Lubang Island is the largest island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

 in the Lubang Group of Islands, an archipelago

Archipelago

An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

 which lies to the northwest of the northern end of Mindoro

Mindoro

Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...

 in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. The Lubang Islands are about 150 kilometres (93.2 mi) southwest of Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

. There are seven islands in the group, The island is divided into two municipalities. The largest settlement is the town of Lubang, west of the island. Its town center is about 8 miles (12.9 km) northwest of Tilik Port, the only safe anchorage on Lubang Island. The eastern half of the island is covered by the municipality of Looc.

Geography

Northwest to southeast the four main islands are Cabra Island, separated by a deep, 3 km wide channel from Lubang Island, then Ambil Island and finally Golo Island. The three smaller islands are Talinas Island, Malavatuan Island and Mandaui Island.

• Cabra Island is mostly wooded and about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long, rising to a height of about 60 metres (196.9 ft). It has a lighthouse
  Cabra Island Lighthouse
  The Cabra Island Lighthouse is a historic lighthouse built on Cabra Island, the westernmost of the Lubang group of islands in Occidental Mindoro, Philippines...
  
   at the northwest end of the island.
• Lubang Island is about 125 square kilometres (48.3 sq mi), being over 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) in length and up to 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) wide.
• Ambil Island is an extinct volcanic island rising to over 760 metres (2,493.4 ft) and is about 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) in area. During the earlier part of the Spanish Colonial Era
  History of the Philippines
  The history of the Philippines is believed to have begun with the arrival of the first humans via land bridges at least 30,000 years ago. The first recorded visit from the West is the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan, who sighted Samar on March 16, 1521 and landed on Homonhon Island southeast of Samar...
  
  , Ambil was reported to be in eruption. But when it was climbed by German scientist Carl Semper
  Carl Semper
  Carl Gottfried Semper was a German ethnologist and animal ecologist. He achieved a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Würzburg in 1856. He traveled to the Philippines and Palau two years later, staying in the region until 1865 in association with Museum Godeffroy...
  
   in the latter part of 19th century, he found no evidence that it has erupted in historical times.
• Golo Island is long, narrow and flat lying, and is about 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) in area.

History

The islands were originally settled by Visayan peoples starting about 30,000 years ago. By 1900 the islands were inhabited by both Tagalog

Tagalog people

The Tagalog people are an ethnic group in the Philippines. The name Tagalog comes from either the native term tagá-ilog, meaning 'people living along the river', or another native term, tagá-alog, meaning 'people living along the ford', a ford being a shallow part of a river or stream where people,...

 and Visayan peoples.

The Spanish built a fort on Lubang Island, the San Vicente Bastion, on the western point of the entrance to Port tilig.

Lubang's recent history includes the curious story of Hiroo Onoda

Hiroo Onoda

is a former Japanese army intelligence officer who fought in World War II and did not surrender until 1974, having spent almost 30 years holding out in the Philippines. He held the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army.-Early life:...

, a former army intelligence officer who was one of the last

Japanese holdout

Japanese holdouts or stragglers were Japanese soldiers in the Pacific Theatre who, after the August 1945 surrender of Japan that marked the end of World War II, either adamantly doubted the veracity of the formal surrender due to strong dogmatic or militaristic principles, or were not aware of it...

 Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 soldiers to surrender after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. He hid in the jungles of Lubang Island when the Allies reclaimed the Philippines, and engaged in continuous guerilla warfare against the United States and later against Philippine Commonwealth troops and paramilitary police, refusing to believe the war was over. He surrendered in 1974, 29 years after the end of World War II.

Administration

The islands are administratively part of the province of Occidental Mindoro

Occidental Mindoro

Occidental Mindoro is a province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region in Luzon. "Home of the Indigenous Mangyans". Its capital is Mamburao and occupies the western half of the island of Mindoro, on the west by Apo East Pass, and on the south by the Mindoro Strait; Oriental Mindoro is...

 and are divided into two municipalities: Lubang

Lubang, Occidental Mindoro

Lubang is a 4th class municipality in the province of Occidental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 22,896 people in 5,082 households.The municipality encompasses western half of Lubang Island.-Barangays:...

 and Looc

Looc, Occidental Mindoro

Looc is a 5th class municipality in the province of Occidental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 9,132 people in 2,014 households.The municipality encompasses the eastern half of Lubang Island.-Barangays:...

. Lubang covers the western half of Lubang Island and Cabra Island, while Looc covers the remaining half of Lubang Island plus Ambil, Golo and the other islands. Looc Proper is divided into three major sections: BonBon, Gitna and Kanluran.

Economics

Most of the population resides on Lubang Island, where Tilik Port is located. The main economic activity is fishing in the waters surrounding the islands. However, with the islands fine white-sand coastlines, tourism is growing in economic importance.