Fuga Island is an island and

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 ...

located north of

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

and is part of the

Babuyan Islands The Babuyan Islands ( ), also known as the Babuyan Group of Islands, is an archipelago in the Philippines, located in the Luzon Strait north of the main island of Luzon and south of Taiwan. The archipelago consists of five major islands and thei ...

, which is the second-northernmost island group of 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 ...

. Barangay Fuga Island is one of the 42 barangays under the jurisdiction of the municipality of

Aparri Aparri (ibanag language, Ibanag: ''Ili nat Aparri''; ; ), officially the Municipality of Aparri, is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a ...

in the province of

Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan (; ; ; isnag language, Isnag: ''Provinsia nga Cagayan''; ivatan language, Ivatan: ''Provinsiya nu Cagayan''; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Cag ...

Geography

Fuga has an area of and a population of 2,015 people. The principal settlement is Naguilian (Musa) village on the southern coast. The highest peak is Mount Nanguringan in the northeast, with an elevation of . Along with the neighbouring islets of

Barit Barit (historically Bari) is a small, wooded, privately owned island in northern Cagayan, Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of Barangay Fuga Island in the municipality of Aparri. Location and geography Barit Island is north of Luzon I ...

() and Mabaag, it constitutes one of 42

s of the municipality of

Aparri, Cagayan Aparri ( Ibanag: ''Ili nat Aparri''; ; ), officially the Municipality of Aparri, is a municipality in the province of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,839 people. Aparri is a bustling municipality and t ...

. It is the only one of the Babuyan Islands under the jurisdiction of a mainland municipality, whereas all other islands form the municipality of Calayan.

History

Presently, Fuga Island is owned by Fuga Island Holdings. It was formerly owned by the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

under the ''

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish Labour (human activity), labour system that rewarded Conquistador, conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including mil ...

'' system during the Spanish Period eventually returned to the Filipinos after the signing of

1898 Treaty of Paris The Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain, commonly known as the Treaty of Paris of 1898, was signed by Spain and the United States on December 10, 1898, and marked the end of the Spanish–American Wa ...

. The first land title was issued in 1908 under Original Certificate Title number two, and the

Insular Government of the Philippine Islands The Philippine Insular GovernmentThis form of the name appeared in the titles of US Supreme Court cases, but was otherwise rarely used. See s:Costas v. Government of the Philippine Islands/Opinion of the Court, Costas v. Government of the Phili ...

designated the island and surrounding ports an economic zone as part of the

Cagayan Special Economic Zone The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) responsible for managing and supervising the development of the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport (CSEZFP) in the Philippines. Its cre ...

(CEZA) and Freeport under ''

Republic Act This article contains a partial list of Philippine laws. Sources of Philippine laws ;Notes : *Customs may be considered as supplementary source of law, however, customs which are contrary to law, public order or public policy shall not ...

No. 7922''.

Archaeology

From January 31, 1978 to February 22, 1978, Bryan E. Snow and Richard Shutler, Jr. conducted an archaeological excavation on Fuga Moro Island. Earthenware, pottery, porcelains, and stoneware were found during the excavation.

Military presence

On August 7, 2020, the Northern Luzon Command established a Marine detachment on the island. It also plans to build a defense facilities on the island, which will include a sheltered pier, a naval station, and a littoral monitoring on 20-hectare detachment.

Geography

History

Archaeology

Military presence

See also