Liwagao Island

Liwagao Island
Disputed island ;
	Liwagao Island
Other names	Libago Island, Libagao Island
Geography
Location	Tablas Strait
Coordinates	12°12′00.4″N121°25′47.4″E / 12.200111°N 121.429833°E
Archipelago	Mindoro / Panay
Area	1.14 km2 (0.44 sq mi)
Highest elevation	73 m (240 ft)
Administration
	Philippines
Province	Antique
Municipality	Caluya
Barangay	Silobo
Claimed by
	Philippines (internal dispute)
Province	Occidental Mindoro
Municipality	Bulalacao
Barangay	Maasin
Additional information

Last updated December 06, 2023

Liwagao Island, also known as Libago Island or Libagao Island, is an island located southeast off the coast of Mindoro and northwest off Panay. The island is a disputed feature between the towns of Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro and Caluya, Antique with the latter exercising de facto administration over the island.

Background

The island has an area of 1.14 square kilometers (0.44 sq mi). It is currently under the administration of the municipality of Caluya in Antique. It is administered by the municipality as part of Barangay Sibolo.^[1]

In 1919, its elevation was recorded at 73 meters (240 ft), and at this time it was noted that the island had a few inhabitants, was "covered with low, dark scrubby trees" and was "fringed by reefs."^[2] At this time it was noted that three summits exist on the eastern area of the island and that the island's western area is "a low, flat sandy point."^[2]

Dispute

Bulalacao claim

Presidential Proclamation No. 1801^[3] issued by then President Ferdinand Marcos on November 10, 1978, which declared select islands, coves, and peninsulas in the Philippines as tourist zones and marine reserves under the management of the Philippine Tourism Authority names Liwagao Island as part of Bulalacao town of Oriental Mindoro. The provincial government of Oriental Mindoro cites this decree as proof of Bulalacao's jurisdiction over the island which it considers as part of Maasin, one of the town's barangays.^[1]

The Oriental Mindoro provincial board sought to resolve its claims over Liwagao Island by engaging in talks with their counterparts in Antique. The Antique provincial board issued a resolution on May 25, 2012, stating that it is not amenable "to any form of settlement on the alleged dispute" involving the island. Oriental Mindoro officials filed a petition before the Regional Trial Court in Roxas, Capiz on September 12, 2012. Occidental Mindoro officials cites affidavits submitted by residents of Liwagao in August 2012 who expressed desire that their island be under the jurisdiction of Bulalacao and an affidavit submitted also on August by Oscar Lim, former mayor of Caluya testifying of making a "verbal agreement" in 1978 or 1979 with then-Bulalacao mayor Dolores Bago of "temporarily borrowing" Liwagao until the end of his term to pursue fugitives escaping from Caluya authorities. Lim said hed had returned Liwagao to Bulalacao under Bago's successor and brother, Guillermo Salas.^[1]

The island due to its beaches is planned to be developed for tourism by the officials of Bulalacao and Oriental Mindoro.^[4]

Caluya claim

Resolution No. 142-2012 of the Provincial Board of Antique expressed Antique province's position in the dispute. It asserts that Liwagao is within its territorial jurisdiction citing an original certificate of title 42891 issued by the Register of Deeds to Joaquin Lim which identified the contested island as part of Barangay Sibolo of the town of Caluya. It also cites the records of the Commission on Election which contains names of Liwagao residents who are registered as voters of Sibolo as well as elected barangay officials from the locality that are residents of the island. It also points out that a map by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority displays the island as geographically part of Antique.^[1]

2021 court ruling

The Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 43 in Roxas, Oriental Mindoro issued a ruling in August 19, 2021, that Liwagao "is within the territorial, political and administrative jurisdiction" of Bulalacao. The decision can still be appealed.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Related Research Articles

Oriental Mindoro, officially the Province of Oriental Mindoro, is a province in the Philippines located on the island of Mindoro under Mimaropa region in Luzon, about 140 kilometres (87 mi) southwest of Manila. The province is bordered by the Verde Island Passage and the rest of Batangas to the north, by Marinduque, Maestre de Campo Island, Tablas Strait and the rest of Romblon to the east, by Semirara and the rest of Caluya Islands, Antique to the south, and by Occidental Mindoro to the west. Calapan, the only city in the island, is the provincial capital and Mimaropa's regional center.

Antique, officially the Province of Antique, is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is San Jose de Buenavista, the most populous town in Antique. The province is situated in the western section of Panay Island and borders Aklan, Capiz and Iloilo to the east, while facing the Sulu Sea to the west.

Capiz, officially the Province of Capiz, is a province in the Philippines located in the central section of Western Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Roxas. It is located at the northeastern portion of Panay Island, bordering Aklan to the north, Antique to the west, and Iloilo to the south. Capiz faces the Sibuyan Sea to the north.

Western Visayas is an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VI. It consists of six provinces and two highly urbanized cities. The regional center is Iloilo City. The region is dominated by the native speakers of four Visayan languages: Hiligaynon, Kinaray-a, Aklanon and Capiznon. The land area of the region is 20,794.18 km² (8,028.68 sq mi), and with a population of 7,954,723 inhabitants, it is the second most populous region in the Visayas after Central Visayas.

San Jose, officially the Municipality of San Jose, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Occidental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 153,267, representing a third of the provincial population, and is the largest among cities and municipalities in the Mimaropa region.

Malay, officially the Municipality of Malay, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Aklan, Philippines. It is the richest municipality in the province in terms of revenue. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 60,077 people making it the second most populated town in Aklan.

Caluya, officially the Municipality of Caluya, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Antique, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 38,908 people, making it the sixth most populous municipality in the province.

Panay, officially the Municipality of Panay, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Capiz, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 48,890 people.

Banton, officially the Municipality of Banton, is a 5th class municipality in the province of Romblon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 5,737 people.

Concepcion, officially the Municipality of Concepcion, is a 6th class municipality in the province of Romblon, Philippines. The municipality is coextensive with Maestre de Campo Island, which is also known as Sibale Island. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 3,561 people.

Ferrol, officially the Municipality of Ferrol, is a 6th class municipality in the province of Romblon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 8,005 people.

Lubang, officially the Municipality of Lubang, is a 4th class municipality in the province of Occidental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 17,437 people.

Magsaysay, officially the Municipality of Magsaysay, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Occidental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 39,767 people.

Bulalacao, officially the Municipality of Bulalacao, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,366 people.

Calapan, officially the City of Calapan, is a 3rd class component city in the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 145,786 people. The city is the capital of the province of Oriental Mindoro.

Roxas, officially the Municipality of Roxas, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. It has a population of 58,849 according to the 2020 census.

Mindoro was a province of the Philippines from 1902 until 1950 when it was split into two provinces, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro. It is located on Mindoro island, Philippines.

Semirara is an island in the Philippines located at in the Caluya archipelago which is situated south of Mindoro Island. It is under the jurisdiction of the town of Caluya of the province of Antique. It is a major site of coal mining in the Philippines. Other economic activities in the island include fishing, seashell gathering, and farming.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Mimaropa is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus reached Mimaropa on March 20, 2020, when the first case of the disease was confirmed in Puerto Princesa.

On the morning of February 28, 2023, MT Princess Empress sank off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines, causing an oil spill in the waters of the provinces of Antique, Batangas, Oriental Mindoro, and Palawan. En route from Bataan to Iloilo, the oil tanker was carrying 900,000 liters of industrial fuel oil before it sank.

References

1 2 3 4 Virola, Madonna (October 3, 2012). "Mindoro execs want island back to its jurisdiction". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
1 2 Survey, U.S. Coast and Geodetic; Christman, R.J. (1919). United States Coast Pilot, Philippine Islands. Its Serial series. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 174.
↑ "Proclamation No. 1801, s. 1978". November 10, 1978. Retrieved June 6, 2023.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
↑ "Land Grab: The Struggle Continues" (PDF). Journal of the Asian NGO Coalition. 19 (1): 47. 2014. ISSN 0116-9602 . Retrieved March 11, 2018.
↑ Nebrejo, Dennis (August 26, 2021). "Isla ng Liwagao, nabawi na ng OrMin sa lalawigan ng Antique" [Island of Liwagao, now retrieved by OrMin from the province of Antique] (in Filipino). Philippine Information Agency. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
↑ Virola, Madonna (September 8, 2021). "Antique's 'borrowed island' returned to Oriental Mindoro". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
↑ Caña, Paul John (August 24, 2021). "Antique and Oriental Mindoro Are Fighting Over This Island. The Courts Finally Made a Decision". Esquiremag.ph. Retrieved October 8, 2022.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[pdi1-1] 1 2 3 4 Virola, Madonna (October 3, 2012). "Mindoro execs want island back to its jurisdiction". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 11, 2018.

[Survey_Christman_1919-2] 1 2 Survey, U.S. Coast and Geodetic; Christman, R.J. (1919). United States Coast Pilot, Philippine Islands. Its Serial series. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 174.

[3] "Proclamation No. 1801, s. 1978". November 10, 1978. Retrieved June 6, 2023.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[4] "Land Grab: The Struggle Continues" (PDF). Journal of the Asian NGO Coalition. 19 (1): 47. 2014. ISSN 0116-9602 . Retrieved March 11, 2018.

[5] Nebrejo, Dennis (August 26, 2021). "Isla ng Liwagao, nabawi na ng OrMin sa lalawigan ng Antique" [Island of Liwagao, now retrieved by OrMin from the province of Antique] (in Filipino). Philippine Information Agency. Retrieved October 8, 2022.

[6] Virola, Madonna (September 8, 2021). "Antique's 'borrowed island' returned to Oriental Mindoro". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 8, 2022.

[7] Caña, Paul John (August 24, 2021). "Antique and Oriental Mindoro Are Fighting Over This Island. The Courts Finally Made a Decision". Esquiremag.ph. Retrieved October 8, 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]