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 The
Municipality of Culion is part of a group of islands in
Northern Palawan called Calamianes that includes the
municipalities of Busuanga, Coron, and Linapacan. During
the Spanish Period, these were known as Las Islas de
Calamianes, Provincia de Espana.
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 of Taytay. Asturias
extended south to Balabac. In 1873, the capital of
Palawan was changed from Taytay to Cuyo. The French
anthropologist Alfred Marche traveled the Philippines
and documented his research of many places. French
Ambassador Pirre Revol in particular translated Marche’s
account of the Calamianes, and Culion.
Marche, who makes a fairly accurate description of the
geography of the island, 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 1880’s are important indicators of the ethnography
of Calamianes since more than a hundred years ago.
The primacy of Culion as a leading settlement community
of the Calamianes is further supported by the fact that
a Justice of the peace resided and held office in Culion.
Claudio Sandoval y Rodriguez a Spanish mestizo from Jaro,
Leyte married Evarista Manlavi daughter of a rich
landowner from Cuyo. Claudio Sandoval became Jezgado de
Paz de Culion, Calamianes and held office sometime in
the late 1880’s. The seal of Claudio’s office was found
stamped on handwritten circular dated December 11, 1889
that he sent to all within Culion’s “roriedad y sus
visitas” warning residents of the penalties that will be
imposed on them should they be caught gambling. Culion’s
“visitas” included the island of Busuanga and other
areas in Calamianes.
When the treaty of Paris was signed on December 10,
1898, wherein Spain ceded the Philippines to the United
States for 20 million dollars, the funding of Culion as
a reservation is closely related to the early efforts of
the Americans to establish some 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 $50,000 for the establishment of Culion under
the Secretary of Interior Dean C. Worcester and Director
of Health Victor G. Heiser. On August 22, 1904, Luke E.
Wright, the American Civil Governor of the Government of
the Philippine Islands, Executive Order No. 35 signed
the transfer of jurisdiction and control of Culion from
the Municipality of Coron, reserving the same as a leper
colony and a government stock farm.
On May 27, 1906, the first contingent of 370 patients
from Cebu was brought to Culion by two Coast Guard
cutters, the Polilio and the Mindanao.
On September 12, 1907, Act 1711 of the Philippine
Commission was passed that gave full responsibility to
the Director of Health for the compulsory segregation of
the lepers, and confinement and treatment in Culion.
Between 1906 and 1910 the Americans rounded up 5,303
leprosy afflicted individuals and brought them to the
colony. On July 18, 1912, acting Governor General Newton
Gilbert signed EO No. 35 in which he further defined the
territory of the leper colony and government stock farm.
In 1917, Section 1066 of Act No. 2711 (Revised
Administrative Act) provided that the Department Head
through the Director of Health shall have jurisdiction
over the colony and its waters for the efficient
management of the sanitarium.
On June 18, 1952, Congress passed R.A. No. 753 which
transferred administrative control to the Director of
Hospitals. In 1964, the Secretary of Health again took
administrative control and enforcement of rules and
regulations over all the lands and waters of Culion
Leper Colony as provided under Section 106 of the
Revised Administrative Code. Sections 1060 to 1071 of RA
no. 753 was later repealed by Republic Act No. 4073, an
Act further liberalizing the Treatment of Leprosy by
Amending and Repealing Certain Sections of the Revised
Administrative Code, resulting in the loss of
jurisdiction by the Department of Health over the
natural resources of Culion.
In 1979, a Culion Committee was created under Letter of
Intructions No. 796. The Ministry of Human Settlements
conceived and organized in 1982 an alternative
development approach for residents of Culion under the
Culion Development Project (CDP). This was later amended
by Executive Order No. 241 on July 24, 1987 that
transferred the said committee and the CDP to the
Palawan Integrated Area Development Project (PIADP) of
the National Council on Integrated Area Development
(NACIAD). This transfer did not however affect the
jurisdiction of DOH over the Culion Leper Colony.
On June 22, 1988, Congress passed R.A. No. 6659 that
authorized qualified residents of Culion Leper Colony to
vote for the elective provincial officials of the
Province of Palawan. In 1991, Speaker Ramon Mitra and
House Representative David Ponce De Leon introduced a
house bill for the creation of the Municipality of
Culion. On February 12,1992, President Corazon C. Aquino
signed Republic Act 7193 creating the Municipality of
Culion in the Province of Palawan.
May 8, 1995 was the first election of municipal and
barangay officials of Culion was held resulting in the
election of Mr. Hilarion M. Guia and Mr. Emiliano
Marasigan Jr. as its first duly elected mayor and
vice-mayor, respectively.
On October 29, 1998, through Department of Health
Administrative Order No. 20-A Series of 1998,
administrative control and authority over the
Municipality of Culion was officially transferred from
the Department of Health to the Municipality ending
nearly one century of administrative control by the
health department over Culion Island.
On March 12, 2001, Republic Act 9032 signed by President
Gloria Macapacal Arroyo expanded the area of
jurisdiction of the Municipality of Culion, Province of
Palawan, amending for the purpose Republic Act 7193. The
barangays of Balala, Baldat, Binudac, Culango, Galoc,
Jardin, Libis, Luac, Malaking Patag, Osmeña and Tiza
were declared legally existent upon the creation of the
Municipality of Busuanga to the Municipality of Culion.
Barangays Burabod and Halsey were transferred from the
Municipality of Busuanga to the Municipality of Culion
subject to ratification by plebiscite in the two
municipalities of Culion and Busuanga. Barangay Carabao
for the Tagbanua indigenous cultural community was
likewise created subject to ratification by plebiscite
in Culion.
While on July 15, 2002, plebiscites held in Culion and
Busuanga simultaneously with the election of barangay
officials and Sangguniang Kabataan representatives
resulted in the ratification of the transfer of Halsey
and Burabod to Culion and the creation of Barangay
Carabao.
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