Sitangkai, officially the Municipality of Sitangkai (Tagalog: Bayan ng Sitangkai), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,319 people.[3]
It is called the "Venice of the Philippines"[5] due to the use of boats as primary transportation, although footbridges connect one house to another. The major sources of livelihood are fishing and farming, although there is very sparse agricultural land available.
This town is the southernmost town in the whole archipelago, and this town is the southernmost town in the province of Tawi-Tawi.
History
Sitangkai from the Tumindao Channel
The southernmost flagpole in the Philippines at Panguan Island.
The historical Sitangkai group of islands comprises the islands, areas, and barangays of the present Sitangkai and Sibutu municipalities. The islands had been at the crossroads of the sea trade route and were a traditional enclave of the Bajau and Sama people who for centuries had peacefully lived off fishing and trading. The Kadatuan and Kasalipan (Salip/ arabic; Sharif) of Sitangkai and Sibutu were descended from the royalties of Sulu, Sabah, and Sarawak. Historical personalities such as the Datu Iskandar of Sibutu and the Datu Halon of Sitangkai was descended from the Datu Baginda Putih, Datu Baginda Hitam, and the feared Datu Kurunding of Lahat Datu from Borneo (now part of the Malaysian and Indonesian states). In the early 1900s, a man named Lailuddin ibn Jalaluddin from the area of Nunukan, Parang, Sulu was noted to be the first Tausūg to settle in Sitangkai, bringing with him his clan, wealth, and slaves. Together with his sons and nephews, they settled, intermarried, and made alliances with the local traditional leaders and inhabitants. During World War II, Sitangkai and Sibutu, being closer to British Borneo, was targeted by patrols and occasional raids by Japanese Imperial soldiers. Sitangkai nowadays is still a jump off port for traditional traders from Sulu, Zamboanga, mainland Tawi-Tawi going to Sabah and Borneo.
Twenty municipal districts of the then-undivided Sulu, including Sitangkai, were converted into municipalities effective "as of July 1, 1958", by virtue of Executive Order No. 355 issued by PresidentCarlos P. Garcia on August 26, 1959.[6] On October 21, 2006, with the ratification of Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 197, 16 of its 25 barangays were transferred to the newly created municipality of Sibutu, all of which were located on Sibutu Island. Most of the residents of present-day Sitangkai are settlers from Sulu, Zamboanga, and the Visayas, brought and registered over the years by subsequent competing politicians to add votes for elections.[citation needed] This unjust[citation needed] settling policy has continued unabated over the past decades, destroying the natural demographics of Sitangkai and adjoining islands, thereby affecting the natural resources of the area and disenfranchising the original peaceful Bajau and Sama inhabitants who moved to Zamboanga or Sabah, Malaysia or fled to far away pondohans (shallow sandbars). Lack of opportunities, facilities, the proliferation of illegal arms, drug addiction, and piracy are problems facing Sitangkai today.[citation needed]
Geography
Barangays
Sitangkai is politically subdivided into 9 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.
Sitangkai is often referred to as the Venice of the Philippines with boats being the primary mode of transportation within the town. Its location as the most southernmost town in the Philippines makes the town as a trading port for transporting goods to and from neighboring Malaysia.[12]
Poverty Incidence of Sitangkai
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
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