At a Glance

Tabawan is one of the 7,107 Islands of Philippine archipelago and is located on the Southern most part, coasting the Celebes Sea. A tiny little dot as seen on Google Map, in fact labeled under South Ubian (which is a municipality to where it belongs). 

Tabawan Island from a distant seems like a series of floating stones. But, when you get closer, the figure somewhat changes. It looks like a floating lost log in the middle of no where in the Sulu Sea. Yet, when you get closest to it, you discover that you have actually found an island—Tabawan Island.

Viewing at from a simple geography, Tabawan emerges about three kilometers long and one kilometer wide above the sea level. This island is totally flat with a rocky and thin soil. If there were no coconut plantation on the island, the island would have been just a rocky barren atoll. During bad weather, the island is very hard to find hidden in smoggy climate and total darkness. 

Like most of the islands and islets in the archipelago, Tabawan has white sand though its coastal areas are coral reefs. It has a wide range of shallow water where the locals pick seafood during windy and wavy season. During high tide, the ground level is about two feet below the sea level. At low tide, the island emerges a little higher. If you happen to be a seafarer or an explorer or simply a passerby near the island, you would conclude that this place is, definitely, a God forsaken island. It is so remote and isolated that no one would imagine that there would people living in this island. 

The truth is they are actually thousands of people living in there. They are called the Sama people and the island is an “emerald” and the strings that form the Province of Tawi-Tawi.

Tabawan is at center of the South Ubian municipality which is the easternmost area of the province. The municipality also includes the islands of Bubuan, Bintaulan, and South Ubian. 

(Book: Ray of Hope)