Looc, officially the Municipality of Looc, is a 4th 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 ...

Romblon Romblon ( , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa Regions of the Philippines, region. Its main islands include Tablas Island, Tablas, the large ...

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 21,799 people.

History

Early history

Looc is from the

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

Onhan Onhan is a regional language, regional Bisayan languages, Western Bisayan language spoken, along with the Romblomanon language, Romblomanon and Asi languages, in the province of Romblon, Philippines. The language is also known as ''Inunhan'' an ...

word ''look'', meaning "bay", referring to the body of water the town encloses. The first settlers of Looc where

-speaking tribes from

Panay Island 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 ...

which came around 1730. The settlement was originally a

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

of the ''pueblo'' (town) of Cabolutan (located in present-day San Agustin) until 1790, when the town's population was wiped-out by a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

epidemic and the town was abolished. The abolition transferred Looc under the administration of pueblo de Banton in

Banton Island Banton, officially the Municipality of Banton ( Bantoanon: ''Banwa it Banton'', Filipino: ''Bayan ng Banton'', formerly known as Jones), is a fifth-class municipality in the province of Romblon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it ...

.Looc, Romblon.
Reference.com Retrieved on 2012-04-18. In the early 1800s, the settlement continued to progress and increase its population. Thus, in 1844,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

colonial authorities converted Looc into a full-pledged pueblo. Back then, Looc was still part of

Capiz Capiz, officially the Province of Capiz ( Capiznon/ Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; tl, Lalawigan ng Capiz), is a province in the Philippines located in the central section of Western Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Roxas. It is ...

province, until 19 March 1853, when Romblon was officially declared a district separate from Capiz, and finally a full-pledged province in 1868. Looc was one of the first four municipalities of the newly created province of Romblon, the other three being Romblon (capitol), Banton, 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 ...

(Cajidiocan). It then comprised the territories of what is now the municipalities of Alcantara and Santa Fe, and Carabao Island. Looc would lose these territories during the American colonial period beginning in 1901.

Modern history

On 8 June 1940, the municipality was abolished by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 581, also known as the "Festin Bill" (authored by Congressman Leonardo Festin). Looc was then consolidated into the special municipality of Tablas together with all other municipalities in the island and demoted to a barrio with a representative in the town's capitol in Odiongan. During the

Japanese Occupation of the Philippines The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Japones sa Filipinas''; ja, 日本のフィリピン占領, Nihon no Firipin Senryō) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when Imperial Japan occupied the Commonwealth of the ...

, the town became one of several emergency municipalities sponsored by the guerilla movement in the province. On 1 October 1946, Commonwealth Act No. 581 was repealed by Republic Act No. 38 (authored by Congressman Modesto Formilleza), thus abolishing the special municipality of Tablas and restoring Looc to its municipal status. On 21 March 1961, the municipality of Alcantara was created from the eastern barangays of Looc, reducing the municipality to its present size. Looc is a nice place to live.

Geography

Looc is located along the shores of Looc Bay on the southern portion of

Tablas Island Tablas is the largest of the islands that comprise the province of Romblon in the Philippines. The name of the island was of Spanish origin. Before the colonization of the Philippines, Tablas was known as the Island of ''Osigan''. At the time of ...

. It is bordered to the north by the municipalities of Ferrol and

Odiongan Odiongan, officially the Municipality of Odiongan ( Asi: ''Banwa it Odiongan'', Filipino: ''Bayan ng Odiongan'', is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Romblon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 49,284 pe ...

, to east by the municipality of Alcantara, to the south by the municipality of Santa Fe and to the west by Looc Bay and

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 S ...

. It has a total land area of . Its topography consists predominantly of slopes which are characterized as nearly level to slightly and strongly undulated rolling hills.

Barangays

Looc is politically subdivided into 12

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 ...

Climate

Demographics

According to the 2015 census, Looc has a population of 22,262 people. Majority of its citizen speak to local dialect,

Economy

Marine sanctuary

On 12 January 1999, the 48-hectare Looc Bay Marine Refuge and Sanctuary was officially opened in the municipality after four years of intensive community education on the value and better management of marine resources. The local government, together with the community through their Barangay Fishermen Organization and Looc Baywatch Task Force, worked together to ensure the safety of the Looc's marine resources. The marine sanctuary was awarded two Trailblazing Galing Pook awards in 2000 and 2007 by the Galing Pook Foundation for being the best Coastal Resource Management program. Today, the marine sanctuary is not just a refuge of marine wildlife, but a tourist destination which attracts revenues for the municipality.

Government

Pursuant to Chapter II, Title II, Book III of Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991, the municipal government is composed of a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

(alkalde), a

vice mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments. Duties and functions Many elected dep ...

(bise alkalde) and

members Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(kagawad) of the legislative branch

Sangguniang Bayan The Sangguniang Bayan () is the local legislative branch of the municipal governments in the Philippines. It is responsible for passing ordinances and resolutions for the administration of a municipality. Its powers are defined by the Local Gov ...

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. As of 30 June 2019, the incumbent mayor and vice mayor are Lisette Arboleda and Dianson Taytay, respectively.

References

External links

Official Website of Looc, Romblon

Looc, Romblon Profile - Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code
Philippine Census Information

Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Romblon