Mimaropa

Mimaropa (officially stylized in all caps), officially the Southwestern Tagalog Region (Filipino: Rehiyong Timog-Kanlurang Tagalog) and also known as Region IV-B, is an administrative region in the Philippines. The name is an acronym combination of its constituent provinces: Mindoro (divided into Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro), Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan. It is the only region in the country outside the Visayas that has no land border with another region. The region was part of the now-defunct Southern Tagalog region until May 17, 2002. On May 23, 2005, Palawan and the highly urbanized city of Puerto Princesa were moved to the region of Western Visayas by Executive Order No. 429. However, on August 19, 2005, President Arroyo issued Administrative Order No. 129 to put in abeyance Executive Order No. 429 pending a review. On July 17, 2016, Republic Act No. 10879 officially designated the Southwestern Tagalog Region as Mimaropa, replacing the Region IV-B designation; however, no boundary changes were made. Nonetheless, the name continues to be used by other government agencies and the media. Calapan is Mimaropa's regional center, while the highly urbanized city of Puerto Princesa is the most populous in the region. However, most regional government offices, such as the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Budget and Management, are in Quezon City, Metro Manila, because Quezon City was the regional capital of Southern Tagalog.