Corcuera, Romblon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Corcuera is a 5th class municipality in the province of Romblon, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 10,972 people in 2,270 households.
Corcuera comprises the entirety of Simara Island. Asi is the native language of the island's inhabitants.
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[edit] History
The ancestors of Simara were escapees from a group of Christian captives. When their Muslim captors were on return voyage to Sulu from southern Luzon, their vessels were overtaken by a storm and they were forced to seek refuge in a narrow bay along a narrow strip of Suba Valley now called San Roque. The captives escaped toward Pidapi where they met the first few primitive families of Simara.
After the Muslims had sailed away, two groups of escapees moved further to a wider lowland. As years passed by, the population increased. Some families transferred to Guintiguiban which was absorbed by the barrio of Mabini and to the interior rugged highlands.
In the book entitled "Naming the Province of the Philippines", revealed that in the year 1500, there were 150 existing families in the community of San Jose. During the short sojourns of the three Malays in Simara, the "Asi" dialect, a mixture of local and Malayan term began to flourish as the vernacular vehicle of communication. This dialect soon developed into common language spoken not only in the island of Simara but also in its sister islands of Banton on the north and Sibale island on the northwest. This was so because the earlier inhabitants migrated to Banton and Sibale from Simara and later on to Calatrava, formerly Andagao, San Andres and Odiongan in Tablas island. This disproved the allegation of another historical writer that Bantoanons did found the settlement called San Jose which later became Corcuera.
[edit] Geography
Simara is 120 nautical miles southeast of Manila. It is an elongated island formed like a hook covering an area of 23.40 square kilometers. Its island name was derived from the local word "sima" which means hook. By area, it is the fifth island in a group of seven that comprises the marble province of Romblon and one of the 7,107 islands of the Philippines.
Simara lies on the northwestern coast of the province. It is hemmed in by bodies of water from all sides; on the north and east by the Sibuyan Sea, on the south by Tablas Strait and on the west by the sea that separates the municipality of Concepcion. It is located at 122046' north latitude and 36 kilometers from the Capital of the province. The name of its town which was formerly "San Jose" was later changed to Corcuera by the town's first Gobernadorcillo, after the name of the liberal Spanish Governor General of the Philippines, Jurtado de Corcuera. Corcuera, as a municipality, occupies the whole island of Simara. The topographical feature of the island municipality is generally hilly. The highest upland is 755 feet above sea level.
Corcuera is politically subdivided into 15 barangays.
- Alegria
- Ambulong
- Colongcolong
- Gobon
- Guintiguiban
- Ilijan
- Labnig
- Mabini
- Mahaba
- Mangansag
- Poblacion
- San Agustin
- San Roque
- San Vicente
- Tacasan
[edit] Transportation
Transportation between Corcuera and other municipalities is available by pumpboats. Daily trips ply between Calatrava and Corcuera daily. Pumpboats leave Corcuera at 8:00 o'clock in the morning to Calatrava and return to Corcuera at 12:00 noon of the same day. Going to the capital town of Romblon, there is a special trip on Mondays and Fridays. Usually going to the Capital, people take pumpboat via Calatrava where jeepneys are available for San Agustin. In San Agustin, pumpboats are available for Romblon at 8:00 AM and 1:00 PM.
[edit] External links
Alcantara • Banton • Cajidiocan • Calatrava • Concepcion • Corcuera • Ferrol • Looc • Magdiwang • Odiongan • Romblon • San Agustin • San Andres • San Fernando • San Jose • Santa Fe • Santa Maria
