Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the Southern Tagalog region. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City and it is the largest province in terms of land area. The islands of Palawan stretches from Mindoro to Borneo in the southwest. It lies between the South China Sea in the northwest and Sulu Sea in the southeast. The province is named after its largest island, Palawan Island.
Palawan, the only Philippine island cited, is rated by National Geographic Traveler magazine as the best island destination in East and Southeast Asia region in 2007, and the 13th best island in the world having "incredibly beautiful natural seascapes and landscapes. One of the most biodiverse (terrestrial and marine) islands in the Philippines...The island has had a Biosphere Reserve status since early 1990s, showing local interest for conservation and sustainable development".
Palawan is a melting pot of 87 different cultural groups and races. Basically Its culture bears a strong influence from Japan, China, India and the Middle East. Influx of migrants from other parts of the Philippines, particularly from Muslim Mindanao, accounts for the high population growth rate of 3.98% annually. Eighteen percent of the population is composed of cultural minority groups such as Central Tagbanua, Palawan (Palawano), Batak, Calamian Tagbanua, and Molbog.
Northern Palawan consists of some of the most pristine natural habitats in the world. However, its remoteness puts it at risk for ongoing economic exploitation and environmental degradation. A few programs have emerged to monitor and mitigate negative impact through the initiation of economic alternatives. The development of ecotourism as an alternative to reef degradation, sand theft, illegal logging and wildlife poaching has been approached. However, funding for the development of such programs has been scarce. The Palawan Environmental and Marine Studies Center (PEMS) has been slow in receiving funding, DENR (Government regulatory) remains ineffectively funded and programs offered by international organizations like USAID remain in their infancy.
Palawan Environmental and Marine Studies founder Caril Ridley says Northern Palawan has the potential for becoming an "Ecologic-Economic Conferencing Center" for growing Asia and she encourages regional governments and local organizations to work together toward ecological and economic development. "ECO2" she calls it, saying that eco-tourism may offer the most available and effective ongoing funding source for regional education, economic development and environmental protection.
Palawan is considered to be the Philippines' "last frontier". The province boasts of many splendid beaches and has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park and the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. Palawan is subdivided into 23 municipalities and 1 city.The Philippine government claims most of the Spratly Islands, locally called the Kalayaan Group of Islands, in the South China Sea Islands to be under the jurisdiction of Palawan.
Palawan is the Philippine's largest province in terms of total land area. It consists of the long and narrow Palawan Island, plus a number of other smaller islands surrounding the main island. The Calamian Group of Islands, to the northwest consists of Busuanga Island, Culion Island, and Coron Island. Durangan Island almost touches the westernmost part of Palawan Island, while Balabac Island is located off the southern tip, separated from Borneo by the Balabac Strait. In addition, Palawan covers the Cuyo Islands in the Sulu Sea. The disputed Spratly Islands, located a few hundred kilometers to the west is considered part of Palawan by the Philippines, and is locally called the Kalayaan Group of Islands.
Palawan's almost 2,000 kilometers of irregular coastline are dotted with 1,780 islands and islets, rocky coves, and sugar-white sandy beaches. It also harbors a vast stretch of virgin forests that carpet its mountain ranges.
Over the years, Palawan has managed to preserve its captivating natural habitat and bountiful resources. Branded as the country’s last frontier, the province consists of 23 municipalities and a lonecity, Puerto Princesa. Out of this, 13 are considered as mainland municipalities, and these are; Aborlan, Narra, Quezon,Española, Brooke’s Point, Rizal, and Bataraza (located south), Puerto Princesa(positioned in the center), and San Vicente,Roxas, Dumaran, El Nido, and Taytay(found in the north). The remaining municipalities are island municipalities, and they are: Busuanga, Coron, Linapacan and Culion (forming the Calamanies group of islands), Cuyo, Agutaya and Magsaysay(the Cuyo group of islands), Araceli,Cagayancillo, Balabac and Kalayaan. The largest municipalities are situated in the central and northern mainland, and they are: Puerto Princesa (2,106 km²), Taytay(1,390 km²), and Roxas (1,220 km²). On the contrary, the smallest local government units are the island municipalities of Cagayancillo (15.40 km²), Magsaysay(27.70 km²) and Cuyo (57.30 km²). All 24 local government units have 431 barangays as of June 2002.
Palawan is the largest province in the Southern Tagalog Region in terms of area, and is one of the largest provinces in the country. It has a total land area of14,896 square kilometer (sqkm), which is distributed to its mainland municipalities,comprising 12,239 km², and the islandmunicipalities, which altogether measure 2,657 km². On the average, eachmunicipality has an area of 620 km². Onthe other hand, the island municipality ofCuyo (4,003 km²) ranks largest in terms of municipal waters. On the latter, the mainland municipality of Española has the smallest marine area with only 485 km². Palawan was originally part of the Southern Tagalog Region (Region IV).
In 2001, the residents of Palawan rejected to be a part of the expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao via a referendum conducted in the island of Mindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi group of island and Palawan.By virtue Executive Order No. 103, dated May 17, 2002, which divided Region IV into 2 regions, Palawan was reorganized as part of MIMAROPA (Region IV-B).
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had Palawan transferred to Region VI (Western Visayas) on May 23, 2005 by virtue of Executive Order 429. However, Palaweños criticized the move, citing a lack of consultation, with most residents in Puerto Princesa City and all municipalities but one preferring to stay with Region IV-B.
Consequently, Arroyo issued Administrative Order No. 129 on August 19, 2005 to address this backlash. This Order directed the abeyance of Executive Order 429 pending the approval of an implementation plan for the orderly transfer of Palawan from MIMAROPA to Region VI.
Palawan is currently still part of MIMAROPA.
Palawan is currently still part of MIMAROPA.
Ancient Chinese traders and waves of migrants arrived in the Philippines by way of land bridges between Borneo and Palawan. A Chinese author referred to these islands as Kla-ma-yan (Calamian), Palau-ye (Palawan), and Paki-nung (Busuanga). Pottery, china and other artifacts recovered from caves and waters of Palawan attest to trade relations that existed between Chinese and Malay merchants.
In the 12th century, Malay settlers began to populate the island. Most of the settlements were ruled by Malay chieftains. These people grew palay, ginger, coconuts, camote, sugar and bananas. They also raised pigs, goats and chickens. Most of their economic activities were fishing, farming, and hunting by the use of bamboo traps and blowguns. The local people had a dialect consisting of 18 syllables.
The northern Calamianes Islands were the first to come under Spanish authority, and were later declared a province separate from the Palawan mainland. In the early 17th century, Spanish friars sent out missions in Cuyo, Agutaya, Taytay and Cagayancillo but they met resistance from Moro communities. Before 18th century, Spain began to build churches enclosed by garrisons for protection against Moro raids in the town of Cuyo, Taytay, Linapacan and Balabac. In 1749, the Sultanate of Borneo ceded southern Palawan to Spain.
In June 1898, the natives of Palawan province led an uprising against Spanish Rule. A Franciscan friar by the name of Fernando Pediapco, who was one of the most influential priests in the province was kidnapped and later castrated by the natives, who rejected his preaching of Christianity.
In 1818, the entire island of Palawan (or Paragua as it was called) was organized as a single province named Calamianes, with its capital in Taytay. By 1858, the province was divided into two provinces, namely, "Castilla", covering the northern section with Taytay as capital and Asturias in the southern mainland with Puerto Princesa as capital. It was later then divided into three districts, Calamianes, Paragua and Balabac, with Principe Alfonso town as its capital. In 1902, the Americans established civil rule in northern Palawan, calling it the province of Paragua. Finally, in 1903, pursuant to Philippine Commission Act No. 1363, the province was reorganized to include the southern portions and renamed Palawan.
When the Spaniards left after the 1898 revolution, a civil government was established by the Americans. Provincial boundaries were revised in 1903, the name of the province was changed to Palawan, and Puerto Princesa declared as its capital.
Many reforms and projects were later introduced in the province. Construction of school buildings, promotion of agriculture, and bringing people closer to the government were among the priority plans during this era.
