Lubang Island

Lubang Island is the largest island in the Lubang Group of Islands, an archipelago which lies to the northwest of the northern end of Mindoro in the Philippines. The Lubang Islands are about 150 kilometres (93 mi) southwest of Manila. There are seven islands in the group,[1] The island is divided into two municipalities. The largest settlement is the town of Lubang, west of the island. Its town center is about 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Tilik Port, the only safe anchorage on Lubang Island.[2] The eastern half of the island is covered by the municipality of Looc.

Contents

Geography

Northwest to southeast the four main islands are Cabra Island, separated by a deep, 3 km wide channel from Lubang Island, then Ambil Island and finally Golo Island. The three smaller islands are Talinas Island, Malavatuan Island and Mandaui Island.[1]

History

The islands were originally settled by Visayan peoples starting about 30,000 years ago. By 1900 the islands were inhabited by both Tagalog and Visayan peoples.[1]

The Spanish built a fort on Lubang Island, the San Vicente Bastion, on the western point of the entrance to Port tilig.

Lubang's recent history includes the curious story of Hiroo Onoda, a former army intelligence officer who was one of the last Japanese soldiers to surrender after World War II. He hid in the jungles of Lubang Island when the Allies reclaimed the Philippines, and engaged in continuous guerilla warfare against the United States and later against Philippine Commonwealth troops and paramilitary police, refusing to believe the war was over. He surrendered in 1974, 29 years after the end of World War II.[5]

Administration

The islands are administratively part of the province of Occidental Mindoro and are divided into two municipalities: Lubang and Looc. Lubang covers the western half of Lubang Island and Cabra Island, while Looc covers the remaining half of Lubang Island plus Ambil, Golo and the other islands. Looc Proper is divided into three major sections: BonBon, Gitna and Kanluran.

Economics

Most of the population resides on Lubang Island, where Tilik Port is located. The main economic activity is fishing in the waters surrounding the islands. However, with the islands fine white-sand coastlines, tourism is growing in economic importance.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Landor, Arnold Henry Savage (1904). The Gems of the East: Sixteen Thousand Miles of Research Travel Among Wild and Tame Tribes of Enchanting Islands, p. 10. Harper & Bros., New York. OCLC 1688191
  2. ^ a b Dow, John C. (1906). Philippine Islands Sailing Directions: Section II: Southwest and South Coasts of Luzon and Adjacent Islands from Manila to San Bernardino Straits (third edition), pp 19-20. U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Manila.
  3. ^ Daubeny, Charles (1848). "A description of active and extinct volcanos, of earthquakes, and of thermal springs", p.399. Richard and John E. Taylor, London.
  4. ^ Becker, George F. (1901). "Report of the Geology of the Philippines", p.53. Government Printing Office, Wachington.
  5. ^ Trefalt, Beatrice (1999) "A Straggler Returns: Onoda Hirō and Japanese Memories of the War" War & Society 17(2): pp. 111–124, doi: 10.1179/072924799791201470

References