Santa Maria, officially the Municipality of Santa Maria, (formerly Imelda), 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 8,989 people.

Etymology

The place got its name from Santa Maria in it was renamed in 1988.

History

Santa Maria was known in Spanish times as ''Cagbagacay'', after a bamboo plant called ''"bagacay"'' in the local dialect, which was in abundance in the area. Back then it was still a barrio of Guintigui-an town. In 1910, barrio Cagbagacay was renamed Concepcion after its patron the Immaculada Concepcion.About Santa Maria
Wikimapia. Retrieved on April 16, 2012. On September 12, 1982, barrio Concepcion (Norte) together with barrios Bonga and Concepcion Sur were organized and created into a new municipality by virtue of Batas Pambansa Blg. 234, authored by Assemblyman Nemesio Ganan Jr. The new municipality was named "Imelda", in honor of then First Lady

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitación Trinidad Romuáldez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who was First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power after her husband Ferdinand ...

, as well as to distinguish the town from Concepcion municipality on Maestre de Campo Island, also in Romblon. After the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

in 1986 which toppled the regime of dictator

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

, the town was renamed Santa Maria on April 17, 1988, by virtue of Republic Act No. 6651, again in honor of its patron the Immaculate Conception of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. Three new barangays were added to the municipality: San Isidro, Paroyhog, and Santo Nino.

Geography

Situated on the eastern side 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 ...

, Santa Maria faces the Sibuyan Sea. It is bounded in the north by the municipality of San Agustin, in the south by the municipality of

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 * ...

, in the west by the municipality of Odiongan and in the east by Romblon Pass. Santa Maria has a total land area of . It is generally mountainous with a limited portion of the plain area along the coast. The town is considered one of the most peaceful areas in the province.

Barangays

Santa Maria is politically subdivided into 6

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 ...

. * Bonga * Concepcion Norte (

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 ...

) * Concepcion Sur * Paroyhog * Santo Niño * San Isidro

Climate

Demographics

According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 8,508 people. Onhan, also known as Taga-onhan or Inunhan (Alcantaranhon style), is the native language of majority of its inhabitants, while Romblomanon or Ini is the native tongue in the two northern barangays of Bonga and Santo Niño (Bitaugan).

Economy

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

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 Go ...

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. Barangays are also headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain,

Barangay Council 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 ...

, whose members are called Barangay Councilors. 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.

Elected officials

The incumbent mayor is Lorilie "Bic-Bic" Fabon y Manito y Fetalino while the incumbent vice mayor is Roland M. Largueza.

Sister cities

Makati Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...

: On February 8, 2008, Santa Maria Mayor Fred Hernandez and Makati Mayor

Jejomar Binay Jejomar "Jojo" Cabauatan Binay Sr. (born Jesus Jose Cabauatan Binay; November 11, 1942) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 13th vice president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016, under President Benigno Aquino III. A ...

signed a sisterhood relationship agreement between the two local government units.Press Release.
Makati City Portal. Retrieved on April 16, 2012.

References

External links

Santa Maria Profile at PhilAtlas.comSanta Maria, 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 ...

br>2007 Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Romblon