BALABAC

island, extreme southwestern Philippines. It is located about 19 miles (30 km) southwest of the southern tip of Palawan island, and hardly twice that north of Borneo. Balabac rises to an elevation of about 1,890 feet (576 m) and has swamps on its northwestern coast. There are coral reefs off its western coast, and the island is particularly noted for its rare glory-of-the-seas cone shells. Philippine territory ends at the southwestern corner of the island, where small motorized canoes operated by Balabac Muslims make frequent border crossings to the nearby islands in Sabah state (Malaysia) off Borneo's northern coast. Coconuts are a major crop on Balabac. Its people are mostly Muslim (Moros). Balabac town is the main centre of settlement. Pop. (1980) 15,044.