Association The Philippine Historical Association (''Kapisanang Pangkasaysayan ng Pilipinas'' in Tagalog) is a professional association of historians in the Philippines and is considered one of the oldest organizations of historians in the country. It was fo ...
; Father of June 12 Independence Day; and sole representative of Romblon in the First National Assembly (1935–1938). *
Ephraim Fajutagana Ephraim Fajutagana y Servañez is a former Obispo Máximo or Supreme Bishop of the Philippine Independent Church (''Iglesia Filipina Independiente'' or IFI). He is the 12th Obispo Máximo, the highest post of the Church, that goes back from i ...
, former Obispo Máximo or Supreme Bishop of the
Philippine Independent Church , native_name_lang = fil , icon = Logo of the Philippine Independent Church (Aglipayan Church).svg , icon_width = 80px , icon_alt = Coat of arms of the Philippine Independent Church , image ...
. *
Seth Fedelin Seth Yancy Fronda Fedelin (born July 9, 2002, in Dasmariñas, Cavite) also known as Sethyboy is a Filipino actor, model, singer and dancer. Fedelin first appeared on television as a housemate on the reality show '' Pinoy Big Brother: Otso'' (20 ...
, actor, model, singer and dancer who first appeared on television as a housemate on the reality show ''Pinoy Big Brother: Otso'' (2018) and has since appeared in various films and television series alongside his love team partner Andrea Brillantes. *
Roilo Golez José Roilo Solís Gólez (January 9, 1947 – June 11, 2018) was a Politics of the Philippines, Filipino politician who last served his sixth term as Member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the Legislative districts of Par ...
, former member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the Second District of
Parañaque Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque ( fil, Lungsod ng Parañaque, ), is a first class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to t ...
. He is a recipient of 1982 Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) award. *
N. V. M. Gonzalez Néstor Vicente Madali González (8 September 1915 – 28 November 1999) was a Filipino novelist, short story writer, essayist and, poet. Conferred as the National Artist of the Philippines for Literature in 1997. Biography He was born on 8 S ...
, writer, Palanca Award winner, and National Artist for Literature. *
Dinualdo Gutierrez Dinualdo Destajo Gutierrez (20 February 1939 – 10 February 2019) was a Filipino prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was a bishop of the Diocese of Marbel who served from 1982 to 2018. Death In Feb 2019, Gutierrez died from complication ...
, Filipino prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and bishop of the
Diocese of Marbel The Roman Catholic Diocese of Marbel (Lat: ''Dioecesis Marbeliana'') is a Roman Rite diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. History Erected in 1960, as the territorial prelature of Marbel, the prelature was eleva ...
from 1982 to 2018. * Salvador Leaño, World War II veteran and Foursquare Church Pastor who volunteered as poll watcher during the
1986 Philippine presidential election The 1986 Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections were held on February 7, 1986. Popularly known as the 1986 snap election, it is among the landmark events that led up to the People Power Revolution, the downfall of the presidenc ...
and was killed in election-related violence at San Andres, Romblon. Honored as a hero at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani. *
Elma Muros-Posadas Elma Muros-Posadas (born January 14, 1967, in Magdiwang, Romblon) also known as the "Long Jump Queen" of the Philippines and a heptathlon champion, is a former member of the Philippine Track and Field National Team and now a legend in Philippine ...
, former track and field athlete who specialized in long jump and won a total of 15 gold medals in several Southeast Asian Games. *
Rodne Galicha Rodne Galicha y Rodiño (born 2 June 1979, San Fernando, Sibuyan Island, Romblon, Philippines, eldest son of government employee Nenita Rodiño y Romero of San Fernando, Romblon, and postman Rodrigo Galicha y Galindez of Alcantara, Romblon) is a F ...
, environmentalist, 2018 Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardee and recipient of national individual award for Gawad Bayani Kalikasan given by the Center for Environmental Concerns and Department of Environment and Natural Resources, former Philippine country manager of
The Climate Reality Project The Climate Reality Project is a non-profit organization involved in education and advocacy related to climate change. The Climate Reality Project came into being in July 2011 as the consolidation of two environmental groups, the Alliance for Cli ...
. *
Jansen Rios Jansen Mani Rios (born October 28, 1991) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was selected 25th overall in the 2015 PBA draft. Collegiate career He was recruited b ...
, Filipino professional basketball player for the
NLEX Road Warriors The NLEX Road Warriors is a professional basketball team owned by NLEX Corporation, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, currently playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since the 2014–2015 season. The Roa ...
of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). * Nene Tamayo, grand winner of ABS-CBN's '' Pinoy Big Brother (season 1)''.


References


External links

* *
Official Website
of the Romblon Provincial Government *
Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Provinces of the Philippines Islands of Luzon Island provinces of the Philippines Sibuyan Sea Mimaropa States and territories established in 1917 1917 establishments in the Philippines