San Jose, officially the Municipality of San Jose, is a

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

in the

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

Romblon Romblon (, , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. Its main components include Romblon, an archipelagic municipality of the same name that also serves as the provi ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 11,759 people. It is also known as Carabao Island, or Hambil Island, the southernmost island of the province. Throughout much of its Spanish and American colonial history, the island repeatedly changed hands between the political jurisdictions of

and

Capiz Capiz (), officially the Province of Capiz (Capiznon language, Capiznon/Hiligaynon language, Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the central part of the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines ...

provinces, before becoming a separate municipality of Romblon in 1969. The majority of the town's inhabitants speak Onhan, a Western Visayan language also spoken in some parts of

Aklan Aklan, officially the Province of Aklan, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Its capital and largest town is Kalibo. The province is situated in the northwest portion of Panay, Panay Islan ...

Panay Island Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and 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 of I ...

. San Jose is located near the resort island of

Boracay Boracay (; sometimes shortened by non-natives as Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay, Panay Island. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of thre ...

History

Early history

The original settlers of the island were the Aetas, locally known as ''Ati'' or ''Ita'' who were believed to have descended from

Orang Asli The Orang Asli are a Homogeneity and heterogeneity, heterogeneous Indigenous peoples, indigenous population forming a national minority in Malaysia. They are the oldest inhabitants of Peninsular Malaysia. As of 2017, the Orang Asli accounted f ...

, the aboriginal people of the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

in mainland

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. The aborigines came to the

during the Paleolithic period by way of land bridges that connected the archipelago to mainland Asia. The Aetas settled in different parts of

and 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 is of Spanish origin. Before the colonization of the Philippines, Tablas was known as the Island of ''Osigan''. At the time of ...

, including Carabao Island where San Jose is located.

Spanish colonial era

According to Spanish explorer Miguel de Loarca's ''Relacion de las Islas Filipinas'', Carabao Island was originally called “Hambil”. The Spanish arrived at Hambil Island in 1570, led by conquistador and explorer

Martin de Goiti Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

on orders from

Miguel López de Legazpi Miguel López de Legazpi (12 June 1502 – 20 August 1572), also known as ''Adelantado, El Adelantado'' and ''El Viejo'' (The Elder), was a Spanish conquistador who financed and led an expedition to conquer the Philippines, Philippine islan ...

. With an expedition composed of 27 ships, 280 Spaniards and several hundred

Visayan Visayans ( Cebuano: ''mga Bisayà'' ) are a Philippine ethnolinguistic family group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, to the southernmost islands south of Luzon, and to a significant portion of Mindanao. They are composed of numerous di ...

followers, Goiti and his team conquered the chief settlement of Agcogon and explored the island. He noted that there were around 50 natives living in the settlement, who made a living from mining copper in the island. On 2 November 1571, the islands of

, including Hambil Island were organized into an

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish Labour (human activity), labour system that rewarded Conquistador, conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including mil ...

and administered from the ''alcaldia'' or province of Panay by Don Alvaro de Angulo, who was appointed steward of the encomienda. In 1582, when Miguel de Loarca visited Hambil Island, he renamed the island to Isla de Carabao or Carabao Island because the island's shape resembles a water buffalo's back when seen from the horizon. In 1677, the first Spanish

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

, Fray Pedro Cubero Sebastian, arrived at Carabao Island to convert the natives to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Changes in jurisdiction

In 1716,

was created as a separate province out of the old alcaldia of Arevalo, formerly called Panay. The new province included the islands of Romblon and the valley of

in north-western Panay. Carabao Island was placed under the jurisdiction of the ''visita'' of Nabas, Capiz (now part of Aklan). When Looc in Tablas Island was established as a separate pueblo or town from

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

in 1844, the administration of Carabao Island and its two existing barrios (villages) of Agcogon and Lanas, was transferred to the new pueblo. On 19 March 1853, the Spaniards created the ''Politico-Militar Commandancia del Distrito de Romblon'', a new district of Capiz. It was composed of four pueblos or towns, namely

, Banton, Cajidiocan and Looc, and was placed under the command of petty governor Don Ramon Vieytes. Thus, Carabao Island, which was under the jurisdiction of Looc pueblo, became part of the newly created District of Romblon. In 1855, Romblon petty governor Don Joaquin de Prat ordered the creation of 17 new pueblos or town in Romblon, including pueblo de Cabalian (now part of Santa Fe). The order transferred the administration of Carabao Island and its two villages from Looc to Cabalian. However, pueblo de Cabalian was abolished in 1861, and following the abolition, residents of Carabao Island chose to be annexed back to Nabas, Capiz. On 11 January 1868, the District of Romblon was elevated into a province. A reorganization of the province's towns was conducted upon orders from governor Don Joaquin Corillo, which included restoration of Cabalian in 1892 into a pueblo, now renamed Santa Fe. In 1897, the residents of Carabao Island voted to rejoin Looc instead of the new pueblo of Santa Fe.

American invasion era

The Americans arrived and established civilian government in Romblon on 16 March 1901. The new colonizers decided to attach Carabao and its two barrios to Santa Fe. However, with the abolishment of Romblon province on 15 July 1907 due to insufficient income, the province, together with Carabao Island, was incorporated back to Capiz province. Following the restoration of Romblon province on 10 March 1917, Santa Fe was once again abolished and Carabao Island was again re-annexed to Looc. Another change in Romblon's political boundaries happened on 8 June 1940, when

Philippine Congress The Congress of the Philippines () is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of an upper body, the Senate, and a lower body, the House of Representatives, although colloquially, the term "Congre ...

passed Commonwealth Act No. 581 sponsored by Congressman Leonardo Festin, which created the special municipality of Tablas. With the creation of the special municipality, all the previous municipalities in Tablas Island were abolished and incorporated into the new municipality.

Philippine independence

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when American civil government was restored, the special municipality of Tablas was abolished on 1 October 1946 by virtue of Republic Act No. 38 sponsored by Congressman Modesto Formelleza. Thus, the Santa Fe municipality was re-established, with Carabao Island under its administration. On 24 April 1959, two new barrios or villages, Busay and Pinamihagan, were created in Carabao Island by virtue of Republic Act No. 2144 authored by Congressman Jose D. Moreno Carabao Island with its four villages was officially converted into a municipal district of Santa Fe on 18 June 1961 by virtue of Republic Act No. 3423, sponsored by Congressman Moreno. On 18 June 1966, the island municipal district was renamed San Jose by virtue of Republic Act No. 4829. In 1968, a new barrio, Combot, was added to the island, taken from portions of barrio Poblacion and Lanas. San Jose was retroactively declared an independent municipality of Romblon on 1 July 1968 by virtue of Executive Order No. 184.

Geography

San Jose is located at Carabao Island off the southern tip of

Romblon province Romblon (, , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. Its main components include Romblon, an archipelagic municipality of the same name that also serves as the provinc ...

. It is separated from the municipality of Santa Fe in Tablas by the Cabalian Channel. To the south of San Jose are the municipalities of Malay and Nabas in Aklan province, which are on the north-western tip of

. It is very close to neighboring

Boracay Island Boracay (; sometimes shortened by non-natives as Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay Island. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of three bar ...

, a popular tourist destination for

Filipinos Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino language, Filipino, Philippine English, English, or other Philippine language ...

and foreigners alike. San Jose is separated from Boracay by a narrow body of sea called Hambil Channel. San Jose has a total land area of 22.05 square kilometers (8.51 square miles). The island municipality has a diverse geographic profile, with an irregular coastline dotted by white sand beaches that are becoming an alternative tourist destination to neighboring Boracay. Its interior is characterized by undulating hills covered with lush rainforest and coconut trees.

Barangays

San Jose is politically subdivided into 5

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. * Busay * Combot * Lanas * Pinamihagan *

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

(Agcogon

Climate

Demographics

According to the 2020 census, San Jose has a total population of 11,759. The municipality has a population density of 534 persons per square kilometer. In 2013, San Jose had 6,662 registered voters distributed into 38 precincts, according to the

COMELEC COMELEC or Comelec may refer to any of the following: * Commission on Elections (Philippines) The Commission on Elections (), abbreviated as , is one of the three Constitutional Commission#Philippines, constitutional commissions of the Phili ...

. San Jose's population is composed mainly of

Aeta Aeta (Ayta ), Agta and Dumagat, are collective terms for several indigenous peoples who live in various parts of Luzon islands in the Philippines. They are included in the wider Negrito grouping of the Philippines and the rest of Southeast A ...

natives and migrants from

Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and 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 of Il ...

who spoke Onhan, also known as Taga-onhan or Inunhan (Hambilanon style), the native language of the inhabitants and one of three major languages in

. Onhan is a variant of the Western Visayan language of

Kinaray-a The Karay-a language (, or ; ) is an Austronesian regional language in the Philippines spoken by the Karay-a people, mainly in Antique. It is one of the Bisayan languages, along with Aklanon/Malaynon, Capiznon, Cebuano, and Hiligaynon. ...

and is thus, spoken not only in Romblon but also in some parts of neighboring

. Majority of the island's population are

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and the

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

, with a small denomination of

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Seventh-day Adventists The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabba ...

Iglesia ni Cristo The (INC; ; ) is an independent Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church founded in 1913 and registered by Felix Manalo, Félix Manalo in 1914 as a corporation sole, sole religious corporation ...

, and

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

Economy

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

are two of the primary economic activities in San Jose. The latter became a popular source of income in recent years following the influx of tourists to neighboring

. Several beach resorts were established along the shores of Carabao Island to take advantage of tourist arrivals. Aside from tourism, San Jose residents also engage in livestock raising,

copra Copra (from ; ; ; ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted ...

farming, vegetable and root crop cultivation, and merchant trading with nearby Santa Fe and Odiongan in Tablas Island, and Boracay in Aklan.

Transportation

As an island municipality, the only means to reach San Jose is via sea travel. There are several sea routes going to the island. From

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Batangas City Batangas, sometimes called Batangas City and officially called the City of Batangas (), is a component city and capital of the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 351,437 people. Batangas City ...

, there are daily

RORO Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or usi ...

trips going to Odiongan, Romblon or

Caticlan Malay , officially the Municipality of Malay ( Aklanon: ''Banwa it Malay''; Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Malay''; ), is a municipality in the province of Aklan, Philippines. It is the richest municipality in the province in terms of revenue. Accordi ...

in Aklan province. From Odiongan, there are

jeepneys A jeepney (), or simply a jeep (), is a type of public utility vehicle (PUV) that serves as the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. Known for its crowded seating and kitsch decorations, it is a cultural icon of the ...

that take passengers to Santa Fe, where travellers can take pump boats or ''bancas'' going to San Jose. From Caticlan, there are bancas as well that take passengers to San Jose. The island is approximately a 45-minute boat ride from either Santa Fe or Caticlan. San Jose has a municipal port in Barangay Poblacion where passengers and cargo disembark. Another mode of travel is by air.

AirAsia Capital A Berhad (), operating as AirAsia (stylised as ''airasia'') is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Established in 1993 and commencing operations in 1996, the airline is the largest in M ...

Cebu Pacific Cebu Air, Inc. (), operating as Cebu Pacific (stylized in lowercase), is a Philippine low-cost airline based in Pasay, Metro Manila. Founded in 1988, the airline was the first low-cost carrier in Asia and is also the largest airline in the Phi ...

and

Philippine Airlines Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the flag carrier of the Philippines. Headquartered at the Philippine National Bank, PNB Financial Center in Pasay, the airline was founded in 1941 and is the oldest operating commercial airline in Asia. Philippine ...

have daily trips to

Caticlan Airport Godofredo P. Ramos Airport , also known as Caticlan Airport and Boracay Airport, is an international airport serving the general area of the municipality of Malay, located in the province of Aklan in the Philippines. It is one of the two gatew ...

from where passengers can take bancas to San Jose. Cebu Pacific also has flights four times week to Tugdan Airport in

Alcantara, Romblon Alcantara, officially the Municipality of Alcantara, is a municipality in the province of Romblon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 17,171 people. History Alcantara was first established in 1730 as ''La Lauan'' ...

, where passengers can take a jeepney to Santa Fe and a boat to San Jose. San Jose's five barangays are connected by a circumferential road, where the common mode of transportation are passenger

motorcycles A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

, known elsewhere as ''habal-habal''.

Government

Local government

As a municipality in the Province of Romblon, government officials in the provincial level are voted by the electorates of the town. The provincial government have political jurisdiction over local transactions of the municipal 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 corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

(''alkalde''), a

vice mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...

(''bise alkalde'') and eight

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 ''

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 Go ...

'' or town council, alongside a secretary to the said council, all of which are elected to a three-year term and are eligible to run for three consecutive terms. San Jose's incumbent mayor and vice mayor as of 30 June 2019 are Ronnie Samson and Egdon Sombilon from LAKAS and NPC, respectively. The

s or villages, meanwhile, are headed by elected officials, the topmost being the '' Punong Barangay'' or the Barangay Chairperson (addressed as ''Kapitan''; also known as the Barangay Captain). The ''Kapitan'' is aided by the ''

Sangguniang Barangay The Sangguniang Barangay, known in English as the Barangay Council is the local government of a barangay, the smallest administrative division in the Philippines. Each of the 42,004 barangays in the country has its respective Sangguniang Baran ...

'' (Barangay Council) whose members, called ''

Barangay Kagawad A barangay councilor ( or ) is an elected government official who is a member of the Sangguniang Barangay (Barangay Council) of a particular barangay, the smallest political unit in the Philippines. Each barangay council has seven regular coun ...

'' (Councilors), are also elected. The barangays have SK federation which represents the barangay, headed by SK chairperson and whose members are called SK councilors. All officials are also elected every three years.

References

External links

San Jose Profile at PhilAtlas.com

San Jose, Romblon Profile - Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index
*

Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) is a systematic classification and coding for geographic areas in the Philippines. It classifies areas based on the country's four levels of administrative divisions: regions, provinces, municipalities ...

Philippine Census Information

Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Romblon Island municipalities in the Philippines 1969 establishments in the Philippines