Palawan Information

Palawan Information

Palawan is an island provice of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas 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.

People and culture

Palawan is a melting pot of 87 different cultural groups and races. Basically, the people are of Malay origin, with a sprinkling of Chinese and Spanish bloodlines. Its culture bears a strong influence from Borneo, China and the Middle East. Influx of migrants from other parts of the Philippines accounts for the high population growth rate of 3.98% annually. Eighteen percent of the population is composed of cultural minority groups such as Tagbanua, Pinalawan, Batak, Ken-uy (Tau't Batu), Calamian, Jama-Mapuns, Molbog, Tausug and Samal-Bangingi.

Economy and environment

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 mediate negative impact through the initiation of economic alternatives. The development of eco-tourism 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) www.palawanenvironmental.com has been slow in receiving funding, DENR (Government regulatory) remains ineffectively funded and programs offered by international NGO's like US AID and WWW remain in their infancy.

American Parks and Planning Commissioner, Cultural Anthropologist Caril Ridley (Palawan Environmental and Marine Studies founder) describes Northern Palawan as having the potential for becoming an Ecological-Economic Conferencing Center for a growing Asia, she encourages regional governments and local organizations to work together toward Ecological/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. She says "In years to come the development of this outstanding region of the world could offer a touch-stone for environmentalism, making it the most desirable destination for corporate and international conferencing."

If Palawan is to be recognized for its outstanding biological diversity and ecological sensitivity it has an opportunity to realize an unexplored potential, it could, as a paradisiacal conferencing center and environmental study destination, encourage global awareness and by doing so protect its self...

Geography

Ecotourism

Palawan is considered to be the Philippines' "last frontier". The province boasts of many splendid beaches and has two World Heritage Sites: Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park and the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park.

Political

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.

Religion

The predominant religion in Palawan is Roman Catholicism. Pockets of Muslims can be found in the southern municipalities with Muslims making up the majority of the population in some municipalities in the far south like Balabac and Bataraza. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormons or LDS) have a strong presence on Palawan, as well as the Seventh-day Adventists, Iglesia ni Cristo, Jesus Miracle Crusade and Protestant religions.

Physical

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 and Cagayan Island 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.

Region

Palawan was originally part of the Southern Tagalog Region (Region IV).

In 2001, Palawan rejected by virtue of a referendum to be a part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

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).

Palawan was 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, Administrative Order No. 129 was issued 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.

Hence, Palawan is currently still part of MIMAROPA.

History

Pre-colonial era

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.


Spanish rule

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.

At first, the territory of Palawan (or Paragua as it was called) was organized as a single province named Calamianes, with its capital in Taytay. Later, it was divided into three provinces: Castilla covering the northern section of the province with Taytay as capital, Asturias in the southern mainland with Puerto Princesa as capital, and Balabac Island with its capital in the town of Principe Alfonso.


American rule

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.


Palawan Massacre

During World War II, in order to prevent the rescue of prisoners of war by the advancing allies, on 14 December 1944, the Japanese herded the remaining 150 POWs at Puerto Princesa into three covered trenches which were then set on fire using barrels of gasoline. As prisoners tried to escape the flames they were shot down. Some escaped by going over a cliff that ran along one side of the trenches, but were later hunted down and killed. Only 11 men escaped the slaughter and between 133 and 141 were killed. The site of the massacre can still be visited. The massacre is the premise of the recently published book "Last Man Out: Glenn McDole, USMC, Survivor of the Palawan Massacre in World War II" by Bob Wilbanks, and the opening scenes of the 2005 Miramax movie, "The Great Raid".


Honda Bay kidnappings

In May 2001 Palawan hit the headlines when the militant Islamic group Abu Sayyaf abducted 20 guests from the Dos Palmas Resort, located in Honda Bay outside of Puerto Princesa City. The kidnapping raid led to a massive U.S.-backed security operation, and unfortunately two hostages were later killed. Significantly, there have been no repeat incidents of this kind in Palawan, and the combination of a beefed-up military presence and radar surveillance has considerably boosted security. Basically, Palawan is a safe place to visit.