Hundred Islands National Park

Lore & Background

The national park was created by Presidential Proclamation No. 667, signed by President Manuel L. Quezon on January 18, 1940, for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of the Philippines. The Republic Act No. 3655 signed on June 22, 1962, created the Hundred Islands Conservation and Development Authority (HICDA) for conservation, development, and management. The park including Lucap Bay was transferred from HICDA to the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) by virtue of Section 35 of Presidential Decree No. 564 signed by President Ferdinand Marcos on October 2, 1974.

On April 27, 1982, under Proclamation No. 2183, the national park including Lucap Bay and its foreshore areas were declared as a Tourist Zone and Marine Reserve under the control and administration of the PTA. Subsequently, under Presidential Proclamation No. 2237 enacted on November 6, 1982, additional land reserves were placed under the Tourism Authority. In 2001, the National Committee on Geological Sciences declared the site as National Geological Monument. Executive Order No. 436 signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on June 21, 2005, transferred administration of the whole park from the PTA to the city government of Alaminos, Pangasinan.

Reader's Guide

The Hundred Islands National Park holds significance as the first national park in the Philippines, established in 1940 under President Manuel L. Quezon. Its karst landscape, formed from ancient coral reefs exposed by dropping sea levels, features distinctive mushroom-shaped islands shaped by wave erosion. The park's biodiversity includes beach forest species like Terminalia and agoho, as well as birds such as the Philippine duck and white-eared brown-dove, fish including thresher sharks and angelfish, and crustaceans like ghost crabs. The Sagip Lingayen Gulf Project, a 2010 study funded by the Dutch government, created an inventory of flora and fauna to help the city government develop an environmental monitoring program. The park's management history reflects shifts from national to local control, culminating in 2005 when the city government of Alaminos assumed administration under the Local Government Code of 1991. Only four of the islands have been developed for tourism, preserving the rugged terrain of the rest.

Did You Know?

• The islands number 124 at low tide and 123 at high tide.
• The park was created by Presidential Proclamation No. 667 signed by President Manuel L. Quezon on January 18, 1940.
• The islands are believed to be about two million years old and are of karst or limestone landscape.
• Only four islands have been developed for tourism: Quezon Island, Governor Island, Children's Island, and Pilgrimage Island.

Geological Origins & Karst Formation

The Hundred Islands National Park rests upon a geological foundation stretching back roughly two million years. Its islands are composed of karst limestone, a landscape shaped over millennia by the patient work of water and wind. Beneath the present-day terrain lie ancient coral formations that extend well inland—remnants of a prehistoric sea whose seabed these corals once formed. As sea levels gradually receded over geological time, these once-submerged structures were lifted into view, creating the distinctive topography visible today. The most striking visual feature of the archipelago is the collection of mushroom-like island shapes, a direct product of ocean waves eroding softer rock layers over countless centuries. The result is a scattered collection of 124 islets at low tide (123 at high tide) spread across Lingayen Gulf, covering a total area of 16.76 square kilometres. In 2001, the National Committee on Geological Sciences formally recognized the site's scientific significance by designating it a National Geological Monument, cementing its status as one of the Philippines' most important natural landmarks.

A Century of Shifting Governance

The park's administrative history reads like a chronicle of Philippine political evolution. It was first established on January 18, 1940, when President Manuel L. Quezon signed Proclamation No. 667, dedicating 16.76 square kilometres of Lingayen Gulf to the benefit and enjoyment of all Filipinos. Two decades later, Republic Act No. 3655 (1962) created the Hundred Islands Conservation and Development Authority to oversee its management. In 1974, President Ferdinand Marcos's Presidential Decree No. 564 shifted control to the Philippine Tourism Authority. The 1980s brought further reorganization: Proclamation No. 2183 (April 1982) declared the park and Lucap Bay a Tourist Zone and Marine Reserve, while Proclamation No. 2237 (November 1982) absorbed parcels previously reserved for a Marine Fisheries Multi-Purpose Farm. The final major transfer came on June 21, 2005, when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's Executive Order No. 436 handed full administration to the city government of Alaminos, Pangasinan, in keeping with the devolution principles of the 1991 Local Government Code.

Biodiversity & Ecological Significance

The rugged, largely inaccessible terrain of the islands has preserved much of their native vegetation in a relatively undisturbed state. Beach-forest species such as Terminalia and agoho (Casuarina equisetifolia) dominate the coastal zones, while karst-adapted trees like molave, malaikmo, and sablot thrive in the limestone interiors. A handful of exotic introductions—including fire tree, calachuchi, atis, sineguelas, sampaloc, and ipil-ipil—add to the botanical mix, and small islands host legumes and figs. The animal community is equally diverse: birds recorded in the area range from the Philippine duck and white-eared brown-dove to the elegant tit and lemon-throated leaf-warbler. Marine life includes thresher sharks, angelfish, and butterflyfish, while ghost crabs and hermit crabs scuttle across the sandy shores. In 2010, the Dutch government funded the Sagip Lingayen Gulf Project, implemented by the Marine Environment and Resources Foundation Inc., to fill a critical gap in terrestrial wildlife data. The study produced a comprehensive flora-and-fauna inventory intended to help the Alaminos city government build a long-term environmental monitoring program for the archipelago's biodiversity.

Tourism & Protected Area Status

As the first national park ever designated in the Philippines, the Hundred Islands holds a singular place in the country's conservation history. The archipelago—124 islets at low tide, 123 at high tide—scatters across Lingayen Gulf within a 16.76-square-kilometre boundary. Despite the sheer number of islands, only four have been developed for visitor use: Quezon Island, the most heavily developed of the group, along with Governor Island, Children's Island, and Pilgrimage Island. The remaining islets remain essentially untouched, their inaccessibility serving as a natural barrier against over-development. The park's protected status has been reinforced at multiple levels: it carries the designation of a National Geological Monument (2001), and its waters were formally declared a Marine Reserve under the 1982 Proclamation No. 2183, which also established the area as a Tourist Zone. This layered framework—combining geological heritage protection, marine conservation, and regulated tourism—makes the Hundred Islands a model of how the Philippines balances public enjoyment with environmental stewardship in one of its most visually striking coastal landscapes.