Panglao, Bohol

Panglao is an island in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas. Politically, it is divided into two municipalities: Dauis and Panglao, both of Bohol Province. Panglao is located southwest of the island of Bohol and east of Cebu.

In early history, Panglao was known to Chinese, Malay, Siamese and Indonesian traders. In 1803, Spanish explorers came to the shores of Panglao in search of fresh water. At the time a couple of natives on the seashore were making fishing devices called "panggaw". One of the Spaniards asked what the name of the island was. The natives--who thought the visitors were asking what they were making--then replied "panggaw". Hence, from that term, was derived the name Panglao. Currently Panglao is the one of the top tourist destinations in the Philippines.

Panglao is a fourth class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. It is one of two municipalities that make up Panglao Island, the other being Dauis. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 25,558 people.

Panglao has a terrain that range from plain, hilly to mountainous. Panglao is made of Maribojoc Limestone, the youngest of the limestone units found in the western area of Bohol. The limestone composition halted the development of an airport as coralline limestone is soluble which causes formation of caves and sinkholes. One interesting geological feature found in the island is the Hinagdanan Cave which has an underground water source. The cave is an important water source as the island has no rivers or lakes.

Panglao is famous for its world class diving locations and is home to numerous tourist resorts. At the pristine Alona Beach, tours can be organized to world famous diving sites. The dive sites that can be found on the northwest tip of the Panglao Island are Doljo Beach, Napaling and Puntod. These sites are deep and the currents are strong.

Panglao island is the site of Habitat for Humanity's "Tabalong Habitat Village". The village, still under construction, has capacity for 500 houses on land donated by local merchant Alturas. So far, around 200 houses had been built and lived in. Tabalong Habitat Village is visited by Global Village Teams, international volunteer teams who travel to the area to assist in construction.

Panglao is politically subdivided into 10 barangays.

* Bil-isan
* Bolod
* Danao
* Doljo
* Libaong
* Looc
* Lourdes
* Poblacion
* Tangnan
* Tawala

Bohol is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is Tagbilaran City. It is the 10th largest island in the country, located in the heart of the Visayas. [1] To the west of Bohol is Cebu, to the northeast is the island of Leyte and to the south, across the Bohol Sea is Mindanao.

Bohol is a popular tourist destination with its beaches and resorts. The Chocolate Hills, numerous mounds of limestone formation, is the most popular attraction. The island of Panglao, located just southwest of Tagbilaran City, is home to some of the finest beaches in the country. The Philippine Tarsier, considered by some to be the smallest primate, is indigenous to the island.

Boholanos refer to their island homeland as the 'Republic of Bohol' with both conviction and pride. A narrow strait separates the island of Cebu and Bohol and both share a common language, but the Boholanos retain a conscious distinction from the Cebuanos.

Hills dominate the island of Bohol. Two ranges run roughly parallel on the northwest and the southeast. An interior plateau is dominated by limestone hills. In Carmen, Batuan and Sagbayan, these hills form near perfect cones in great numbers and are collectively referred to as the Chocolate Hills.

Bohol's climate is generally dry, with maximum rainfall between the months of June and October. The interior is cooler than the coast.

A marine research team has found up to 250 new species of crustacean and 2,500 previously unknown species of mollusk around Panglao Island in central Bohol province.

The team -- composed of 80 scientists, technicians, students and volunteers from 19 countries -- also gathered specimens previously regarded as rare to very rare, including those previously thought not to exist in the Philippines.

The new discoveries were the product of the Panglao Marine Biodiversity Project, the most comprehensive survey of deep-sea invertebrates in the tropics conducted from 2004 to 2005.

“The result of the expedition once again proved the richness of the Philippines’ marine biodiversity,” said Philippe Bouchet, a member of the expedition team.

Bouchet, senior professor at the French National Museum of Natural History, said that around 150 to 250 of the crustaceans and 1,500 to 2,500 of the mollusks found in Bohol were new species.

"However, it requires a thorough comparison with all previously named species to ascertain if a novel species is indeed new to science," it added. "This is a slow and tedious process."

The project findings also show that Panglao alone is higher in diversity compared to Japan and the Mediterranean. Japan’s marine fauna barely exceeds 1,600 species of decapods while the Mediterranean has 340 species of decapods and 2,024 species of mollusks, Bouchet said.