A Brief History
_Alcantara, the 13th municipality in the province of Romblon was created on March 21, 1961 when Pres. Carlos P. Garcia signed Ex. O. 427. It lies in the southeastern seaboard of Tablas Island. It is bounded on the north by the municipality of Sta. Maria, on the west by Looc, on the south by Sta. Fe and on the east by Romblon Pass.
The seat of government is located at barangay Poblacion, where the municipal, public market, RHU clinic and other institutions are located.
The municipality is traversed by the national highway from its western boundary to its northern border along its length near the coast, Communications link with its highland barangays are provided by barangay roads.
The barangay was named after Ciriaco Alcantara, a Cabeza de Barangay who succeeded in convincing the Spanish authorities to create a number of barangays out of the loosely-knit settlements along the southeastern coast of Tablas Island. When the place became a municipality, his name was given to the town and the barangay was called Poblacion.
History for Alcantara began in 1807 when a group of intrepid settlers from Panay Island led by Gaspar Guevarra founded a settlement at a place originally reffered to as “Bista de Lawan” and “Pueblo de Guintigui-an”, now called “Daan Banwa”(old town), about one(1) kilometer northeast of the present town center. The settlers were forced to abandon the place and relocate to the present town site due to the rugged terrain and continous depredation wrought by Moro pirates. The settlement prospered at the new site which led to the settling and development of that particular coast of Tablas Island.
After World War II, Alcantara was the biggest and most progressive barrio of Looc, and this has not gone unnoticed by the high officials of the province. Due to the industry of the people and representations by the then Congressman Jose Moreno and then Governor Manuel L. Solidum, President Garcia signed on March 21,1961 Executive Order No. 427 creating the municipality of Alcantara, composed of eight barangays. In CY 1990, four (4) more barangays were created, bringing the number of barangays of Alcantara to twelve (12).
Geographic Profile
The municipality of Alcantara lies in the southeastern seaboard of Tablas bounded on the north by the municipality of Sta. Maria, on the western part of Looc, on south of Sta. Fe, and on the eastern part of Romblon Pass.
Alcantara has a total land area of 9,514 hectares (95.14 sq.kms) and is composed of twelve barangays such as Bonlao, Bagsik, Calagonsao, Camili, Comod-om, Gui-ob, Lawan, Madalag, Poblacion, San Isidro, San Roque and Tugdan.
Socio-Demographic Profile
The municipality of Alcantara is composed of different institutions that contribute to the improvement and progress of the municipality. The educational sector is the leader in uplifting and improving the education status of the municipality and molding the people to be competitive and successful citizens. Alcantara has 27 day care centers all over the municipality, 13 elementary schools, 2 high schools, and 1 vocational school.
The health and sanitation sectors spreadheaded the improvement and advancement on community and human health. The municipality has 1 rural health unit with 12 barangay health sanitation centers, and 12 “Botica sa Barangay”. The health unit is headed by 1 municipal doctor with 1 nurse, 3 midwives, 1 sanitary inspector, and 12 nutrition scholars.
The social and development sectors are headed by the municipal social workers and have 13 day care centers handled by the barangay social workers.
The municipal security sectors are composed of Military Reservists and Philippine National Police headed by the chief of police. The sector insures the safety and protects the rights of the people of Alcantara.
Alcantara is an agriculture-oriented municipality wherein the means of livelihood of most Acantaranhons are farming and fishing. The Municipality wherein has 5,302.8065 hectares devoted for agriculture. The different agricultural products produced in Alcantara are vegetables, bananas, coconuts, corn, root crops, and rise. Alcantara is also rich in coastal and marine resources wherein different fishes and other marine products can be found in the clean and diverse coastal and marine areas of the municipality.
The seat of government is located at barangay Poblacion, where the municipal, public market, RHU clinic and other institutions are located.
The municipality is traversed by the national highway from its western boundary to its northern border along its length near the coast, Communications link with its highland barangays are provided by barangay roads.
The barangay was named after Ciriaco Alcantara, a Cabeza de Barangay who succeeded in convincing the Spanish authorities to create a number of barangays out of the loosely-knit settlements along the southeastern coast of Tablas Island. When the place became a municipality, his name was given to the town and the barangay was called Poblacion.
History for Alcantara began in 1807 when a group of intrepid settlers from Panay Island led by Gaspar Guevarra founded a settlement at a place originally reffered to as “Bista de Lawan” and “Pueblo de Guintigui-an”, now called “Daan Banwa”(old town), about one(1) kilometer northeast of the present town center. The settlers were forced to abandon the place and relocate to the present town site due to the rugged terrain and continous depredation wrought by Moro pirates. The settlement prospered at the new site which led to the settling and development of that particular coast of Tablas Island.
After World War II, Alcantara was the biggest and most progressive barrio of Looc, and this has not gone unnoticed by the high officials of the province. Due to the industry of the people and representations by the then Congressman Jose Moreno and then Governor Manuel L. Solidum, President Garcia signed on March 21,1961 Executive Order No. 427 creating the municipality of Alcantara, composed of eight barangays. In CY 1990, four (4) more barangays were created, bringing the number of barangays of Alcantara to twelve (12).
Geographic Profile
The municipality of Alcantara lies in the southeastern seaboard of Tablas bounded on the north by the municipality of Sta. Maria, on the western part of Looc, on south of Sta. Fe, and on the eastern part of Romblon Pass.
Alcantara has a total land area of 9,514 hectares (95.14 sq.kms) and is composed of twelve barangays such as Bonlao, Bagsik, Calagonsao, Camili, Comod-om, Gui-ob, Lawan, Madalag, Poblacion, San Isidro, San Roque and Tugdan.
Socio-Demographic Profile
The municipality of Alcantara is composed of different institutions that contribute to the improvement and progress of the municipality. The educational sector is the leader in uplifting and improving the education status of the municipality and molding the people to be competitive and successful citizens. Alcantara has 27 day care centers all over the municipality, 13 elementary schools, 2 high schools, and 1 vocational school.
The health and sanitation sectors spreadheaded the improvement and advancement on community and human health. The municipality has 1 rural health unit with 12 barangay health sanitation centers, and 12 “Botica sa Barangay”. The health unit is headed by 1 municipal doctor with 1 nurse, 3 midwives, 1 sanitary inspector, and 12 nutrition scholars.
The social and development sectors are headed by the municipal social workers and have 13 day care centers handled by the barangay social workers.
The municipal security sectors are composed of Military Reservists and Philippine National Police headed by the chief of police. The sector insures the safety and protects the rights of the people of Alcantara.
Alcantara is an agriculture-oriented municipality wherein the means of livelihood of most Acantaranhons are farming and fishing. The Municipality wherein has 5,302.8065 hectares devoted for agriculture. The different agricultural products produced in Alcantara are vegetables, bananas, coconuts, corn, root crops, and rise. Alcantara is also rich in coastal and marine resources wherein different fishes and other marine products can be found in the clean and diverse coastal and marine areas of the municipality.