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Balabac is a group of some 36 islands off the southern tip of Palawan, separated from Sabah in Malaysia by the Balabac Strait. Leaving aside the disputed Spratlys, it is the westernmost point of the Philippines. On Balabac Island stands the Cape Melville Lighthouse, built by the Spanish in 1892 and one of the oldest lighthouses in the country.

Municipality of 20 barangays, 581.6 km² of land.

Photo: Hanna Zapant, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Balabac is a group of some 36 islands off the southern tip of Palawan, separated from Sabah in Malaysia by the Balabac Strait. Leaving aside the disputed Spratlys, it is the westernmost point of the Philippines. On Balabac Island stands the Cape Melville Lighthouse, built by the Spanish in 1892 and one of the oldest lighthouses in the country.

Around Balabac

Balabac is home to the Philippine mouse-deer, or pilandok, which is found only in the Balabac islands.

  • Heritage

    Cape Melville Lighthouse

    A Spanish-period lighthouse built in 1892 at the southern end of Balabac Island.

  • Beach

    Punta Sebaring

    A beach at the southernmost tip of Bugsuk Island, one of Balabac's larger islands, with white sand stretching into a long sandbar.

  • Beach

    Mansalangan Sandbar

    A sandbar in Balabac surrounded by a wide expanse of shallow turquoise water.

  • Island

    Patawan Island

    An islet in Balabac with low-lying greenery, a sandbar and pink-tinted sand.

  • Island

    Canimeran Island

    A Balabac island lined with coconut trees and pink-tinted sand; locals call it Patongong Dos, after the larger neighbouring island of Patongong.

A short history

  1. The islands' first name, Molbog, came from the Molbog people; Balabag, meaning crosswise, after the lie of the main island, later became Balabac.

  2. The islands belonged to the Sultanate of Brunei and later to Sulu before Spain claimed them in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

8°04′N 117°08′E

8°01′N 117°13′E

Onuk Island

Beaches

How to get there. By van from Puerto Princesa city to Rio Tuba or Bataraza, then a long outrigger boat crossing to Balabac and on to Onuk Island; permission from the local barangay is needed before landing

Best time. March to May, the short calm-sea window for the Balabac crossing

Open Onuk Island

Fees, rules and schedules change. Check them with the town.

Official pages
None confirmed for Balabac yet. The LGU directory is updated as offices are confirmed.
Local government
Municipality of BalabacPSGC 1705304000
Sources
Sources (9)