Moalboal, officially the Municipality of Moalboal, is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 31,130 people.
Extending as a peninsula on the south-western tip of Cebu, Moalboal is bordered to the west by the Tañon Strait. Negros Island can be seen from the western shoreline. Moalboal is located 89 kilometres (55 mi) from Cebu City, about 3 hours by public bus.
Moalboal is bordered to the north by the town of Alcantara, to the west is the Tañon Strait, to the east is the town of Argao, and to the south is the town of Badian.
Pescador Island, a popular tourist attraction, is part of the municipality.
Two versions, both based on phonetic distortions, are ascribed as the origin of the place named “Moalboal,” The first version is an onomatopeic derivation from the bubbling sound, or bocalbocal (or bukalbukal) in Cebuano, emitted by the waters of a spring located within the town proper. The second, and less popular, version attributes to the belief that most of the town’s first settlers are Boholanos or Bol-anons. In either version, it is believed by many residents that bocalbocal or Bol-anon eventually was transformed to “Moalboal”.
Perhaps, the real clue to the etymology of “Moalboal” is its old orthography. Redondo’s Breve Reseña de la Diocesis de Cebu en las Islas Filipinas spells the name of the town as “Moalbual.” The same spelling is reflected on a page from Sale’s Ang Sugbo sa Karaang Panahon showing a map of the Cebu Province.
Furthermore, Buzeta and Bravo’s Diccionario Geografico Estadistico Historio de las Islas Filipinas spells Moalboal as “Mualbual.” It is also noted in Microfilm 1214683, which contains Moalboal’s Basutismos from the year 1926 to 1949, of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints Family History Library that Moalboal is formerly spelled as “Mualbual.”
(from http://www.moalboalcebu.gov.ph)
Though the majority of the people in Moalboal are Cebuanos, a few members of cultural minorities have found their way there. 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 up permanent residence in the town.
Moalboal is a peninsula and therefore it is almost entirely surrounded by water. The 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 bicycles with side cars, known locally as pedicabs or, depending on the distance, tricycles with side cars, called trisikads.
Since the 1970s, Moalboal has developed a tourism industry based on recreational diving and beaches. Panagsama Beach (Basidot) is where most resorts and restaurants are established, while further north on the peninsula, in Saavedra, is White Beach (Basdako), a two-kilometre (1.2 mi) beach. This beach used to be mostly frequented by locals, but has since developed an international tourist trade.
In Moalboal, most tourists stay at either Panagsama Beach (Basdiot) or White Beach (Basdako), both located 3–5 kilometres (1.9–3.1 mi) away from the main bus stop in Moalboal.
Moalboal also serves as a base for other activities, such as canyoneering in Badian and the Kawasan Falls, 20 kilometres (12 mi) away from Moalboal.
Recreational diving is the main tourist activity in Moalboal, and reefs along the west coast of the Copton peninsula are home to a great variety of marine life. Pescador Island, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) off the coast, is the most popular dive spot with an underwater cave known as “the Cathedral”. Indeed a breath-taking view of the underwater world as some of the country’s best diving sites in Moalboal as the terrain of the reef follows the entire coast line, making the place ideal for scuba-diving, snorkeling and freediving, with a shallow drop-off close to shore dropping down to more than 40 metres (130 ft). Whale sharks, dolphins, and thresher sharks are also seen out of the blue.
The annual feast of Moalboal is held on the 15 and 16 of May. Moalboal is known also for its “Kagasangan Festival” (coral) in which they perform tribal dances and music. It is held in honor of St. John of Nepomuk, the town’s patron saint.
