Turtle Islands, Tawi-Tawi

In the Treaty of Paris of 1898, Spain ceded to the United States of America "the archipelago known as the Philippine Islands". The terms of that treaty were supplemented by the Treaty of Washington of 1900. On the basis of this cession, the United States claimed sovereignty over the Philippine Turtle Islands and the Mangsee Islands, all of which were administered by the British North Borneo Company. Responding to the claim, the United Kingdom government said there was "no intention...to question the title of the United States" to the islands. However, the United Kingdom asked "whether the United States Government would be willing to forgo their right to these islands, out of consideration for the fact that the North Borneo Company had during many years carried on the administration of [the islands] under the apparent belief the islands formed part of the company's territory, and as the company attached importance to being permitted to retain control over them". the two countries agreed that the administration of the islands would continue to be carried on by the British North Borneo Company, with that arrangement to end should an international boundary treaty end it or should either government give the other government one year's notice. In that treaty the United Kingdom unambiguously accepted that Sibuang, Boaan, Lihiman, Langaan, Great Bakkungaan, Taganak and Banguan together called in that treaty the “Turtle Islands”, as well as the Mangsee Islands, were part of the Philippine archipelago and therefore under U.S. sovereignty. On 19 September 1946, the Republic of the Philippines notified the United Kingdom that it wished to take over administration of the Turtle Islands and the Mangsee Islands. The British government responded by asking the Philippine government to reconsider "because these islands are so far from the nearest Philippine administrative base that...it would be in the best interests of both the Philippines and North Borneo for the latter to remain responsible for the administration of the islands." The British agreed to the Philippine request to establish a joint committee to examine the administration of the islands. The joint committee inspected the islands but ultimately on 24 September 1947, the Philippines made known its decision to proceed with assuming control of the islands. Pursuant to a supplemental international agreement, the transfer of administration became effective on 16 October 1947. Taganak Lighthouse Dispute The largest of the islands, Taganak, is near the entrance to Sandakan Bay. The lighthouse on the island, which was of practical importance to nearby North Borneo, became the subject of an international dispute known as the Taganak Lighthouse Dispute. The Treaty of Peace concluded in Paris between the United States and Spain on 10 December 1898, which ended the Spanish-American War. Today, the abandoned lighthouse tower remains on the summit of the island. Municipality status The Turtle Islands were constituted as a 'special municipal district' under the jurisdiction of the province of Sulu under Executive Order 95 signed by President Manuel Roxas on 13 October 1947. The same executive order proclaimed "the assumption of jurisdiction and administration by the Republic of the Philippines over the Turtle and Mangsee Islands which form part of Philippine territory". The Turtle Islands were constituted as the "municipal district of Turtle Islands" to be governed by article VI, chapter 64, of the Revised Administrative Code. It was provided that the provincial board of Sulu shall act as council for the municipal district of Turtle Islands. ==Geography==

The islands are located within the Sulu Sea at the south-western tip of the country, at the edge of the international treaty limits separating the Philippines and Malaysia. • Taganak is of volcanic origin and the largest island of the group with an area of about with the highest point at . • Boaan, also known as Boan, is the second largest island of the group with an area of with the highest elevation at . • Great Bakkungaan also known as Great Bakkungan is the third largest at with the highest elevation at . • Baguan is the easternmost of the islands and is also volcanic in origin. The bell-shaped island has an area of with the maximum elevation of . • Lihiman is a mud and coralline island of about . The island is noted for its explosive mud volcanoes extrusions (see below). • Langaan is a flat coral island of about and a perimeter of . • Sibaung is the westernmost island and is a small coral reef lying westward of the north part of Boaan Island. The island has an area of only. There are a few bushes high on this reef. Fresh water is reported available from shallow groundwater on all the islands except the smallest, Sibaung. Perhaps owing to its tiny size and the fact it does not have a fresh water source, Sibaung is sometimes omitted from the list of Philippine Turtle Islands. For example, Presidential Proclamation 171 establishing the Turtle Islands Wildlife Sanctuary refers to six islands rather than seven islands despite covering all of the municipality. Barangays Turtle Islands are politically subdivided into two barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios. • Likud Bakkao • Taganak Poblacion Climate Mud volcanoes In the Philippines, mud volcanoes are known to exist only on the Turtle Islands. Presence of these formations are evident on three of the islands - Lihiman, Great Bakkungaan and Boaan Islands. The hills on these islands are mostly mud volcanoes. On Great Bakkungan Island, grey mud quietly flows from the vent in a pulsating manner accompanied by gas bubbling. On Boan Island, mud extrusion had ceased by August 2000. Compared to the other two islands, in Lihiman Island, a more violent extrusions of mud, mixed with large pieces of rocks occur that it has created a 20-m (66-ft) wide crater on the hilly part of the island. Such extrusions are reported to be accompanied by mild earthquakes and evidence of extruded materials can be found high up the surrounding trees because of its explosive character. Huge amount of materials are discharged from this volcano that drainage was cut on the northern slope of the hill to direct the flow to the sea. Submarine mud extrusions off the island have also been observed by local residents. ==Demographics==

Taganak, Boaan, Great Bakkungaan, Lihiman and Langaan are inhabited. Baguan, an island protected for turtle nesting and the smallest island, Sibaung, are uninhabited. According to the 2010 census, the population of the five permanently inhabited islands is 5,683 people. With a land area of only , the islands have a population density of . On the five inhabited islands the land cover in large areas is dominated by houses. Typical of other rural areas in the Philippines, human settlements are mixed with agriculture. The relative dominance of the settlements is mainly due to the limited land area and the resulting high population density level, which is more than four times the national average. == Economy ==

Poverty Incidence of } }} Source: Philippine Statistics Authority{{cite web ==Agriculture and aquaculture==

Natural land cover types in the islands are classified as wooded, mangrove, brush, grass and bare. Most of the areas on the five inhabited islands used for agriculture are planted with coconut. There is a seaweed and seagrass industry on the islands. Almost all species have some known economic value. Only those food species, when developed, are likely to be of immediate economic benefit to the local populations. ==References==