Romblon | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Romblon | |
 Romblonpoblacion and Romblon Bay | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Map of Romblon with Romblon highlighted | |
 Interactive map of Romblon | |
.svg)  Romblon Location within thePhilippines | |
| Coordinates:12°34′44″N122°16′29″E / 12.578869°N 122.274656°E /12.578869; 122.274656 | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Mimaropa |
| Province | Romblon |
| District | Lone district |
| Founded | 1571 (asencomienda) |
| Incorporated | 1631 (aspueblo) |
| Barangays | 31 (seeBarangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Bayan |
| • Mayor | Gerard Sy Montojo |
| • Vice Mayor | Mariano "Anoy" M. Mateo |
| • Representative | Eleandro Jesus F. Madrona |
| • Electorate | 27,273 voters (2025) |
| Area | |
• Total | 86.87 km2 (33.54 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation (Mount Lagting) | 464 m (1,522 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2024 census)[3] | |
• Total | 39,004 |
| • Density | 449.0/km2 (1,163/sq mi) |
| • Households | 10,406 |
| Economy | |
| • Income class | 3rd municipal income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 38.61 |
| • Revenue | ₱ 203 million (2022) |
| • Assets | ₱ 325.7 million (2022) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 140.6 million (2022) |
| • Liabilities | ₱ 23.04 million (2022) |
| Service provider | |
| • Electricity | Romblon Electric Cooperative (ROMELCO) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ZIP code | 5500 |
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)42 |
| Native languages | Romblomanon Tagalog |
| Website | www |
Romblon, officially theMunicipality of Romblon, is amunicipality and titular capital of theprovince ofRomblon,Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 39,004 people.[5] The archipelagic municipality is the capital of the province ofthe same name and the seat of its provincial government. It includes Romblon Island as well as the nearby islands ofAlad,Cobrador, andLogbon.
Romblon island is one of the three major islands of the province, aside fromSibuyan Island andTablas Island. As the capital of the province, its natives mostly speakRomblomanon orIni language. Romblon is known for itslocal marble industry and is the second biggest producer of the mineral in the country. It is also a tourist destination because of its unspoiled beaches and Spanish-eratwin forts.
The first inhabitants of Romblon were the Negritos tribes of Panay and the Mindoro-Mangyan tribes. The discovery of hanging coffins and artistic material in the caves of Banton Island demonstrates the existence of a rich and ancient civilization and aboriginal culture.[6]
The islands were first visited by SpanishconquistadorMartin de Goiti in late 1569, and were thereafter organized by the Spanish intoencomiendas. The encomienda of Donblon (Romblon[a]), established on April 24, 1571, was granted to Don Gonzalo Riquel. In the first census done by Spanish navigator Miguel de Loarca in 1582, Romblon Island was shown to have 240 residents engaged in wax gathering.[7] At this time, Miguel de Loarca recorded the island's name as "Lomlon" or "Doblon".[8] In the local Visayan dialect, the word means a bird warming an egg in its nest. It was also known as Domblon before the present name was adopted.[6]
In 1631, during the term of Spanish Governor-GeneralJuan Niño de Tabora, Romblon was established as apueblo, making it one of the two oldest settlements in the province, the other beingBanton located in the north of the province.[7] In 1635, the island of Romblon was evangelized by Spanish Recollect fathers and became a dependency of the Captaincy General of the Philippines. Their fortified church is the presentcathedral of Romblon. It received its first Spanish missionaries in the 17th century. During the 17th and 18th centuries, it was often ravaged byMoros.[9] Two forts were erected by the Spanish, San Andrés and Santiago.[10]
It was organized into aComandancia (a province or district under military control) by the Spanish in 1853.
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In 1898, at the conclusion of theSpanish–American War, Spainceded the Philippines to the United States. In 1901, the Americans established a civilian government in Romblon Province.[11][12] Ten new barrios were created and three existing barrios were abolished. Those impacted included Aglomiom, which was merged with Sablayan due to its small population, Embarcacion, which was reattached to El Pueblo or Poblacion, and the inland barrio of Cogon, which was reorganized and split into the five barrios of Tambac, Ilauran, Macalas, Lamao, and Agbaluto (referred to collectively as TIMLA, from their initial letters), while barrio Alfonso XIII was renamed Li-o.
The 10 additional barrios were Bagacay, Agbudia, Agtongo, Embarcacion, Maria Cristina (renamed as Sawang) and the five TIMLA barrios. Agtongo was created into a separate barrio in 1916, taken from Cajimos. In 1918, those engaged in the maritime industry were designated separately as a distinct barrio known as Embarcacion, which was annexed again to barrio Poblacion or El Pueblo in 1939. Agbudia was the last barrio to be created after being taken from Guimpingan in 1939. Meanwhile, the two barrios Majabangbaybay and Sogod, located in Tablas island, were returned to Badajoz (nowSan Agustin), and were abolished as independent barrios and attached as sitios of barrio Guinpuc-an (Carmen) in 1901.
DuringWorld War II, Japanese forces occupied the island from 1942 to 1945.[13] An American force landed on the island on March 11, 1945, and liberated it from the occupying Japanese forces. By March 18, the entire province was liberated from the Japanese. Amonument located near the beach in Sawang commemorates this.
TheRepublic of the Philippines became an independentsovereign nation on July 4, 1946.The island barrio of Nagoso was renamed Cobrador in 1960 and the urban barangay ofPoblacion was split into four separate barangays, named simply as Barangays 1, 2, 3, and 4 in 1975.[14]
On March 25, 2018, theSandiganbayan, a special appellate collegial court that tries graft and corruption cases, affirmed its ruling sentencing Romblon mayor Mariano Mateo, former mayor Leo Mérida and eight other former local officials to 10 years in prison. The ruling was in connection with the alleged anomalous procurement of a heavy equipment. The case, which was filed in 2010, stemmed from the municipal government's purchase of abackhoe amounting to P13.95 million in November 2005 without public bidding. At the time, Mérida was the mayor and Mateo was a councilor. The court said witnesses testified that the backhoe was not used for the purpose for which it was purchased.[15] TheSupreme Court of the Philippines affirmed the conviction and sentence on August 22, 2023.[16]
 Romblon island satellite image captured bySentinel-2 in 2016 | |
 Interactive map of Romblon Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Archipelago | Romblon Group of Islands |
| Adjacent to | Sibuyan Sea |
| Administration | |
| Region | Mimaropa |
| Province | Romblon |
| Municipality | Romblon |
| Largest settlement | Romblon (pop. 38,758) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 38,758 (2015) |
The municipality consists primarily of Romblon Island, as well as the smaller Alad, Cobrador, and Logbon islands, to the northwest, each of which are their own barangays. Themunicipality proper is situated along the coast of Romblon Bay, a natural harbor and safe haven for ships passing in the area during inclement weather. The highest peak is Mount Lagting in barangay Sablayan with a height of 444 metres (1,457 ft).
Romblon is politically subdivided into 31barangays. Each barangay consists ofpuroks and some havesitios.
| Climate data for Romblon (1991–2020, extremes 1904–2023) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 35.5 (95.9) | 35.1 (95.2) | 35.8 (96.4) | 37.5 (99.5) | 38.2 (100.8) | 38.2 (100.8) | 37.7 (99.9) | 35.7 (96.3) | 35.8 (96.4) | 35.3 (95.5) | 35.2 (95.4) | 34.1 (93.4) | 38.2 (100.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 27.6 (81.7) | 28.4 (83.1) | 29.5 (85.1) | 31.3 (88.3) | 31.9 (89.4) | 31.1 (88.0) | 30.1 (86.2) | 30.0 (86.0) | 30.1 (86.2) | 29.7 (85.5) | 29.2 (84.6) | 28.0 (82.4) | 29.7 (85.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.7 (78.3) | 26.2 (79.2) | 27.0 (80.6) | 28.5 (83.3) | 29.1 (84.4) | 28.4 (83.1) | 27.7 (81.9) | 27.7 (81.9) | 27.7 (81.9) | 27.4 (81.3) | 27.1 (80.8) | 26.2 (79.2) | 27.4 (81.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23.8 (74.8) | 23.9 (75.0) | 24.6 (76.3) | 25.7 (78.3) | 26.3 (79.3) | 25.8 (78.4) | 25.3 (77.5) | 25.4 (77.7) | 25.3 (77.5) | 25.1 (77.2) | 25.1 (77.2) | 24.5 (76.1) | 25.1 (77.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 18.4 (65.1) | 17.0 (62.6) | 19.7 (67.5) | 20.1 (68.2) | 15.6 (60.1) | 20.6 (69.1) | 21.1 (70.0) | 21.2 (70.2) | 21.0 (69.8) | 20.4 (68.7) | 20.3 (68.5) | 18.5 (65.3) | 15.6 (60.1) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 120.9 (4.76) | 89.9 (3.54) | 85.3 (3.36) | 69.7 (2.74) | 157.5 (6.20) | 242.9 (9.56) | 307.3 (12.10) | 221.4 (8.72) | 244.6 (9.63) | 304.9 (12.00) | 258.5 (10.18) | 275.6 (10.85) | 2,378.5 (93.64) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1 mm) | 12 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 155 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 84 | 83 | 81 | 78 | 78 | 81 | 83 | 83 | 83 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 82 |
| Source:PAGASA[17][18] | |||||||||||||
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 27 °C (81 °F), with February as the coldest month with temperatures dropping to 20 °C (68 °F), and May as the warmest month with temperatures reaching up to 35 °C (95 °F).Habagat monsoon winds pass through the province from June to October while northeasterly winds orAmihan blows through the islands from December to February.
Population census of Romblon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[19][20][21][22][23] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Romblomanons are the indigenous inhabitants of Romblon. They are part of the wider Visayan ethnolinguistic group, who constitute the largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group.
In the 2024 census, there were 39,004 people living in Romblon. Most Romblomanons speakIni, one of the three languages in the province afterAsi andOnhan.
Poverty incidence of Romblon
Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]
Romblon's economy relies much on the local marble industry. Marble is the most significant mineral deposit of Romblon and is the most renowned product of the province. The province is the second biggest provincial marble producer of the country next toBulacan.[citation needed] Romblon marble is of very high quality and comes in shades of white, green, pink, red and black. TheMines and Geosciences Bureau 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). Aside from marble quarrying and processing, tourism, fishing and coconut farming are also basic livelihood sources in the island.
The Port of Romblon serves the island of Romblon.
The Romblon National High School hosts the first and only artificial football pitch in Mimaropa in 2024.[32]
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The capital town of Romblon has a number of tourist places, which include:
Barangay Capaclan in the municipality hosts the Romblon Provincial Capitol Complex, where thegovernor, the vice governor, and theSangguniang Panlalawigan hold office. The municipal government is seated in Barangay II.
Pursuant to Chapter II, Title II, Book III of Republic Act 7160, the Local Government Code of 1991,[34] the municipal government is composed of amayor (alkalde), avice mayor (bise alkalde) andmembers (kagawad) of the legislative branchSangguniang Bayan 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 is Gerard Montojo and the vice mayor is Mariano "Anoy" Mateo.[35]
Barangays are also headed by elected officials:Barangay Captain,Barangay Council, whose members are calledBarangay 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.
| Term | Mayor | Vice Mayor |
|---|---|---|
| June 30, 2007 - June 30, 2010 | Gerard "Gard" Montojo y Sy (NP)[36][37][38] | Melben Mesana y Montojo (CMD), (KAMPI)[37][38] |
| June 30, 2010 - June 30, 2013 | ||
| June 30, 2013 - June 30, 2016 | Mariano "Anoy" Mateo | |
| June 30, 2016 - June 30, 2019[39] | Mariano "Anoy" Mateo y Mallorca (PDPLBN) | Mart Arthur "Mac-Mac" L. Silverio |
| June 30, 2019 - June 30, 2022[40] | Gerard "Gard" Montojo y Sy (NP) | Mariano "Anoy" Mateo y Mallorca |
| June 30, 2022 - 30 June 2025[35] | ||
| June 30, 2025 -incumbent[41] |
| 2025 - 2028[42] |
|---|
| Mart Arthur “Macmac” Silverio |
| Lyndon Molino |
| Ronald “Mac” Riano |
| Orlando "Orly" Magano |
| Hannah Fontilar |
| Miguel "Migz" Montojo |
| Fernando "Cabo" Faigao III |
| Joseph Mingoa |
| Fernando “Fern” Faigao Jr. (ABC Mun. President) |
| Audrey Shane Mariño (SK Mun. Federation President) |
a Died in office.
b Served in acting capacity.
c Resigned.
Romblon, as a municipality and provincial capital, belongs to the lone district of the province of Romblon. Currently, the town is represented by Rep. Eleandro Jesus F. Madrona in the house of representatives.
The Romblon Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.[43]
Places adjacent to Romblon, Romblon | ||||||||||||||||
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