() is an
Island Province of the
Philippines located in the
MIMAROPA Region in
Luzon . Its capital is the
Municipality also named
Romblon .
Romblon consists of numerous islands sitting in the
Sibuyan Sea . It lies south of
Marinduque and
Quezon , east of
Mindoro , north of
Aklan , and west of
Masbate . The three major islands are
Romblon Island ,
Tablas Island , and
Sibuyan Island .
Romblon is the country's leading producer of high-quality
Marble , comparable to that of
Italy .
There are three distinct languages spoken as a native language by Romblon's inhabitants; they are
Romblomanon ,
Asi , and
Onhan .
Hiligaynon ,
Tagalog , and
English are also used depending on the situation.
The people of the province are mostly Christians- 75% belongs to the Roman Catholic and 25% to the Philippine Independent Church, Iglesia ni Cristo,
Seventh-day Adventist Church , Baptists, Foursquare and other Christian denominations.
Most of the residents of Romblon today are descendants of Malay settlers, who are believed to have arrived in the Philippines sometime in 1200 AD. Spanish conquistadors, who set foot in the Philippines in 1582, administered the province. Some old Spanish forts and churches, built with unique coral blocks, inlaid with intricate design works, still stand.
Situated at the center of the archipelego, Romblon links the supply areas of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Tugdan Airport in Tablas Island is only 45 minutes away by light aircraft from Metro Manila's Financial districts. Direct ship routes from Manila as well as the southern Luzon ports of Batangas and Lucena intensify its linkages with industrial CALABARZON region, making the province an ideal location for supply distribution and light manufacturing ventures. The Capital town of Romblon and the port town of Odiongan are the province's trade and commercial centers.
Approximately 187 nautical miles south of Manila, the islands of Romblon lie on Sibuyan Sea, South of Marinduque Island and North of Panay. To the east is the island of Masbate and in the west is Mindoro.
Romblon is endowed with lush vegetation and mineral resources. Aside from marble, the islands are rich in granite, nickel, silica, mercury, zinc, copper, silver, limestone, sulfide, ores, kaolin, clay, magnesium and quartz. Gold panning sites have sprouted in some of the mountain stream areas in Magdiwang, Sibuyan Island. The fertile soil nurtures varied agricultural crops--like coconut, rice, corn, bananas, rootcrops, fruit trees, vines and many others. Offshore, Romblon is a rich fishing ground. The islands lie on the migratory path of fishes from the Sulu and Visayan Seas, passing the Tablas Strait, Sibuyan Sea and Romblon Pass.
Romblon is subdivided into 17
Municipalities .
The province of Romblon was formerly called ''Lomlon'' (an act of a hen nesting to warm her eggs, based on the fact that when a Spanish soldier was ordered to ask the natives the name of the island and accidentally pointed to a place where a hen is nesting, the native answered ''lomlom'', hence the misinterpretation) and later corrupted to the word ''Domblon''. It was organized by the
Spanish into a politico-military district in
1853 and made a sub-province of
Capiz . In
1917 , it was converted into a separate province. In
October 1 ,
1946 , Romblon was made into a special province with four municipalities, namely Tablas, Romblon, Sibuyan and Maghali. On
January 1 ,
1947 , the regular provincial status of Romblon was restored.
Romblon's early inhabitants were the Negritos from Panay and Mangyan tribes from Mindoro. Ancient hanging coffins and aboriginal artwork was discovered in caves of Banton Island signify a rich ancient civilization and culture.
