hi there Im a researcher of the eartquakes and there will be big earthquakes in itbayat the 1 april 2013 at 20:00 PM time of itbayat I dont know who can i contact to let your people know and be safe please do something thanks

From: Asherah El <espejo-ojepse@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, Mar 30, 2013 at 8:05 PM

ITBAYAT.COM  

SEAIR Airline Increases Flights to Batanes
 
SEAIR flies from Manila to Batanes and vice versa every Tuesdays and Saturdays, and is now increasing its flights. Flights every Thursdays commence by October 16, 2008, Monday flights by October 20, 2008, and Friday flights by October 31, 2008. SEAIR will soon have flights from Manila to Batanes and v.v. every Saturdays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The flights from Manila to Batanes are from 0550 to 0725 and the flights from Batanes to Manila are from 0755 to 0930. One-way airfares start at P35++ (as low as 2895.20 one-way all-in fare).
The flights use SEAIR's Dornier 328 planes which allow SEAIR to offer the fastest flights to Batanes. 

Island municipality of Itbayat is the largest of the three inhabited islands that compose the province of Batanes. It is also the northernmost municipality in the Philippines, located only over 200 kilometers from the southernmost tip of Taiwan.

While the church and civil government were already established in Batan Island mid 1783, its was only in 1855 that civil authority was officially established and the mission canonically founded in Itbayat. A mere pueblo during the Spanish regime, it became a municipal district when the Americans organized the province in 1909. However, in 1935, it became a municipality and today it is a 5th class municipality in the province of Batanes, Philippines.

According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 3,616 people in 719 households.

Itbayat Island is actually a giant uplifted coral reef, and research claims it’s one of the world’s largest. Knowing this first time around made me think how this was possible. I guess that explains how the island doesn’t have a shoreline and the texture of the cliffs does resemble a giant coral. Interesting isn’t it? So how is it like living on a giant coral reef?

We Propose that "Daily Air Airline" to Mount flights from Taitung Airport  into Basco so that Taiwanese Honeymooners, Taiwanese Adventurists can visit Sabtang Island and Itbayat Island 
or  Taiwanese Adventurist can use Ferry trips to Itbayat or Sabtang Island from Taitung's Fukang harbor.South Taiwan Itbayat Island or Sabtang Island  can be a Taiwanese Honeymoon Destination,   Someday a Six Star Luxury Hotel can be built in SABTANG ISLAND or ITBAYAT ISLAND  to  Cater  for
RICH TAIWANESE Vacationers,  Rich Taiwanese Investor can built 6 Star Luxury Hotel in Sabtang Island


One Hour by Jet from Kaoshioung Taiwan Airport arriving in Batan Island Airport and Boat Ride to SABTANG Paradise or ITBAYAT Paradise 


Itbayat is located on the island's west coast. Apart from extensive garlic production, Itbayat also has a relatively large pineapple harvest in June and July. They also have many more coconut trees here than on other Batan islands. Consequently, one has a better chance here to sample the coconut crab, a delicacy that, unfortunately, may be eaten into extinction in the Batanes.

"Vakul" Bring Some to Metro Manila

Batanes virtually crime-free. Despite relatively high alcohol consumption, especially during the long rainyl season, the people remain basically "honest and hardworking".

Houses are rarely locked except during typhoons, and it is safe to walk alone at night. Most people are in bed by 22:00, partly because their day begins at 5:00, and partly because outside Basco, there is electricity only from 18:30 to 21:30, if at all.

Farming, fishing, raising cattle, hogs, other livestock and some poultry are the main sources of livelihood for the people of Batanes. Garlic and cattle are the main exports.

Although only a few can afford to export cattle, almost every family grows garlic as a cash crop. The high price of garlic in the rest of the Philippines has made it a very lucrative business.

At the beginning of the garlic harvest, which runs from February to April, the price of garlic tumbles from a high of 195 pesos/kg to a low of 30 pesos/kg. The harvest is transported from Batanes to Luzon by an LST (Landing Ship Tank), used for inter-island cargo shipping.

production of garlic in Batanes has so increased, that the LST boat occasionally makes a special trip beyond the island of Batan, to Itbayat just to pick up their garlic shipment.


Did you know that United States Marines landed on the island of  Itbayat in 1991? The Marines of the United States  Armed Forces  were directed by the U.S. President following a request from the PHILIPPINES  President to assist during a pending natural disaster


Except during the typhoon season, there are semi-regular boat trips from Basco to Itbayat Island, several times a week. The trip takes about 4 hours at best, in a deep-hulled open ship made of wood. Apart from April and May, when the sea is smooth, the trip can be hell on swells for those prone to seasickness.  fare is 75 pesos one-way -(1989 Price)

There are no really good natural harbors in Batanes, and in Itbayat there is only an indented rock shelf forming the base of the island. The boats will not stay overnight if the sea is rough or threatening as they would only be tossed at their moorings and possibly damaged against the rock coast.

Sometimes during April and May, the LST navy boat from La Union will continue on to Itbayat from Basco.





This Beach Located in Sabtang Island
From Basco, one may take the jeepney to Ivana where a wooden motorized boat supposedly holding up to 25 passengers with cargo, makes the 30 minute crossing to Sabtang, at 10 pesos per head. Sometimes a bigger boat is used. The first trip leaves as early as 6:00, or when there are enough passengers. The next boat leaves at about 11:00, or waits for the flight from Manila, or, again, for enough passengers. If the number of passengers justifies it, the boat will continue to the other side of Sabtang, to the barrio of Sumnanga. Except during April and May, one can expect to get wet on these boat trips. Locals often carry umbrellas, against the sea spray; and the absence of piers means beach landings, which can be rough and wet.




Itbayat Sabtang Batan Flying Lizard Gecko
Text & photos by Nonie Reyes

THE resurfacing and widening of the Basco, Batanes Airport is now complete, spurring hopes that this remote but progressive outpost in the country’s northernmost part will enjoy economic growth, especially seeing tourism boom, in the near future.

                Endorsed as a priority by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), the project that started on December 17, 2007, and was finished in August 2008, cost P29 million.

                 The “new improved” airport is now  1250 meters long and 30 meters wide threshold to threshold.

                Besides the improved airport, the once-sleepy place boasts a zero-percent crime rate and honest people, substantial come-ons for local and foreign tourists. According to provincial governor Telesforo F. Castillejos, they want to concentrate on their Eco-Cultural Tourism Industry, and having the runway of Basco Batanes airport repaired will surely help their campaign to project a tourist haven.

                The governor added that, “being a typhoon- prone area, they are prepared for any harsh natural calamity. Actually, typhoons could also be part of the attraction of this province for some foreigners who visits us and love adventure (typhoon watching).” Imagine that as a tourist come-on: come, visit us and watch, not the dolphins or whale sharks, but our typhoons.   "TYPHOON WATCHING TOURS" Call Mr Giovanni Deetan for itbayat Island Tours and Sabtang Island Tours

                Tourism is an emerging growth sector that generates much economic returns for the province, but, the governor explains, “preserving our culture and new development is still the main concern of the local government; that’s why direct people participation is welcome in all development activities.”

                The tourism industry has tripled from April of this year, but honestly the governor says, “we are not yet ready for a big market of tourists, we still have to develop our amenities and food supply.” He says “80 percent of our food come from Luzon and we don’t want our visitors” to feel shortchanged in their expectations when they visit the province.

                He said they have invited “the private sector to have a look in our province for investments,” but the governor doesn’t want the highlands to be casino havens, having turned down a previous offer.

                They are seeking the help of the National Government to evaluate their contractors before granting them projects in the province.

                He floated the possibility of having a Business Process Outsourcing outfit to give jobs to some of the province’s 16,000 population—most of whom are asking for employment, not food or education. Most of the college students are scholars, and when they graduated, 70 percent leaves the province because the opportunities are few. “But if there is an opportunity here in their homeland they would think twice before they leave.”

                June of next year will be a big event for the Ibatans (locals of Batanes) because they have launched a campaign called “Come home Batanes 2009.” This is meant to open opportunities for the Ibatans outside of Batanes to come home; and also an opportunity to join their municipal festival that will showcase the best of the province’s songs, poetry and culture.

"TYPHOON WATCHING TOURS" Please  Call Mr Giovanni Deetan for itbayat Island Tours and Sabtang Island Tours - We also encourage Taiwanese to spent Weekend in Itbayat Island and Sabtang Island, we hope to see a  PARADISE ITBAYAT SABTANG  GOLF COURSE constructed - Taiwanese Food Entrepreneur are also encourage to Open Taiwanese Cuisine in ITBAYAT ISLAND and SABTANG ISLAND  -- Itbayat.COM and  Sabtang.COM

You don’t ever really leave Batanes By Karla Vizcarra
ON my last day in Basco, I rose before the sun did, and almost bawled as this soft, orange orb swelled over the landscape, revealing all that I would, in a few hours, leave behind. I’d leave behind the most beautiful splodge of earth I’d ever set foot in; a way of life I never thought could still exist. Even more astounding, aside from its beauty, is that Batanes rouses in you the ancient, forgotten life core—one free from modern excess, untroubled by the cold dictates of currency. Batanes, with its green fertile belly, fuming, fish-filled seas and massive cliffs, at once stuns and reminds people how the world once was—and how far from it we have gone. Of course. The island is 200 km away from Manila, separated by oceans, winds, legends and typhoons, so no people are perhaps as unfazed as the Ivatans are by capitalism, and its malls, money and Mickey Mouse. A hand-written sign on a small town’s wall reminds people that gasoline is sold at “P57/ liter,” and please, “exact amount only.” In Sabtang, a smaller island 45 minutes away from Ivana’s port, only a couple of stores sell cooked food—by request. After all, everyone grows and raises his own chickens, cows and crops for their own consumption. “Others still find it embarrassing to sell their vegetables; they find it strange to have to ask for money for what grew on their fields,” Auntie Cielo said as we dug into the escabeche she placed before us, minutes after we knocked on her door, lured by the sign that declared it a Food Hut. Her restaurant was not open, so she kindly set before us her family’s fish dinner. Even in the island of Batan (where capital Basco is the most citified in Batanes archipelago), people hardly grew crops for profit, so plots for each family remained just the right size. Livestock freely roamed the fields; the abundant fields make up a communal pasture owned by all. No fences There are no barbed-wire fences in Batanes, no gates prohibiting entry in any of the beaches. At the most, there are hedgerows: labyrinthian, shoulder-high shrubs that are more tourist attractions than property delineators. They also serve as windbreaks, habitat corridors and a means to prevent erosion. Centuries before sustainable development could become a buzzword, these people had been practicing it. My theory is that if the rest of the Philippines were as isolated and as regularly taunted by ferocious typhoons—hurtling at 200 km/ph or more—we’d be as civilized as the Ivatans. In the rural arteries of Basco, near the foot of Mt. Iraya, whose volcanic ashes once spewed into the island of Batan and turned it fertile and brilliant green, a neighbor discovered an old man squatting alone in a tiny hovel. She immediately assembled her own limited resources to build him a decent house, nothing, not even credit, asked for in return. However, the island’s perennially salty air had since then eaten through the roof. We went to visit the old man, and found out he was hard of hearing, and didn’t completely understand what was happening, except that for the second time in his latter life he was surrounded by strangers fixing up his home. We were about to introduce ourselves when we heard there was a yaru happening a few meters away. Yaru In these parts, whenever disaster strikes, people do not sit around blaming the government. People voluntarily get together and start rebuilding—a gracious Ivatan practice known as yaru. When the Spanish missionaries came to Batanes near the end of the 1600s and exchanged the Ivatans’ gods with theirs, they also replaced the Ivatans’ wooden and thick cogon houses with the famous lime and stone wall structures Batanes is famous for today. These houses were built, stone by stone, painstakingly carried from the sea, cooked and stacked and left to dry over extended periods. To this day, community works, without expecting something in return—just kinship, and perhaps a hearty meal of native chicken stewed in vegetables with steamed uvi (white kamote, the more common food staple before rice came along). Lust for money The Ivatans do not lust for money, hence they are uncorrupted by its effects. In Sabtang, the former mayor was wheeling around in an old, rusty bicycle—his burnt, robust face seeming content, with its full white moustache and a safari hat on his head. It was sent to him, he said, by his son working in a hotel in the Carribean. The provincial governor, we discovered, lives in a modest, unassuming house, absurd anywhere else in the Philippines. Public schooling and hospitalization are free. Student-teacher ratio is at 1:12. The people leave their doors open, their bicycles on the sides of the road. Gidgeon, a fellow traveler I met on the trip, told me he had lost his wallet on the streets the last time he was in Basco. The people announced it over Radyo ng Bayan, and within minutes, he had his wallet back, everything intact. One only needed to visit Honesty Café, a tiny store alongside the road in Ivana to understand the tremendous faith the Ivatans had in their fellowman. Here, there are no storekeepers. Instead, there is a cheerful sign on the wall telling people to simply take what they wanted and drop the prescribed amount in the cash box. The owners worked in the fields, and did not have the time to man their store. Now that direct flights have opened up Batanes to the mainland, it is disquieting to think of what full-blown tourism could do to upset this balance. “You must be careful of tourists,” Señor Lacoma, a Spanish painter traveling with us, warned Sabtang’s mayor. “They are not always good for a place.” Robert Bastillo, himself a proud Ivatan, is doing what he can as Batanes Eco-Cultural Tourism consultant to preserve the island’s harmony. “The trick is to get the right tourists. Those who will come to respect Batanes’ heritage, its deep cultural roots and how nature has shaped these people to become what they are—people who will marvel not only at its astounding landscape, but at the Ivatan way of life.” Their best project is the concept of homestays: apart from checking in a hotel, a tourist lives in a traditional Ivatan house, the centuries-old limestone abodes built in the Spanish era, and be deep into the genuine, beating heart of Batanes. But modernism has set in many parts. Already, more people are abandoning their 18th century limestones and tough cogon grass for cement and paint and galvanized iron roofs that the harsh sea would inevitably corrode in three years. The idea is to build a tourism industry that would strengthen the Ivatan culture instead of obliterating it. Lola Fiorestida, 88, understands this well. She is the occupant of the oldest stone house in Batanes, the “House of Dakay.” Her relatives now live in concrete houses beside hers. I asked her if she’d ever want to move in with them. “No,” she said, her gracefully-lined face resolute. “These walls keep me warm during cold days and cool during hot days. I wouldn’t change anything.” She welcomes visitors to her humble, little home, speaking to us in Filipino, English and Ivatan. I had decided to spend a night in Sabtang, where a good portion of the houses remained impervious to the more contemporary designs of their neighbors. I sat down on a low, stone wall and watched the sun slowly set over the stone streets and hedges, the dark grays and blacks contrasting sharply among the lush green of the grass. Chickens strutted everywhere and children played unmindful of strangers, wearing tiny sweaters, coats and caps to ward off the late afternoon chill. Fathers pedaled by, their little ones hugging them from behind. The colors, the wind, the ancient windows, the voices. I must have stayed there for hours just watching, in awe of how everything just was. And I knew, the next time I come, I would never leave again.


To be one of the world’s heritage places does not only mean preserving historical and archeological treasures but to give meaning to life, culture and the environment amid the challenges of modernization that often lead to materialism, environmental destruction and loss of one’s identity as a people.

This is one of the greatest legacies of the Ivatan tribes that have lived for many generations in this province but are able to preserve their culture and traditions, as well as nurture their history and environment.
The province of Batanes is gearing up for the title of United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (Unesco) World Heritage Site for Cultural Landscape. It is preparing an information dossier proving that its measures and programs will lead to preservation of historical and archeological sites, as well as culture, traditions and identity of the Ivatans. The province is expected to submit the document to Unesco this year.
With a landmass of 20,300 hectares, or one-third of Metro Manila, Batanes is the smallest province in the country. It is known as the northern frontier of the Philippines, facing the Pacific Ocean in the East and the China Sea in the West. Because of its geographical location, treacherous currents surround Batanes and around 20 typhoons batter the island each year.
Dr. Richard Engelhardt, director of culture and arts of the Unesco regional office in Bangkok, nominated in 2003 to list the island’s historical and archeological treasures in the World Heritage Sites.
When Dr. Arthur Chen, Unesco consultant to the World Heritage Center, visited Batanes in November 2007, he was mesmerized by the cultural landscape—meaning man living with nature to achieve the greatest value for humanity is very much alive in the province. He recommended that Batanes be declared as Unesco World Heritage Site for Cultural Landscape.
Batanes Gov. Telesforo Castillejos said the Ivatan culture has remained intact and has helped the island province survive the challenges of modernization and the lure of huge foreign investments that they know could destroy the environment and culture inherent to Batanes.
Turning down millions of dollars worth of investments has placed the life of Castillejos in grave danger many times over. He survived an assassination attempt in 2008. “…The moment we change and agree to suit… the commercial wishes of the investors, we would be compromising not just our environment but also our culture and dignity as a people,” he said.
Those investors, mostly foreign companies, want to put up hotels and casinos in Batanes, compromising culture and the environment.
“The Ivatan value system and culture are very strong among us and we find no reason to abandon them because our sustainable way of living has been giving us a higher quality of life,” said Castillejos in an interview here.
The 16,000 people of Batanes are known as honest, helpful, resilient, peace loving and hardworking. They live a simple and dignified life amid a harsh environment—Batanes is also known as the center of typhoons in the Philippines.
Among the outstanding features of Batanes as a cultural landscape are its hedgerows and sustainable farming systems, as well as sustainable fishing practices and cooperative traditions.
The Ivatans also exercise communal ownership to pasture and cogonal lands, traditional settlements of vernacular houses and priceless archeological sites.
“Nobody goes hungry in Batanes because we nurture our rich natural resources together and we don’t depend so much [on] the outside world amid the challenges of materialism,” said Castillejos.
While the threats of the global financial crisis have crept into many sectors in Manila and other key provinces in the country, the Ivatans have remained isolated, as they prefer to lead a simple life in harmony with the environment.
The Ivatans until now practice the cooperative system of house construction or roof maintenance where community members contribute free labor and roofing materials.
Castillejos said, however, the province continues to endure the lingering problem of outmigration on lack of enough number of universities and career opportunities.
He said 45 percent or 675 of 1,500 high-school students who graduate each year leave mostly for Metro Manila in pursuit of higher education. “But 90 percent of these people do not come back,” he lamented.
Castillejos remains optimistic because those who do come back with college degrees serve the province as public-school teachers and local employees.
As part of its campaign for the title of Unesco World Heritage Site for Cultural Landscape, Batanes will launch in March the “Visit Batanes 2009” campaign to promote not only its breathtaking landscapes and archeological sites but also its culture and arts.
Castillejos said the tourism program does not aim to attract flocks of tourists and bring in huge revenues but, more important, to entice cultural and environmental tourists who would appreciate the landscape, environment, culture and traditions.
The province is targeting only 20,000 tourists who would be staying in centuries-old stone houses and will be catered to by the Ivatans for a firsthand experience of the island’s culture and traditions.
Many provinces in the country continue to lure huge foreign investments by the sheer number of tourists each year, but never for the Ivatans of Batanes whose hearts and minds remain calm and composed as the solid rocks of their houses that shelter them against the fiercest of storms Written by Estrella Torres





Balikbayan In Batanes
By Gene and Becky Villano

 Many retirees follow their dream of travel in their golden years. For Philippine-born seniors based in the United States, this dream often includes traveling to Hawaii, South America, Europe, Italy, China, Japan and recently, even Vietnam. A few include the magnificent views of Antartica in their itinerary, while others look forward to taking in the breathtaking sights at Machu Pichu and the Galapagos.

 Having recently attended the class reunion of UST Medicine class of 1962, we had the rare opportunity to visit the North, touring Laoag, Vigan and the Banawe rice terraces, and enjoying the cool breeze of Tagaytay further down South. The visit made us realize how rich our country is when it comes to tourist spots. When we heard about Mandy Navasero’s Batanes Photo Safari, we took it as another chance to visit a remote province about which many memorable stories have been told. So it was with much anticipation that we joined a group of total strangers and willingly lost ourselves in this secluded paradise beyond the northernmost tip of the Philippines. Words cannot fully express our joy not only at viewing, but also at strolling through, the quaint streets of Batanes and exploring its many rolling hills. The landscape of undulating green pastures which hosted grazing cows, carabaos and goats also extended its welcome to a group of young city dwellers as well as aging balikbayans.
The treacherous stony beaches, however, seemed to give warning that although guests are welcome, respect for and protection of natural resources and cultural heritage must also be observed. It was with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Batanes after a brief three-day visit. Like others who have come before us, we stored the parting words “I shall return” in our mind, knowing that lingering memories will soon turn the phrase into promise. Indeed, before we extol the virtues of many other places in the world, let us first pay tribute to our country’s beautiful sites. Remember that list of 1,000 places to visit before you die? If Batanes isn’t there yet, make that 1,001.





Batanes lures only tourists who love nature, culture
Written by Estrella Torres / Reporter   

BASCO, Batanes—With breathtaking sights of wide pastures, rolling hills and idyllic mountains and the seas, there is no doubt that this province is beyond compare and ready to welcome tourists who can appreciate nature’s timeless beauty without the fancy comforts of a hotel.

The provincial government of Batanes announced over the weekend the “Visit Batanes 2009,” aimed at attracting some 20,000 eco-cultural tourists each year to appreciate the rich history, culture and traditions and the natural landscape of the province.

Provincial Gov. Telesforo Castillejos said the Visit Batanes 2009 program aims to attract the right tourists who know how to appreciate breathtaking sceneries, as well as the rich culture and history of  Batanes.

The program discourages tourists whose ideas of fun and leisure are gambling in casinos and nightclubs in high-end hotels and resorts offered in other tourist spots in the country.

“We are targeting visits of eco-cultural tourists and other tourists who may be interested in visiting places still relatively untouched by modernization,” said Castillejos in a media briefing here over the weekend.

The activities for the Visit Batanes 2009 include competitions similar to the famous Amazing Race, which goads an adrenalin rush among participants while highlighting the rich natural beauty of the islands. These include tours and races in the hedgerows, caves and rolling hills. 

The provincial government has invited national athletes, celebrities, and print and broadcast journalists to participate in the string of events to be held at the end of the month.

A breathtaking sight of the province is the “Raku a’ Payaman” in Mahatao town on Batan island. It literally means wide pasture, where the Ivatan tribe of Batanes let livestock freely roam out in the open space.

The Batanes Eco-Cultural Tourism Industry program encourages the Ivatans to be proud of their cultural heritage and help in the preservation of the rich cultural landscape.

Castillejos said the Visit Batanes program would not pave the way for the construction of huge buildings for hotels and resorts just to cater to foreign tourists. Instead, it will promote the community stay program where visitors will live in the 15th-century stone houses of the Ivatan tribes and be able to immerse in the local culture and traditions.

Among the nature and cultural landscapes to be highlighted in the Visit Batanes program is the Idjang fortress on Sabtang island of Batanes. Idjang is a castle-like structure at the summit of the hill that served as fortress for an older civilization.

The attraction also include the Torongan Cave on Itbayat island, which served an as a dwelling place of the Ivatan ancestors who are known to have originated from Taiwan.   








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