ABOUT GUIMARAS
Guimaras is an island province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Among the smallest provinces, its capital is Jordan. The island is located in the Panay Gulf, between the islands of Panay and Negros. To the northwest is the province of Iloilo and to the southeast is Negros Occidental. The province is located on the islands of Guimaras and Inampulugan. Guimaras was a sub-province of Iloilo until it was made an independent province on May 22, 1992.
PEOPLE & CULTURE
The people of Guimaras are considered as Ilonggo and their languages are Hiligaynon and Kinaray-a as it was once a sub-province of Iloilo. Hiligaynon is the major language spoken although the people can understand and speak Tagalog and English. Many foreigners are known to own big lands,ships and major businesses. Many Indians are known to have the biggest lands in Guimaras.
ECONOMY
The province is basically agricultural with palay, coconut, mango, vegetables, livestock, poultry and fishing as major products. Its major industries are tourism, fruit processing, coconut processing, fish farming, handicrafts making, mining, quarrying and lime production.
Guimaras is well-known for its agricultural crops, particularly mangoes, where some 50,000 of these trees are planted. The Guimaras Island is famous for producing the sweetest mangoes in the world. Guimaras mangos are reportedly served at the White House and Buckingham Palace[citation needed]. Guimaras' largest event of the year is The Manggahan Festival (the Mango Festival). The variety of mangoes produced are also best for making dried mangoes, jam and other delicacies.
HISTORY
Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa, a Spanish governor-general, established the Spanish settlement in Guimaras for the purpose of the Christianization of the natives of the island. He and his subordinates organized the pueblicitos or villages of Nayup, with San Pedro Apostol as the patron saint, and Igang, with Sta. Ana as the patroness.
Evangelization of Guimaras occurred around the same time the friars were making inroads in Panay. The Augustinians established the visitas of Nayup and Igang dependent on Oton, Iloilo. Gov. Gen. Dasmariñas 20 June 1551 report to the king noted that the friars of Oton made regular visits to the island. In 1742, the island fell 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, 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 (now known as Buenavista). In 1908, during the American period, the Guimarasnons were given the opportunity to elect their municipal president.
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 Sto. Rosario Wharf, presently named MacArthur's Wharf, which are still in use today. In 1942, the Japanese Imperial forces landed in Guimaras In 1945, the defenders of the Philippine Commonwealth forces landed by the attacked form the Japanese imperial forces defeated beginning to the liberation in the Battle of Guimaras.
Guimaras first gained its status as a sub-province of Iloilo by virtue of R.A. 4667, 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.
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