Bantayan Island

Bantayan Island is an island located in the Visayan Sea, Philippines. It is situated to the west of the northern end of Cebu island, across the Tañon Strait. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of .

The island is administratively divided into three municipalities:
* Bantayan (the largest municipality, covering the central part)
* Madridejos (covering the northern portion)
* Santa Fe (center of tourism in Bantayan Island, covering the southeastern portion)

The island area is . The island is mostly covered with coconut palms; the elevation is mostly below , with only one taller hill, at , in barangay Atop-atop.

Geography

Island group

Bantayan is the main and largest island of the Bantayan island group that lies close to the geographical center of the Philippine archipelago.

The island group includes numerous smaller islands (some uninhabited or uninhabitable), mostly around the southwest corner of the island. About 20 of these islets stretch for about southwest from Bantayan municipality port area, with some nearer ones being accessible on foot from the main island at low tide. The islands are beside the busy shipping lanes for ships and ferries coming from Mindanao or Cebu City on their way to Manila. The islands are all small and green and low, virtually indistinguishable one from another.

Some of the more notable are:

Juan de Medina (1630)">
Hilantagaan Island, Santa Fe seen from the south.jpg, alt=Long low green island, about distant. Two beaches can be made out., 5 Hilantagaan Island seen from the Santa Fe–Hagnaya ferry (S)
Hilantagaan Dyot island Bantayan seen from W.jpg, alt=Small low green island in blue sea, at about two km. One beach can be made out., 6 Hilantagaan Dyot, brgy Hilantagaan, Santa Fe, seen from W.
Sunset over Hilotangan.JPG, alt=Small low green island in blue sea, at about two km. Sun is setting directly behind island. In the foreground the tide has gone out. Several beachcombers are walking, several boats are beached., 7 Sunset over Hilutungan, seen from E.
Polo polo island off Patao, Bantayan.JPG, alt=Small low green island in blue sea, at about 600 m, with several palm trees on top. To right prows of four ''bangkas'' – local boats for fishing or diving., 13 Patao island (''or'' Polopolo) off Patao, Bantayan

NB In addition, Guintacan Island (''or'' Kinatarkan, Batbatan) to the northeast is part of Santa Fe municipality although it is not part of the Bantayan islands group archipelago.

Demographics

Language

The Bantayanon language is mostly a mixture of different neighbouring Visayan languages: The principally native Cebuano (from Cebu and Eastern Negros) and Hiligaynon (from Western Negros and Iloilo), Boholano (from Bohol), Masbateño (from Masbate) and Waray-Waray (from Leyte and Samar). However it has its own words such as "''kakyop''" (yesterday), "''sara''" (today) and "''buwas''" (tomorrow).

Climate

The climate is typically equatorial – temperature range over the year is less than three degrees Celsius ( deg F), and annual rainfall exceeds . January to April inclusive are less wet than the other months. This supports at least two rice crops per year. The climate in Bantayan falls within Coronas climate type IV, characterised by not very pronounced maximum rainfall with a short dry season from one to three months and a wet season of nine to ten months. The dry season starts in February and lasts through April sometimes extending to midMay.

Bantayan has a tropical climate. Most months of the year are marked by significant rainfall. The short dry season has little impact. This location is classified as Am (Tropical monsoon climate) by Köppen–Geiger climate classification system.

Geology

Like most of Cebu province, the lithology of the island consists of two unit types:
As a consequence of the geology, water supplies are hard.

National protected areas

Bantayan and its surrounding islands have been included in several pieces of legislation giving protected status.

Wilderness area

In 1981 President Marcos signed proclamation no. 2151 giving certain parts of the country protected status. This included Bantayan Island with the status of a "Wilderness Area", although its physical extent was undefined, albeit the proclamation described all the areas named as "containing an aggregate area of , more or less". Eleven years later the Philippine Congress passed Republic Act 7586 – the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992, managed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) – which reaffirmed the protected status. However it too did not specify the extent of Bantayan Island Wilderness Area (BIWA), which is therefore taken to include the whole island group, more than .

After 2013's Typhoon Yolanda, there has naturally been a need and desire for reconstruction, however one major problem is that because of the designation, there is little land titling, and international relief organizations (and others) are reluctant to fund construction on land where title does not exist. the start of initiatives to define the area, and to devise a general plan for its management (BIWA-GMP). That plan recommends retaining only as strictly protected wildlife reserves, or % of the original BIWA, and allowing multi-use zoning of . From that has arisen a more concrete proposal regarding reclassification. the plan is to be recommended to Congress.

Tourist zone and marine reserve

Presidential proclamation no. 1801 of 1978 established Tourist zones and marine reserves, and placed the island of Hilutungan within its scope.

Protected seascape

The Tañon Strait protected seascape was established by President Ramos under proclamation no. 1234 of 1998. This includes more than of the eastern shoreline of Bantayan island. , 17 years after its declaration, the first summit on the Tañon Strait protected seascape is to be held.

Agriculture

The dominant uncultivated vegetation is ipil-ipil (''Leucaena leucocephala''). Cultivated crops include coconut, cassava, banana, sugarcane, corn and mango.

The principal cash crops are:

Fauna

The common wolf snake can occasionally be found on the island.

Avifauna

The following list shows birds whose presence has been verified.

The sea

The coast of Bantayan and its islands mostly alternates between mangal and palm trees. Because of the shallow slope on the shelf, the intertidal area can be quite extended, leading to rocky and muddy shallows at low tide. This means that places with a sandy shore – a beach – are infrequent. Good beaches can be found in the southeast around Santa Fe, and in the northwest at Patao and Madridejos. Even these though are not cleaned, and depending on the currents there can be considerable amounts of flotsam and jetsam on the beach and in the sea.

Coral

Of the approximately 500 varieties of coral known worldwide, about 400 are found in the Philippines. However their future is seriously threatened – mainly due to destructive fishing techniques, such as blast fishing and cyanide fishing, which indiscriminately destroy much of the ecosystem, including the coral reefs. In addition, global warming and ocean acidification also contribute significantly to worldwide loss. Globally coral sees 50%–70% threatened or lost; southeast Asian coral reefs are in even worse condition, and it is estimated in the Philippines the figure under threat is greater than 90%, with less than 1% in good condition. Until now proper compliance of international laws has been poor, although it is starting to be taken seriously. Meanwhile, other efforts are under way in Bantayan to accelerate the regrowth, using coral farms.

Starfish

There are many starfish to be seen in the intertidal area. Their detrivorous diet helps keep the water clean. Further out though, the crown-of-thorns starfish is a considerable threat to the coral reef, because of its voracious hunger for the coral.

Mangal

Mangroves are salt-tolerant, woody, seed-bearing plants that are found in tropical and subtropical areas where they are subject to periodic tidal inundation. The Philippines has over 40 species of mangroves and is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world as there are only about 70 species of mangroves worldwide. The mangrove ecosystem is a very diverse one and is home to many birds, fish, mammals, crustaceans and other animals.

Mangroves provide an important nursery for fish, shellfish and other organisms. It is estimated that each hectare of mangrove can provide food for 1,000 kg of marine organisms (). With this abundance of food for fish present in the mangroves, each hectare of mangal yields 283.5 metric tons of fish per year (). Mangroves also provide other important functions such as preventing soil erosion and protecting shoreline from typhoons and strong waves. Mangroves provide many other products and services such as medicines, alcohol, housing materials and are an area for research and tourism.

However even with all of these known benefits the state of mangroves within the Philippines is very dim. In the early 1900s there were approximately of mangroves but today there are only about . Many of the mangrove areas were destroyed to make way for fishponds and reclamation areas. They were used indiscriminately for housing – both building materials and reclamation – and were disturbed by siltation and pollution.

Now that the true benefit of these ecosystems is known there is protection and rehabilitation of these important ecosystems. It is now illegal to cut down mangroves for any purpose and local governments and community organizations have taken active roles in planting and managing mangrove plantations. There is hope that in the future mangroves will return to the healthy status that they once held.

History

Early origins

There are almost no physical records nor evidence to indicate when the first people came to Bantayan, nor their places of origin. Some believe they can be traced back to Panay, others believe that the bulk of them were of Cebuano origin, and still others say they came from Leyte and Bohol.

Connections between Bantayan and other places can be deduced from the mixed dialects spoken by the people, and their ancient culture such as clothweaving, dance, and architecture. In addition certain old-established Hispanic family names are associated with certain locations:
:* Panay
:**
:* Cebu
:**
:* Leyte
:**
:* Bohol
:**
:* Paraguay
:**

There is little documentary evidence of life and culture before the arrival of the Spanish ''conquistadores''. What we know of them is gathered from handed-down accounts and folklore.

The early people were said to be timid. They did not travel and knew little of places away from their homes. They wore little clothing because the climate did not need it. The abundance of fish, wild game, wild fruits and tuber, such as ''ba-ay'', ''hagmang'', ''bailacog'', and ''kiot'', made the people do little more than make clearings on which to plant corn, camote (sweet potato) and other vegetables. Large and small trees grew and spread, shading the ground all year round with their heavy foliage. Vines and creepers climbed the trees hanging from bough to bough; cultivation of open land was difficult.

The Spanish period

Early years

During the period 1565–1898 the Philippines was a Spanish colony, part of the Spanish East Indies.

The parish church was established in 1580 – as an ''encomienda'' of the heir of Don Pedro de Gamboa.

Writing in 1582, Miguel de Loarca stated:

He also wrote:

Writing in 1588, Domingo de Salazar

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