Sitangkai, officially the Municipality of Sitangkai (), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Tawi-Tawi Tawi-Tawi, officially the Province of Tawi-Tawi ( Tausug: ''Wilaya' sin Tawi-Tawi''; Sinama: ''Jawi Jawi/Jauih Jauih''; ), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The capit ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,319 people. It is the southernmost place in the

and is very close to Malaysia and Indonesia. It is called the "

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

of the South" due to the use of boats as primary transportation, although footbridges connect one house to another. The major sources of livelihood are fishing and farming, although there is very sparse agricultural land available. This town is the southernmost town in the whole archipelago, and this town is the southernmost town in the province of Tawi-Tawi. The Frances Reef located in the town of Sitangkai is geographically the southernmost point of the Philippines.

History

The historical Sitangkai group of islands comprises the islands, areas, and barangays of the present Sitangkai and Sibutu municipalities. The islands had been at the crossroads of the sea trade route and were a traditional enclave of the Bajau and Sama people who for centuries had peacefully lived off fishing and trading. The Kadatuan of Sitangkai and Sibutu were descended from the royalties of

Sulu Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Wilaya' sin Lupa' Sūg''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago. It was part of the Bangsamoro, Bangsamoro Autonomous R ...

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

, and

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

. Historical personalities such as the Datu Iskandar of Sibutu and the Datu Halon of Sitangkai was descended from the Datu Baginda Putih, Datu Baginda Hitam, and the feared Datu Kurunding of Lahat Datu from

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

(now part of the Malaysian and Indonesian states). In the early 1900s, a man named Lailuddin ibn Jalaluddin from the area of ''Nunukan'', ''Parang, Sulu'' was noted to be the first '' Tausūg'' to settle in Sitangkai, bringing with him his clan, wealth, and slaves. Together with his sons and nephews, they settled, intermarried, and made alliances with the local traditional leaders and inhabitants. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Sitangkai and Sibutu, being closer to

British Borneo British Borneo comprised the four northern parts of the island of Borneo, which are now the country of Brunei, two Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Malaysian federal territory of Labuan. During the British colonial rule before Wor ...

, was targeted by patrols and occasional raids by Japanese Imperial soldiers. Sitangkai nowadays is still a jump off port for traditional traders from Sulu, Zamboanga, mainland

going to Sabah and Borneo. Twenty municipal districts of the then-undivided

, including Sitangkai, were converted into municipalities effective "as of July 1, 1958", by virtue of ''Executive Order No. 355'' issued by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (; November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971), often referred to by his initials CPG, was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the ...

on August 26, 1959. On October 21, 2006, with the ratification of Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 197, 16 of its 25

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s were transferred to the newly created

of Sibutu, all of which were located on Sibutu Island.

Geography

Barangays

Sitangkai is politically subdivided into 9

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s while some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. * Datu Baguinda Putih * Imam Sapie * North Larap * Panglima Alari * Sipangkot * Sitangkai Poblacion * South Larap (Larap) * Tongmageng * Tongusong

Climate

Sitangkai has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...

(Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.

Demographics

Economy

Sitangkai is often referred to as the "Venice of the South" with boats being the primary mode of transportation within the town. Its location as the southernmost town in the Philippines makes the town as a trading port for transporting goods to and from neighboring Malaysia.

Poverty Incidence of

Healthcare

As of 2021, there is no hospital in Sitangkai.

References

External links

Sitangkai Profile at PhilAtlas.com
*

Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) is a systematic classification and coding for geographic areas in the Philippines. It classifies areas based on the country's four levels of administrative divisions: regions, provinces, municipalities ...

Sitangkai Profile at the DTI Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index

Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Tawi-Tawi Island municipalities in the Philippines Political divisions established by Philippine executive order