Sunken Island

What the sources describe

Marine Conservation Philippines describes the Siquijor site called Sunken Island as an offshore coral-covered shoal that is reached by boat. Bahura Dive Siquijor separately names Sunken Island in its Siquijor boat-diving offer. This guide concerns the Siquijor listing, not the similarly named site offered by operators around Moalboal and Badian.

Planning a visit

MCP warns that currents can be strong around this shoal. Ask a Siquijor operator to confirm the intended site, boat arrangements, conditions, entry and exit plan and appropriate experience before booking. No precise navigation point is supplied: previously collected directory coordinates disagree, and none is adopted here.

What remains unknown

This English partial is based on published sources, not a recent Diveity inspection. Exact navigation coordinates, independently checked depth limits, visibility, water temperature, seasonal suitability and certification requirements remain unverified. Wildlife sightings and current access are not guaranteed.

Sources: Marine Conservation Philippines; Bahura Dive Siquijor via PADI Adventures.

Scale of the shoal

Marine Conservation Philippines describes a shoal top approximately 80 m across, beginning around 12 m deep, and concentrates its account on the 12–20 m band. These are approximate feature dimensions from that source. They neither settle the disputed location nor establish the deepest extent of the site, and they are not navigation instructions.

Alias and location as the operators state them

Dive Point Siquijor's description, carried on Scubago, says "Takot Shoal is also known as the sunken island", places it "in the San Juan area of Siquijor", and calls it "a sloping dive, starting at about 12 m, going all the way to 40 m" that is "a more advanced dive site" where "you can encounter some current" and where "you can meet seahorses". Teresa Zubi's starfish.ch page, written from visits between 1999 and 2003 and read in a January 2026 Wayback snapshot, lists "Lala-o Sunken island" as a ten-minute boat ride west of Coco Grove resort, "an underwater island that slopes down from 10 to 40m" with schools of fish, "sometimes manta, sea snakes and turtles". A ScubaBoard report of June 7, 2010 by a diver staying at Coco Grove and diving with Sea Explorers records a first dive "at a site called Takot Shoal or the Sunken Island" and a "dazzling display" of fish life and coral growth. These accounts agree on a shoal reached from the San Juan side but supply no coordinate, so the location dispute recorded above stands.

Reported conditions and sightings

Marine Conservation Philippines, whose page was last modified in April 2026, notes that "some dynamite fishing has been going on here" in the past and that its traces are still visible, lists spotted eagle rays, parrotfish and mackerel hunting sardines as likely sightings, and says that when currents are strong it is usually possible to "hide behind the hill". Liveaboard.com says the shoal "sometimes attracts mantas and eagle rays", that strong current "brings out the best in active fish life", and that "experienced divers are best suited to manage the currents at this site". PADI's own Sunken Island listing describes a Moalboal seamount with its top near 25 metres and is not used here. The 10-12 to 40 metre figures are those sources' dive profiles, not a verified site range, and the manta and ray reports are occasional, dated or undated observations rather than expectations.