Ferrol, Romblon

Ferrol was established in 1850 as a barrio of Odiongan by the Spanish colonial authorities. They discovered the place 10 kilometers south-west after repulsing and chasing a convoy of Muslim pirates that attacked Odiongan. The Spaniards noticed the resemblance of the bay of the vicinity similar to that of Ferrol, Spain, which is the home port of Spain's Maritime Department of the North; hence the town's name.^[6]

In 1978, in order to consolidate the Onhan-speaking barangays of Odiongan into one municipality, Assemblyman Nemesio Ganan Jr. authored a bill in the Congress of the Philippines which created Ferrol, together with the barangays of Agnocnoc, Bunsoran, Hinagoman, Tubigon, and Claro M. Recto into a new municipality. On 11 June 1978, Ferrol formally became the 16th municipality in Romblon by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1492, signed by President Ferdinand Marcos.^[7]

Ferrol is located on Tablas Island. It is bounded on the north by Odiongan, on the west by the Tablas Strait, on the east by Santa Maria, and on the south by Looc. It has a total land area of 26.72 km².

Barangays

Ferrol is politically subdivided into 6 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Agnonoc
• Bunsoran
• Claro M. Recto
• Poblacion
• Hinaguman
• Tubigon

According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 7,826 people.

Poverty incidence of Ferrol

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]}

Ferrol has the highest level of vegetable production in Romblon. Livestock and rice farming are also present in the coastal areas which is mostly for home consumption and grown in small scale. Other economic opportunities include copra farming, fish cultivation, agricultural manufacturing and retail, and tourism. The Tablas Island Electric cooperative supplies 41.78% of households in Ferrol with electricity. As for water supply, the town has a Level 3 water supply system and a Level 4 irrigation system with 75 service areas.^[6]

Landline and cellular phone services from PLDT, Smart, and Globe are already available in Ferrol. The town is connected to nearby Odiongan and other municipalities through the Tablas Circumferential Road. Jeepneys and tricycles are the common form of land transportation. A port in Barangay Agnocnoc caters to intra-provincial travel and fishing vessels.^[6]

Beaches near Ferrol include Binucot, Atabay and Guin-awayan beaches. Caves the Mabaho and Burobintana caves. The town is accessible via Odiongan by RORO vessels from Batangas City or Roxas, Oriental Mindoro.^[6] It is also accessible via Tugdan Airport in Alcantara town, where Cebu Pacific has flights from Manila four times weekly.^[22]

The Odiongan South Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[24]