HISTORY OF CORON

It was Don Nicolas Ledesma, a native of Cuyo who gave Coron its name. According to him, the bay fronting Barangay Banuang Daan, thier first settlement, looked like an earthen pot, Coron is Cuyonon term for pot.

The first inhabitants of Coron were the Tagbanuas who belong to the second wave of Indonesians who migrated to this country some 5,000 years ago. They are nomadic and sea-faring people, living mainly by fishing and crude agriculture. To this day, although they have learned to live in an organized settlement, they remain primitive as they are greatly influenced by their old customs, traditions and superstitious beliefs. Today, the Tagbanuas are the natives of Coron. It was in 1902 that Coron was registered as a town and the name of the town was officially changed from Penon de Coron to CORON.

In 1749, Pedro Vipoua from Cagayan took the head in establishing an organized government; he secured an authority from the govierno General to make the place a "visita" under the jurisdiction of Culion which was the "matria" at that time. The visita was officially named Reñon de Coron. Taxes were collected and were taken to Taytay which was then the capital of the Govierno Politico Militar de Calamianes. The visita existed for more than fifty (50) years.

The second tribe to inhabit the place was the Calamianes. They descended from the tidal wave of Malay immigrants who came to the Philippines between 20 B.C and 100 A.D. They are the ancestors of Igorots and Bontocs.

In the past, Coron was virtually unknown as it was a small, quaint fishing town with laid back charm but with media exposure and millage, slowly but steadily, Coron has taken its spot in the tourism industry. In the last decade, there is a rapid influx of tourists coming in, thus, tourism has now become the major industry player in this town.