Coron, officially theMunicipality of Coron (Tagalog:Bayan ng Coron), is amunicipality in theprovince ofPalawan,Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 65,855 people.^[3]

Coron
Municipality
Municipality of Coron
Coron skyline
Flag Seal
Map of Palawan with Coron highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Coron Location within thePhilippines
Coordinates:12°00′N120°12′E / 12°N 120.2°E /12; 120.2
Country	Philippines
Region	Mimaropa
Province	Palawan
District	1st district
Founded	1902
Barangays	23 (seeBarangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Mario T. Reyes Jr.
• Vice Mayor	Asian Manasseh Lorenzo A. Palanca
• Representative	Edgardo L. Salvame
• Municipal Council	Members Jerald R. Rodriguez Efren D. Tejada John Patrick S. Matta Michael G. Sadhwani Richard G. Badang Philip Andrew A. Astor Nashville M. Yong Christian A. Palanca
• Electorate	40,511 voters (2022)
Area [2]
• Total	689.10 km2 (266.06 sq mi)
Elevation	8.0 m (26.2 ft)
Highest elevation	957 m (3,140 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	65,855
• Density	96/km2 (250/sq mi)
• Households	16,483
Economy
• Income class	1st municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	9.84 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 499.2 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 1,249 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 347.3 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 441.5 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Busuanga Island Electric Cooperative (BISELCO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	5316
PSGC	1705309000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)48
Native languages	Calamian Tagbanwa Kagayanen Palawano Tagalog

The main population center of the municipality is composed ofPoblacionbarangays 1 to 6, where the Municipal Building, the Municipal Legislative Building, and the Judicial Hall of the Municipal Circuit Trial Court are located. Its fiesta is held annually on August 28 in honor of Saint Augustine. It is the commercial capital of theCalamian Islands.

The municipality is home to the Coron Island Natural Biotic Area, which is listed in the natural category of theUNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.^[5]

TheCalamian Islands were originally inhabited by the Tagbanuas, Calmiananen, and Cuyonon tribes.

Oral history tells that the Datu Macanas ruled the entire Busuanga Island where present-day Coron town lies. Early on Spanish exploration of the islands, Fray de la Concepcion took note of the friendliness of the people of Busuanga Island and the ferocity of the Tagbanua tribe living in Coron Island.

Early on the history of the Calamianes, Coron was directly ruled by the Spanish in Mindoro while the island of Cuyo by the Spanish authorities inPanay. In this area of the Calamianes, the first permanent Spanish settlement was Culion. Coron was a mere visita of Culion at that time. A fort and church were built in Libis, Culion around 1670 by the Spaniards as part of the defenses (along with Cuyo, Taytay, and Linapacan) against the Muslim raids. This became a settlement for migrants to the Calamianes. Don Nicolas Manlavi a Cuyonon served several years in Spanish Galleons, and an Ilonggo from Jaro, Ilo-ilo named Claudio Sandoval later wed Nicolas' only daughter Evarista. The Sandoval clan of the Calamianes came from this union. It was Don Nicolas Manlavi who established the first settlement in Coron which was initially at Banuang Lague (old town) in present-day Banuang Daan in Coron Island. The town center was then again moved to present-day Maquinit and later on, it was finally established in present-day Bancuang in Barangay 5 where a good water source was found.^{[citation needed]}

Late in the 1890s, an American naturalist, Dean Worcester, journeyed through the Calamianes collecting specimens and stayed briefly in Culion. At the turn of the century, he was appointed part of the FirstPhilippine Commission, becoming the Secretary of the Interior. He recommended Culion as the Philippine Leper Colony. This act forced the transfer of the Sandoval clan in 1900 to the various barrios of what is now Coron and Busuanga. The Coron town was settled by the family of Claudio Sandoval, and the other Sandovals settled in what is now Bintuan, Salvacion, Concepcion, and Old Busuanga.

In 1950, the town ofBusuanga was created from the barrios of Concepcion, Salvacion, Busuanga, New Busuanga, Buluang, Quezon, Calawit, and Cheey which used to belong to Coron.^[6] In 1954, the islands of Linapacan, Cabunlaoan, Niangalao, Decabayotot, Calibanbangan, Pical, and Barangonan were separated from Coron to form the town ofLinapacan.^[7]

The municipality ofBusuanga comprises the western part ofBusuanga Island, while Coron comprises the eastern part of Busuanga Island, all ofCoron Island and about 50 other minor islets stretching as far as Tara Island in the north-east and Canipo Island in the south.^[8] All these islands are part of theCalamian Archipelago in northern Palawan that separates theSouth China Sea from theSulu Sea.

Coron is politically subdivided into 23barangays. Each barangay consists ofpuroks and some havesitios.

In the 2020 census, the population of Coron, Palawan, was 65,855 people,^[3] with a density of 96 inhabitants per square kilometre or 250 inhabitants per square mile.

Poverty incidence of Coron

The main industries of Coron arefishing andtourism.^{[citation needed]} Former industries includemanganese mining at Singay Mines in Barangay San Nicolas during the Japanese Occupation period. This was followed by the fishing industry boom during the 1970s up to the 1990s which gradually dwindled due to illegalblast and sodiumcyanide fishing. The rattan and basket-weaving industry which also gradually declined during the same period due to the ensuing depletion of raw materials.

Currently tourism is the top industry in Coron due to local beaches, dive sites, Lagoons and other natural tourist spots.^[23] A dozen sunken Japanese warships at depths between 10 and 40 meters (33 and 131 ft) off Coron Island is adiving destination,^[8] listed inForbes Traveler Magazine’s top 10 bestscuba diving sites in the world.^{[citation needed]} A description of the diving highlights in 2021 is provided by Dive the World.^[24]

On April 17, 2024, theSiete Pecados Marine Park, under Jose Mazo, manager, in Coron, as one of 3marine protected areas, won the Blue Park Award byMarine Conservation Institute at the 9th Our Ocean Conference inAthens for its role in conservation ofmarine biodiversity. It is part of theCalamian Islands Network in the Philippines, within a short distance from the coast of Coron. Founded in 2005 by theUnited States Agency for International Development, it is currently anecotourism landmark.^[25][26]

TheFrancisco B. Reyes Airport serves the town. The airport has direct flights such asManila,Cebu andAngeles

•  
  Church in Coron
•  
  Coron Island
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  The lagoon going toKayangan Lake
•  
  Waling Waling Island, Coron, Palawan
•  
  Pitcher plant along the slopes of Mt. Tapyas

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Local Governance Performance Management System
• Philippine Department of Tourism official site