Balabac Island

Balabac Island

Balabac Island Location within the Philippines
Geography
Location	Balabac Strait
Coordinates	7°56′31″N 117°0′29″E
Archipelago	Balabac Group of Islands
Adjacent to	South China Sea Sulu Sea
Administration
Philippines

Balabac Island is the southern-most island of the Palawan province in the Philippines, only about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north from Sabah, Malaysia, across the Balabac Strait.

Administratively, the island forms the main part of Balabac Municipality and is divided into 14 barangays (the other 6 barangays of the municipality are on other nearby islands):

Location within the province of Palawan

Agutayan Catagupan Indalawan Malaking Ilog Melville Pasig Rabor

Salang Poblacion I Poblacion II Poblacion III Poblacion IV Poblacion V Poblacion VI

Balabac Island is home to various endemic species. It is the home of birds like the grey imperial pigeon (Ducula pickeringii), Philippine cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia), blue-headed racket-tail (Prioniturus platenae), and the Palawan hornbill (Anthracoceros marchei). The Philippine mouse-deer, a subspecies of the greater mouse-deer (Tragulus napu) can only be found in this island.

The Molbogs, a Muslim ethnolinguistic group, is concentrated in this island. Their livelihood includes farming, fishing and barter trading with the nearby Mapun and Sabah market centres.

Cape Melville Lighthouse on the southern point of Balabac Island, circa 1892.

References

• Balabac Island (Important Birds Areas of Philippines)
• The Molbog

External links

• Balabac Island at OpenStreetMap