HISTORY
Legend has it that the heart-shaped
island was formed as a consequence of a tragic love affair between Marina and Garduke. Because Marina's father disapproved
of the romance, her ordered the beheading of his lover. Before this could be done, however, the pair sailed out to sea and
drowned themselves. The island that rose from the waters became Marinduque. Another version says that the original name of
the island was "Malandik" which was derived from its highest peak, Mt. Malindig. Because the Spaniards found this hard to
pronounce, they called the island Marinduc which eventually became Marinduque.
At various times in its history,
Marinduque was a part of three other provinces. During the 16th century, it was under the administration of Balayan (now Batangas).
Early in the 17th century, Mindoro was separated from Batangas with Marinduque as an integral part. In 1901, the Americans
created the province of Marinduque. A year later, the US-Philippine Commission annexed the islands of Mindoro and Lubang to
the new province. Four months later, Marinduque was made a part of Tayabas (now Quezon). Finally, on February 21, 1920, Act
No. 2280 reestablished the former province of Marinduque.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
The island was formed by volcanic activity,
and subsequent coral deposition. It is mainly mountainous and has extensive rainforest covering the foothills, with only the
lowlands around the coastline having been settled to any extent. This area is mainly put down to rice paddy and coconut plantation.
The area to the north and northeast are mangrove, whilst to the south and southeast, the mountain slopes drop straight into
the sea.
On some of the offshore islets, giant clams as much as a metre
across, can be found entombed in the larval plugs, while others contain absolutely deserted white sand beaches, visited only
by the regions wildlife and the occasional passing fishermen. The island has huge scope for many outdoor activities, for example
mountaineering, hiking, orienteering, pony or bike trekking, camping, caving, etc., although presently there are few organized
facilities covering such sports.
The accommodations on Marinduque
are nice native style beachfront cottages and it is very pleasant. The waters around Marinduque offer a full range of excellent
diving, drifts, wrecks, drop-offs, caves and reefs. Marinduque has 83 chartered dive sites on its agenda, that is, between
Marinduque and Romblon. Day trips provide the best diving, because the better sites are 45 min to two hours away.
LOCATION
Marinduque is an island province located between
the Bondoc Peninsula in southeastern portion of Luzon and Mindoro Islands. It lies approximately 170 kms southeast of Manila
and covers an area of some 960 sq. km. It is bounded on the north and west by Tayabas Bay, on the northeast by Mompong Bay,
and on the south by the Sibuyan Sea.
