American territorial period ,
Governor General of the Philippines from February 1904 to March 1906 The
Spanish regime had earlier designated Puerto Princesa, Palawan as a place where offenders
sentenced to banishment were
exiled, often as a death sentence due to the
endemic malaria. Yet, the facility was established only during the American occupation.
Governor Luke Wright authorized the establishment of a penal colony in the province of
Palawan on November 16, 1904. This penal settlement, which originally comprised an area of 22
acres, served as a depository for prisoners who could not be accommodated at the
Bilibid Prison in Manila. A prison facility was created by the American
military in the
rain forest of Puerto Princesa. Lieutenant George Wolfe, a member of the U.S. expeditionary force, was the
prison's first superintendent.
William Cameron Forbes, in his capacity as
Secretary of Commerce and Police (1904–1909), conceived of the Palawan penal colony following the model of the
George Junior Republic. According to Forbes, "The plan is to give these prisoners an opportunity to cultivate little lots of land for good conduct and industry." Three classes of colonists were established, the lowest being the newly arrived convicts, followed by a middle class living in the Home Zone on a two-
hectare plot where they could build a house and live with their family, and finally the top class living in the Free Zone, also with 2 hectares of land. The first group of 61 convicts arrived in Nov. 1904, with the population reaching 313 prisoners in June 1905, and 446 in June 1908, plus 20 families. White stated the 500 convicts lived under "moral constraints" and "interior discipline maintained without guards." Carroll H. Lamb took over as superintendent, and during his 3 year tenure, self-government was established. In 1909, Justice of the Peace Courts and a Court of Last Resort were established, and by 1910, the top class of colonists could elect minor officials, police and petty officers. By 1911, with a population over 1,000, Forbes stated "the colonists were allowed to govern themselves – elect their own president and council, or legislature, from among the men who by good conduct and industry had earned promotion to the highest grades."
Land distribution In 1955, President
Ramon Magsaysay promulgated
Administrative Order No. 20 which allowed the distribution of colony lands for cultivation by deserving colonists. This was implemented by the
Secretary of Justice Pedro T. Tuazon. who granted qualified colonist of land. President
Carlos P. Garcia created a committee on August 16, 1959 to study the state of national prisons. The prisoners in Iwahig were divided into two groups, settlers and colonists. The settlers were prisoners whose applications for land to cultivate had been approved. Tools, dwellings and
pack animals were furnished by the government. Expenditures incurred for their maintenance and for their families were reimbursed from the products of their farms. Settlers received any amount of money they had loaned after the government deducted their obligations. During that time, Iwahig was subdivided into four zones or districts: Central sub-colony with an area of ; Sta. Lucia with ; Montible with and Inagawan with . == In popular culture ==