Why do the Batanes Islands belong to the Philippines?

UNLESS there is a movement for independence rooted in a concrete region, which forces citizens and politicians to reflect about it and solve the problem – if solvable – people take for granted the integrity of the national territory. Most of the world borders today aren’t natural, but largely a consequence of the intervention of imperial powers. The Philippines is not an exception to this, and the lack of loyalty and weak allegiance of certain provinces to Malacañang nowadays can be historically traced.

Batanes is one of the most fascinating and beautiful places in the Philippine archipelago, which is a merit in itself, taking into consideration that there is high competition for that distinction in the country. Moreover, inhabitants of the archipelagic province are known to be calm, patient, disciplined, hardworking and honest, which could have been a consequence of the relative isolation they have been living with for centuries and the development of a strong sense of community, but also, maybe, could have been the best way to deal with the strong typhoons that hit the islands every year.