Marinduque

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Marinduque

Marinduque is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region in Luzon. Its capital is Boac. Marinduque lies between Tayabas Bay to the north and Sibuyan Sea to the south. It is located south and west of Quezon, east of Mindoro, and north of Romblon.

Marinduque is a nearly circular island situated about eleven miles from the main island of Luzon. It is 370 square miles making it the thirteenth largest island in the Philippine archipelago.

Marinduque is famous for the annual Moriones Festival.

People and culture

Marinduqueños are of Tagalog origin and speak Tagalog. However, because of the island's proximity to the Visayas region, the Marinduqueño variant of Tagalog has many words that are Visayan origin and are not comprehensible to other Tagalog speakers. Traces of Bicolano can also be found in this variant. Filipino and English are also well understood.

Marinduqueños are very hospitable in nature and are very welcoming. One such custom reflecting this is putong, which is a custom of welcoming and honoring friends and visitors. The honoree (or honorees) are seated and crowned with flowers while local women dance and sing for them. Other well-wishers throw coins and flower petals for long life.

The Moriones festival also plays a prominent role in Marinduque's culture. During the month of April, parades and celebrations can be seen on the streets. In Gasan, Boac, and Mogpog, a parade of people dressed as Moriones can be seen on the main road connecting the towns of the island. Boac shows a reenactment in the evening of the actual event when Longinus, a blind soldier, punctures Jesus with his spear and blood droplets from the wound restores Longinus' sight.

Economy

Marinduque is an agricultural province, primarily growing rice and coconuts. Fishing is also an important part of the economy. Mining was once an important player in the economy until a mining accident (the Marcopper mining incident) occurred, bringing the industry to a standstill on the island. The provincial government has just recently sued Marcopper's parent company, Placer Dome, for $100 million in damages.

Tourism does not play a major role in the economy, but it is growing.

Geography

Political

Marinduque is subdivided into 6 municipalities.

Municipalities

Physical

Marinduque is a heart-shaped island between Tayabas Bay in the north and Sibuyan Sea to the south. It is separated from the Bondoc Peninsula in Quezon by the Mompog Pass. Some of the smaller islands to the northeast are Maniuayan Island, Santa Cruz Island, and Mompog Island. The highest peak in Marinduque is Mt. Malindig (formerly, Mt. Marlanga), a potentially active volcano with an elevation of 1157 meters.

The island has two major seasons--the dry season (November through February) and the rainy season (June through October), with a transitional period in between.

History

Legend has it that the island of Marinduque was formed as a consequence of a tragic love affair between two people: Marina and Garduke. Marina's father, a local chieftain, did not approve of this affair and ordered the beheading of Garduke. Before this could be done, the couple sailed out to sea and drowned themselves, forming the island now called Marinduque. Other versions of the legend also claim that the island was named "Malindik", named after Marinduque's highest mountain, Mt. Malindig. When Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Philippines, they found the name hard to pronounce, which led to the renaming of the island as "Marinduc" and later the current "Marinduque".

During the Spanish and early American occupations, Marinduque was part of the province of Balayan (now Batangas) in the 16th century, Mindoro in the 17th century, and had a brief period as an independent province in 1901, when the Americans arrived.

During the Philippine-American War, Marinduque was the first island to have American concentration camps.Birtle, p. 272 Marinduque is the site of the Battle of Pulang Lupa, where Filipino soldiers under Colonel Maximo Abad, defeated a larger better trained force of Americans.

In 1902, the US-Philippine Commission annexed the islands of Mindoro (now two separate provinces) and Lubang (now part of Occidental Mindoro) to the province.

Four months later, the province became part of the province of Tayabas (now Quezon).

On February 21, 1920, Act 2280 was passed by the Philippine Congress, reestablishing Marinduque as a separate province.

External links

Footnotes

Islands of the Philippines | Provinces of the Philippines

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