Outrage magazine

[Rogie]

Established in April 2007, Outrage Magazine remains the only publication for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual and allied community in the Philippines

 

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http://outragemag.com/

 

 

And some useful background:

 

The 100 million citizens dwell on more than 7000 islands, with the capital Manila home to 11 million alone.

 

Metro Manila is the epicentre of the Philippines gay community and home to a very vibrant gay area.  Some  say the ‘scene’ is second only to that of Thailand.

 

Formerly entrenched views in the strongly Catholic Philippines are breaking down and there is an emerging and growing acceptance of homosexuality. In consequence the ‘pink peso’ economy is booming.

 

LGBT people in the Philippines have a distinctive culture but limited legal rights. Gays and lesbians are generally tolerated, if not accepted, within Filipino society, but there is still widespread discrimination. The most visible members of the Filipino LGBT culture are the Bakla.

Bakla individuals are socially and economically integrated into Filipino society and are considered an important part of society. Miss Gay Philippines is the largest and most prestigious gay beauty pageant in the Philippines and there is a Mister Gay Philippines. (Crowned as Mr. Gay World Philippines 2012 was a 27 year old renowned coffee shop barista.)

 

 

http://www.rainbowtourism.asia/destinations/philippines/

 

 

And for those of us that enjoy a good old snorkel every so often . . .

Gay Philippines Scuba Christmas Vacation

 

If you have an interest in coral reefs and their ecology, you probably have heard about the "Coral Triangle". This area of the Indo-Pacific is home to the greatest biodiversity of fish, coral and other marine life on the entire planet, and the Philippines comprise the upper vertex of the triangle.

 

An archipelago of 7,107 islands, the Philippines are a beautiful, gay-friendly destination and a remarkable value. We have chosen two outstanding locations to introduce you to this coral paradise, the land-based resort of Atlantis Puerto Galera and our optional liveaboard excursion to the reefs and bays of the Southern Leyte.

 

 

http://www.underseax.com/gay-scuba-trips/philippines.html

[Guest fountainhall]

Few people seem to know that the Philippines is one of the great areas for whale watching! In the summer, whale sharks are common in the waters off Oslob in Cebu As this blogger reports, swimming with them was "an experience of a lifetime".
 
http://vacationchecklist.blogspot.com/2013/02/whale-shark-butanding-crazy-experience.html
 
During the summer, bigger humpback whales are also seen in the waters off the Babuyan Islands in the very north of the country.
 

 

In the Philippines, over thirty species of whales and dolphins can be observed around Central Visayas, Davao Gulf, the northern coast of the province-island Palawan, and in Batanes. The Visayas is particularly known area for dolphin sightings, and is home to one of the larger populations of the Fraser's Dolphin in the world. Dolphin species in the Visayas are attracted to fish lures and to commercial fishing operations. In the northernmost province of Batanes, at least 12 species of whales and dolphins has been sighted, making it the single location in the country with the highest cetacean diversity. There seems to be no specific whale watching season in the Philippines, although the calmer waters of the summer season typically provides the best conditions. Some populations, like those of the Humpback Whales in Batanes, appear migratory.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_watching

[Rogie]

As somebody who only last month visited my first two islands in Scotland (Arran and Cumbrae), a mere 250 miles (400 kilometres) from my home, which has approx 790 islands of which 94 are populated (source: wikipedia), contemplating a country with over 7,000 of them is enough to make my head spin.

 

Using the map on one of the links in the OP, the Phillipines measures about 2,000 miles long north to south, and 1,200 miles east-west at its broades point. That's about 2,400,000 square miles! Of which the majority is water!

 

In a sad week for marine catastrophe - the oil spill off the coast of Samet - I am reminded how fragile the world's marine eco-system is and how mankind has plundered its natural resources for profit. Tourism handled in the right way can be beneficial. I haven't gone whale watching myself but I think it would be safe to say that if every citizen of those few countries that still kill whales for 'scientific purposes' were to go on a whale watching trip, that country's whale hunting industry would collapse.

[GWMinUS]

Whale shark watching in Oslib is amazing.

But it has been commercialized!!

They take out about 15 people in a boat and you have only 25 minutes to jump in the water and see the huge whales!!

If you go to the far north, to Malapascua Island you can have a more leisurely swim the sharks!!

Even better if you are a Scuba Diver!!

I have not been there myself, but many Pinoy guys I know like to go there on there school holidays. They just stay on the beach...

So check it out!!

http://www.malapascua.com.ph/index.html

 

I did make a trip from Cebu City down to Dumaguete. You can stay at one of the Resorts along the coast. We stayed directly across from Apo Island and hired a pump boat took a day trip there. You can snorkle within the Marine Reserve with a paid guide. Or you can hire a boat and go scuba diving in the area outside the Reserve. In either case it is amazing to see the huge sea turtles!!

http://wikitravel.org/en/Apo_Island