The front of the Municipal Hall in October 2012, Moalboal, Southern Cebu, Philippines.

Moalboal is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 27,676 people. Extending as a peninsula in the Southwestern tip of Cebu, Moalboal is bordered to the west by the Tañon Strait. From the western shoreline, Negros Island can be seen. Moalboal is located 89 kilometres (55 mi) 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. Locals often call themselves Moalboalanons, taken from the name of their town. The Moalboalanons said they came from Boholanon descents. Though the majority of the people in Moalboal are Cebuanos, a few members of cultural minorities have found their way there. Bajaus 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 up permanent residence in the town. The first settler is said to have been a legendary Boholano fugitive named Laguno Sabanal.

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. Since the 1970's, Moalboal has developed a tourism industry based on diving and beaches. Panagsama Beach, which was blown away by a typhoon in 1984, is where most resorts are established and White beach, which still has sand, in Barangay Saavedra, which used to be a quieter beach that locals frequent, has only recently developed.

Tourists wanting to stay in Moalboal can easily take a taxi from Cebu International Airport. It should cost around 3500 Pesos, the ride takes around 2.5 hours. Other ways to get to Moalboal would be to take a taxi to the Librando bus terminal or the South Bus station across the road. Librando and Ceres buses go to Moalboal, Fare is 105 Pesos. Make sure you are on a bus going via Barili, or you will end up in the South of Cebu. In Moalboal most tourists stay at either Panagsama Beach ( Basdiot ) or White beach ( Basdako ). White Beach is known for its beautiful sandy beach and crystal clear water. There is plenty of accommodation near either beach, although Panagsama has the most bars and restaurants. Entertainment is laid back and not for clubbers. You can have a beer for less than 45 Pesos in most bars. There is an outrageously loud Disco every Saturday at Pacitas, so be careful not to take a room close by if you want to sleep before sunrise. Diving is the main activity, and it's very good, even according to Philippine standards. The house reefs are fine and Pescador island the best structure of the whole reef is ideal for snorkelling and free diving as well since the reef drop off is close to shore and shallow but goes down to 40 metres +. Within a distance of 20 km from Moalboal you can explore numerous waterfalls, caves and canyons.

Moalboal is administratively subdivided into 15 barangays. Agbalanga Bala Balabagon Basdiot Batadbatad Bugho Buguil Busay Lanao Poblacion East Poblacion West Saavedra Tomonoy Tuble Tunga

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 revered by his people after that and when he died, it was said[who?] 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 honour of the warrior. Laguno's burial ground is said to be located underneath the mangroves near the tulay. The spring still exists today.

Pescador Island is an island located in the Tañon Strait, a few kilometres from the western coast of the island of Cebu in the Philippines. It is governed by the municipality of Moalboal, Cebu. The island derives its name from the Philippines’ Spanish colonial heritage and the abundance of fish living on the surrounding coral reef, and the many fishermen that fish them ( Pescador’ translates to Fisherman from Spanish). The rich marine life also attracts recreational divers from the many dive operations in nearby Panagsama. The underwater composition of the Pescador island reef is a sandy slope covered with soft coral from 5 – 10 metres, followed by a wall covered with hard corals dropping down to about 40 metres. On the west side of the island, an open-top underwater cave nicknamed the Cathedral can be found. Most recreational dive tours start at the island’s south end, and let the divers drift with the current either along the east or the west side of the island. Visibility conditions vary, but the current in the Tañon Strait pushes in clear water that often allows visibility up to 40 metres. The island itself has a lighthouse and access steps on the north and east sides.

The warm waters of the Philippines harbour a very rich marine life, with over 2,500 species of fish, and many of these are also found around Pescador island, contributing to the island being so popular with recreational divers. A rather more unusual part of the Pescador island bio diversity is the large school of sardines that have made the relative sanctuary of the reef its home. After an earthquake in February 2012, the school left the island, affecting the population of larger predatory fish. However, in May 2013 the school returned and so did the bigger fish. Sightings of sharks have also been reported. As Pescador Island is a marine park, dive shops are required to pay a fee for each diver they bring to the island. Proceeds from entrance fees are managed by the Municipality of Moalboal and Moalboal Dive Centre Association ( MDCA ) towards the finance of several conservation programs in the municipality. These programs include patrols and enforcement to abolish destructive fishing, village improvement programs, collection and disposal of plastic and other wastes entering the local waters, marine conservation education of village children and adults, and reef and mangrove rehabilitation.

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