Buena Suerte
Encyclopedia
Buena Suerte or more known as Zone II, is one of the eighteen barangay
s comprising the Municipality of El Nido in the province of Palawan
in the Philippines
. Its name literally means "Good Luck" in Spanish
.
During the Spanish era, Cabigsing, the westernmost purok
of the barangay, was the center of the town. It was then known as the Inventario.
of El Nido. It is bordered by Masagana on the east and Maligaya on the southeast. A creek
, draining from Maligaya, transverses in the south and to the sea in the northwest. Off the coast of Buena Suerte lies Cadlao Island, the largest among the 45 islands in the Bacuit Bay. Its highest peak towers up to 640 meters above sea level, and is considered as El Nido's tallest mountain. The island has several pockets of white sand beaches, hidden lagoons and nature trails that lead to lush tropical rainforest. One of these nature trails leads to the charming saltwater Makaamo Lagoon, which is surrounded by mangroves that attract a proliferation of birds. Sabang Beach, one of its many beaches, was one of the settings for the Scandinavian show Robinson Expedisjonen, the predecessor to Survivor.
s or sitio
s namely, Aplaya, the beachfront area; Puting Bato (White Rock), the cliffside area; Cabigsing, the port area, and Cadlao, the largest island off the coast of the municipality.
Like all other barangays in the country, it is governed from the Barangay Hall by a Barangay Captain, an elected official entitled for three-year term, who is aided by the Sangguniang Barangay member
s (barangay kagawads or counselors), also elected. In 2005, it has a budgetary allocation of PHP
681,365 from the Philippine government.
, and to other Southeast Asian countries
. Commercial and tourist establishments also abound the area. Bay View Inn (also known as El Nido Sands Inn), the oldest tourist inn, can be found here.
, Iglesia Ni Kristo, among others.
and Manila
. Since March 7, 2005, the port zone has been managed and supervised by the Philippine Ports Authority
. Pump boat
s and speedboats also dock at the side of the port.
In 2009, plans of establishing a 51,440 square meter-Roll On Roll Off (Roro) port in Buena Suerte was stalled after facing strong opposition from the Department of Tourism and local communities. Citing that the project would not only damage the ecosystem, critics of the port project also found out that it would go against the municipality's Comprehensive Land and Water Use Plan, which stated that the area is limited to "low density and nature-based" tourism activities.
s and motorcycles are the most popular types of transportation to go around the barangay because some of the streets here are too narrow for jeepneys and private vehicles to pass by. In addition, makeshift and wooden bridges are common in estuarine parts of Puting Bato and Cabigsing that are lying on a nearby creek or situated in what used to be mangrove forests.
Barangay
A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...
s comprising the Municipality of El Nido in the province of Palawan
Palawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Its name literally means "Good Luck" in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
During the Spanish era, Cabigsing, the westernmost purok
Purok
Purok is a political subdivision of the barangay in the Philippines, especially in rural areas. Both barangay and SK councilors are in charge of leading their own respective puroks....
of the barangay, was the center of the town. It was then known as the Inventario.
Geography
Buena Suerte, one of the four Población barangays, sits on the western section of the town proper, occupying the areas from the famous limestone and marble cliffs called taraw that act as a backdrop and run from the southern to its westernmost sections, the Lapus-Lapus Trail that leads to the beaches of Ipil Point and Siete Commando opposite the surrounding mountain walls, and to the St. Francis of Assissi Parish Church that serves as the main office of the ParishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of El Nido. It is bordered by Masagana on the east and Maligaya on the southeast. A creek
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
, draining from Maligaya, transverses in the south and to the sea in the northwest. Off the coast of Buena Suerte lies Cadlao Island, the largest among the 45 islands in the Bacuit Bay. Its highest peak towers up to 640 meters above sea level, and is considered as El Nido's tallest mountain. The island has several pockets of white sand beaches, hidden lagoons and nature trails that lead to lush tropical rainforest. One of these nature trails leads to the charming saltwater Makaamo Lagoon, which is surrounded by mangroves that attract a proliferation of birds. Sabang Beach, one of its many beaches, was one of the settings for the Scandinavian show Robinson Expedisjonen, the predecessor to Survivor.
Government
Buena Suerte is composed of four purokPurok
Purok is a political subdivision of the barangay in the Philippines, especially in rural areas. Both barangay and SK councilors are in charge of leading their own respective puroks....
s or sitio
Sitio
A sitio in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay, the location of which may be distant from the center of the barangay itself....
s namely, Aplaya, the beachfront area; Puting Bato (White Rock), the cliffside area; Cabigsing, the port area, and Cadlao, the largest island off the coast of the municipality.
Like all other barangays in the country, it is governed from the Barangay Hall by a Barangay Captain, an elected official entitled for three-year term, who is aided by the Sangguniang Barangay member
Barangay Kagawad
A Barangay Kagawad, abbreviated as "Kgwd.", is an elected government official who is a member of the Sangguniang Barangay of a particular barangay, the smallest political unit in the Philippines...
s (barangay kagawads or counselors), also elected. In 2005, it has a budgetary allocation of PHP
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document...
681,365 from the Philippine government.
Demographics
Population
Buena Suerte, one of the most densely populated area in the entire municipality, ranks only third to Bucana and Teneguiban in terms of the total number of constituents. As of August 1, 2007, it has a population of 2,209. The barangay has a heavy presence of migrants from other parts of the Philippines, and it is also home to a number of foreigners who intermarried with the local inhabitants.Livelihood
Being a coastal area, the main livelihood is fishing and tourism. Seafood is a local speciality, in fact, many fishes are exported to ManilaManila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, and to other Southeast Asian countries
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. Commercial and tourist establishments also abound the area. Bay View Inn (also known as El Nido Sands Inn), the oldest tourist inn, can be found here.
Religion
Buena Suerte is predominantly Catholic as the rest of El Nido, although there are sizable number of people who constitute other Christian denominations, such as BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
, Iglesia Ni Kristo, among others.
Seaport
Located in Cabigsing, El Nido Port Zone, serves a number of cargo and passenger ships from CoronCoron
Coron can refer to the following things:* Coron, Palawan, a municipality in Palawan in the Philippines* Coron Island, under the jurisdiction of the municipality, Philippines* Coron, Maine-et-Loire, a commune in the Maine-et-Loire département in France...
and Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
. Since March 7, 2005, the port zone has been managed and supervised by the Philippine Ports Authority
Philippine Ports Authority
The Philippine Ports Authority is a government-owned corporation under the Department of Transportation and Communications as an attached agency...
. Pump boat
Pump boat
A pump boat is an outrigger canoe powered by a small gasoline or diesel engine. Smaller pump boats might be powered by the sort of small single-cylinder engine which might be used to drive a water pump...
s and speedboats also dock at the side of the port.
In 2009, plans of establishing a 51,440 square meter-Roll On Roll Off (Roro) port in Buena Suerte was stalled after facing strong opposition from the Department of Tourism and local communities. Citing that the project would not only damage the ecosystem, critics of the port project also found out that it would go against the municipality's Comprehensive Land and Water Use Plan, which stated that the area is limited to "low density and nature-based" tourism activities.
Road systems and bridges
Most roads and streets in Buena Suerte are made of concrete materials and rolled gravel. The main roads are Calle Real near Puting Bato (White Rock) and Sirena Street in Aplaya. TricycleTricycle
A tricycle is a three-wheeled vehicle. While tricycles are often associated with the small three-wheeled vehicles used by pre-school-age children, they are also used by adults for a variety of purposes. In the United States and Canada, adult-sized tricycles are used primarily by older persons for...
s and motorcycles are the most popular types of transportation to go around the barangay because some of the streets here are too narrow for jeepneys and private vehicles to pass by. In addition, makeshift and wooden bridges are common in estuarine parts of Puting Bato and Cabigsing that are lying on a nearby creek or situated in what used to be mangrove forests.