BASILAN AND JOLO: The
unrevealed treasure of the nature
“The supreme reality of our time is the
vulnerability of this planet. “ -John F. Kennedy
Humanity is the number one slayer of the nature but
on the other side, only humanity is able to make it better –the hope of our
nature. Let’s discover and practice conservation.
These faunal regions are among the least priority in
conservation aspects but it is believed that these are one of the richest
places in the Philippine archipelago. Studies and information are very limited
in these areas. That is why, in this blog, there concealed reserves will be
revealed.
BASILAN
The Province of Basilan
(Zamboangueño: Provincia de Basilan) is an island province of the Philippines
within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Basilan is the largest
and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago and is located
just off the southern coast of Zamboanga Peninsula (geographical region). Its
capital, Isabela City, is grouped together with Basilan for geographical and
statistical purposes, but is administered independently as part of the
Zamboanga Peninsula Region.
Basilan Island's
reputation as a staging-ground for Moro raids on Zamboanga, the Visayas and
even Luzon, and as a temporary repository of the plunder from these raids gave
the island notoriety not unlike the "Treasure
Islands" of the West Indies or the buccaneers' havens and pirate coves
of the Caribbean.
JOLO,
SULU
The town of Jolo is
located on the northwest side of the Jolo Island, which is located southwest of
the tip of Zamboanga Peninsula on Mindanao Island. The island is situated
between the provinces of Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, bounded by Sulu Sea to the
north and Celebes Sea to the south.
The Moros are
geographically concentrated in the Southwest of the Philippines. Moros identify
mostly with the majority Muslim nations of Indonesia and Malaysia because of
their geographic proximity, and linguistic and cultural similarities. Moros
have faced encroachments from the Spanish, Americans and now face the national
Philippine government. Thus, the struggle for the Moro independent state has
existed for over 400 years.
Jolo has been the
center of this conflict. Between 1972 and 1976, Jolo was the center of the
Muslim Separatist Rebellion between the Muslim militants and the Marcos regime
which killed 120,000 people. In 1974, fighting broke out when the government
troops stopped the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) from taking over the
town.
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| Figure 1. Map of the Philippines showing the Province of Basilan |
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| Figure 2. Map of the Philippines showing Jolo, Sulu |
