Excerpt from my article: "Tawi-Tawi: on the Edge of Paradise" (by Jojie Alcantara)

An island province of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Tawi-Tawi forms a part of the Sulu Archipelago chain of islands which has small submarine ridges protruding from the sea, extinct volcano cones and winding limestone-based isles rising from the southernmost ridge. This island chain is said to be an important migration path for birds. From the plane, its irregular shape of islets tinged with fringes of white sandy beaches and rocky coastlines make this province of 107 islands (a combined land area of 462 sq. miles) a veritable world class tourist destination in the future. Some of the islets even resemble those of the stunning atolls in Maldives. From my plane window, uninhabited tiny dots form a chain and had amoeba-like appearances … solid around the edges with lagoons in the middle.

Composed of 11 municipalities, the unique island clusters are home to the Tausugs, various groups of Sama people including the semi-nomadic Badjao, land-based Sama, Yakan and Jama Mapun. The people are warm and friendly, peace loving, and content with the islander pace of life.