Mount Guiting-Guiting rising above a river on Sibuyan Island, seen from España
Photo: Androkoy · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Map

Romblon

MIMAROPA
Luzon
Capital Romblon
Population (2024) 302,824
Area 1,533 km²
Municipalities 17
Cities 0
Island Group Luzon
Languages Romblomanon, Onhan, Asi

Population: 2024 census (PSA). Area: land area.

Kapitbahay — Neighboring Provinces
An island province — the sea is the only neighbor. That isolation shaped everything here.

Romblon is an island province in MIMAROPA, scattered across a group of islands between Luzon, Visayas, and Mindoro in the Sibuyan Sea. Its three main islands—Romblon, Tablas, and Sibuyan—have distinct characters. The province is best known for its marble, which has earned it the name "Marble Capital of the Philippines". The province's modest size belies its geological and cultural distinctiveness.

RomblonCapital
1,533 km²Area
17Municipalities
LuzonIsland Group
MIMAROPA (IV-B)Region

The Marble Province

Romblon is the country's second-biggest provincial marble producer after Bulacan, and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau estimates its marble reserves at about 150 million metric tons. The stone comes in white, green, pink, red and black. Craftsmen on the island work it into floor tiles, statuary, furniture, and decorative objects. Common products range from small gifts to furniture, baptismal fonts, tiles, balusters and marble chips.

★
Mount Guiting-Guiting

Sibuyan Island, the easternmost of Romblon's main islands, contains Mount Guiting-Guiting (2,058 meters). Its steep slopes and jagged peak have earned it a reputation as one of the most technically challenging climbs in the Philippines. Mount Guiting-Guiting Natural Park protects about 157 square kilometers of forest around it.

The 2024 census counted 302,824 people in Romblon. Its 17 municipalities are spread over three main islands and many smaller ones: nine towns on Tablas, the largest island; three on Sibuyan; and five island municipalities, including Romblon town, the capital.

Romblon's islands were inhabited by Austronesian peoples and were known to traders moving between Luzon and the Visayas. The Spanish established a mission on Romblon Island in the early 17th century. The province's isolation in the Sibuyan Sea limited colonization and also made it a refuge during periods of regional conflict.

1635

Augustinian Recollects Establish Romblon Mission

Augustinian Recollect missionaries formally established a mission on Romblon Island, beginning the systematic Catholic conversion of the island population.

1853

A Sub-province of Capiz

The islands were organized into a politico-military comandancia, a sub-province administered from Capiz, with Romblon town as its capital. It stayed that way until the end of Spanish rule in 1898.

1901

A Province Under the Americans

The Americans set up a civilian government on 16 March 1901 and made Romblon a regular province. For lack of income it was again a sub-province of Capiz from 1907 to 1918.

1940

Four Special Municipalities

Commonwealth Act No. 581 of 1940 abolished the provincial government and the towns, replacing them with four special municipalities: Tablas, Romblon, Maghali and Sibuyan.

1946

Province Restored

Republic Act No. 38, passed on 1 October 1946, repealed that law and restored Romblon's provincial government and municipalities.

1996

Mount Guiting-Guiting Natural Park

Because of its high number of species found nowhere else, much of Mount Guiting-Guiting and its slopes on Sibuyan were protected in 1996 as the Mount Guiting-Guiting Natural Park, about 157 square kilometers.

Romblon's culture is a blend of Tagalog, Bisayan, and a distinct local identity that developed from centuries of relative isolation. Its three languages are Romblomanon, Onhan and Asi (also called Bantoanon). The different islands have different primary languages, reflecting the separation created by the sea between them.

Marble Craft Tradition

The craft of working Romblon marble is passed down through families on the main island. Workshops in Romblon town cut and carve marble into objects ranging from utilitarian (mortars and pestles, bookends) to architectural (floor tiles, countertops) to decorative (statuary, jewelry). The skill required to cut marble accurately without power tools—using wire saws and abrasives—represents knowledge accumulated over generations.

★
Banton Cloth

The oldest surviving pre-colonial textile in Southeast Asia was found on Banton Island, Romblon. The Banton Cloth, woven in the 13th–14th century from silk and cotton, is preserved at the National Museum of the Philippines. It demonstrates that Romblon was part of the regional silk trade network centuries before Spanish contact.

The Biniray Festival in Romblon, held in January, celebrates the feast of the Santo Niño with street processions and cultural events. Tablas Island has its own set of municipal festivals, and Sibuyan's annual events draw the smaller population of that island together. The sea between the islands means that provincial solidarity is partly an administrative concept and partly genuine—connected by the shared identity of island-living.

See the great festivals in Pista ng Pilipinas →

Romblon's food is primarily seafood-based, reflecting the province's island geography. Fish, shellfish, and seaweed are the primary proteins of coastal communities. The inland areas of Tablas and Sibuyan produce vegetables and root crops. The food traditions are close to Tagalog coastal cooking, with some Bisayan influences in seasoning preferences.

Ginataang Pusit

Squid (pusit) cooked in coconut milk with chili, garlic, onion, and ginger. The ink from the squid is sometimes left in, turning the sauce dark. A standard dish along the Romblon coast—squid is abundant in the Sibuyan Sea and coconut milk is available from the province's coconut trees.

Inubaran na Manok

Chicken cooked with unripe banana blossom (puso ng saging) and coconut cream. The banana blossom absorbs the coconut milk and becomes tender, complementing the chicken. A common dish in Visayan-influenced provinces, with variations found across the island groups.

Ginataang Langka (Jackfruit in Coconut Milk)

Romblon / MIMAROPA
20 minutesPrep
40 minutesCook
4–6Serves
Ingredients
  • 500g, cut into chunksunripe jackfruit (langka)
  • 300g, cut into small piecespork belly
  • 2 cupscoconut milk
  • 1 cupcoconut cream
  • 4 cloves, mincedgarlic
  • 1 medium, slicedonion
  • 1 tbspshrimp paste (bagoong)
  • 2 pieceslong green chili
  • to tastefish sauce
Method
  1. Sauté garlic and onion until softened. Add pork and brown.
  2. Add jackfruit and coconut milk. Bring to a simmer.
  3. Cook uncovered 20–25 minutes until jackfruit softens and absorbs the milk.
  4. Add coconut cream, bagoong, and chili. Simmer 10 more minutes.
  5. Season with fish sauce. The sauce should be thick and richly flavored.
Cook's note

Use unripe (green) jackfruit for this dish—ripe jackfruit is sweet and not suitable. Oil your hands and knife before cutting jackfruit; the sap is extremely sticky. Canned unripe jackfruit works as a substitute outside the Philippines.

Romblon has three local languages, and each belongs to a different branch of the Visayan languages. Romblomanon is spoken in Romblon town, in the three towns of Sibuyan and in San Agustin on Tablas. Onhan is spoken in southern Tablas (Alcantara, Looc, Ferrol, Santa Fe, San Andres and Santa Maria) and in San Jose. Asi is spoken in Banton, Corcuera and Concepcion and in Odiongan and Calatrava on Tablas. Hiligaynon is heard in towns facing Capiz and Aklan, and Tagalog is widely understood.

RomblomanonRomblon Island
Asi (Bantoanon)Banton Island
Onhan (south), Asi (northwest), Romblomanon (San Agustin)Tablas Island
Tagalog, FilipinoTrade language
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Asi Language

Asi, also called Bantoanon, is spoken on Banton, Corcuera and Concepcion and in Odiongan and Calatrava. It forms its own branch of the Visayan languages. The linguist David Zorc suggests that Asi speakers may have been the first Visayan speakers in the area and that the language may have a Cebuano substratum.

Ferry from Batangas Port to Romblon (~7–9 hours overnight)From Manila
Ferry from Roxas, Oriental Mindoro or Odiongan, TablasAlso
March to May (calmest seas)Best months
Sibuyan Sea can be rough November–FebruaryNote

Places to Visit

Workers moving blocks of white marble at a Romblon marble plant
Photo: runkokokrun · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Romblon Town Marble Workshops

The marble workshops in Romblon town are the most accessible entry point to the marble craft tradition. Workshops along the road from the port display and sell finished pieces—tiles, statuary, household items—and craftsmen can often be observed working. The adjacent Marble Belt quarry site is visible from the road above town.

Fort San Andres

A Spanish-era stone fort overlooking Romblon town and its harbor. Built in the 17th century to defend against Dutch and Moro raiders. The fort is compact but well-preserved and offers views of the surrounding islands. A short walk from the port area.

The jagged forested ridges of Mount Guiting-Guiting
Photo: Androkoy · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mount Guiting-Guiting (Sibuyan Island)

For experienced mountaineers, Guiting-Guiting (locally nicknamed 'G2') is one of the Philippines' most demanding climbs. The approach to Sibuyan requires a separate ferry journey from Romblon town or from Batangas. Registration with the DENR protected area office in San Fernando, Sibuyan is required, and guides are mandatory.

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Ferry Schedule Uncertainty

Ferry schedules to Romblon from Batangas change seasonally and can be suspended during bad weather. Confirm departures no more than 24 hours before travel. The RORO ferry to Odiongan (Tablas Island) is more frequent than services to Romblon town itself.

Sibuyan Island has been called the "Galápagos of Asia" by some scientists, because it has stayed isolated since it formed. Primary forest still covers about 140 square kilometers, a third of the island, mostly protected in Mount Guiting-Guiting Natural Park. Five threatened mammals, a fruit bat and four rodents, are found only on Sibuyan, among them the Sibuyan striped shrew-rat, and the endangered fruit bat Nyctimene rabori also lives there.

Romblon Boobook
Ninox spilonotus
Endangered
A brown hawk-owl with bright yellow eyes, found only on Sibuyan, Tablas and Romblon islands. It was treated as a subspecies until 2012, and the IUCN estimates 250 to 999 mature birds.
Field note: Keep forest trees standing; owls nest in tree hollows. Do not trap or keep owls.
Sibuyan Pitcher Plant
Nepenthes sibuyanensis
Vulnerable
A carnivorous pitcher plant found only on Sibuyan, as its name says. It was first collected on Mount Guiting-Guiting in 1996, at about 1,300 meters.
Field note: Do not collect pitcher plants or cuttings in the park.
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Lugar · Romblon

Romblon, the Marble Island

LBy Lemcon Field Team, Lemcon✓ Fact-checked

Step off the ferry from Batangas and you arrive in Romblon town, the capital and the cultural heart of this marble island province.

History guards the harbor. The twin Spanish forts, San Andres and Santiago, were built around 1645 to watch for raiders. Fort San Andres still stands above the azure water, while Fort Santiago, on Calvary Hill, is now a ruin. In the town center rises the St. Joseph Cathedral, founded in 1726, its walls built of coral stone.

Romblon is the Marble Capital of the Philippines. Quarries and workshops fill the town, where artisans turn raw stone into sculpture. You can watch them work, chisel by chisel.

Around the town lie white-sand beaches like Bonbon, and nearby Cobrador Island for quiet snorkeling. Each January the Biniray Festival honors the Santo Nino with a fluvial parade and street dancing.

Mga Larawan

Sources · updated 4 October 2026
Photo credits (3)

Photos from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences shown; some were resized. All photo credits

Panahon ng Hapon · 1 moment in Romblon
Festivals
Biniray Festival
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