island
An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
in the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, and a
barangay
The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...
of
Dapitan
Dapitan, officially the City of Dapitan (; Subanon: ''Gembagel G'benwa Dapitan/Bagbenwa Dapitan''; ), is a component city in the province of Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 85,202 people. ...
. The island is an established
marine sanctuary
A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity ...
. The island is surrounded by white sand beaches and
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...
s. There are no water sources on the island. A few residents live on Aliguay Island, mostly selling fish to tourists.
2015 Kidnapping and Beheading
More than 10 armed men abducted at dawn Monday, May 4, 2015. Rodolfo Buligao, Aliguay's Barangay Captain at the time, and two members of the Philippine Coast Guard were kidnapped by the
Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf (; , ASG), officially known by the Islamic State as the Islamic State – East Asia Province, was a Jihadist militant and piracy, pirate group that followed the Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. It was based in and around Jolo and B ...
.
The suspects turned to these 3 men after failing to see foreign tourists in what could have been a plan for kidnapping-for-ransom. The military found a beheaded body of a man believed to be Buligao. It was spotted along an intersection in Barangay Laum Maimbung,
Maimbung
Maimbung, officially the Municipality of Maimbung ( Tausūg: Kawman sin Maimbung; ), is a municipality in the province of Sulu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 59,597 people.
It was the seat of the Sultanate of ...
List of islands of the Philippines
As an archipelago, the Philippines comprises about 7,641 islands clustered into Island groups of the Philippines, three major island groups: Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. Only about 2,000 islands are inhabited,Aliguay Island at
OpenStreetMap
OpenStreetMap (abbreviated OSM) is a free, Open Database License, open geographic database, map database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveying, surveys, trace from Ae ...