2│ Profile of the Area

Location and Land Area

The Islands of Bantayan and Camotes are the two largest islands of Province. is located west of the northern tip of mainland Cebu, while the Camotes Group of Islands is located east of mainland Cebu. The Island of President Carlos P. Garcia (or President C.P. Garcia), on the other hand, is an island municipality of Province located northeast of mainland Bohol (see Figure 1).

The three island groups cover a total area of 435.0759 square kilometers. The Camotes Group of Islands has the biggest area with 239.6559 square kilometers, followed by Bantayan Island with 140.60 square kilometers, and President C.P. Garcia with 54.82 square kilometers.

Bantayan Island. Bantayan Island lies in the Visayan with the Tañon Strait located south of the island. Mainland Cebu lies east of the island and lies southwest.

Bantayan Island is composed of three municipalities: Bantayan, Madridejos and Santa Fe. The Municipality of Bantayan is situated in the middle of the island with the Municipality of Madridejos located north and the Municipality of Santa Fe located south of it (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Bantayan Island Map

Cebu

Negros Island

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Of the three municipalities that make up Bantayan island, the Municipality of Bantayan accounts for more than half or 58 percent of the total land area of the island. The Municipality of Santa Fe has the second biggest area, accounting for 26 percent of the island's total area.

Camotes Group of Islands. The Camotes Group of Islands is flanked on its western side by mainland Cebu, on the north and eastern side by Island and on its southern end by Bohol Island.

Four islands compose Camotes, namely: Poro where the municipalities of Poro and Tudela are located; the island municipality of San Francisco (also known as Pacijan island), the island municipality of Pilar (also known as Ponson island); and Talong, which is part of the Municipality of San Francisco.

The islands of Poro and San Francisco are connected to each other by a causeway. Pilar Island lies about four kilometers northeast of Poro Island while Talong is located off the northern tip of San Francisco. The islands of Camotes are surrounded by the , a major fishing ground in Central region (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Camotes Group of Islands Map

Leyte Island

Cebu

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The four islands comprising Camotes have a total land area of 239.6559 square kilometers. The island municipality of San Francisco accounts for the largest share or 44.2 percent of the total land of Camotes, followed by the Municipality of Poro with 26.7 percent, the Municipality of Tudela with 16.4 per cent, and the island municipality of Pilar with 12.7 per cent.

President Carlos P. Garcia Island. The island municipality of President Carlos P. Garcia in Bohol is bounded in the north by the Danahon Double Barrier Reef located in the Camotes Sea; in the east by the Canigao Channel which separates it from the Island of Leyte; in the south by the ; and in west by the Basiao Channel which separates the island from mainland Bohol (see Figure 4). It is about 14 nautical miles from the nearest municipality of Ubay located in mainland Bohol.

Figure 4. President Carlos P. Garcia Island Map

Leyte Island

Mainland Bohol

Aside from the main island, the municipality has 7 other islets. The fishpond and areas account for about 22.61 square kilometers or 40.06 percent of the total land area of the municipality.

Population

The total population of the three island groups in 2007 (latest census) was 243,596. On the average, the population of the 3 island groups grew at an annual rate of 1.13 percent from 2000-2007. This was lower than the regional average of 1.59 percent.

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Bantayan Island is the most populous island among the three with a total population of 129,154 although it ranks a far second only to Camotes Island in terms of land area. The Camotes Group of Islands is the second most populous island with a population of 89,324. The island municipality of President C.P. Garcia is the least populous among the three island groups with 25,118 people.

In terms of population growth rate, the island municipality of President C.P. Garcia registered the highest growth rate at 2.67 percent, higher than the average of the 3 island groups (1.13%) and the regional average (1.59%). Camotes Island's population, on the other hand, grew the slowest at 0.82 percent between 2000-2007. Both Bantayan and Camotes Island's population growth rates were lower than the average of the 3 island groups and the regional average.

There are more males (51%) than females (49%) in the three island groups combined. Individually as islands, males outnumber females in all the islands.

The population of the 3 islands is relatively young with almost 50 percent of the population below 20 years of age. The productive or working age group (15-64 years) constitutes the biggest group, making up 56 percent of the total population of the 3 islands together. The increase in the median age of the population of the islands from 19 in 1985 to 23 in 2007 indicates that the population is progressively getting older.

Bantayan Island. Bantayan Island's population is approximately 3.36 percent of the total population of the Province of Cebu. As in the case of land area, the Municipality of Bantayan accounts for more than half or 55 percent of the total population of Bantayan Island. The Municipalities of Madridejos and Santa Fe each account for about one-fourth of the island's population.

While Santa Fe has the least number of people among the three municipalities, it registered the fastest rate of population growth of 2.17 from 2000 to 2007. The rest of the municipalities' population (Bantayan and Madridejos) grew at less than 1.0 percent.

Camotes Group of Islands. The population of Camotes Island of over 89,000 is about 2.3 per cent of Cebu's population. The Municipality of San Francisco accounts for approximately half (49.9 percent) of the total population of Camotes Island. Poro, which is the second biggest municipality in Camotes in terms of land area, accounts for about one-fourth (24.1 percent) of the population. The combined population of Pilar and Tudela accounts for the remaining one- fourth of the total population of Camotes Island.

Although Tudela has the smallest population size, the municipality has the fastest rate of increase in population among the four municipalities comprising Camotes Island. On the other hand, the population of the Municipality of Poro barely grew since 2000.

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Table 1. Land Area, Total Population and Population Growth Rates by Island Group and Municipality 1995, 2000 and 2007

Total Population Population Growth Rates Island Group/ Land Area Municipality (in sq. km.) 1995- 1995- 2000- 1995 2000 2007 2000 2007 2007

Central Visayas 14,951.00 5,014,588 5,706,953 6,400,698 2.81 2.07 1.59

Bantayan Island 138.88 110,486 120,101 129,154 1.68 1.31 1.04

Bantayan 79.33 62,260 68,125 71,655 1.95 1.19 0.70

Madridejos 25.09 26,506 29,020 30,673 1.96 1.23 0.77

Santa Fe 34.46 21,720 22,956 26,826 1.19 1.79 2.17

Camotes Group of 227.50 81,181 84,351 89,324 0.77 0.80 0.82 Islands

Pilar 33.52 11,191 11,226 11,941 0.07 0.55 0.85

Poro 63.94 21,517 21,397 21,529 (0.12) 0.00 0.08

San Francisco 95.76 39,115 41,327 44,588 1.19 1.10 1.05

Tudela 34.28 9,358 10,401 11,266 2.29 1.57 1.11

President C.P. Garcia 54.82 19,096 20,744 25,118 1.79 2.33 2.67

Total of 3 Island 421.20 210,763 225,196 243,596 1.33 1.21 1.13 Groups

Sources: National Statistics Office, DENR-Land Management Bureau

Economic Activities

Fishing is the predominant economic activity in the 3 island groups and is the main source of income of majority of the households. Additional income of the fishing families comes from the sale of dried and salted fish.

Farming is also widely undertaken and is the second major source of income. Principal crops raised are rice and corn.

A major off-farm activity and source of additional income of the inhabitants of the 3 island groups is handicraft using raw materials from the locality. The activity is mostly undertaken by the women of the islands. In some municipalities, handicraft has become a flagship industry as a result of the substantial assistance provided by the government under the One-Town-One- Product (OTOP) program.

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Meanwhile, only Bantayan Island has a fairly developed tourism industry. Its beaches and religious festival have been attracting visitors so that Bantayan Island has become a significant tourist destination in Cebu as well as in . The influx of tourists into Bantayan Island has provided livelihood opportunities to the local residents. Camotes Island, for its part, is starting to develop its tourism industry although it has yet to become a popular tourist destination in Cebu.

Bantayan Island. Aside from fishing, fish processing is an important economic activity in the island. The island is noted as a major supplier not only of fresh fish products but also of processed fish products for human consumption such as guinamos (salted fish) and buwad (dried fish) as well as for fish meal. The island's products are principally marketed in mainland Cebu, and the neighbouring provinces of Negros, , , Leyte and some parts of .

Poultry raising and poultry egg production are also widely undertaken in Bantayan Island. Bantayan Island is known as the 'Egg Basket' of Central Visayas with daily production estimated to reach over a million and a half eggs. The availability of processed fishmeal in abundant quantities and favourable prices greatly supported the development of the island’s poultry industry, and recently its hog/swine-raising industry. Mainland Cebu and the neighboring provinces are the principal markets of the island's poultry and poultry products.

Camotes Group of Islands. In addition to fishing and farming, the inhabitants of Camotes Island also engage in light manufacturing and trading. Its light manufacturing industries include small- scale ironworks, furniture-making, and concrete block-making.

In the area of handicraft, the Municipality of San Francisco has gained some reputation in the manufacture of mats, hats, backpacks and ornaments using soli-soli, a raw material that grows abundantly in the area.

Small-scale mining and quarrying are also undertaken in the Municipality of Pilar. The municipality has deposits of phosphate & limestone in commercial quantities.

President Carlos P. Garcia Island. Aquaculture is also an important economic contributor in the island. In particular, seaweed farming and drying is widely undertaken in the Barangays of Bogo and Bonbonon. The dried raw seaweed products are shipped to Cebu on a weekly basis through the neighboring Ubay port. There are also about 500 hectares of developed fishponds in the municipality producing bangus, mud crabs, prawns and caulerpa.

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Income Class

Except for the Municipality of Bantayan (in Bantayan Island), all the municipalities composing the 3 island groups belong to the low-income class. The Camotes Group of Islands has two 5th class, one 4th class and one 3rd class municipality, while Bantayan Island has two 4th class municipalities. The island municipality of President C.P. Garcia is a 4th class municipality. Only the Municipality of Bantayan is considered well-off, being a 1st class municipality.

Table 2. Major Economic Activities and Income Class by Municipality

Municipality Major Economic Activities Income Class

Bantayan Island

Bantayan Fishing, Fish processing, Tourism, Poultry 1st Class raising, Poultry egg production, Hog/swine raising

Madridejos Fishing, Fish processing, Tourism, Poultry 4th Class raising, Poultry egg production,

Santa Fe Fishing, Fish processing, Tourism, Poultry 4th Class raising, Poultry egg production,

Camotes Group of Islands

Pilar Fishing, Small-scale mining and quarrying, 5th Class Trading

Poro Fishing, Farming, Handicraft, Trading, Light 4th Class manufacturing (iron works, furniture and concrete blocks making), Tourism

San Francisco Fishing, Farming, Handicraft, Trading, Tourism 3rd Class

Tudela Fishing, Farming, Handicraft, Trading 5th Class

President C.P. Garcia Fishing, Fish processing, Aquaculture, 4th Class Seaweed farming, Handicraft, Farming, Trading

Sources: Municipal Profiles

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