Bantayan island is considered as one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Province of Cebu, but aside from the pristine white sandy beaches of the island, it also served as homes of a vast fishing community in the island. Traveling from the mainland island of Cebu to Bantayan Island is somewhat challenging but did you know that there are some islets that comprised the Bantayan Island Group.
In this article, I will share to you my experience while traveling from Bantayan Island Port, located in Barangay Suba, Bantayan Cebu, to an islet Barangay known as Barangay Doong and Barangay Luyong Baybay. The island of Doong which is composed of two Barangays is just one of the 16 most notable islets in the Bantayan Island Group.
Before anything else, I would just like to inform everybody who are reading this article that Bantayan Island is composed of three municipalities, namely the tourist town and gateway to the island, the Municipality of Santa Fe, the center of commerce and trade in the island the Municipality of Bantayan and the fishing village and once known as the Alaska of the Philippines, the Municipality of Santa Fe.
Out of the 16 notable islets in Bantayan Island a total of 17 notable islets in Bantayan, only three islets belongs to the Municipality of Santa Fe, the rest of the islets belongs to the Municipality of Bantayan. The islets that belongs to Santa Fe includes Hilantagaan, Hilantagaan Diot and Kinatarcan.
The rest of the islets belongs to the Municipality of Bantayan. Some of the these islets belongs to a single Barangay, but one of the biggest islets in Bantayan, the islets of Doong is composed of two Barangays namely Doong and Luyong Baybay.
Some of the most notable islets the belongs to the Municipality of Bantayan includes Doong, Botigues, Lipayran, Hilotongan, Mambacayao (Daku and Diot), Moamboc, Panitugan, Silagon, Botong, Panangatan, Sagasa, Byagayag (Dako and Diot) and Patao or Polopolo.
Bantayan Island a Piece of History:
During the year 1580 the Augustinians established the Parish of Bantayan in honor of Sts. Peter and Paul, this parish is considered as a mission-station of the friars in the Visayas and known to be the first Parish in Cebu Province and one of the few in existence outside of Mexico.
Bantayan Island got its name from the term Bantayan Sa Hari, which means "Watchtowers of the King" (King of Spain). According to history, there were 18 watchtowers were built in the island during the time of Governor-General Hurtado de Corcuera. It was constructed to warn the settlers of Bantayan of upcoming dangers brought about by Moro pirates who raided the island looking for slaves.
Bantayan Fishing Village:
Aside from being popular among tourists, the island of Bantayan in Northern Cebu is also home for a thriving community of fishing villagers. The fishing community in the island plays a vital roles in the economic development of the island and the entire Cebu Province.
Bantayan Island served as the fishing grounds, supplying fresh catch to towns and provinces in nearby islands and provinces which could go as far as Manila and Mindanao. This island is best known for its famous danggit (rabbitfish) dried fish.
The island of Doong is just one of the few fishing villages that supplies some fresh catch as well as dried fish to nearby islands as well as to nearest city in the Visayas area.
Visiting Doong Island from Bantayan Port:
We depart from Bantayan Port at around 12:05 PM on Thursday, March 16, 2023 and arrived at Barangay Luyong Baybay at around 12:54 PM due to the prevalence of low tide, the boat service provided by the Bantayan Bantay Dagat could not travel faster because of low tide.
Based on experience according to the boatman, traveling from the Municipal port going to Luyong Baybay could only take around 20-30 minutes during high tide but we departed during the low tide, so it took around 49 minutes before we arrived at our destination.
Purpose of Travel to Doong Islet:
We travelled to Doong Island which is composed two Barangays namely Doong and Luyong Baybay to assists some field staffs coming from AFOS Foundation, a Non-Government Organization supported by the German Government to conduct a baseline surveys on fisherfolks to determine their needs on a daily basis and the challenges they face everyday as fisherfolks in the area.
AFOS Foundation have been in the island to support the fisherfolks for the past few years. They were able to assists the fishing communities and the organizations of fisherfolks in the Municipality of Bantayan through their various programs.
For the last few years, AFOS Foundation in coordination with the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) Bantayan Chapter and the Local Government of Bantayan, they keep on supporting a total of three fisherfolks associations from Barangay Luyong Baybay, Barangay Sulangan and Barangay Patao.
Gathering Data from Fisherfolks:
Before the intended data gathering process, the field officer from AFOS Foundation, Miss Nivani Lasala orient the fisherfolks the reasons behind the survey and assuring them of data privacy in terms of their answers to the questions being asked during the said survey.
The fisherfolks agreed to share their experiences and data regarding their households as they were eager to discuss with us the challenges they faced as fisherfolks in the area.
Through the leadership of Sir Segfred Quijano and Mr. Glenn Pastoriza, the data gathering and interview proper went well and the fisherfolks were satisfied with the activities we conducted at the Covered Court of Barangay Luyong Baybay.
The team who supported AFOS Foundation staffs includes Sir Fernandez, Sir Padi Batayola and yours truly Sir Ed Umbao, who served as enumerators during the data gathering process. We also conducted some Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) activities regarding the best practices in fishing and the impacts of illegal fishing and improper disposal of garbage in the seas of Bantayan Island.
Photo Credit: All Photos are taken by me through my Mobile Phone