Mimaropa (officially stylized in all caps), officially the Southwestern Tagalog Region () 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.
History
Mimaropa, together with Calabarzon and Aurora was officially created with the partitioning of Southern Tagalog (Region IV) into the two regions on May 17, 2002, with the issuance of Executive Order No. 103 by then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, for the purpose of promoting efficiency in the government, accelerating social and economic development, and improving public services in the provinces covered. Region IV-B was designated as Mimaropa, which stands for the island provinces belonging to the Southern Tagalog region—Mindoro (Oriental and Occidental), Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan. Region IV-A was designated as Calabarzon. Romblon was transferred from Western Visayas to Southern Tagalog.
On May 23, 2005, Executive Order 429 was issued, moving the province of Palawan to the region of Western Visayas, , it is unclear whether the transfer of Palawan to Western Visayas is still pending withhe Philippine government. , the National Statistical Coordinating Board of the Philippines continued to list Palawan province as part of the Mimaropa region.
On July 17, 2016, Republic Act No. 10879 formally established the Southwestern Tagalog Region to be known as the Mimaropa Region. This involved no boundary changes but was in effect merely a renaming and discontinuation of the "Region IV-B" designation.
Languages
thumb|right|A view of Calapan as seen in December 2009
The native languages of Mimaropa are:
- Alangan, spoken in the interior of Mindoro.
- Asi, spoken in Romblon and Marinduque.
- Bonggi, spoken in the southernmost islands of Palawan
- Buhid, spoken in the interior of Mindoro.
- Calamian Tagbanwa, spoken in Palawan.
- Cuyonon, spoken in Palawan.
- Hanunoo, spoken in the interior of Mindoro.
- Hiligaynon, spoken in Palawan and Romblon.
- Iraya, spoken in the interior of Mindoro.
- Jama Mapun, spoken in the southernmost islands of Palawan
- Karay-a or Kinaray-a, spoken in eastern parts of Palawan, southern parts Mindoro and southern parts of Romblon.
- Molbog, spoken in south Palawan.
- Onhan, spoken in Romblon.
- Palawano, spoken in Palawan.
- Ratagnon, spoken in the south Mindoro.
- Romblomanon, spoken in Romblon.
- Sabah Malay, spoken in south Palawan.
- Sibuyanon, spoken in Romblon.
- Tadyawan, spoken in the interior of Mindoro.
- Tagalog, spoken in Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan. It is the regional lingua franca, mostly as Filipino.
- Tausug, spoken in southwestern Palawan.
- Tawbuid, spoken in the interior of Mindoro.
Economy
<p style="margin-left: 85px;">Poverty Incidence of </p>
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Source: Philippine Statistics Authority
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In 2007, Mimaropa's economy surged by 9.4%, making it the fastest growing region in the country in that year. It was aided by robust growth in the industrial sector which grew by 19.1% from -6.1% in 2006. figures are excluded from Palawan.
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Governors and vice governors
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!width=140 |Province
!width=150 |Image
!width=235 |Governor
!width=120 colspan=2 |Political Party
!width=150 |Vice Governor
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|align=center |
|Melecio J. Go
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|Romulo A. Bacorro Jr.
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|align=center |138x138px
|Eduardo Gadiano
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|Anecita Diana Apigo-Tayag
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|align=center |138x138px
|Humerlito Dolor
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|Antonio S. Perez Jr.
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|align=center |
|Amy R. Alvarez
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|Leoncio Nacasi Ola
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|align=center |center|thumb|Gov. Trina Firmalo Fabic
|Trina Alejandra Q. Firmalo-Fabic
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|Armando Gutierrez
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