Romblon

Romblon (, rom-BLOHN, Tagalog: [ɾomˈblon]), officially the Province of Romblon (Filipino: Lalawingan/Probinsya ng Romblon), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. It is also at the crossroads of two island groups: Visayas and Luzon. Its main components include Romblon, an archipelagic municipality of the same name that also serves as the provincial capital; Tablas, the largest island, covering nine municipalities (including Odiongan, the largest municipality in the province); Sibuyan with its three towns; as well as the smaller island municipalities of Corcuera, Banton, Concepcion, and San Jose. The province lies south of Marinduque and Quezon, east of Oriental Mindoro, north of Aklan and Capiz, and west of Masbate. According to the 2020 census, it has a total population of 308,985. Romblon was inhabited by aboriginal Filipinos prior to the arrival of the Spanish in 1569. Archaeological artifacts recovered by the National Museum in 1936 indicate that the aborigines of Romblon had a rich and advanced culture. During Spanish colonial rule, Romblon was initially administered under the province of Arevalo (Iloilo) until 1716, when it was transferred to the jurisdiction of the newly created province of Capiz. With the arrival of the Americans in 1901, Romblon was declared a province and placed under civilian rule. It lost its provincial status for a short while between 1907 and 1945, but regained it in 1946, just after World War II. The inhabitants of Romblon are divided into three ethnolinguistic groups: Romblomanon, Onhan and Asi. These groups occupy specific islands in the province and have their own language and customs. Romblomanon is mainly spoken in the town of Romblon, in all of the three towns of Sibuyan Island, and the town of San Agustin in Tablas. Onhan is mainly spoken in the municipalities in the southern part of Tablas...