The world was given a glimpse of Turtle Islands as the small island municipality, the farthest in Southern Philippines, went online last Sunday, March 23 to celebrate “Adlaw Sin Pawikan.”
"Adlaw Sin Pawikan" is an annual festival to recognize the importance of green sea turtles, the animal which the island is known for.
The festival marked the turnover of the Turtle Island Wildlife Sanctuary from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources under the Bangsamoro.
The sanctuary is the world’s first transboundary protected area for marine turtles found in the Southeast Asian countries of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.
President Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go and Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Emmanuel Piñol gave their virtual greetings to the 12,000 residents of the small island municipality.
The celebration was also used to feature the V-SAT facilities installed by the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) last March.
The latest technology now enables the world to view spectacular beaches, the islanders’ exotic lifestyle and their famous green sea turtles- sights guaranteed to help the local government achieve its goal of developing their town into the next tourism destination of the South.
The islands, commonly known as Taganak to natives, straddles the seas between the Philippines and Malaysia and is 1,000 kilometers from Manila.