Friday, April 22, 2011

The Secret Beauty of Bantayan Island



HOW TO GET THERE

Bantayan is an island in the Philippines located at the western portion of the northern tip of Cebu Island. It is politically a part of the Province of Cebu.

The island can be reached via bus from Cebu City (via the North Bus Terminal near SM City Shopping Mall) then via ferry from Hagnaya Wharf in Hagnaya Cebu, or from Sagay in Negros Occidental. No commercial flights or overnight ferries are currently operating from Cebu City. It is possible to charter small private aircraft from Mactan-Cebu International Airport, to Bantayan Airport on Bantayan Island.


Bantayan island is comprised of three municipalities: Bantayan, Santa Fe and Madredijos.


BANTAYAN, CEBU

Bantayan is a 2nd class municipality on Bantayan Island in the provinceof Cebu, Philippines.

It is the island's most populous town, with a population of 71,655 people according to the 2007 census. It is bordered to the north by Madridejosand to the southeast by Santa Fe.

Bantayan Islands is geographically in the center of the Philippines. It is located at the northwestern side of Cebu and northeastern of Negros Occidental. It is a town of Cebu and is about 80 miles from Cebu City. The main Bantayan Island is about 7 miles wide by 10 miles long. About 20 of its islets stretch for another 5 miles long with some being accessible by foot from the main island at low tide. Mostly all the ships or ferryboats coming from Mindanao or south of Cebu have to pass by Bantayan Islands on its way to Manila. The Bantayan dialect is a mixture of native Cebuano, Ilongo (Negros), Waray (Samar), MasbateƱo, and Boholano, but it has words it can call its own such as “kakyop, sara, kag buwas“ (yesterday, today, and tomorrow).

Bantayan Islands is considered as Cebu’s fishing ground where shiploads and boatloads of fish are transported daily to Cebu City and Negros. Tons of guinamos (salted fish) and buwad (dried fish) are delivered to Cebu City and Cadiz, Negros for further distribution to as far as Mindanao and Manila. Equally important is the thriving poultry industry with hundreds of thousands of chicken eggs produced daily.


Bantayan is administratively subdivided into 25 barangays.

  • Atop-atop
  • Baigad
  • Baod
  • Binaobao (Poblacion)
  • Balidbid
  • Kabac
  • Doong
  • Hilotongan
  • Guiwanon
  • Kabangbang
  • Kampingganon
  • Kangkaibe
  • Lipayran



SANTA FE, CEBU

Santa Fe is a 5th class municipality on Bantayan Island in the province ofCebu, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 26,826 people. It is bordered by the town of Bantayan.

Guintacan Island; the 3 barangay of Hagdan, Bitoon, and Langub are located on this island.

The town can be reached by ferry from Hagnaya Wharf in San Remigio, Cebu.

Santa Fe is one of the most crowded municipalities during Holy Week; it caters to a number of tourist and locals that spends their holiday in the island of bantayan.

  • Luyongbaybay
  • Mojon
  • Obo-ob
  • Patao
  • Putian
  • Sillon
  • Sungko
  • Suba (Poblacion)
  • Sulangan
  • Tamiao
  • Bantigue (Poblacion)
  • Ticad (Poblacion)




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Santa Fe is administratively subdivided into 10 barangays:

  • Hagdan
  • Hilantagaan
  • Kinatarkan
  • Langub
  • Maricaban
  • Okoy
  • Poblacion
  • Balidbid
  • Pooc
  • Talisay

MADREDEJOS, CEBU

Madridejos is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu,Philippines. It is one of the three municipalities that make up the island ofBantayan located on the western portion of the northern tip of mainland Cebu. It is bounded on the south by the municipality of Bantayan, Cebu, and on all other sides by the Visayan Sea. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 30,673 people. It has a land area of 23.95 square kilometers.

Sign of Madridejos

Lawis was the old name of Madridejos. In fact, even up to the present, the less young among the people still use the name Lawis. In the vernacular term of “Peninsula”, the portion carved out to constitute the Municipality of Madridejos being the peninsula located on the Northern side of Bantayan Island facing the Visayan Sea. The first fisherman, Lazaro Mangubat, came to live in Mancilang, Lawis after discovering the place as one of the rich fishing grounds of the country. The general scenery of Lawis was that of a quiet place, of Virgin grounds covered by small shrubs and lantana. When more people discovered Lawis and flocked to it, the place became a visita. In 1889 when Pedro Benito Romero De Madridejos, the Archbishop of Cebu, came to visit the place, Father Juan Alcoseba, then the curate of the place, renamed Lawis to Madridejos in his honor.

The town's feast day is celebrated annually on December 8.


History

  • 1942 - the occupation from the Japanese Imperial forces by landed in the town of Madridejos, Cebu.
  • 1945 - the liberated by the Philippine Commonwealth troops of the 81st, 82nd &83rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army was landed in Madridejos, Cebu by front the battles against the Japanese forces in the Battle of Bantayan in Cebu during the Second World War.

Economy

The main industries of Madridejos are fishing, poultry and tourism.

Because of its rich fishing grounds, Madridejos earned the name of Little Alaska of the Philippines and as a matter of fact the first canning factory in the country was established in Madridejos, but it lost its sustaining impact in the history of the municipality after it was bombed during World War II. At present, poultry raising is a booming industry and Madridejos contributes a substantial quantity of eggs produced for sale to the neighboring provinces.

Madridejos is associated with the name Bantayan being a part of Bantayan Island as it shares only more than eight square miles of the total land area of Bantayan Island.


--- Community ---- Learn about the people of Madridejos through its social networking site Lawisanons Network Zone


Barangays

Madridejos is administratively subdivided into 14 barangays.

  • Bunakan
  • Kangwayan
  • Kaongkod
  • Kodia
  • Maalat
  • Malbago
  • Mancilang
  • Pili
  • Poblacion
  • San Agustin
  • Tabagak
  • Talangnan
  • Tarong
  • Tugas

How to Get There

The Quick Directions page from Cebu City to Bantayan Island is here at wowBantayan.com, complete with Bus/Boat/Beach photography (real world travel times via Cebu City Bus are 3hrs. including a short restroom stop in Carmen or elsewhere) and 75 min. (1hr/15min) via the Island Shipping or SuperShuttle Ferry Hagnaya to Santa Fe.

There are currently NO overnight boats from Cebu City to Bantayan Island, nor are there any commercial air flights, but many Private Air companies DO fly smaller Cessna & Piper aircraft into Bantayan Island; see the Private Air page at wowBantayan.com for details.

Our Community Website: Lawisanons Network Zone

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