Cagayancillo, officially the Municipality of Cagayancillo (), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 6,884 people. Located between the islands of Palawan and

Negros Negros (, , ) is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . The coastal zone of the southern part of Negros is identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in the Coral Tr ...

in the

Sulu Sea The Sulu Sea (; Tausug: ''Dagat sin Sūg''; ; ) is a body of water in the southwestern area of the Philippines, separated from the South China Sea in the northwest by Palawan and from the Celebes Sea in the southeast by the Sulu Archipela ...

, Cagayancillo is the closest settlement to the Tubbataha National Marine Park. The word Cagayancillo is Spanish meaning "Little Cagayan".

History

The island was known to the first Spanish settlers in the Archipelago simply as ''Cagayan''. They describe this territory as "two low islets about fifteen leagues from the island of

Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and a total population of 4,542,926, as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City of Il ...

". They ruled these islets from the town of Arevalo in

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

by sailing south-southeast from this part of

, to the open sea. The islands are surrounded by many low reefs. But the Spaniards were able to discover their narrow entry, avoiding potential shipping hazards.Miguel de Loarca, Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas (Arevalo: June 1782) in BLAIR, Emma Helen & ROBERTSON, James Alexander, eds. (1903). The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803. Volume 05 of 55 (1582–1583). Historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord BOURNE. Cleveland, Ohio: Arthur H. Clark Company. . OCLC 769945704. "Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the beginning of the nineteenth century.", p. 79. During the early period of Spanish colonizations, these small islets were inhabited by four hundred people, all of whom were very skillful shipbuilders. They were from Panay, and they came to these islets in order to fortify themselves by the reefs, for fear of pirates. Then they undertook to return to

in order to dwell there. But many of their women died there. Seeing this, as they were soothsayers, they returned to the islands of Cagayan, from where they set out every year, and scattered themselves over all the islands to build ships. They built the ships of the Spanish Royal Navy in the Philippines, as well as

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

s, galliots, and

frigates A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

. They also helped in repairing and righting ships. Being the most important people in the islands for the Spaniards, the

adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning 'advanced') was a title held by some Spain, Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th a ...

Miguel López de Legazpi Miguel López de Legazpi (12 June 1502 – 20 August 1572), also known as ''Adelantado, El Adelantado'' and ''El Viejo'' (The Elder), was a Spanish conquistador who financed and led an expedition to conquer the Philippines, Philippine islan ...

allotted their islands to the

encomendero The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including military protection and education. In pr ...

s of

Negros Island Negros (, , ) is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . The coastal zone of the southern part of Negros is identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in the Coral T ...

. Afterwards, the colonizers found it best to put them under the direct control of the

Spanish Crown The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

. Thus, it was governed from the town of Arevalo in

. Historically, the islands also became part of

Antique Province Antique (), officially the Province of Antique, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital and most populous town is San Jose de Buenavista, Antique ...

. It was made into a municipality in 1810, with Omabong as its first mayor. During the American regime, it came under the jurisdiction of

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental (; ), officially the Province of Negros Occidental (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Negros, Negros Island. Its capital is the city of Bacolod, of which it is geographically s ...

. In 1959, the following sitios were constituted into barrios of Cagayan: * the sitios of Banted, Nipay, Dool, Cavili, Cabayog and Langtad, as barrio Talaga; * the sitios of Ibiok, Panderse, Lato and Gatung-an, as barrio Mampio; and * sitio Nusa as Barrio Nusa

Geography

The farthest provincial limit of the province of Palawan in the east is the island of municipality of Cagayancillo. It is approximately east of Puerto Princesa City and only south-west of Antique. It is located near the middle of the Sulu Sea. There are neither mountain ranges nor forested areas in the municipality. A hilly portion in the north-eastern part of the main island has a slope of 3-82%. The other areas are flat with the highest elevation around 2 to 3 meters. The majority of the island has a sandy

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...

soil not enough to support a forest.Arquiza, Yasmin D. and White, Alan T (1999). "Tales from Tubbataha (2nd ed.)". Sulu Fund for Conservation Foundation, Cebu. .

Barangays

Cagayancillo is the smallest municipality in the province of Palawan with a total land area of only as of 2007. It is composed of 31 islands and islets and is politically subdivided into 12

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s and two island sitios (Cavili and Calusa) included under the political jurisdiction of Magsaysay."Municipality of Cagayancillo"
. National Statistical Coordination Board. Retrieved on 2011-02-02. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. * Bantayan (

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

) * Calsada (Poblacion) * Convento (Poblacion) * Lipot North (Poblacion) * Lipot South (Poblacion) * Magsaysay * Mampio * Nusa * Santa Cruz * Tacas (Poblacion) * Talaga * Wahig (Poblacion)

Climate

Cagayancillo belongs to Type II climate wherein there is no distinct wet or dry season. The dry season is usually from December to May with March as the driest month. The wet season is usually from May to November with August as the rainiest month. The municipality is exposed to both

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

s. The ''Amihan'' or north-east winds blow from November to March while the ''Habagat'' or south-west winds visit the area from June to October. The summer months from April to June receive the moderate ''daplak'' wind from the north-west.

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Cagayancillo was 6,884 people, with a density of .

Economy

Landmark

Cagayancillo Fort

Cagayancillo Fort is one of the surviving defense

forts A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from ...

in Palawan built during the Spanish Colonial Period. Work on the fort was started in the late 16th century by Father Nicolas Melo and Father Alonso Colosa, but it was not completed till the early 18th century by Father Hipolito Casiano, spanning almost 130 years. The 162-sq. meter (1,740-sq. foot) diamond-shaped fort was built on the coast on a high point on the island and made from sea rocks mixed with lime. Like some of the other Spanish forts in this area, inside is a church surrounded by its massive high and thick walls, providing a safe place for the residents during marauding pirate attacks. The other Spanish Colonial fortifications in Palawan are Fort Santa Isabel in Taytay and Cuyo Fort in Cuyo.

Healthcare

There are no hospitals in Cagayancillo. Health facilities in the municipality consist of 1 rural health unit and 4 Barangay Health Stations. In terms of health manpower, the municipality employs 1 municipal health officer, 1 public health nurse, 1 rural health midwife and 1 rural sanitary inspector. Medical interns spend 2–3 years practicing tropical medicine at Cagayancillo. This is the only time a medical doctor is in residence on the island.

Education

Cagayancillo has a total of 8 public elementary schools with a total of 37 classrooms. A total of 35 teachers are available in school year 2000–2001 for total enrollees of 1,110. This provides an average classroom - pupil ratio and teacher - pupil ratio 1:39. This ratio is above the national standard of 1:50 classroom - pupil and teacher- pupil ratios. Enrollment participation rate is estimated at 85.03% for school year 2000–2001. In secondary education, the municipality has one national high school located in the Poblacion. There were 9 classrooms and 13 secondary school teachers giving an average ratio of 1:52 classroom -student ratio. Secondary school participation rate was low at 69%.