San Fernando, Romblon
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

San Fernando, officially the Municipality of San Fernando, 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 ...
of
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 24,171 people.


History


Early history

The town of San Fernando was established in 1636 as ''Visita de Cauit'' in what is today Barangay Azagra. It is one of two visitas in Sibuyan Island, the other being
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 ...
. In 1744, Cajiodiocan was turned into a ''pueblo'' (town) which included Visita de Cauit. The first villages or barrios of Visita de Cauit were Pag-alad, Cangumba, Mabolo or San Roque, Canjalon, España or Canago, Agtiwa, Cangumon and Otod. After Romblon was made a separate district in 1853, and the local government reorganization of 1855, 17 new pueblos were created including Visita de Cauit. On 3 February 1868, Pueblo de Cauit was renamed Pueblo de Azagra. One of Azagra's villages, Visita de Pag-alad was renamed Visita de San Fernando in 1882, in honor of
Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...
.


Modern era

When civilian government was introduced to the province by the Americans on 16 March 1901, Azagra was one of 11 new municipalities created. However, by the end of the year, the seat of the municipality was transferred from Azagra to San Fernando village, thereby, changing the town's name. On 8 June 1940, the passage of Commonwealth Act No. 581, sponsored by Congressman Leonardo Festin, created the special municipality of Sibuyan. It abolished San Fernando and was annexed to the new town whose seat of government was in Cajidiocan. The special municipality of Sibuyan was abolished by Republic Act No. 38, authored by Congressman Modesto Formilleza and enacted on 1 October 1946. It effectively restored San Fernando into its former status as an independent municipality. In 1958, San Fernando High School, the town's highest institution of learning was converted into a national school for arts and trades known as Romblon National Vocation School under Republic Act No. 2428. On 21 June 2008, MV ''Princess of the Stars'', the flagship inter-island ferry of
Sulpicio Lines Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation (PSACC), formerly branded as Sulpicio Lines, Inc. (SLI, ), is a major shipping line in the Philippines. PSACC is one of the largest domestic shipping and container companies in the Philippines in terms o ...
sank in the waters of San Fernando after during the onslaught of Typhoon Fengshen (locally known as Typhoon Frank). Of the ship's 862 passengers and crew, only 48 survived while 67 were confirmed dead and 747 remain missing. A massive search-and-rescue, and then recovery and salvage operation, took place in the waters of San Fernando to remove remaining dead bodies and potentially dangerous cargo from the sunken ship. The wreck of the MV Princess of the Star still remains in the town's coastal waters.


Geography

San Fernando is a coastal town which lies on the south-western portion of the
Sibuyan Island 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 ...
and is the biggest among the three towns comprising the island, the other two being Magdiwang and
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 ...
. It has a total land area of . making it the largest municipality in the province, surpassing
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 peo ...
by more than . I The municipality has an irregular coastline broken by beautiful, long stretches of sandy beaches. The municipality has high and steep mountain ranges as it is located at the foot of Romblon's tallest peak,
Mount Guiting-Guiting Mount Guiting-Guiting or G2 is the highest mountain in the province of Romblon, located in Sibuyan Island, in the Philippines, with an elevation of above sea level. Its steep slopes and jagged peak, have earned it the reputation, as one of the mo ...
. Other mountains are Mount Sibuyan and Mount Conico. Much of its territory is part of Mount Guiting-Guiting Natural Park made up of lush
tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equatori ...
where unique
flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...
and
fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
thrive, giving Sibuyan the nickname, "The Galapagos of the Philippines".


Climate


Barangays

San Fernando 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 ...
s. * Agtiwa * Azagra * Campalingo * Canjalon * España * Mabini * Mabulo * Otod * Panangcalan * Pili * Poblacion * Taclobo


Demographics

According to the 2015 census, San Fernando has a population of 23,271, which makes San Fernando the 3rd most inhabited town in the province of
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 ...
. The variant
Romblomanon language Romblomanon or Bisaya/Binisaya nga Romblomanon is an Austronesian regional language spoken, along with Asi and Onhan, in the province of Romblon in the Philippines. The language is also called ''Ini'', ''Tiyad Ini'', ''Basi'', ''Niromblon'', a ...
locally called Sibuyanon dialect (Sibuyanon Magdiwang-España Style) is the native language in 4 eastern barangays of the municipality, while the rest speaks Sibuyanon (Sibujanon Azagra-San Fernando Style). The town has a Majority of Catholics and a few INC,Christian Bornagain and other Religions.


Economy

The municipality has various establishments including general merchandise stores, construction and welding shops, furniture outlets, funeral homes, rice mills, bakeshops, catering services, and one cable TV station. Fishing and Agriculture provides the main source of livelihood for the residents in San Fernando. The Sibuyan Sea and Cresta de Gallo serve as a fishing grounds due to its abundant marine animals like mackerel, sea quartz, tuna, ''dilis'', ''tanguigue'', ''lapu-lapu'', and tropical fish to name a few.The Agriculture sector of San Fernando is Mainly Rice and Corn Planting.


Infrastructure


Utilities

National Power Corporation operates a 650-kW plant and 1,025-kW substation in San Fernando.It also have a Mini Hydro Power Plant in Cantingas.ROMELCO, the local electric cooperative, also implements power supply on the households. For its water supply, the town uses the Cantingas irrigation system, which services some 384 hectares of farmland. Some households depend on individual potable distribution which comes from jet pumps and springs.


Transportation and communication

Tricycles are always available to carry passengers to town center or to the other places on the island when a ship is scheduled to arrive.There are also plans to open charter flights in Azagra Airstrip in the Town.There are also pumpboats that docks in the port of the town centre going to Roxas City.There are also pumpboats travel from agtiwa to Romblon Island. From Azagra jeepneys and tricycles are always available to carry passengers to town center or to the other places on the island when a ship is scheduled to arrive.There are also plans to open charter flights in Azagra Airstrip in the Town.There are also pumpboats that docks in the port of the town centre going to Roxas City.There are also pumpboats travel from agatiwa to Romblon Island
PLDT PLDT, Inc., formerly known as the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company ( fil, Kompanya ng Teleponong Pangmalayuan ng Pilipinas), is a Philippine telecommunications, internet and digital service holdings company. It is one of the country's ...
offers telecommunication services in San Fernando. Cellular phone services from
Smart Smart or SMART may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014 * Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com * ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper * ''SMart'', a children's television ser ...
and
Globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe ...
are available as well. Terrestrial and cable television services have become available too. The Sibuyan Circumferential Road is the main thoroughfare that traverses the coastline of San Fernando. This road connects San Fernando with the other Sibuyan Island towns of Cajidiocan and Magdiwang. Means of transportation include jeepneys, light vehicles, truck, motorcycles, and tricycles. Globe and Smart cellular also has 3G internet connection in San Fernando.


Education

The San Fernando branch of
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 ...
offers a number of tertiary education courses for the local residents as well as students coming from all over the island. There are also 12 public elementary schools and two privately owned schools. There are also three government-owned secondary schools,one annex school and one privately owned school.


Tourism

Because of its untouched mountainous landscape, several rivers,springs,falls, and freshwater lakes can be found in San Fernando. These include: *Cresta de Gallo: A five-hectare kidney-shaped islet with verdant terrain sloping down to the powdery white sand beach and surrounded by beautiful corral reefs. The beach is rich with different species of marine life and an ideal place for swimming and scuba diving. *Busay Falls: A scenic spot with a natural pool located some 2.5 kilometers from Poblacion at Barangay Panangcalan. The upper portion is the water reservoir serving the Poblacion. *Cantingas River: The pride of Barangay Taclobo is a natural swimming pool with a crystal water. The river is odorless, tasteless, and ever-flowing cold where one could quench his thirst while swimming. It has a cottage with a conference hall.It was also awarded as cleaniest and greeniest river in the
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 ...
for the year 2003 and 2005. * *Lamao Lake: A seven-hectare natural lake in Barangay Azagra. *Lagting Falls: This scenic hideaway with a basin-like natural pool is located in Barangay Taclobo, some 3 kilometers away from Poblacion. This falls is a refreshing place to immerse during this hot summer. It has two natural swimming pools with clean water and has several cottages available around the area *Dagubdob Falls: A falls in Sitio Olango in Barangay Espana that is near in the mountain. *Bila Bila Falls :A Beautiful Falls in Canjalon Named Bila Bila meaning Butterflies.


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. The incumbent mayor of San Fernando, Romblon, is Salem R. Tansingco and the incumbent vice mayor is Arben Rosas.


References


External links


San Fernando, Romblon Profile - Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index
*
Philippine Standard Geographic Code 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 ...

Philippine Census Information

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