Moalboal, Cebu

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Moalboal is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 23,402 people in 4,790 households.

Extending as a peninsula in the Southwestern tip of Cebu, Moalboal is bordered to the west by the Tañon Strait. From the western shoreline, the island of Negros can be seen. Moalboal is located 89 kilometers from Cebu City, about 2.5 hours by bus.

Moalboal is nestled between the towns of Alcantara and Badian. From the tulay, an unfinished bridge located in Moalboal's town proper, Badian Island can be clearly seen, as well as the popular tourist attraction, Pescador Island.

Contents 1 Demographics 2 Economy 2.1 Industry and trade 2.2 Tourism 3 Barangays 4 History 5 External links

[edit] Demographics

The people of Moalboal are members of the Cebuano ethnic group, which is a mix of Malay, Spanish, and Chinese ancestry. Locals often call themselves Moalboalanons, taken from the name of their town. The "Moalboalanons" said they came from the "Boholanon" decscents.

Though majority of the people in Moalboal are Cebuanos, a few members of cultural minorities have found their way in her shores. Badjaos who are similar to Muslim nomads, are often seen in the streets, especially during the holiday season, as some of them make their living by begging. There is no evidence though that the badjaos have taken their permanent residence in the town. The first settlers was said to be a legendary Boholano fugitive named Laguno Sabanal.

The dominant language of the town is Cebuano. However, being separated by several mountain ranges from their Northern neighbors, the Cebuano in Moalboal has some subtle differences from that spoken in the city. For instance, terms such as asgad, which means salty, is not used by many Cebuanos in the city, using the more common term of parat instead. The intonation is also different from that of the city dwelling Cebuanos. They start at a low range voice and ends in a high range tone, similar to Boholanon.

[edit] Economy

[edit] Industry and trade

Moalboal is a peninsula and as such, it is a town almost entirely surrounded by water. Majority of the people who live in the flat lands engage in fishing as their main mode of livelihood. Those who live in the mountain regions, like Agbalanga and Bala, live through farming.

The common mode of transportation is by motorcycles with side cars, known locally as pedicabs or, depending on the distance, tricycles with side cars, called tri-sikad. However, due to the burgeoning economy of the whole province, tiny jeepneys or multicabs can now be seen in many of the rural areas, transporting people from Moalboal to many of its nearby towns.

[edit] Tourism

Since the 1970s, Moalboal has developed a tourism industry based on diving and beaches. The municipality had the sole two white sand beaches on the western shore of Cebu Island, but in the 70s the Panagsama Beach in Basdiot was washed away during a taifun although some excellent dive spots remain. The remaining beach, Basdako Beach (meaning Big Sand), is located in the barangay of Saavedra. Interestingly enough, Basdiot where Panagsama Beach is located means Little Sand.

Though the beach in Panagsama is practically gone, cottages and resorts dot the shoreline, mostly catering to tourists who come to the town to scuba dive and engage in watersports.

Basdako Beach, which used to be a quieter beach that locals frequent, has only recently developed, due perhaps to the overcrowding that resulted in the other beach. Basdako now has a number of resorts and several cottages where tourists can stay.

[edit] Barangays

Moalboal is politically subdivided into 15 barangays.

• Agbalanga
• Bala
• Balabagon
• Basdiot
• Batadbatad
• Bugho
• Buguil
• Busay
• Lanao
• Poblacion East
• Poblacion West
• Saavedra
• Tomonoy
• Tuble
• Tunga

[edit] History

According to lore, Moalboal has a spring where many of the locals get their water. Once, a foreigner asked a woman with a cleft what the place was called. The woman thought he was asking her about the spring so she said that it was a bukal-bukal. However, because of her speech impediment, her words came out sounding like Moalboal and that was how the town got its name.

Another story is one of Laguno, a local warrior who was exiled from his hometown in Bohol. He and his family eventually came to the shores of Moalboal and settled there. Laguno had a yam-yam or oracion, a native prayer used to repel his enemies, and he used this to protect his home when moro invaders came. Legend goes that Laguno instructed his men to throw coconut husks into the water, then with the use of yam-yam, Laguno made it appear that the coconut husks were real men. Seeing that there were many warriors ready to defend the settlement, the moro invaders left. Laguno was reverred by his people after that and when he died, it was said that his body was buried near a freshwater spring located, strangely enough, on the beach. His men placed a large tree trunk over his burial ground so as not to disturb him and it is said that even today, that trunk still exists. Whenever anyone tried to chop the trunk, it would bleed.

The street fronting the Municipal Hall of Moalboal is called Laguno Street in honor of the warrior. Laguno's burial ground is said to be located underneath the mangroves near the tulay. The spring still exists today.

[edit] External links

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• 2000 Philippine Census Information

Coordinates: 9°57′N 123°24′E