A trip to Tabuk island

by: gcrjelyn

Adjacent to the town of Palompon, Leyte is a rich and diverse haven of marine life—and is among the newest favorite destination among tourists and environmentalists in Eastern Visayas region. The Tabuk island, was declared marine park and bird sanctuary through a municipal ordinance in 1995 thus protecting the island from man’s wanton abuse. Fishing was banned within the vicinity of the island, and then the depleted mangroves in the island miraculously recovered, after it was declared "no man’s land".

Local leaders insisted that by declaring the island into a sanctuary, the fish and other marine creatures can multiply without human disturbances. After the island recovered, it is no longer "a no man’s land", it is already open for tourists for nature trips and ecological tours. Local government officials and employees from across the country visited Tabuk island, for them to replicate the Palompon’s programs on ecological amelioration for sustainable development, coastal protection and conservation.

Tabuk island has its 3-storey concrete sunset and bird viewing tower and a boardwalk made of bamboos, traversing from the southeastern edge of the island to the western part. A stilt house and cottages for picknickers, and an awesome place for scuba diving and snorkeling.

Today, endemic and migratory birds flocked their new found home, and Philippine mallards (wild ducks) wades happily along the coast of Tabuk island. Wild ducks are quacking, echoing their joy because no would harm them in that part of the island we called "the mallard’s lair".

In the northwestern part of the island is the bat kingdom, with thousands or hundreds of thousands of "kabug" hanging on the branches of the trees and at 5:30 in the afternoon, they flocked and invaded the adjacent mainland and find a place to rest.

At around 9:00 in the evening, tour guides were bringing searchlights for the marine safari and we are overwhelmed by the sight of colorful thousands of fish that leap out from the seawater. Fish of different species, big and small comes out and this proves that environmental protection and conservation successfully brings back the life of our marine resources.