Banton, Romblon
| Banton | |||||||||
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| Municipality | |||||||||
| Bayan ng Banton | |||||||||
(From top, left to right) Banton Island, Fort San Jose, the 16th century St. Nicholas de Tolentino Parish Church, Macat-ang Beach in Brgy. Mainit, a pre-colonial artifacts found in Banton's Guyangan Cave System, Banton Civic Center, and Banton's poblacion viewed from Manamyaw Cliff.
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 Map of Romblon with Banton highlighted |
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 Banton
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| Coordinates: 12°57′N 122°05′E / 12.95°N 122.08°ECoordinates: 12°57′N 122°05′E / 12.95°N 122.08°E | |||||||||
| Country | Philippines | ||||||||
| Region | MIMAROPA (Region IV-B) | ||||||||
| Province | Romblon | ||||||||
| District | Lone district | ||||||||
| Founded | 1622 | ||||||||
| Barangays | 17 (see § Barangays) | ||||||||
| Government | |||||||||
| • Type | Mayor-Council | ||||||||
| • Mayor | Joseph Fadri (LP) | ||||||||
| • Vice Mayor | Loijorge Fegalan (NP) | ||||||||
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Members
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| Area | |||||||||
| • Total | 32.48 km2 (12.54 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Highest elevation | 596 m (1,955 ft) | ||||||||
| Population (2015 census) | |||||||||
| • Total | 5,536 | ||||||||
| • Density | 170/km2 (440/sq mi) | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Bantoanon | ||||||||
| Time zone | PST (UTC+8) | ||||||||
| Zip Code | 5515 | ||||||||
| Dialing code | +63 (0)42 | ||||||||
| Patron saint | San Nicolas de Tolentino | ||||||||
| Languages | Asi, English, Filipino | ||||||||
| Income class | 5th class | ||||||||
Banton (formerly known as Jones) is a fifth-class municipality in the province of Romblon, Philippines. Its territory encompasses the entire island of Banton located on the northern portion of the province and lies on the northern portion of the Sibuyan Sea near the southern tip of Marinduque. It is a town of about 5,000 people majority of which speak the Bantoanon language, one of the five primary branches of the Visayan languages.
Banton is thought to be already inhabited by Filipinos since the pre-colonial period, based on analysis of discovered human remains, coffins, an ancient burial cloth and other archaeological finds by the National Museum in the 1930s. The present settlement was founded in 1622 by the Spanish and is the oldest settlement in the province. During the American colonial period, the municipality changed its name to Jones in honor of American congressman William Jones, who authored the Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916. Today, Banton is one of Romblon's thriving municipalities, with an economy dependent on copra farming, fishing, raffia palm weaving, and tourism.
The name "Banton" was derived from the Asi word batoon, meaning "rocky", referring to the mountainous and rocky topography of the island due to its volcanic origin. Another possible origin is the word bantoy, which is the Asi word for the venomous stonefish.
Banton was already inhabited during pre-colonial times as proven by ancient artefacts such as wooden coffins and skeletal remains found in the island's caves in 1936 by a team of researchers from the National Museum of the Philippines. Among the artefacts was the Banton Cloth, a piece of a traditional burial cloth found in one of the wooden coffins. It is estimated to be 400 years old, making it the earliest known warp ikat (tie-resist dyeing) textile in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. These artifacts are now preserved at the National Museum of Anthropology in Manila.
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Wikipedia