History of Guimaras Island

ts 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.

Shortly after Guimaras acquired its provincial status, President Fidel V. Ramos appointed Emily Relucio-López as its first Governor.

The province of Guimaras was originally composed up of three municipalities: Buenavista, Jordan, and Nueva Valencia. In 1995, by virtue of Republic Act No. 7896 and Republic Act No. 7897, the municipalities of Sibunag and San Lorenzo were created in the province of Guimaras. The two new municipalities officially acquired their municipal status after the May 8, 1995 plebiscite held simultaneously with the local election.

Ernesto L. Gedalanga was the first appointed mayor of Sibunag and Arsenio Zambarrano was also appointed mayor of San Lorenzo. The temporary seat of government of the Municipality of Sibunag is at Barangay Maabay while the temporary seat of Government of the Municipality of San Lorenzo is at Brgy. Cabano.

Guimaras Oil Spill

In August 2006, the Guimaras oil spill occurred. The 998-ton M/T Solar 1, chartered by Petron (the Philippines’ largest oil refiner), was carrying 2.4 million litres of bunker fuel sank 17 kilometres off the island's southern coast, contaminating 24 km. The Philippine Coast Guard called this the worst oil spill in the country’s history. According to officials, 1,000 hectares of mangroves were affected, including parts of the Taklong Island National Marine Reserve