Sagay City is one of the major fishing coastal communities in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines.
Man’s wanton abuse of Sagay’s marine environment resulted to massive destruction of coral reefs and other marine habitats in the area. In the late 1970’s, the then municipal mayor and later Congressman Alfredo G. Marañon, Jr. initiated action for the conservation and management of the dying coral reefs with the help and technical expertise of Silliman University Marine Laboratory then headed by Dr. Angel Alcala. Early in 1980, a marine sanctuary was established in Carbin Reef which was proclaimed as a protected area through a municipal ordinance and was extended to Panal, Maca and the fringing reefs of Molocaboc Islands.

In 1995, the passage of Presidential Proclamation 592 declaring approximately 32,000 hectares of Sagay’s Territorial Waters as Protected Seascape under the National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) Act was a major milestone for the fishing communities. Later, a landmark legislation providing for stricter enforcement of the laws at the protected areas was authored by Congressman Alfredo G. Marañon, Jr. and passed by Congress as Republic Act. No. 9106, “An Act for the Establishment and Management of Sagay Marine Reserve, defining its Scope, coveraged and for other purposes” which was subsequently signed into law by the President in April 14, 2001. It is being managed by Protected Area Management Board.
Sagay Marine Reserve is now recognized nationally and internationally as one of the most successful marine conservation programs in the Philippines and has won for Sagay in 1997 the prestigious Gawad Galing Pook Award which declared it one of the Ten Most Outstanding and Innovative Government programs in the Philippines and was also awarded in 2006 as Best Eco-Tourism Destination in Western Visayas.

The 32,000-hectare Sagay Marine Reserve includes Carbin Reef, Panal Reef, Maca Reef and Maca Shoal.
The most accessible in the Sagay Marine Reserve is Carbin Reef which is a 200-hectare marine sanctuary with a huge tongue-shaped sandbar. The clear water and teeming marine life offers attractive options to go boating, swimming, scuba diving, and snorkeling. You can also have a picnic or just frolic in the sand.

The sanctuary was established in 1999 and is abundant with a wide variety of underwater species such as thriving coral formations, the occasional turtles and large schools of fish. Above the water, the reef looks merely like a strip of sand but below the surface is a wealth of natural beauty. Due to the shallow water diving is discouraged but swimming and snorkeling conditions are just about right. The reef itself can accommodate up to 100 people at low tide conditions.

Molocaboc Island, also part of the Sagay Marine Reserve, gives you a glimpse on the simple life and probably give you a few lessons on being content with what you have in life. The locals collect water on giant earthen jars and electricity is limited. They basically live off on what the sea provides – shells from the “sea mines” and fish from “sea ranching”. The island grows one of the sweetest atis and you can never say no the the freshest and exotic seafoods cooked in a uniquely Sagaynon way.

How to Get There:
From Manila, you can fly to Bacolod. From Bacolod-Silay Airport, you can take a shuttle or a cab and ask to be dropped off at the nearest bus station for Bacolod-Sagay.

You can also go to Bacolod by ferry from Manila. From the port you can get a cab and ask to be dropped off at the north terminal bus station for Bacolod-Sagay. Buses and vans for hire regularly plying the northern Negros highway. Sagay is approximately a 2-hour drive (approximately 82-kilometers) by private car from Bacolod city.

From Sagay, Carbin Reef can only be reached by a rented boat (15 minutes from the Old Wharf).

Sources:
 http://www.choosephils.com/read_post.php?cat=travel&id=6
 http://www.sagay-city.com.ph/smr.html
 http://www.choosephils.com/read_post.php?cat=travel&id=6
 http://www.choosephils.com/read_post.php?cat=travel&id=1546