Guimaras, a world celebrity overnight
Artist's sketch of a bridge that will connect Iloilo City
and Guimaras
On May 11, 1992 through a plebiscite (YES -- 230,224; NO -- 42,584) Guimaras, then a sub-province of Iloilo, became a full-fledged province. Gov. Catalino G. Nava, the physician turned politician campaigned vehemently for the Guimaras provincehood and told this writer when he was still alive that after 26 years of the prosperity of the island being a sub province of Iloilo, his long cherished dream and that of his provincemates to make the island become an independent province has been realized. Following the expiration of the 6-year term of Governor Nava on June 30, 1992, then Pres. Fidel V. Ramos appointed Emily R. Lopez as the first woman governor of the new province. Gov. Catalino G. Nava eventually became the first elected congressman of the new province in the succeeding election.
Situated southwest of Panay Island and northwest of Negros Island, Guimaras had a total estimated population in the 2000 population census of 135,000. The total land area of the island province is 60,465 hectares or 604.65 square kilometers, bigger than Guam island which has only 541.45 square kilometers or 207 square miles and Singapore which is 225 square miles.
General Douglas MacArthur fresh from graduation at the West Point in 1901 as a young lieutenant assigned to head the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built roads and wharves in Guimaras and Iloilo. Lt. MacArthur established his headquarters at Camp Jossman in Barrio Supang, Buenavista town in 1903 which served at the time as the only passage link between Guimaras and Iloilo. The MacArthur wharf which the World War II hero and his wife visited in 1961 at Sto. Rosario, Buenavista, during a sentimental journey to the island in 1961 is still operational today and is the hub of commercial activities in the island-province.
Guimaras has five towns, Buenavista, Jordan, Nueva Valencia, Sibunag and San Lorenzo. The province is known world wide for its carabao sweet mangoes, white sandy beaches and coral-lined beaches, historical landmarks and caves, commercial lime, Kasoy nuts, quality charcoal and recently the oil spill which brought the province to the international news. Siete Pecados commonly known as the Isles of the Seven Sins are seven picturesque inlets which during the ancient times, one of the wonders of the world. The sea around Siete Pecados is believed to be the place where the lovers Guima and Aras -- from which Guimaras derived her name met their tragic death while escaping from the wrath of an angry father. Roca Encantada or Enchanted Rock is the summer residence of the Lopez family built in 1910 where many foreign consuls and ambassadors who were friends with the Lopezes loved to spend their summer vacation upon the invitation of former Vice President Fernando Lopez in the early '60s, '70s and '80s. The Siete Pecados and Roca Encantada are interesting scenic sights to daily inter island commuters plying Iloilo and Bacolod City.
Guimaras sweet carabao mangoes are exported to Japan, Singapore, Hongkong, Taiwan, Guam, Hawaii and the U.S. In the early '90s, more than 5,800 hectares are planted to nearly 300,000 fruit bearing mango trees. Several big industrial and business companies are engaged in mango and other fruit processing ventures in the island province. Aside from mangoes, the province is abundant in cashews, guavas, bananas and other tropical fruits which they process into jams, jellies, wine, dried fruits and toasted nuts. More than 30 monks coming from other parts of the country personally cultivate fruits and various crops on the 40-hectare farm which they started in August 1972. The land was reportedly donated by the late Senator Oscar Ledesma of the well-to-do families of Jaro and Iloilo.
Guimaras' quantified non-metallic mineral reserve like limestone ore is estimated at around 132 million metric tons according to DENR Region VI data. Its verdant mountains abound with forest timber and abundant untapped natural resources like iron, ore, primary copper and copper ore. Guimaras has excellent hunting and fishing grounds which are favorite pastime of local residents and foreign visitors.
The incumbent governor Rahman "Toto" Nava is a successful medical doctor and he is serving his 3rd term as executive of the island province. Like his physician father turned politician, Gov. Nava has been groomed by his legion of supporters to become the next congressman of the lone district of the province.