Guimaras, Western Visayas
Guimaras is an island province located in the Western Visayas, Philippines, a short distance from Iloilo City, The distance from Guimaras to Iloilo City is 23km via ferry. The island was part of the province of Iloilo until 1992, when it became a province of its own.
Guimaras is located Southwest of Panay Island and Northwest of Negros Island in Western Visayas.
Hiligaynon is the main language of the natives although residents of some barangays in Jordan and Nueva Valencia also speak Kinaray-a. English and Tagalog are spoken and understood by the majority of the people in the island.
Guimaras has a tropical climate with dry season during the months of November to April and rainy or wet season on May to October.
The population of Guimaras province was 162,943 in 2010.
Cities of Guimaras Province.
None. The Municipality of Jordan is the capital of the province.
Municipalities of Guimaras Province.
Buenavista. (Population 2010 – 46,703)
Jordan – capital of the province. (Population 2010 – 34,791)
Nueva Valencia. (Population 2010 – 37,852)
Sibunag. (Population 2010 – 19,565)
San Lorenzo. (Population 2010 – 24,032)
Airports in Guimaras Province.
The nearest airport to Guimaras is Iloilo (ILO) Airport.
Holiday Accommodation in Guimaras.
Hotels in Guimaras, Western Visayas
- Baras Beach Resort, Jordan, Guimaras
- Cabaling Beach Resort, Jordan, Guimaras
- Cabugan Adventure Resort, Nueva Valencia, Guimaras
- Camp Alfredo Adventure Resort, Sibunag, Guimaras
- Costa Aguada Island Resort Sibunag, Sibunag, Guimaras
- Jannah Glycel Beach House, Nueva Valencia, Guimaras
- JM Backpackers Hometel, Jordan, Guimaras
- Magic Island Resort, Nueva Valencia, Guimaras
- Raymen Beach Resort, Jordan, Guimaras,
- Shirven Hotel, Jordan, Guimaras
- Sto.Nino Island Resort, Nueva Valencia, Guimaras
- Valle Verde Mountain Resort, Sibunag, Guimaras
- Villa Maria Beach Resort, Jordan, Guimaras
Special Events in Guimaras Province.
TBA
Government Website for Guimaras Province.
Recent Guimaras Posts:
History of Guimaras (from wikipedia.org)
Spanish era
About 1581, Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa, Spanish governor and Captain-General of the Philippine Islands, established a settlement in Guimaras for the purpose of Christianizing the island’s natives. He and his subordinates organized the pueblicitos or villages of Nayup under the patronage of Saint Peter the Apostle, and Igang with Saint Anne as patroness.
Evangelization of Guimaras occurred around the same time the friars were making inroads in Panay. The Augustinians established the visitas (chapelries) of Nayup and Igang as subordinate to Oton, Iloilo. Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas, the 7th Spanish Governor-General, noted in a 20 June 1591 report to King Philip II that the friars of Oton made regular visits to the island.
In 1742, the island came under the jurisdiction of Dumangas – now known as Iloilo, until 1751 when the Augustinian Order was replaced by the Jesuits, after which the Dominican order took over Guimaras. The Jesuits, who had established a school in Iloilo and had missions in Molo and Arevalo, took charge of the island. By 1755, it was organized into a regular parish. When the population increased considerably, the island was given its municipal status with a seat of government at Tilad (today Buenavista).
American era
Under American rule, the Guimarasnons were given the opportunity to elect their municipal president in 1908.
Douglas MacArthur, a fresh graduate from West Point as a Second Lieutenant at the age of 23, came to Iloilo as the head of the company of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They constructed roads and the Santo Rosario Wharf, presently named MacArthur’s Wharf, which are still in use today. In November 1903, while working on Guimaras, he was ambushed by a pair of Filipino brigands or guerrillas; he shot and killed both with his pistol.
Japanese Landing WW2
In 1942, Japanese Imperial forces landed on Guimaras Island as the Empire of Japan began its occupation of the country during the Second World War.
Liberation from Japanese
In 1945, the combined United States and Philippine Commonwealth forces landed on Guimaras Island, attacking the Japanese and defeating them in the Battle of Guimaras, which led to the liberation of the island.
Provincial status
Guimaras gained its status as a sub-province of Iloilo through Republic Act 4667,[7] which was enacted by Congress on 18 June 1966.
It was proclaimed as a regular and full-fledged province on 22 May 1992 after a plebiscite was conducted to ratify the approval of its conversion pursuant to Section 462 of R.A. 7160. President Fidel V. Ramos appointed Emily Relucio-López as its first Governor.
The ferry (pump boat) from Iloilo City wharf to Guimaras takes about 15 minutes and costs P14 per person each way.
Do you have a phone number of the city hall of Nueva Valencia?