104 places · 7 areas

Places of the Bangsamoro

Islands and white sand, lakes in the highlands, mosques, falls and the old forts and houses of the sultanates: what is there, how to get there, and what to know before you go.

Ervin Malicdem · CC BY-SA 4.0Photo by Ervin Malicdem, CC BY-SA 4.0. Open the source file.

Beaches 6

Islands 11

Mosques 10

Lakes 5

Falls 5

Mountains 7

Nature 21

Heritage 22

Museums 5

Cities 2

Markets 2

Memory 8

Every place is traced to the pages it came from, and the guide’s own entries are the travel workspace’s. Photos are from Wikimedia Commons or English Wikipedia under free licences, each credited on the photo. 7 areas: Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and del Sur, Tawi-Tawi, Cotabato City and the Special Geographic Area.

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Seafood, seaweed and shellfish laid out on the ground at the Adlaw Pagtabuh-tabuh market.

Places · Market

Adlaw Pagtabuh-tabuh

Panglima Sugala, Tawi-Tawi

Also known as Panglima Sugala Saturday barter market

Laila Aripin / Bangsamoro Information Office · Philippine government workPhoto by Laila Aripin / Bangsamoro Information Office, Philippine government work. Open the source file.

Overview

A weekly Saturday market in Panglima Sugala where Badjao fishers and Tausug farmers still trade goods by barter.

Every Saturday, Badjao fishers bring fish, dried octopus, seaweed and shells to the shore at Panglima Sugala, and farmers from the mainland arrive with cassava, bananas, coconuts, sugarcane and other produce. Most trade is a direct exchange of seafood for farm goods.

The market is busy by 6 am and most produce is sold or traded before 9 am. Buyers come from Bongao, Sapa-Sapa, Simunul and Sitangkai, and visitors with nothing to trade can pay in cash.

There are no cash registers, price tags or weighing scales. The Bangsamoro Information Office calls it one of the few places in the Philippines where barter trade is still a working tradition.

Things to do

  1. 01Come early on a SaturdayTraders start unloading at first light and nearly everything is traded before 9 am.
  2. 02Buy breakfast or lunch for the boatOne island-hopping itinerary stops at the market at 8 am to buy food for lunch before going on to Panampangan Island.
  3. 03Pay in cash if you have nothing to tradeVisitors without goods to exchange can simply buy with cash.

Food to try

  • Shoppers crowd round a cart of freshly harvested marang at the Adlaw Pagtabuh-tabuh market.Panglima SugalaMarang off the cartsShoppers crowd round the carts of freshly harvested marang on market day.Photo: Laila Aripin/BIO
  • Badjao traders lay out heaps of seaweed, shellfish and fish at the Adlaw Pagtabuh-tabuh market.Panglima SugalaCowfish and seaweed by the tumpokGoods are sold in heaps rather than by weight: in 2022, 2 heaps of gamay or lato seaweed cost PHP 100 and about 8 taballung (cowfish) PHP 150.Photo: Laila Aripin/BIO
  • A market stall in Tawi-Tawi piled with rice cakes, sweets and other native delicacies.Panglima SugalaTausug sweets from the Batu-Batu storesSmall stores at Batu-Batu market sometimes sell bawlo, junay, putli mandih and other Tawi-Tawi delicacies.Photo: Bangsamoro Information Office
  • A bowl of near-black beef soup beside a red onion and dried chillies.TausugTiyula ItumBlack beef soup, colored by burnt coconut.Photo: Nurfadzrie Abubakar
  • Tausug satti: grilled meat skewers with a bowl of spiced sauce and ta'mu rice cake in woven coconut leaf.TausugSattiSkewered meat in a hot red sauce, with a block of rice — the breakfast of the archipelago.Photo: Anak 1 at en.wikipedia
  • TausugKulmaA mild peanut-and-coconut curry, close to a korma.
  • TausugPianggangGrilled chicken in burnt-coconut sauce.

The food is halal. Named eateries come from dated listings, so check they are still open.

Places to stay

By phone or Facebook page, or through the provincial tourism office, which is the single most useful contact in the province and will also arrange island trips.

  • MimiAhid · CC0 1.0Photo by MimiAhid, CC0 1.0. Open the source file.resort · BongaoBihing Tahik ResortBeach resort in Bongao; hosted an MIPA consultation, February 2025Named in 2025
  • hotel · BongaoRachel's PlaceHotel and restaurant in Bongao; hosted an MPOS and UN Women training, April 2024Named in 2024
  • resort · BongaoDanmar Beach ResortBeach resort listed as a Bangsamoro Parliament venue, July 2026Named in 2026
  • hotel · BongaoMayan HotelHotel listed as a Bangsamoro Parliament venue, May 2024Named in 2024
  • resort · BongaoDahuwan Tampeh ResortResort registered with the Bangsamoro Board of Investments in 2024; a Parliament venue by October 2025Named in 2025
  • inn · BongaoBeachside Inn and RestaurantInn and restaurant; the MOLE Tawi-Tawi field office gives it as its addressNamed in 2024

Each is named in an official or dated source; none could be checked against an accreditation list. No prices: rates change quickly, so confirm and book directly before you go.

Sourcesbangsamoro.gov.ph ·transitpinas.com ·lakwatsero.com ·transitpinas.com ·edgedavao.net