Take an intimate look into what goes on behind the scenes in the making and maintaining of some of Asia’s most fascinating extremes.
The Tagbanua lifeguards consider themselves the guardians of Kayangan Lake, a sacred site for their tribe. PHOTO: VINA SALAZAR
He is part of the Calamian Tagbanua, an ethnic tribe that has lived in Coron for thousands of years. Kayangan – world famous for being Asia’s cleanest lake – is part of their ancestral home, and they are its guardians. The tribe considers the 13 lakes throughout their lands sacred, believing these are inhabited by nature spirits. The tribe members dare not swim or fish in these waters.
The Tagbanua named another lake Barracuda, after the skeleton of a large fish they discovered underwater. Like Kayangan, it also has clear, brackish waters. Scuba divers are allowed there as it does not have Kayangan’s strong underwater currents.As a lifeguard, Mr Aguilar is tasked to not only give first aid to tourists when they need it, but also to safeguard Kayangan’s pristine beauty.
He also puts on goggles and makeshift flippers, recycled from a water drum and an old tyre, to dive 6m to the bottom of the lake to scour for plastic scraps.The Tagbanua tribe members cut up old water containers and attach strips from rubber tyres to make their swimming fins. PHOTO: VINA SALAZAR Things changed in the 1980s when the local government of Coron started auctioning off the Tagbanua’s caves to make a profit from the birds’ nests.
The process was long and arduous, but the Tagbanua eventually secured their ancestral domain title from the national government in 2002. Tickets cost between 150 and 200 pesos at the tribe’s less popular destinations, such as Barracuda Lake, Twin Lagoon, Coral Garden and a handful of beaches. A trip to Coron, Palawan, would not be complete without capturing a photo of these limestone karsts and turquoise waters from a view deck that tourists to the island usually visit. PHOTO: VINA SALAZAR
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