Culion

Last updated
Culion
Municipality of Culion
Municipality of Culion outlook from local hillside.jpg
Culion Skyline
Flag of Culion, Palawan.png
Culion Palawan.png
Ph locator palawan culion.png
Map of Palawan with Culion highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Culion
Philippines location map (square).svg
Red pog.svg
Culion
Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 11°53′24″N120°01′19″E / 11.89°N 120.022°E / 11.89; 120.022
Country Philippines
Region Mimaropa
Province Palawan
District 1st district
Founded February 19, 1992
Barangays 14 (see Barangays)
Government
[1]
  Type Sangguniang Bayan
   Mayor Ma. Virginia N. de Vera
   Vice Mayor Alister S. Leyson
   Representative Franz Josef George E. Alvarez
   Municipal Council
Members
  • Cecilia C. Cunanan
  • Ronald H. Alcantara
  • Leonilo R. Sarmiento
  • Jovel Marie A. Ballesca
  • Alejandro G. Astor
  • Fel Ford G. Solas
  • Warnell F. Dayandante
  • Haydee M. Fonte
   Electorate 14,568 voters (2025)
Area
[2]
  Total
499.59 km2 (192.89 sq mi)
Elevation
45 m (148 ft)
Highest elevation
(Mount Oltaloro)
468 m (1,535 ft)
Lowest elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (2024 census) [3]
  Total
23,985
  Density48/km2 (120/sq mi)
   Households
5,651
Economy
   Income class 3rd municipal income class
   Poverty incidence
40.16
% (2021) [4]
   Revenue 265.4 million (2022)
   Assets 310.2 million (2022)
   Expenditure 219 million (2022)
   Liabilities 42.72 million (2022)
Service provider
  ElectricityBusuanga Island Electric Cooperative (BISELCO)
Time zone UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code
5315
PSGC
IDD : area code +63(0)48
Native languages Calamian Tagbanwa
Palawano
Tagalog

Culion, officially the Municipality of Culion (Tagalog : Bayan ng Culion), is a municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 23,213 people. [5]

Contents

Culion consists primarily of Culion Island as well as 41 minor surrounding islands, as part of the Calamian group of islands. [6]

It was a former leprosarium, starting in 1906 under the American colonial regime until the American commonwealth of the Philippines era. Although leprosy on the island-town was abolished in the 1980s, it was only in 2006 when it was declared a leprosy-free area by the World Health Organization. [7] [8] The municipality was created by virtue of Republic Act No. 7193 on February 19, 1992. [9] In May 2017, the Philippine National Commission for UNESCO began its initiative to prepare the dossier of Culion's leprosy documentary heritage, which will be nominated in the future in the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. [10] In May 2018, the Culion Museum and Archives was officially nominated by the Philippines in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register – Asia and the Pacific. [11] On June 18, 2018, Culion Leprosy Archives was officially inscribed to the Memory of the World Register – Asia and the Pacific. The government and the Asia-Pacific bloc aims to nominate the archives further to the International Memory of the World Register. If approved by UNESCO, it will be the fifth internationally recognized documentary heritage of the Philippines, increasing Culion town's feasibility to become a World Heritage Site in the future. [12]

History

Spanish colonial period

Aside from churches, the Spaniards built defensive fortifications in strategic places in Taytay, Cuyo, Agutaya, Linapacan, including a watch tower and fort in the locality of Libis in Culion.

In 1858, Calamianes was divided into 2 provinces, Castilla and Asturias. Castilla, which included northern Palawan, retained its capital in Taytay. Asturias extended south to Balabac. In 1873, the capital of Palawan was changed from Taytay to Cuyo. The French anthropologist Antoine-Alfred Marche traveled the Philippines and documented his research of many places. French Ambassador Pierre Revol in particular translated Marche's account of the Calamianes and Culion.

Marche refers to Culion as the principal village of the Calamianes. The fact that a boat from Manila "touches Culion once a month" attests to the growing economy of the place at that time. Marche's description of the place and people he met in the 1880s have been important indicators of the ethnography of Calamianes for more than a hundred years.

Claudio Sandoval y Rodriguez, a Justice of the Peace, resided and held office in Culion, supporting the primacy of Culion as a leading settlement of the Calamianes. Sandoval, a Spanish mestizo from Jaro, Iloilo, married Evarista Manlavi, the daughter of a rich landowner from Cuyo. Sandoval became the Jezgado de Paz de Culion, Calamianes and held office sometime in the late 1880s. The seal of Claudio's office was found stamped on a handwritten circular dated December 11, 1889 that he sent to all residents within Culion's "roriedad y sus visitas," warning them of the penalties to be imposed on them if caught gambling. Culion's "visitas" included the island of Busuanga and other areas in Calamianes.

A remnant of the fort in San Pedro located somewhere in Burabud testifies to the rich history of Culion. In the early 1990s, it was widely believed that the roots of balete trees had already invaded this fort. The fort was built by Spanish Augustinian Recollects and is older than the one in Culion proper, the Immaculate Conception Church built by the Jesuits. This fort in San Pedro was more or less built in the same time span as the forts in Agutaya, Taytay and Cuyo which all still stand today and are preserved by the government of Palawan.

American commonwealth and Culion as a leprosarium

Members of the Culion leper colony in an undated photograph. The women in the center appear to be playing the kulintang traditional instrument. Culionlepercolony.jpg
Members of the Culion leper colony in an undated photograph. The women in the center appear to be playing the kulintang traditional instrument.

When the Treaty of Paris was signed on December 10, 1898, wherein Spain sold the Philippines to the United States for 20 million dollars, the funding of Culion as a reservation was closely related to the Americans' early efforts to establish a form of public health policy in the Philippines as part of their long-term intentions to occupy the archipelago.

One of the motivating factors for the creation of the Manila Board of Health was traditional belief that the maintenance of public health required the isolation of cases of leprosy from the rest of the public. After an investigation of a number of sites, the island of Culion was selected as a segregation colony in 1901. On October 27, 1902, the Second Philippine Commission appropriated an initial amount of $50,000 for the establishment of Culion under the Secretary of Interior Dean C. Worcester and Director of Health Victor G. Heiser. [13] On August 22, 1904, Luke E. Wright, the American Civil Governor of the Government of the Philippine Islands, signed Executive Order No. 35 which transferred the jurisdiction and control of Culion from the Municipality of Coron, reserving the same as a leper colony and a government stock farm.

Timeline

Fishing boats in Culion Culion fishing village.jpg
Fishing boats in Culion

Geography

Culion island satellite image captured by Sentinel-2 in 2016 Culion Island, PH, Sentinel-2.jpg
Culion island satellite image captured by Sentinel-2 in 2016

Culion is an island situated at the northernmost part of Palawan. It is part of the Calamian Archipelago in northern Palawan that also includes the municipalities of Busuanga, Coron, and Linapacan. During the Spanish Period, these were known as Las Islas de Calamianes, Provincia de España.

The municipality has a land area of 500 square kilometres (190 sq mi) which includes the 41 surrounding islands and measures a total of 1,191.39 square kilometres (460.00 sq mi) including its territorial water. Its largest island, Culion Island, has an area of 389 square kilometres (150 sq mi). [6] It is bounded on the north by Busuanga Island, on the east by the Coron Reef, on the south by Linapacan Island, and on the west by the South China Sea.

The Culion sea is teeming with a total of 201 fish species including commercially important fish like Lapu-lapu (Groupers), Kanuping (Sweetlip Emperor), Maya-Maya (Snapper), Tanguige (Spanish Mackerel), Dalagang Bukid (Blue and Gold Fusiliers) and Bisugo (Breams). Squid, cuttlefish, shrimps, crabs, shellfish and sea cucumber or trepang are plentiful.

Three ecosystems sustain the rich marine life of Culion: mangroves, seagrass, and corals. 17 mangrove species cover the coastline of Culion. 9 seagrass species and 47 coral genera representing 60% of the total genera found in the Philippines are found in Culion.

Barangays

Culion is politically subdivided into 14 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

  • Balala
  • Baldat
  • Binudac
  • Burabod
  • Carabao
  • Culango
  • Galoc
  • Halsey
  • Jardin
  • Libis
  • Luac
  • Malaking Patag
  • Osmeña
  • Tiza

Climate

Climate data for Culion, Palawan
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)30
(86)
31
(88)
32
(90)
32
(90)
31
(88)
30
(86)
29
(84)
28
(82)
28
(82)
29
(84)
30
(86)
30
(86)
30
(86)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)21
(70)
21
(70)
22
(72)
23
(73)
25
(77)
25
(77)
25
(77)
25
(77)
25
(77)
24
(75)
23
(73)
21
(70)
23
(74)
Average precipitation mm (inches)30
(1.2)
26
(1.0)
39
(1.5)
58
(2.3)
192
(7.6)
283
(11.1)
341
(13.4)
323
(12.7)
317
(12.5)
231
(9.1)
119
(4.7)
56
(2.2)
2,015
(79.3)
Average rainy days10.38.512.416.323.527.128.427.327.626.319.213.6240.5
Source: Meteoblue (modeled/calculated data, not measured locally) [14]

Demographics

Population census of Culion
YearPop.±% p.a.
1995 13,024    
2000 14,302+2.03%
2007 17,194+2.57%
2010 19,543+4.77%
2015 20,139+0.57%
2020 23,213+3.04%
2024 23,985+0.79%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]

In the 2020 census, the population of Culion was 23,213 people, [20] with a density of 46 inhabitants per square kilometre or 120 inhabitants per square mile.

The original people of Culion are the Tagbanuas, a cultural minority group that lives by fishing and food gathering. While preserving their native customs and traditions, the Tagbanuas are greatly influenced by Muslim culture and social organization.

Early trading activities attracted people from other parts of Palawan, like Calamianen and Cuyonon, who came and stayed in Culion as their new home.

Today, however, the Tagbanuas no longer practice many of their cultural traditions and many of them have been converted to Christianity. They are largely marginalized, making up only about 8% of Culion's total population. Barangay Carabao, under Republic Act 9032, was established for these indigenous people. They were also granted Certificates of Ancestral Domain under Republic Act 8371, also known as the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997.

The establishment of the leper colony in 1906, Hansenites and hospital staff were brought to Culion from different parts of the Philippines bringing their customs, habits, dialects, and regional characteristics, and the influx of migrants in the last three decades have understandably made Culion an heterogeneous population.

Economy

Poverty incidence of Culion

10
20
30
40
50
60
70
2000
62.04
2003
55.68
2006
40.80
2009
28.47
2012
23.61
2015
24.94
2018
15.77
2021
40.16

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28]

The 2019 film Culion depicts the island's history during the 1940s when the disease was considered a life sentence. [29]

References

  1. Municipality of Culion | (DILG)
  2. "2015 Census of Population, Report No. 3 – Population, Land Area, and Population Density" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. Quezon City, Philippines. August 2016. ISSN   0117-1453. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  3. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  4. "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  5. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Culion Island". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
  7. Ronald Fettes Chapman (1982). Leonard Wood and leprosy in the Philippines: the Culion Leper Colony, 1921-1927. University Press of America. pp. 85–86. ISBN   0-8191-1977-6. OL   4094674M.
  8. Bartolome, Jessica (August 27, 2017). "Inside Culion, the Philippines' "Island of No Return"". GMA News.
  9. 1 2 "Republic Act No. 7193 - An Act Creating the Municipality of Culion in the Province of Palawan". Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. 19 February 1992. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  10. "PH NatCom visits Culion Island in Palawan". UNESCO Philippines. 2017.
  11. 1 2 "Nomination Information – Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific". www.mowcapunesco.org.
  12. 1 2 "Culion Leprosy Archives (2018) – Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific". www.mowcapunesco.org. June 18, 2018.
  13. Dr. Heiser, V., An American Doctor's Odyssey W. W. Norton & Company, 1936.
  14. "Compostela: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  15. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  16. Census of Population (2015). "Region IV-B (Mimaropa)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority . Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  17. Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region IV-B (Mimaropa)" (PDF). Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. National Statistics Office . Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  18. Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region IV-B (Mimaropa)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. National Statistics Office.
  19. "Province of". Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  20. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  21. "Poverty incidence (PI):". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  22. "Estimation of Local Poverty in the Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 29 November 2005.
  23. "2003 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 23 March 2009.
  24. "City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates; 2006 and 2009" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 3 August 2012.
  25. "2012 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 31 May 2016.
  26. "Municipal and City Level Small Area Poverty Estimates; 2009, 2012 and 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. 10 July 2019.
  27. "PSA Releases the 2018 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  28. "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  29. Silvestre, Edmund (December 6, 2019). "MMFF entry 'Culion' to mount red carpet world premiere in Culion, Palawan". Sunstar Manila. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019.