Where the Heck is Maniwaya Island?

A couple of days ago, I was reading on the development of Balesin Island Club Resort by a US based conglomerate headquartered in Miami, Florida. After reading the article, Maniwaya Island comes to my mind. The scenic beauty of Maniwaya Island is comparable if not better than Balesin Island. Moreover, the proximity of Maniwaya to Manila is a big plus for Maniwaya's future development. Marinduque tourist officials would like to claim that Maniwaya Island is the next Boracay without the night clubs and big crowds. I have a feeling that big resort developers will be wishing they have a chance to develop the island into a luxurious resort, once they see the island in person. This will only happened if our local government officials gave their support.

The status of being another Boracay without the night clubs has already been claimed by the developers of the Balesin Island Club Resort. Balesin Island is a 500 hectare island south of the Pollilo Island of Quezon province. A private and exclusive resort has just recently opened. Completion of the resort complex is expected to be finished by the end of this year.

Below is a video of Maniwaya Island from YouTube that attracted my attention.

Here's some tidbits from an article published in the local paper on Maniwaya Islands.

Freddie Pelaez, former village chair of Maniwaya, said the island got its name from the Filipino word maniwala (believe). According to old-timers, a story went that a visitor with a speech disorder was asked by locals about his impression of the island, and he replied, “Maganda. Maniwaya kayo sa akin (It’s beautiful. Believe me).”

Maniwaya has a land area of 264 hectares and a population of 1,900 or 370 households. The residents’ major sources of livelihood are fishing and farming, Pelaez said.

Local blogger Eli Obligacion in his blog site Marinduque Rising said nights could be creepy on the island with the “strangest bird sounds you’ll ever hear. But when the moon is full and the water is still, you might experience some state of freedom and enlightenment.”

“Maniwaya is still untouched by commercial developers so the bigger number of visitors just come by to spend the whole day swimming and exploring the shore—and maybe taste the bibingka (rice cake) or agar-agar seaweed jelly that the local inhabitants make,” he wrote.