Fuga Island is an island and

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolit ...

located north of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, ...

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 via Bashi Channel to Luzon Strait. The archipelago consi ...

, which is the second-northernmost island group of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

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

Aparri Aparri ( ilo, Ili ti Aparri; tl, Bayan ng Aparri), officially the Municipality of Aparri, is a 1st class municipality in the province of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,839 people. It sits at the mouth of ...

in the province of

Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region, covering ...

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 Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish ...

in the northeast, with an elevation of . Along with the neighbouring islets of Barit () and Mabaag, it constitutes one of 42

s of the municipality of

Aparri, Cagayan Aparri ( ilo, Ili ti Aparri; tl, Bayan ng Aparri), officially the Municipality of Aparri, is a 1st class municipality in the province of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,839 people. It sits at the mouth ...

. 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 ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of C ...

under the ''

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...

'' 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 ( fil, Kasunduan sa Paris ng 1898; es, Tratado de París de 1898), was a treaty signed by Spain and the United Stat ...

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

Insular Government of the Philippine Islands The Insular Government of the Philippine IslandsThis form of the name appeared in the titles of U.S. Supreme Court cases, but was otherwise rarely used. See Costas v. Insular Government of the Philippine Islands, 221 U.S. 623, 1911. The Admini ...

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) tasked to manage and supervise the development of the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport (CSEZFP) in the Philippines. Its creation and op ...

(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 be ...

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. Only 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.

References

{{reflist

External links

Fuga Island
at

OpenStreetMap OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a free, open geographic database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveys, trace from aerial imagery and also import from other freely licensed ...