Siquijor

**Siquijor** (, , ) is an island province o the Philippines locatit in the Central Visayas region. Its caipital is the municipality namit Siquijor an aw. Tae the northwast o Siquijor are Cebu an Negros, tae the northeast is Bohol an tae the sooth, athort the Bohol Sea, is the island o Mindanao.

Siquijor is the third smawest province in the kintra, in terms o population as well as laund aurie (efter Camiguin an Batanes). For a time it wis pairt o Negros Oriental.

Durin the Spainyie colonial period o the Philippines, the Spaniards cried the island as **Island o Fire** (). Siquijor is commonly associatit wi meestic tradeetions that the island's growin tourism industry caipitalizes on.

## Geografie

Siquijor is an island province in the Visayas. It lees sootheast frae Cebu an Negros athort Cebu Strait (in some references cried Bohol Strait) an soothwast frae Bohol. Panglao Island which is pairt o Bohol province haes a seemilar composition o the soil which wis foond in the whole island o Siquijor an aw. Bohol is locatit north o Mindanao an awseparatit bi the Bohol Sea.

The island lees aboot  east o the nearest pynt on soothren Negros,  sootheast o Cebu,  soothwast o Bohol, an  north o Zamboanga Peninsula o Mindanao. It is predominantly hilly an in mony places the hills reach the sea, producin precipitous clints.  At the centre, Moont Malabahoc (locally kent as Moont Bandilaan) reaches aboot  in elevation, the heichest pynt on the island. Three marine terraces can be roughly tracit especially in the vicinity o Tag-ibo on the soothwastren pairt o the island, a barrio o San Juan municipality frae the seacoast up intae the central pairt.

Siquijor is a coralline island, an fossils o the giant clam, Tridacna, are aften encoontered in the ploued inland fields. On the hilltops thare are numerous shells o the molluscan species presently liein in the seas aroond the island. Siquijor wis probably shapit quite recently, geologically speakin.  The ocean depths atween Siquijor an Bohol an Mindanao are in the neebourheid o 640 metres (350 fathoms).

Wi a laund aurie o  an a coastline  lang, Siquijor is the 3rd smawest province o the Philippines.

The climate in Siquijor, lik maist o the Philippines, is vera tropical. It is dry frae Januar tae Mey an wet the rest o the year. Annual rainfaw is 1000 tae 1300 millimetres wi November haein the hiviest rainfaw an Apryle haein the least.

## History
The island wis first sichtit bi the Spaniards in 1565 durin Miguel López de Legazpi's expedeetion.  The Spaniards cried the island *Isla del Fuego* or “Island o Fire,” acause the island gae aff a eerie glow, which came frae the great swairms o fireflees that harbored in the numerous molave trees on the island.  A fowk legend haes it that mony years ago an aw, when the magical island o Siquijor wis still naewhaureon the face o the yird, a great storm engulfit the Visayan region, an a strang yirdquauk shook the yird an sea. Amidst the lichtnin an thunner arose a island frae the depths o the ocean’s womb which came tae be kent as the island o Siquijor, hence the name Isla del Fuego, or "Island o Fire."  Oddly eneuch, in modren times, hieland fermers hae unraveled giant shell casins unner thair ferm plots, supportin the theory that Siquijor is indeed a island that rose frae the sea.

Esteban Rodriguez o the Legazpi Expedeetion in 1565 led the first Spaniards tae “discover” the island. He wis caiptain o a smaw pairty that left Legazpi’s camp in Bohol tae splore the nearbi islands which are nou cried Pamilican, Siquijor, an Negros.

The Spaniards wur drawn bi the veesion o the fireflee illumination an as ane version o the legend recounts, thay met the island’s ruler – the legendar Keeng Kihod while thay wur dockin thair ship at ane o Siquijor’s bays.  When askit his name, the keeng replee'd “si Kihod” (A am Kihod). The Spaniards, thinkin he meant it as the name o the island, adoptit the name Sikihod (spelled Siquijod in Spainyie) which wis later chyngit tae Siquijor acause the Spaniards foond it too difficult tae pronoonce.

Foondit in 1783 unner the admeenistration o secular clergymen, Siquijor became the first municipality as well as the first pairish tae be established on the island. Siquijor wis, frae the beginnin, admeenistered bi the diocese o Cebu. As for ceevil admeenistration, Siquijor wis unner Bohol syne the province haed its awn govrenor. The first Augustinian recollect priest, Faither Vicente Garcia, arrivit in Siquijor in 1794. Several years thareefter, a priest o the same order foondit the pairishes o Larena (initially cried Can-oan), Lazi (umwhile Tigbawan), San Juan (Makalipay), an Maria (Cang-meniao). Wi the exception o Enrique Villanueva, aw o the present sax municipalities wur established as pairishes in 1877. Frae 1854 tae 1892, Siqiujor became pairt o the province o Negros Oriental, an became a sub-province in 1901.

At the turn of the century, Spaingie sovereignty in the Philippines came tae a end an at the Treaty o Paris in 1898, Spain cedit the Philippines tae the Unitit States.
Siquijor island felt the presence o American rule when a unit o the American Cavalry Diveesion came an stayed for sometime. The American Militar Govrenor in Manila appointit James Fugate, a scout wi the Californie Volunteers o the U.S. Infantry, tae owersee an tae implement the organisation an development programs in Siquijor Island.
Govrenor Fugate stayed for 16 years as lieutenant govrenor o Siquijor.

While it wis no at the centre o militar action, Siquijor wis no been spared bi Warld War II. Japanese detachments occupee'd the island atween 1942 an 1943. The Japanese annooncit thair arrival tae the island wi hivy shellin. On 10 November 1942, Japanese warships stairtit shellin Lazi frae Cang-abas Pynt. In Lazi, a garrison wis established in the auld Hame Economics Biggin o the Central Schuil.  Philippine guerrillas engagit in sabotage an the interaction durin this time tae cause havoc on the Japanese lives an properties.

Durin this period, Siquijor wis briefly governed bi Shunzo Suzuki, a Japanese civilian appointit bi the Imperial Japanese Forces till he wis assassinatit in October 1942 bi the guerrilla forces led bi Iluminado Jumawanin, o Caipilan, Siquijor. Mamor Fukuda teuk control o Siquijor frae Juin 1943 till the Japanese forces abandoned the island when the leeberation forces came in 1944.  At the ootbreak o Warld War II, Siquijor, then a sub-province o Negros Oriental, wis heidit bi Lieutenant Govrenor Nicolas Parami. Refusin tae pledge allegiance tae the Japanese Imperial Forces, Lt. Govrenor Parami wis taken bi Japanese sodgers frae his residence at Poo, Lazi ane fore-nicht an brocht tae the militar heidquairters in Larena. He wis niver heard frae again.

In 1943, the Japanese puppet govrenment appointit Sebastian Monera o San Juan govrenor o Siquijor. His admeenistration housomeivver wis cut short when he wis executit presumably bi Filipino guerrillas operating in the muntains o Siquijor.

On 30 September 1943, the Unitit States submarine USS *Bowfin* SS-287 delivered supplees tae the fowk o Siquijor an evacuatit fowk frae the island. On 21 Februar 1945, the destroyer USS *Renshaw* (DD-499), pairt o Task Unit 78. 7. 6, wis escortin a convoy o aboot 50 various Landing Ship teepes (LSTs, LSMs, LCTs) wi 12 ither escorts.  At 1059, *Renshaw*'s leukoots sichtit a torpedo wak, then a submarine's periscope an pairt o a conning tower. The *Renshaw* wis attackit bi a Japanese Imperial midget submarine aff the coast o Siquijor, which caused extensive damage tae the ship an killed nineteen o the crew.  Unitit States WW2 B-17 pilot Captain Stanley M. Sabihon wis born on Siquijor an later raised in Hawaii.  He commandit a nine-man B-17 crew in 51 missions ower Europe, tallyin 280 combat oors, an wis the first naturalisit ceetizen frae the Philippines tae achieve a officer's rank in the U.S. Airmy Air Corps.

In mid-1945, local Filipino sodgers an officers unner the 7t, 71st, 75t an 76t Infantry Diveesion o the Philippine Commonwealth Airmy arrivit an leeberatit the islands o Siquijor alangside the recognisit guerrilla fechter groups.  Baith groups focht side bi side against the Japanese Imperial forces at the end o Warld War II.

On 17 September 1971, Siquijor became a unthirlt province bi virtue o Republic Act No. 6398. The caipital, formerly Larena, wis transferred tae the municipality of Siquijor in 1972 wi Proclamation No. 1075.

## Poleetical subdiveesions
Siquijor is subdividit intae 6 municipalities. Siquijor is the caipital an mist important port.

Sax municipalities comprise the province.
* Enrique Villanueva
* Larena
* Lazi
* Maria
* San Juan
* Siquijor

## Demographics

Accordin tae the 2010 census, thare are a tot o 91,066 Siquijodnons, as the residents o Siquijor caw thairsels.  The same census states that Siquijor haes 17,351 hoosehaulds an aw wi a average hoosehauld size o 4.70 bodies. The annual growthe rate wis 1.10% atween 2000 an 2010, lawer than the naitional growthe rate o 1.90% for the same period.

### Leids
The main spoken leid in the island province is Cebuano. Housomeivver, lik maist provinces aroond the kintra, Inglis is aften uised as a seicont leid an aw. Some Spainyie wirds are spoken an unnerstuid. The Tagalog leid is unnerstuid an uised anerly in response tae ane who speaks it, but is niver uised bi the native Siquijodnons in iveryday casual conversation. Cebuano (Bisaya) is the prevalent leid onywhaur aroond the island.

## Eddication
The leeteracy rate, ane o the heichest in the kintra, at 92.5%.

## Tourism

Siquijor's lang ago reputation as a place of magic an sorcery baith attracts visitors an keeps thaim awa.  Siquijor is an aa weel kent for its festivals that focus on healing rituals whaur incantations are sung while the auld folks mak potions oot of yerbs, roots, insects an tree barks. In hushed talks, locals wad share a story or twa aboot folk legends pyntin tae the existence of witchcraft an witches in the island.

Amang the mony attractions are the beaches, caves, waterfalls, Bandilaan Natural Pairk, an butterflee sanctuary.  White saund beaches mak up maist of the 102-kilometer coastline of Siquijor.

The coral reefs ringing the island offer some of the best diving in the Philippines for snorkelers an scuba divers. Dive courses are conducted bi several dive operators on the island in version of PADI, CMAS an NAUI.  Siquijor wis declared a marine reserve in 1978.

During 2007, data frae the Philippine Department of Tourism showed that Siquijor posted the heichest growthe in visitor arrivals amang the fower provinces in region 7.

## Transportation

The island o Siquijor haes 3 seaports that are capable o servicin cargo an passenger sea crafts, an 1 airport capable o handlin smawer an maistly privately awned airplanes.

## References

## Freemit airtins

* Philippine Staundart Geographic Code 
* Philippine Census Information