Sparkling like diamonds, the waters glisten as the sun’s golden rays touch the pristine sea. The powdery blue sky casts a bright gleam beneath. The spread of white sand shimmers against the stream that changes hue—from emerald green to turquoise and azure—as the briny deep seems unfathomable.
How many islands? The count, even greater (actually 124 at low tide and 123 at high tide), sums up the grouping of isles scattered incidentally along Lingayen Gulf, many of which are still unexplored.
Covering an area of 1,844 hectares, the islands are believed to be some two million years old. According to certain folklore, the islands were tears of a primeval giant who lost his ladylove. Others tell of tall-tale of mermaids that once inhabited its seas.
Some other legends claim that the Hundred Islands are remnant tips of the lost continent of Lemuria, fabled as the Pacific continent at war with Atlantis before both advanced civilizations disappeared under the sea. Its legendary past is attributed behind the frequent emergence of psychics and faith healers in the province of Pangasinan.
How Hundred Islands was discovered, became a national park and always considered as a priceless natural jewel. These are just but a few of the unanswered facts about the world’s eight wonder which is now back in the caring hands of Alaminians.
Below is a historical timeline of the Hundred Islands National Park (HINP.
1937. President Manuel Quezon visited Alaminos and appointed Dr. Gonzalo Montemayor, then the provincial health office, to oversee the development of the Hundred Islands.
1940. President Manuel L. Quezon issued Presidential Proclamation No. 667 on January 18, 1940, declaring a group of islands in the Municipality of Alaminos, Pangasinan as the “Hundred Islands National Park” (HINP) for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of the Philippines.
1962. President Diosdado Macapagal issued Republic Act No. 3655 on June 22, 1962 that created the Hundred Islands Conservation and Development Authority (HICDA), for the conservation, development and management of HINP.
1974. President Ferdinand E. Marcos transferred the HINP including Lucap Bay from HICDA to the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) by virtue of Section 35 of Presidential Decree No. 564.
1982. President Marcos issued Proclamation No. 2183 on April 27, 1982 declaring the HINP, including the Lucap Bay and its foreshore areas beginning from Sitio Telbang in the east to Sitio Recudo in the west, as a Tourist Zone and Marine Reserve under the control and administration of the PTA.
1982. President Marcos issued Proclamation No. 1282 on June 21, 1974 certain parcels of land reserve for Marine Fisheries Multi-Purpose Farm under were withdrawn and placed under the control and supervision of the PTA for development purposes as provided for under Presidential Proclamation No. 2237 dated November 06, 1982, 1990. President Corazon C. Aquino signed Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, which encourages the transfer of power and authority from the national government to the local government units, in line with the government’s devolution program as mandated by the Constitution.
1994. President Fidel V. Ramos issued Executive Order No. 145 on April 20, 1994 creating the Lingayen Gulf Coastal Area Management Commission and placing the entire stretch of 2,109 square kilometers, from the tip of Bolinao in Santiago Islands , the Hundred Islands up to the coastal barangays of San Juan in La Union, as endangered zone due to illegal fishing and wanton abuse of its vast marine resources.
1997. President Fidel Ramos issued Executive Order No. 450 creating the Inter Agency Task Force on Coastal Environment Protection placing the Philippine National Police to dismantle over 3,000 illegal fish pens and fish cages in the entire stretch of Lingayen Gulf and its inner tributaries.
2001. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Republic Act No. 9025, otherwise known as “An Act Converting The Municipality of Alaminos, Pangasinan into a Component City to be known as the City of Alaminos.” Principal author was Pangasinan First District Rep. Hernani A. Braganza of Alaminos.
2004. Mayor Hernani A. Braganza initiated a serious move to ‘reclaim the Hundred Islands National Park’ for the City of Alaminos.
2005. President Arroyo signed on June 24, 2005 Executive Order No. 436 transferring the management, administration and maintenance of the HINP from the Philippine Tourism Authority to the City of Alaminos.
2005. The Philippine Tourism Authority headed by its General Manager Dean Barbers formally turned over the HINP to Alaminos City Mayor Hernani A. Braganza.
Getting there
From downtown Alaminos City, a breezy tricycle ride brings you to Bolo Beach, Barangay Pandan. At the beach, one sees a few of the islands. The best way to get there is by chartered boat. The port doubles as a parking lot for a fee. Outrigger motorized boats can be rented here to ferry you to a cluster of islands and islets collectively known as the Hundred Islands.
Alaminos.gov.ph
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