Early history[edit] 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.[6][7] 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. In 3 February 1868, Pueblo de Cauit was renamed Pueblo de Azagra. One of Azagras villages, Visita de Pag-alad was renamed Visita de San Fernando in 1882, in honor of Ferdinand Magellan.[6][7] Modern era[edit] When civilian government was introduced to the province by the Americans on 16 March 1901, Azagra was one of 11 new municipalities created. However, by the end of the year, the seat of the municipality was transferred from Azagra to San Fernando village, thereby, changing the towns name.[6][7] On 8 June 1940, the passage of Commonwealth Act No. 581, sponsored by Congressman Leonardo Festin, created the special municipality of Sibuyan. It abolished San Fernando and was annexed to the new town whose seat of government was in Cajidiocan. On 26 May 1946, the special municipality of Sibuyan was abolished by Republic Act No. 38, authored by Congressman Modesto Formelleza and enacted on 1 January 1947. It effectively restored San Fernando into its former status as an independent municipality.[6][7] In 1958, San Fernando High School, the towns highest institution of learning was converted into a national school for arts and trades known as Romblon National Vocation School under Republic Act No. 2428.[6][7] MV Princess of the Stars sinking[edit] Main article: MV Princess of the Stars On 21 June 2008, MV Princess of the Stars, the flagship inter-island ferry of Sulpicio Lines sank in the waters of San Fernando after during the onslaught of Typhoon Fengshen (locally known as Typhoon Frank).[8] Of the ships 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 towns coastal waters.[9][10] Geography[edit] San Fernando is a coastal town which lies on the southwestern 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 190,608.231 sq. kms. making it the largest municipality in the province, surpassing Odiongan by more than 11 sq. kms. 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 Romblons 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.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 12:18:19 +0000
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