By Jonathan L. Mayuga
The Philippines is composed of—not just 7,101 islands—but 7,500 islands.
Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje made this remark in his speech at the ongoing Philippine Environment Summit at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on Wednesday.
“Hindi lang tayo 7,101 islands, 7,500 islands na tayo,” Paje told summit participants as he reported the state of the Philippine environment.
An official of the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (Namria) confirmed that using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IfSAR), the agency was able to “discover” more than 400 previously “unknown” islands in various parts of the country.
An attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Namria is mandated to provide the public with mapmaking services, and to act as the central mapping agency, depository and distribution facility for natural resources data in the form of maps, charts, texts and statistics.
Interviewed at the summit’s sidelines, Jose Cabanayan Jr., deputy administrator of Namria, said the discovery of the previously unknown islands came after the nationwide survey conducted in 2013.
Namria, he said, is currently conducting ground validation of the captured images using the IfSAR.
Majority of these “newly discovered” islands are in Mindanao.
To be considered an island, Cabanayan said that the landmass should be above sea level and high tide at any given time, and can support either plant of animal life, or both.
“Kailangan nakalutang ang lupa at above high tide,” he said.
These new islands were previously believed to be part of a bigger island, but using a more sophisticated and high-tech gadget, Cabanayan said Namria was able to count them as a separate land mass surrounded by bodies of water.
“Ito kasing mga isla, dati makikita mo using the old radar na one island lang. Pero using IfSAR, nakita namin na nakahiwalay pala itong mga isla na ito,” Cabayanan said.
Cabayanan added that Namria has completed ground validation in Luzon and is currently working in the Visayas.
By the end of the year, he said, they hope to complete the ground validation, including that in Mindanao.
Of the previously known 7,100 islands, more than 5,000 are “nameless islands.” These islands, according to the official, have not been given names by the agency yet.
“Marami naman kasi sa mga isla natin talagang walang pangalan.” He said Namria gives names to small islands and puts them in the map.
“Sa susunod na Philippine map, after our ground validation, itong mga island masasama na sa mapa ng Pilipinas,” he said.
12 comments
The previous count is 7,107 islands, not 7,101.
DENR Secretary should better get the facts straight.
yes 7,107… and whats with the statement “The Philippines is composed of—not just 7,101 islands—but 7,500 islands.” as stated in article there are 7,101 + 400 new islands = 7, 501 and not 7,500 islands 😉 …. but in the next statement states “the agency was able to “discover” more than 400 previously “unknown” islands in various parts of the country.” so whats the official count?
I agree. They’re so vague with the numbers. It’s not like you’re counting mongo beans. You’re counting Philippine islands, darn it.
darn it. they’re still ground VALIDATING the new islands in Visayas and Mindanao. that’s why they cannot give the exact number yet. konting EQ naman dyan
Official coordinates nga ng West Philippine Sea di nila matukoy eh…
Since they believe many of it came from 1 island thats why its 7,500 lang
Sana hindi nalang na publish to. Baka agawin na naman ng China ang mga bagong islands. LOL!
The Chinese will claim those islands.
“Of the previously known 7,100 islands, more than 5,000 are “nameless
islands.” These islands, according to the official, have not been given
names by the agency yet.” – 5,000 islands??!?!
Do those 7,500 island include the Kalayaan Island Group and Sabah, which according to our laws form part of our territory? And what about the coordinates of the West Philippine Sea which you are tasked to identify? Tapos na ang administrasyon ni PNoy, wala pa rin tayong mapa ng West Philippine Sea. And you have time to discover 500 islands??? Hello!
Thank you for your comments. The Namria, the agency in charge of making the maps, is still verifying the satellite images they picked up. Whatever is previously known about how many islands we have are all based on estimates, not the actual count. Namria, and as I quoted the official I interviewed, in my report, is still in the process of verifying the new discoveries on the ground. I was told that it is difficult to verify the satellite images particularly in Mindanao because it is not safe and counting is easier said than done on the ground. By the end of the year, we will have a more accurate estimate of how many islands our beloved country is composed of, I hope.
Thank you for your comments. The Namria, the agency in charge of making
the maps, is still verifying the satellite images they picked up.
Whatever is previously known about how many islands we have are all
based on estimates, not the actual count. Namria, and as I quoted the
official I interviewed, in my report, is still in the process of
verifying the new discoveries on the ground. I was told that it is
difficult to verify the satellite images particularly in Mindanao
because it is not safe and counting is easier said than done on the
ground. By the end of the year, we will have a more accurate estimate
of how many islands our beloved country is composed of, I hope.