Palawan (pron. /pəˈlɑːwɑːn/), officially the Province of Palawan (Cuyonon: Probinsya i’ang Palawan / Paragua; Tagalog: Lalawigan ng Palawan; Hiligaynon: Kapuoran sang Palawan; Cebuano: Lalawigan sa Palawan) is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of MIMAROPA. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. Its capital is the city of Puerto Princesa, but the city is governed independently from the province as a highly urbanized city.
The islands of Palawan stretch between Mindoro in the northeast and Borneo in the southwest. It lies between the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. The province is named after its largest island, Palawan Island (09°30′N 118°30′E), measuring 450 kilometres (280 mi) long, and 50 kilometres (31 mi) wide.[9][10]
With the 5 April 2019 signing of the “Charter of the Provinces of Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur” (Republic Act 11259), the currently-1 province may become 3 “if ratified through a plebiscite to be held in the affected areas in May 2020.”[11][12] (See ‘Contemporary period‘ section)