Moalboal is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 23,402 people in 4,790 households.
Extending as a peninsula in the Southwestern tip of Cebu, Moalboal is bordered to the west by the Tañon Strait. From the western shoreline, the island of Negros can be seen. Moalboal is located 89 kilometers from Cebu City, about 2.5 hours by bus.
Moalboal is nestled between the towns of Alcantara and Badian. From the
tulay, an unfinished bridge located in Moalboal's town proper, Badian Island can be clearly seen, as well as the popular tourist attraction, Pescador Island.
Demographics
The people of Moalboal are members of the Cebuano linguistic group, which is a mix of Austronesian, Spanish, and Chinese ancestry. Locals often call themselves
Moalboalanons, taken from the name of their town. The "Moalboalanons" said they came from the "Boholanon" decscents.
Though majority of the people in Moalboal are Cebuanos, a few members of cultural minorities have found their way in her shores. Bajaus who are similar to Muslim nomads, are often seen in the streets, especially during the holiday season, as some of them make their living by begging. There is no evidence though that the
badjaos have taken their permanent residence in the town. The first settlers was said
[] to be a legendary Boholano fugitive named Laguno Sabanal.
The dominant language of the town is Cebuano. However, being separated by several mountain ranges from their Northern neighbors, the Cebuano in Moalboal has some subtle differences from that spoken in the city. For instance, terms such as
asgad, which means
salty, is not used by many Cebuanos in the city, using the more common term of
parat instead. The intonation is also different from that of the city dwelling Cebuanos. They start at a low range voice and ends in a high range tone, similar to Boholanon.
Economy
Industry and tradeMoalboal is a peninsula and as such, it is a town almost entirely surrounded by water. Majority of the people who live in the flat lands engage in fishing as their main mode of livelihood. Those who live in the mountain regions, like Agbalanga and Bala, live through farming.
The common mode of transportation is by motorcycles with side cars, known locally as
pedicabs or, depending on the distance, tricycles with side cars, called
tri-sikad. However, due to the burgeoning economy of the whole province, tiny jeepneys or multicabs can now be seen in many of the rural areas, transporting people from Moalboal to many of its nearby towns.
TourismSince the 1970s, Moalboal has developed a tourism industry based on diving and beaches. The municipality had the sole two white sand beaches on the western shore of Cebu Island, but in the 70s the Panagsama Beach in Basdiot was washed away during a taifun although some excellent
dive spots remain. The remaining beach, Basdako Beach (meaning
Big Sand), is located in the barangay of Saavedra. Interestingly enough, Basdiot where Panagsama Beach is located means...
