Cuyo, officially the Municipality of Cuyo (, ), is a municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the , it has a population of people.

Its territory includes the western half of Cuyo Island, as well as Bisucay, Caponayan, Cauayan, Imalaguan, Lubid, Manamoc, Pamalican, Pandan, Round, and Quiminatin islands, all part of the Cuyo Archipelago.

Cuyo is the oldest town in Palawan which has a culture of its own and was preserved for more than 350 years. During the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, Cuyo became the second capital of Palawan after Puerto Princesa from 1873 to 1903.

From the sea, the first visible landmark of Cuyo Island is a lighthouse located near the pier. Many of the streets leading into the town have been paved, while the layout of the poblacion retains the traditional Hispanic *plaza-iglesia* pattern. Dominating the town center is Cuyo’s church complex, which includes the church, convent, and fort built by the Spanish and completed in 1680. Nearby are a school building and a monument dedicated to national hero Jose Rizal.

The municipality is served by Cuyo Airport in the neighboring municipality of Magsaysay. The town and its cultural and natural environs are being considered to be nominated in the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage Site declaration in the future.

History

Oriental traders were early discoverers of the Cuyo group of islands and introduced barter trading with the locals.

Later, the Malay chief Matuod and his people arrived in big boats called sakayan and formed settlements on Cuyo. The Islamic chieftain Datu Magbanua later also settled on Cuyo, later consolidating his power so that chieftains from other islands recognized his rule. Other Cuyunon chieftains in nearby islands include Datu Cabaylo of Taytay, Datu Macanas of Busuanga and Datu Cabangon whose domain stretched South of Taytay towards Puerto Princesa. The Malays brought with them their dances, and when blended with native dance, the "Soriano", it became known as the "pondo-pondo" one of the most popular folk dances even up to the present.

During the rule of Datu Magbanua, three Chinese arrived on the island and settled also on Cuyo. The Chinese discovered gold deposits in Mount Aguado and introduced gold mining, smith working, pottery, and other handicrafts. The natives of Cuyo became suspicious of their presence and later expelled them. They sailed to Ilongilong (today known as Iloilo) and formed another settlement called Parián.

In 1622, the Conde de San Agustín, together with five Spanish missionaries, colonised the island they named Cuyo. The friendly character of the people proved to be a blessing to the Spaniards, who found it easy converting the native population to Catholicism. They immediately baptised some 500 inhabitants, however, many still regarded their indigenous Cuyonon religion as sacred and continued to perform Cuyonon rituals. The forest deity of the Cuyunon people was Diwata ang Kagueban (literally goddess of the forest), who was honored in a celebrated feast, periodically held atop of Mount Caimamis in Cuyo Island, and Neguno, the ancient god of the sea of earlier Cuyonons who was responsible for turning a greedy man into the first shark. When most of the natives were converted to Christianity during the Spanish Era, about 2/3 of the converted Cuyunon were still celebrating her feast, angering the Spanish imperialists. The situation led the Spanish authorities to intensify their evangelization and governance efforts, which included the forced Roman Catholic conversion of the Cuyonon people, burning of houses of non-Catholic Cuyonons, and massive slavery. Later, the Spanish called Diwata ng Kagubatan as Virgen Del Monte, in another bid to rebrand the deity as 'Catholic'. Prior to the institution of the Provincia de Calamianes, Cuyo was directly administered as part of the Island of Panay, while Coron islands were administered by the Spanish authorities of Mindoro.

In 1636, a powerful fleet under the Muslim Datu Tagul raided Cuyo and other places in Palawan. In Cuyo, the Muslims attacked the church and clergy house. They set the town on fire and took with them prisoners including a priest, Fr. Francisco de Jesús María. They then sailed to Agutaya and Culion, where they pillaged and attacked defenceless civilians. The raiders abducted another priest from Culion, Fr. Alonzo de San Agustín, as he was saying Mass. A Spanish naval flotilla of six vessels and 250 men under Captain Nicolas Gonzáles met the returning pirates with their loot and booty on December 21, 1636. Datu Tagul was killed, 300 of his men captured, and 120 prisoners were freed. The two captured priests were killed.

In 1957, the following sitios were converted to barrios: Emilod and Balading. In 1964, the barrios of Balaguen, Canipo, Cocoro, Danawan, Igabas, Imilod, Los Angeles, Lucbuan, Patonga, Rizal, Siparay Island, and Tagawayan Island were separated from Cuyo to constitute the new and separate municipality of Magsaysay.

Geography

thumb|200px|left|Cuyo Archipelago, with elevations (in feet).

Cuyo Island is the largest island of the Cuyo Archipelago, about long, wide, and with an area of .

  • Balading
  • Bancal (Poblacion)
  • Cabigsing (Poblacion)
  • Caburian
  • Caponayan
  • Catadman (Poblacion)
  • Funda
  • Lagaoriao (Poblacion)
  • Lubid
  • Manamoc
  • Maringian
  • Lungsod (Poblacion)
  • Pawa
  • San Carlos
  • Suba
  • Tenga-tenga (Poblacion)
  • Tocadan (Poblacion)

Climate

Demographics

In the 2024 census, the population of Cuyo was 24,702 people, with a density of .

Economy

Fort Cuyo

During the early Spanish period, purposely to protect the Cuyonon from sporadic Moro attacks, Fort Cuyo was constructed and finished in 1680. The original complex of stone and mortar was a square with four bastions. The present complex, which occupies , is a solid rectangular edifice with walls high and thick. It has a tall belfry and watchtowers; its cannons, which face the sea, are now fired only during town celebrations. It is considered as one of the most ancient and unique forts in the Philippines. Unique in the sense that you can find the church, the convent and the Perpetual Adoration chapel all within the fort.

In 1762 one of the British ships that invaded Manila fired at the Cuyo fort but it was not damaged at all.

Primary and elementary Schools

  • Balading Elementary School
  • Bisucay Elementary School
  • Caponayan Elementary School
  • Cuyo Central School
  • Cuyo Learning Adademe
  • Cuyo Miller School
  • Funda Elementary School
  • Lubid Elementary School
  • Manamoc Elementary School
  • Maringian Elementary School
  • Paaralan ng Buhay ng Antipolo
  • Pamitinan Elementary School
  • Pawa Elementary School
  • Saint Joseph Academy
  • San Carlos Elementary School
  • Suba Elementary School

Secondary schools

  • Cuyo National High School
  • Gaudencio E. Abordo Memorial National High School-Bisucay Annex
  • Manamoc National High School
  • Pawa National High School
  • Saint Joseph Academy
  • San Carlos National High School
  • Suba National High School

Higher educational institution

  • Palawan State University

Notable personalities

  • Manuel Rey — member of the Philippine Assembly from 1907 to 1909

Judge Jose P Rodriguez(Judge of first instance Palawan) USAFFE officer, GSIS board of director member in the 60s, Former Law school Classmate and Friend of Former President Ferdinand Marcos.

Trinidad Fernandez -Legarda, First woman ambassador of the Philippines, Carnival Queen in earlier years.

See also

  • List of islands of the Philippines

References

  • Cuyo Profile at PhilAtlas.com
  • [ Philippine Standard Geographic Code]
  • 2000 Philippine Census Information
  • Local Governance Performance Management System