San Fernando, Romblon

San Fernando, officially the Municipality of San Fernando, is a municipality in the province of Romblon, Philippines. According to the , it has a population of people.

Etymology

It was formerly known as Pueblo de Cauit. In 1882, the town was renamed to Fernando, in honor of Ferdinand Magellan.

History

Early history

The town of San Fernando was established in 1636 as Visita de Cauit in what is today Barangay Azagra. It is one of two visitas in Sibuyan Island, the other being Cajidiocan. In 1744, Cajiodiocan was turned into a pueblo (town) which included Visita de Cauit.

The first villages or barrios of Visita de Cauit were Pag-alad, Cangumba, Mabolo or San Roque, Canjalon, España or Canago, Agtiwa, Cangumon and Otod. After Romblon was made a separate district in 1853, and the local government reorganization of 1855, 17 new pueblos were created including Visita de Cauit. On 3 February 1868, Pueblo de Cauit was renamed Pueblo de Azagra. One of Azagra's villages, Visita de Pag-alad was renamed Visita de San Fernando in 1882, in honor of Ferdinand Magellan. It effectively restored San Fernando into its former status as an independent municipality. Of the ship's 862 passengers and crew, only 48 survived while 67 were confirmed dead and 747 remain missing. A massive search-and-rescue, and then recovery and salvage operation, took place in the waters of San Fernando to remove remaining dead bodies and potentially dangerous cargo from the sunken ship. The wreck of the MV Princess of the Star still remains in the town's coastal waters.

Geography

San Fernando is a coastal town which lies on the south-western portion of the Sibuyan Island and is the biggest among the three towns comprising the island, the other two being Magdiwang and Cajidiocan. It has a total land area of . making it the largest municipality in the province, surpassing Odiongan by more than . I The municipality has an irregular coastline broken by beautiful, long stretches of sandy beaches.

The municipality has high and steep mountain ranges as it is located at the foot of Romblon's tallest peak, Mount Guiting-Guiting. Other mountains are Mount Sibuyan and Mount Conico. Much of its territory is part of Mount Guiting-Guiting Natural Park made up of lush tropical rainforest where unique flora and fauna thrive, giving Sibuyan the nickname, "The Galapagos of the Philippines".

Climate

Barangays

San Fernando is politically subdivided into 12 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Agtiwa
Azagra
Campalingo
Canjalon
España
Mabini
Mabulo
Otod
Panangcalan
Pili
Poblacion
Taclobo

Demographics

According to the 2024 census, San Fernando has a population of 23,660, which makes San Fernando the 3rd most inhabited town in the province of Romblon.

Language

The variant Romblomanon language locally called Sibuyanon dialect (Sibuyanon Magdiwang-España Style) is the native language in 4 eastern barangays of the municipality, while the rest speaks Sibuyanon (Sibujanon Azagra-San Fernando Style). The town has a Majority of Catholics and a few INC, Born-again Christians, and other religions.

Economy

The municipality has various establishments including general merchandise stores, construction and welding shops, furniture outlets, funeral homes, rice mills, bakeshops, catering services, and one cable TV station. Fishing and Agriculture provides the main source of livelihood for the residents in San Fernando. The Sibuyan Sea and Cresta de Gallo serve as a fishing grounds due to its abundant marine animals like mackerel, sea quartz, tuna, dilis, tanguigue, lapu-lapu, and tropical fish to name a few.The Agriculture sector of San Fernando is Mainly Rice and Corn Planting.

Infrastructure

Utilities

National Power Corporation operates a 650-kW plant and 1,025-kW substation in San Fernando.It also have a Mini Hydro Power Plant in Cantingas.ROMELCO, the local electric cooperative, also implements power supply on the households. For its water supply, the town uses the Cantingas irrigation system, which services some 384 hectares of farmland. Some households depend on individual potable distribution which comes from jet pumps and springs. the municipal government is composed of a mayor (alkalde), a vice mayor (bise alkalde) and members (kagawad) of the legislative branch Sangguniang Bayan alongside a secretary to the said legislature, all of which are elected to a three-year term and are eligible to run for three consecutive terms.

Barangays are also headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain, Barangay Council, whose members are called Barangay Councilors. The barangays have SK federation which represents the barangay, headed by SK chairperson and whose members are called SK councilors. All officials are also elected every three years.

Elected officials

The incumbent mayor of San Fernando, Romblon, is Fernando "Nanding" Uy Marin and the incumbent vice mayor is Arben Rosas.

Education

The San Fernando Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.

Primary and elementary schools

Agtiwa Elementary School
Azagra Elementary School
Campalingo Elementary School
Canjalon Elementary School
España Elementary School
Hillside View Academy
Layag Cultural Minority School
Mabini Elementary School
Mabulo Elementary School
Otod Elementary School
San Fernando Elementary School
Sibuyan Catholic School
Sibuyan SDA Multigrade School
Taclobo Elementary School
Teresa Bernas Elementary School